Feeding on demand?

[Scampie]

It seems all my LO wants to do is feed. Its a miracle if i can make him go 3 hours between bottles. Last night he was waking up every 1.5 hours and was ready for his bottle. He is only 2 weeks and he is taking 3 to 4 ounces each feed, but he seems hungry all the time. If i give him more than 4 ounces then he throws it back up again. It just seems to go through him so quick.

The midwife has told me to hold off on giving him hungrier milk for a bit.

Im just not sure if i should be feeding him as and when he wants, or if i should be trying to get him to wait 3 hours between feeds. He is rapidly gaining weight as it is and im worried im over feeding him. I dont want him to get into a routine of waking ever 1.5 hours for a feed as im the only person who does night feeds and i dont think i can cope with only getting 45 minute sleeps at a time.

 

[Rhiannon]

my LO did this hun and it killed me waking every 1.5 hrs! he did it until he was 6 weeks. i tried getting him into a feeding routine, which seriously helped with the night time waking. im not sure if its best for you however, only you can decide that. xxx

 

[LoobyBump]

Hi hun, Congrats hun, i didn't see you'd eventually had your lo! Did you get your vbac in the end? Hope it all went smoothly anyway

Just wanted to say i feel for you...our little girl is doing much the same with her feeds...she's on 3-4 oz every 3 - 4 hrs, but sometimes is screaming for more after just an hour or 2...its a nightmare. She's also very windy, so we're having a screaming session at least twice a day!

I do think the hungry baby food helps though..i swapped her at 5 days (as i have with my previous 2) iwas getting an hour or 2 max out of her after 3 oz at 4 days old!

I use the Hipp Hungry Baby and it seems quite good.

Take care hun xxx

 

[AimeeM]

Could you maybe limit him to 3 ounce every 2 hours? Nathan fed loads at first every 1.5 to 2 hours taking 3oz and is only really just got in to a 3 hour routine the past couple of weeks.
It is cos their tummy is so tiny they can only take a bit, i would hold off hungrier milk too cos you may find he takes less at a time because it is thicker and wants to feed even more regular.

 

[aliss]

LO tried this to. What worked for me was to give him 1 oz, burp him, feed him another, burp him, blow on his face, etc. to keep him awake, they have this bad habit of wanting to sleep after only an ounce! Also your LO is one week behind mine - I noticed a big difference between week 1 and week 2, hopefully he'll grow into it a bit

 

[E&L's mummy]

we have times like this too, but if she has 3 oz in one hit then i get it all back and after her choking in her basket the other day im relucctant to give her that much and her choke again while im asleep.....so here's my tip....dummy. understand if its something you dont want to do, but ive found LO likes to keep sucking after i know her tummy is full. def makes for a shorter night of messing around. HTH xxx

 

[faille]

During the night - are you sure it's hunger and not just wanting to suck? My LO tended to want a bottle to fall asleep so we tried a dummy one night and it worked wonders.

Also, in this heat, try offering a tiny bit of cooled boiled water before automatically going in with a bottle (I'm talking 1-2oz of water to last the whole day) - we were advised to do this by MW and HV last summer when it got very hot.

 

[mrsthomas623]

My LO has a bad habit at night wanting a bottle every 1.5 hours and only taking an ounce or maybe ounce and a half. During the day he does about 3 ozs every 2.. maybe 2.5 hours.

I think they will eventually get on to a better routine but if anyone has any advice I would LOVE to hear it!

 

[Vickie]

we always fed on demand. He could be going through a growth spurt right now (about the right age for one)

 

[Mynx]

we always fed on demand. He could be going through a growth spurt right now (about the right age for one)

Was just going to say the same thing! There's so many growth spurts when they're first born and you generally have to just ride them out, and the feeding will settle down.
IMO, demand feeding is the best way to ensure your baby is getting what he needs, Evie is still demand fed even now at 7 months and I know that she's getting what she wants, when she wants it

 

[StarBlueUK]

Coincidentally, I came onto the board tonight to post on the issue you are talking about. At first, my baby was quite good. She'd be naughty between 10pm and 1am and would want cuddles and attention but the rest of the time she would sleep 3-5 hours during feeds. The longer periods without feeding tended to be during the day though. Now, however, she wants to be fed every 1 and a half to 2 hours and it is driving me crazy getting so little sleep.

Like some of the other posters, I want to be sure that she's getting what she needs and I've also read that letting babies cry it out can cause them to lose trust in their parents and weaken the bond between them. She's 2 weeks old and at every feed has about 2oz. Any advice in response to this post would also be of great help to me! lol

 

[aliss]

Coincidentally, I came onto the board tonight to post on the issue you are talking about. At first, my baby was quite good. She'd be naughty between 10pm and 1am and would want cuddles and attention but the rest of the time she would sleep 3-5 hours during feeds. The longer periods without feeding tended to be during the day though. Now, however, she wants to be fed every 1 and a half to 2 hours and it is driving me crazy getting so little sleep.

Like some of the other posters, I want to be sure that she's getting what she needs and I've also read that letting babies cry it out can cause them to lose trust in their parents and weaken the bond between them. She's 2 weeks old and at every feed has about 2oz. Any advice in response to this post would also be of great help to me! lol

Does she spit up? I found that OH would stop feeding our LO after he spit up "too much" (thinking he was too full), but he would need to keep eating. Since OH stopped feeding him, he would get hungry again 1-2 hours later.

 

[Kit]

We have always fed on demand - at 11 1/2 months he is still on five 6 to 8oz bottles a day. My feeling has always been that he won't ask for it if he doesn't genuinely need it.

 

[Mynx]

Coincidentally, I came onto the board tonight to post on the issue you are talking about. At first, my baby was quite good. She'd be naughty between 10pm and 1am and would want cuddles and attention but the rest of the time she would sleep 3-5 hours during feeds. The longer periods without feeding tended to be during the day though. Now, however, she wants to be fed every 1 and a half to 2 hours and it is driving me crazy getting so little sleep.

Like some of the other posters, I want to be sure that she's getting what she needs and I've also read that letting babies cry it out can cause them to lose trust in their parents and weaken the bond between them. She's 2 weeks old and at every feed has about 2oz. Any advice in response to this post would also be of great help to me! lol

Crying it out isnt recommended for babies so young, 6 months is the recommendation, altho personally I wouldnt do it and Evie is 7 months!
Your LO is 2 weeks old, and there's a growth spurt (one of many when they'r e first born) around that time so giving her milk when she wants it is the best way top ensure that she's getting enough
Also, some babies are "grazers" when they're younger, in that rather than having a bigger bottle every few hours, they prefer to have smaller bottles more frequently. Her tummy is still so small right now, she'll stop when she's full

 

[Scampie]

Well i figured out he wasnt wanting food every 1.5 hours. He actually has oral thrush bless him. Hence the trying to chew his fists off an screaming. If DS hadnt of had it when he was littl then i wouldnt have known what i was looking at and wouldnt be getting it treated down to midwives/health visitors fobbing me off saying he is fine all the time.

He still eats like a gannet though, lol. He has just had 5oz and has finally fallen asleep, lol.