Is my baby hungry or thirsty??

[chloexo]

My baby is 11 week old and is on cow and gate hungrier baby he normally takes about 5 oz but how often should I be feeding him? He's above average with his weight and in 3-6 month clothes! Through the day it seems to be very often! And through the night he will wake up once around 4/5am have 4oz then at 7am he's wide awake whining but only has about 1oz so I'm wondering if he's just thirsty? Any tips to get them to sleep right through? I'm wondering if to try rusk on his last feed before bed??

 

[lozzy21]

Your baby is only 11 weeks old and is not supposed to be sleeping through the night yet. Hes still tiny. Its normal for them to need a feed during the night up untill 7/8 months old.

 

[chloexo]

Yeah the feed through the night is fine I was wondering how often should he want a feed through the day really as he seems
To be having alot and I don't want to be bulking him up with formula if he's just thirsty and could have water

 

[Rachel_C]

Formula is the perfect balance of food and water so unless it's really very hot, baby won't ever need water. Even babies in really hot places like the Middle East should normally be fine on just milk, so I would say with 99.99% certainty that you baby does not need water.

The healthiest way to feed your baby is on demand so if he's asking for milk, give him milk. There is no amount he should or shouldn't be having and water or rusks aren't healthy options in any circumstance I can think of. Just stick with the milk!

My first baby was FF, she had milk at least every 2 hours during the day, for at least the first year of her life. That's what babies do

 

[chloexo]

Thank you

 

[MindUtopia]

As others have said, if he's hungry or thirsty give him milk. You might try just using regular milk because the hungry milks are just full of crap to trick them into thinking they're full which equals less nutrients and less fluids. He might be thirsty or he might just need more regular feeding so he's getting all the nutrients he needs (rather than just fillers). Babies aren't meant to sleep through the night. They need milk during the night and there is some evidence that babies who wake during the night are at less risk of cot death (because of healthier sleep patterns), so you don't want to mess with that. The night feeds will lessen as they get older though. My daughter only wakes once a night now (after we feed her and go to bed around 10pm). It gets a lot easier with time. If you need more sleep, just go to bed earlier with baby.

Also, you should feed about 150-200 ml for every kg of body weight per day. My daughter is 13lbs and eats roughly 180 ml (little over 6oz) 6 times a day, fed on demand, if that gives you an idea.