Help with feeding please!

[Angelihelen]

Hello, am a newbie with a 25+3 girl who we took home for the first night at 12 weeks.



The NICU got us on a 4 hour routine, and she has 60 mils which she GULPS down so fast then has terrible wind for a good few hours after. She seems to still be hungry after her feed tho, and then an hour before the 4 hours is up is really hungry and is waking up in the night and crying. Now I realise that yep, she's waking up and crying cos she is hungry, but I don't want to muck up the 4 hour thing and am not sure if I am (oh please forgive me for this, cos I know how ridiculous it sounds...) 'allowed' to give her more food when she only came home yesterday and the hospital set her feed at 61 mls and weren't v helpful when I said how would I know when to increase it...

I just feel a bit overwhelmed, thrilled to have her home, but basically, OH MY GOD, now what do we do now it's just us and her!

Any advice much appreciated....

And also do we treat her as a newborn now, so don't try to get her to sleep through the night for a few weeks?

I feel a bit like I know NOTHING!

 

[katy1310]

Hello, welcome and congratulations on getting your LO home It's an exciting time but also daunting!

Sophie came home in June after 12 weeks in neonatal and it is really scary at the start. We have always really just taken the lead from her with feeds, sleeping etc. The first night she was home, she was pretty unsettled even though the hospital had her in a 4 hour routine - I think it was just the change of atmosphere etc because home is very different from the neonatal unit - quiet and dark at night for a start! We used a little night light at first but she has managed without it for the past week.

I think the hospital had Sophie on 80ml when she came home but I was breastfeeding - we didn't restrict her feed amounts at all. They told me to breastfeed for no longer than 30 mins in case she tired herself out and then top up after that. We used to let her take what she wanted from a bottle after breastfeeding - I had expressed milk in the freezer and we would give her say a 40ml top up and she'd still be hungry so we gave her another 40ml and she would stop when she didn't want any more.

Eventually we went onto formula feeding and we don't go at all by what it says on the tin - if she seems still hungry we increase the amount. I would just take her lead if you can - if she still seems hungry after a feed then try her with a bit more. As for the wind, you can use infacol at that age but gripe water says not for babies under a month so we waited till Sophie was a month corrected before giving her gripe water. We found that putting Sophie on her tummy over our knees and rubbing her back really helped with the wind in the early days.

I think your LO definitely sounds as if the 61ml isn't enough - I would just try putting some more into the bottle and see if she takes it - either keep giving a bit more like we did and she'll stop when she's had enough or put quite a bit more in and see when she stops.

We kind of treated her like a newborn I guess but always just took her lead as I said. After the first couple of nights home, she settled back into the four hourly routine including through the night. After about 6 weeks or so she started going longer through the night and would sleep till 3am regardless of what time her last feed was in the evening. Then a few weeks later she started going through to 5am and now she sleeps right through. She is now 7 months old next week, 4 months corrected. She's been sleeping through since about August I think.

What we did do right from her second day home was get her into a routine of having a bath at night just before her last feed was due (or whatever fitted so it was a kind of reasonable time, so if she was feeding at 7 and 11 we'd bath her about 6.30 then put her in her moses basket and she'd get up again for her 11 o'clock feed). That way, she has always known it's bath, feed, bed.


The first few days are really overwhelming but you will soon settle into a routine, I promise!

Congratulations again, hope I have been a bit of help at least! If you have any questions at all, feel free to PM me. xxxx

 

[embojet]

I agree with the 'follow her lead' idea. Thats exactly what we did with Molly. Id she's still hungry - give her more! It is weird when they first come home and you suddenly have all the decisions to make yourself . We treated Molly like newborn I guess, she didnt sleep through the night for a long time!

 

[Angelihelen]

Thank you both, is very helpful.

It's all a it weird being home and not having a nurse to ask the opinion of. Having to make my own decisions? Very odd!

But I will take your advice.

Husband is currently vaccing next to her and she has NOT moved a muscle. Ah, the things the NICU has taught her already!

 

[Marleysgirl]

I can't really remember how much Andrew was having when he first came home, but our Paediatrician always advised us to have at least 10ml extra in the bottle so that he could increase his feed when he wanted to.

 

[25weeker]

Congratulations on getting your little girl home.

My lo was born at 25+2 and was in hospital for 14 weeks. I am breastfeeding and have always fed on demand even though they fed her every 4 hours in hospital. Until she was 6 weeks corrected I set my alarm at night to feed her every 4 hours. Not that I ever needed as she never slept that long and still doesn't at 9 months actual!

It is scary when they first come home but you soon become more confident. Enjoy having loads of cuddles without having to ask first because it is amazing how quick the time goes and they soon hate the cuddles because they want to sit, stand or chew something

 

[Agiboma]

Congrats on getting you LO home also has my little guy at 25 + 2 and o agree with the others give her as much as she wants
To take

 

[AP]

Yup - just always offer a lil extra and if baby wants it, let her take it She will need to build herself up for a long time, not just neonatal. x

 

[Foogirl]

I have no idea how much Abby was taking as I was Bfing, and I got myself in a right tizzy thinking "she was on 90mls, is she getting that much.." After a day or two, I fed her when she was hungry and stopped when she wasn't! She pretty much stayed on her 3 hourly schedule.

 

[nineena]

Hiya and welcome and congrats on getting ur LO home, i remember that feeling well!!!! As for feeding, Ella's always had problems with feeding due to a congenital problem and severe reflux and is unable to tolerate 4hrly feeding amounts even now at 4months old. We were terrified of giving Ella more milk but as others have said we just started going by what she wanted. When Ella was in hosp she was on 3hrly feeds and on 60mls a time but when she came home, dont know if it was environment or what but she started wanting feeding every 90mins-2hrs and was wanting ridiculous amounts like 80-120mls. She's settled down now to between 90 and 110mls a feed every 3hrs, has 6 feeds a day and sleeps 7-8hrs at night.

Your LO will tell u when theyre full, Ella turns her face from the teat or spits the milk back out of her mouth. Had ur LO not been in hosp u woud just go with what your LO wants and thats what i keep trying to tell myself, that and aslong as baby keeps milk down her and is gaining weight each week then things are good


hugs and your doing a fab job xxxx