Hungry baby milk - what you think?

[MumToEva]

Hey everyone

Looking a bit of advice from those who have experience of hungry baby milk.

My LO is almost 6 months. She was up a lot at night initially as she was a small baby (5lbs) so her tummy was small and she only took very small quantities of formula (2 ozs ish). She is now up to 4ozs at a time, so not much for her age really. She has occasionally slept through the night, but is generally up once or twice between her dream feed at 10.30 and 7.00. She only wakes cause she is hungry, and as soon as she has had her bottle she is straight back to sleep. While I don't overly mind having to get up and feed her in the night, a full nights sleep every night would be heavenly!

What I am wondering is, is hungry baby milk likely to help her sleep through the night more? I am reluctant to mess about with her feeds unless I thought it would have a positive effect as she is very easy put off her feeds.

Thanks everyone!

 

[HelenJane]

I would deffo swap over now. I dont think it tastes any different so she probably wont notice but its got more fat in it and its "thicker" so they stay satisfied for longer. I noticed my babies poo changed in consistency but that's just what happens. I reckon she'll sleep through if or when you swap

 

[patch2006uk]

If your baby is waking for milk, it means she needs the calories. Filling her tummy with stodgier milk may mean she reduces her overall calorie intake, and could cause weight gain issues.

 

[HelenJane]

patchuk2006 The hungry baby milk doesnt have any less calories and it isnt stodgy. You wouldnt know this because you breastfeed so you shouldnt comment really.

MumToEva- you do what you think is right and if you're unsure then ask a heath visitor for reassurance

 

[Hopefulgirlie]

Edited - duplicate post

 

[Hopefulgirlie]

We gave Edie hungry baby milk for her last two feeds of the day (bedtime at 6.30 & dreamfeed at 10.30) and she's always slept through til 7.30.
The main difference is that the milk is harder for them to digest and so stays in their tummies a little longer. It should taste the same and have the same calorie content. I would say give it a try. You can have your LO weighed after a week or so and if you notice a negative effect on her weight you can swap back.

You may find that the waking is just habit and so us the feeding back to sleep. Have you tried giving water instead to see if LO is really hungry or just going through the motions? If you're worried maybe try this first!
X

 

[MumToEva]

Thanks everyone. Appreciate all opinions!

I think i'll give it a go and see how it goes, but I am wary of her not putting on weight as well (thanks for pointing that out patchuk, as I hadn't thought of that side of things) as she is only around 13 or 14lbs at 6 months, so she can't really afford to be losing weight!

Hopefulgirlie - might try your suggestion of giving it to her for her last few bottles in the evening. Hadn't thought of swapping between them that way. Though might put her off too, not sure! . Don't think I want to give her water though - I know it works for some, but I'm not happy with it I'm afraid. Thanks for suggesting though.

Helenjane - hadn't though of it being thicker - might have to change her up to the next size teats too. Thanks for that.

 

[AP]

patchuk2006 The hungry baby milk doesnt have any less calories and it isnt stodgy. You wouldnt know this because you breastfeed so you shouldnt comment really.

Just because the member breastfeeds it doesnt mean she has no knowledge. and her point is valid. It takes longer to digest so she might refuse some feeds.

I guess you wont know unless you try!

Coming from a mum of a low birth weight baby I would probably persevere until you're comfortable with her weight gain

 

[lozzy21]

Personsly I wouldent, it was designed for baby's drinking 8 oz every two hours to help delay weaning. Giving it to your LO to make them sleep when they still need the calories can affect their weight gain, it can also give them constipation.

 

[aimee-lou]

I'm personally not a fan of HB milk. When my first was younger I thought the same as the OP that it would help him to sleep more etc so just gave him HB at his dreamfeed. It kind of worked, so I swapped him over entirely as he was taking over 40oz a day so thought it wouldn't hurt. Well, he went from a happy, smiley baby with no digestive problems to a windy, unhappy baby with constant constipation. I gave it 72 hours for the old milk to entirely leave his system and he steadily got worse. Because of the tummy pains he constantly cried to suck, even at 3 months, and I ended up having to give him more milk than before. He was up 4-5 times a night compared to the normal 1-2. Needless to say I put him back onto the first stage milk and within 24 hours I had my baby back!

Eddy is a bigger eater than Earl ever was. Despite this I will not be trying HB milk again and I always advise against it's use as a result. If she is happy, and at 6 months she should be starting to eat solids too, so her sleep should naturally settle soon anyway.

 

[patch2006uk]

patchuk2006 The hungry baby milk doesnt have any less calories and it isnt stodgy. You wouldnt know this because you breastfeed so you shouldnt comment really.

MumToEva- you do what you think is right and if you're unsure then ask a heath visitor for reassurance

It doesn't have less calories, but it sits heavier in a baby's tummy, so might make them go longer between feeds, leading less calorie intake overall. It's because normal infant formula is predominantly whey based, like breastmilk, which is easier to digest, and hungry baby formula is more casein based, which is harder to digest and is closer in composition to cow's milk.

Just because I don't drive doesn't mean I don't know about carseats. Just because I don't use a pushchair doesn't mean I don't know about pushchairs. Just because I breastfeed doesn't mean I don't know about formula.

 

[MumToEva]

Thanks everyone for your replies having read everyone's opinion I don't think I will try the hungry baby milk after all. With her being so tiny I would be wary of putting her off her feeding and setting her back. Looks like I will be up at night for a while longer, but to be honest I don't really mind that much anyway! Though I do look forward to a full nights sleep some time soon!

Thanks again everyone!

 

[patch2006uk]

Thanks everyone for your replies having read everyone's opinion I don't think I will try the hungry baby milk after all. With her being so tiny I would be wary of putting her off her feeding and setting her back. Looks like I will be up at night for a while longer, but to be honest I don't really mind that much anyway! Though I do look forward to a full nights sleep some time soon!

Thanks again everyone!

Sleep is the holy grail of parenting - good luck in your search! We certainly haven't found it quite yet, but we're getting closer. Hope things get easier for you soon