Food monster

[Emmea12uk]

I started giving tom baby rice with his last feed of the day and he started going through the night again, for like two nights! So I gave him it three times a day as he seemed to like it and it worked, But he inevitably clogged up due to this, so i stopped and gave him apples once a day and rice with his last feed.

As soon as i started the rice he slept through the night and was only getting four bottles a day as a result, but was guzzling 8-10 oz each time. I tried giving him extra water in his feeds too to fill him up, but nearly three weeks on and he is starving again. Although he is still sleeping through the nights, 8-10oz bottles with apples/rice dont seem to be filling him up for long and he wants food every 3 hours or there is hell to pay! So we are feeding every 2.5-3 hours during the day! It is crazy! given he always feed 4 hourly on the dot and slept through the night.

I know the logical thing to do would be to put him on three meals a day, but that would be too much like weaning and he is still too young for that. The doc said it was ok to limit him to two or three foods until he is older. The HV said he should not be eating three meals until 6 months old, but little bits were fine.

Maybe this is just another gorwth spurt every week he seems to be eating more and more and more and it has been going on for nearly five weeks now. Maybe he is just ready for full on weaning and not getting enough nutients from four bottles a day? He is already on stage 2 milk.

Please dont be scared to tell me what you really think - i wont be offended!

 

[x-amy-x]

I would go with your instinct. If he seems like he wants feeding and it isn't affecting his health or his tomach then try him on other foods. You could always offer him baby rice 3 times a day or other cereals. All babies are different.

 

[Emmea12uk]

i was thinking of cereal for breakie, apples for lunch to keep him loose (plus i have an apple tree) and rice for carbs to help him sleep longer. But i am worried that is too much too soon.

Please let me know what you think!

 

[Emmea12uk]

no one dare comment?????

I spoke to hv today and she recommended 3 meals. BUT i read a packet of baby cereal and it has crap in it. Anyone know of any good cereal??

oh, and can you freeze banana? i think not...

 

[Margerle]

yes you can freeze banana, it just looks goofy, kinda brown.

All other fruits and veggies need to be cooked well before feeding at this young age.

https://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

 

[bev309]

Jack has the Cow & Gate baby balance cereals - he loves them - he has had the fruity breakfast, banana cereal & the creamy porridge so far. I have frozen banana, but mixed it with apple so it didn't look too bad Jack loves two ice cubes of that mixed into some baby rice. I sometimes also mix vegetables into baby rice too as this can introduce baby to the taste, but it isn't so strong & it still has a familiar feeling to it.

 

[Ratty]

Good idea mixing the fruit into the rice, gets the best of both and hopefully won't clog up.

 

[Emmea12uk]

I am using the 1oz ice cube things for weaning - how much should they have? i was just giving one cube per meal.

He seems to love ANYTHING!!

 

[1st_baby]

I just satrted giving him home made banana mash and he can eat 2 cubes he loves it ..
as for cereals he never liked the rice I fed him oatmeal for at least 2 months ..now hes on mixed grains with fruit ..mabey try oatmeal its pretty easy on tummy I had no problems and either did max filling up his diapers !!

 

[bigbelly2]

hey emma,

the heinz porridge in a glass jar seems to be a winner for tommy...filling aswell id have thought, perhaps try him with that on his last feed?? tommy is having 1/3 of a jar of porridge for brekkie, half a rusk for lunch and at tea time he has some apple/blackberry rice or some more rusk, hes 17 weeks today so im takin it slowly with him kind of...remember em not that long ago it was weaning at 4 months...id say def go with your gut instinct, still giv him the fruot to keep him loose but if he wants more increase it for him, he will tell you what hes wanting or needing and he may be a hungry boy...theres no exact science with kids i believe to a certain extent its all trial and error

h x

 

[princess_bump]

hi emma,
not really much advice from here as maddi has yet to demand food (but she seemed quite interested in my porriage this morning he he) i agree with amy, i think go with your instincts and see how he goes. from what you've written, imo i think he sounds like he wants more. bless him he seems really hungry. go with what you think, i'm sure he'll tell you if he doesn't want it

 

[bev309]

They say that a baby will clamp its mouth shut or turn its head away once it has had enough to eat (something that rarely happens with Jack I must admit), so if he is still looking for more once you have finished perhaps you need to up the amount a little more. If Jack is having fruit with rice I give him 2 cubes with 2 milk powder scoops of rice made with his milk, or if he is having veggies on their own I will usually use 4 cubes & may add a little rice if this doesn't seem enough.

 

[Emmea12uk]

wow! That is alot! Will he still drink all his milk?

 

[bev309]

Yes, now I have started staggering it a bit more, he was refusing his milk as he knew his solids were coming, but he was feeding every 3 hrs, now I give him his milk then give his solids about an hour & half later & he is going every 4 hrs between bottles now & drinking his milk, I also changed to Dr Brown bottles & he is sleeping through again!

 

[welshcakes79]

hya emmea,
how is your handsome little man?/
sounds like he loves food, have you tried rusks mixed in with his milk and spoon feed him them? Rhiannon loved that. i also started out with a teeny tiny amount of readybrek (mixed quite runny but enough to flavour the milk) spoon fed her that for a week to check for any reactions and when there werent any just increased the thickness of the mixture..
i dont know if Tom is restricted from certain foods, but a tea spoon of fresh sweet orange juice in his water would help keep him loose as its what i used on rhiannon when she got bunged up when tiny..

the baby jars of breakfast and rices are good too (although i used hipp and found them quite *sorry tmi* phlgemie in consistance )

i also give rhiannnon food with water then wait an hour or two before giving her milk (know this seems like your constant feeding, but it isnt that bad honest) and it seemed to establish rhiannon into a nice routine

(sorry if the info is crap, long day, very tired mummy typing x)

 

[Serene123]

I will reply in the hope that no one bites my head off for previous posts.

I think if you're feeding him that much, and he is still "hungry" then he isn't really "hungry." I know, most babies won't keep down food if they don't want it, but their bellies are tiny and I'm only going on what I've been told. He shouldn't be able to hold that much food, it could do him damage. However, "mum knows best" and maybe you should go with your gut and feed him if that's what you think he needs.

 

[bev309]

I will reply in the hope that no one bites my head off for previous posts.

I think if you're feeding him that much, and he is still "hungry" then he isn't really "hungry." I know, most babies won't keep down food if they don't want it, but their bellies are tiny and I'm only going on what I've been told. He shouldn't be able to hold that much food, it could do him damage. However, "mum knows best" and maybe you should go with your gut and feed him if that's what you think he needs.

You should reply with the hope that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, & that is what Emma asked for!
I just re-read the 1st post, & 8-10oz of milk plus solids does seem a lot at Toms age - Jack has 6 oz usually plus his solids, but he is older, but every baby is different - I was always worrying that I was over-feeding Jack & limiting him to what I thought was enough, & he wasn't settling, so I let him lead me (within limits) & he is doing a whole lot better!

 

[Linzi]

We're havign the same thing with Seth sort of... he is only eating once a day but he never shows any signs of wanting to stop, he's the same with milk. I sometimes think that if its there then he'll have it lol.

No advice but hope you manage to get it sorted

xxx

 

[Emmea12uk]

well, he has dropped off the bottom of his growth line - so i dont think he is getting too much!

when i say meal tho - i am only talking of 1oz per meal.

i spoke to both doc and hv and they seem to think that it is ok to up the amount of food to 3 proper meals a day and 4 bottles of milk. but stick to a few foods. at the moment :

06:00 -09:00 7 scoop formula
11:00 1oz apples & 1 scoop rice & 8 scoop formula
14:30-15:00 1oz carrott & suede & 8 scoop formula
?17:00 cup of juice (99% water) if wanted
18:00 -19:00 3 scoop rice & 1 scoop apples & 8 scoop formula
?20:00 if needed 3-4 scoop formula (not usaually wanted)

but in a week, i am changing him to a cereal in the morning with 1oz apples - then over the following weeks i'll up his quantities to full-on meals.

i think his mad 10oz bottles were just a growth spurt a he seems to be leaving a little in the bottom of his bottles again.

 

[sonny]

Hi hun glad he is steadying off there....thought i would give you Tabs routine now in case that seheds some light on what she is doing now..... We went from solids at the 1 ish feed then to 1 and 4pm ish feeds and now 3 meals a day.....and touch wood she is back sleeping through and drinking more milk than she ever has done!

for ref....when i say 1 lot of solids its about a third of a cow and gate stumpy jar (2 inches tall) so around an oz?

times are approx to 20mins or so...this is quite an average day now...

7.20am 4oz milk
8am apple and banana cereal (c&g) 1 lot/oz
10.30am 5oz milk
1.30pm 4-5oz milk then 2 lots of solids/2oz? one veg and one dessert type (apple etc)
4.30 5oz milk 2 lots of solids/2oz? again one veg and one dessert type
7.00pm 6oz
and a top up between10-11ish 3-5oz

The last few nights though Tabs has also woken at 9pm ish and had 3-4oz on top!

Saying all this though she is on comfort 1 so it digests quicker and her meds make the feed go through her quicker.

and get this.....3 poos a day!!!!!!!!!! WOW she used to be so bunged up and had trouble poo'ing she was in pain with it and only ever went once a day!

I do not give water or juice yet for reference though.