HELP! Anyone got any advice for the mum of a very hungry baby?

[kayleigh&bump]

My lo was 3 weeks old yesterday, and he is such a hungry baby, it feels as though im not getting a break He was 9lb 13 when born, and just had him weighed today and he is 11lb 11oz!! He is a very long baby, and is perfect weight for his length. He is on the 98th centile for both, and the health visitor today reassured me that im doing a great job and that im not over feeding him, and that he's simply a big baby. At the moment, he is taking 5oz every 2-3 hours, and does bring a very small amount up when he's winded but nothing substantial.

She was however very worried that im not getting enough sleep and as soon as she come in the door she could tell that im not myself and very tearful. She said that because of this, shes happy for him to go onto the hungry baby milk next week when he'll be 4 weeks, although they usually recommend 6-8 weeks. She said I can give him up to 4oz of water a day in between feeds, so im gunna try this when he wakes to see if he will take it.

Has anyone got any tips what I can do or any other advice? I feel like a zombie at the moment.

 

[c1reid]

how often is he feeding during the night, my boy taking same in terms of feeding so was debating about hungrier milk.if your hv advising it and it might help your boy settle more and get you more rest then you maybe should try it.sorry im not much help as im kinda in same boat but hope you gets lots of good advice and soon lots of rest.x

 

[kayleigh&bump]

last night he fed at 11, 2.30, 5.30, and then 8, 9.30 and 11 this morning. yeah i am definately gunna try him on the hungry baby stuff when the hv says i can. he just woke 4 a feed and instead of giving him his bottle, i tried him on some water like the hv reccommended and he took it well. x

 

[c1reid]

similar to cole, he was 1130,215 but didnt go back down to 330 and then 600 and every few hours after that.....might try it too,he hates water tho,havin a problem getting him to take it

 

[kirmal12]

My little one eats for England, infact i have stopped counting what he eats, every 1- 2-3 hours 4-5ozs at a time including nights. He was 8lb8 at birth and now weighs 10lb7 (4 weeks old on Friday). The HV is happy with him and said it will get easier as he gets older, just to keep with it and carry on feeding on demand. I would kill for even 4 hrs sleep at the moment!!! but as long as he is happy thats what is important

 

[suzib76]

sounds quite normal to me tbh

 

[trashit]

don't worry, Jude was 10 lbs at birth and he is guzzling just as often as your little one is. they're big bubbas and need more feeding, its perfectly normal (although very tiring) last night i was up every hour with him x

 

[Vici]

Yeah, it sounds very normal to me too hun, when I put Imi on hungry bvaby (much later at 5 months) it made absolutely no difference to how much or how often she fed!

 

[PineappleHead]

my LO is the same, I recently upped his bottle size (he was taking 4 oz and that just wasn't enough for him... after the feed he was very upset cause he would want to go to sleep but he was still hungry) so DH and I upped to oz to 6 oz and he's MUCH happier. he eats, and goes to sleep right after he burps. there's a few times during the day he stays up for an hour or so with alert time, but that's normal you're doing fine!

 

[aimee-lou]

Sounds normal to me too hun.

Earl was 9lb 6 and at 5 weeks was on 5oz every 2.5 hours. He stayed this way until he was about 3 months, but his nights calmed down at about 6 weeks and he went down to 1 night feed at about 3am Your LO is still very small and he'll soon find his own little routine.

I'm sorry that you're finding it such hard going. Is there anyway that someone could take over for a feed or two to let you get some sleep?

I agree with the HV to give him a go on the HB but I would say that it can block them up, can make them eat the same or more, especially if they are having a growth spurt, as it takes longer to digest, but with the same amounts of calories. In the end it had such a bad effect on Earl (tried him at 8 weeks) that I just popped him back on stage 1 and he's been fine ever since.

It does calm down eventualy though hun, and you're doing a great job, but just focus on yourself and as long as he's fed, clean and happy, then that's all that matters. Make sure you eat and rest, everything else can wait!