SMA Hungry Baby Milk

[KellyMomma]

Hello, i need some advice...

My LO is 4 weeks old and is having a good 7 ounces every 3-4 hours. He is terrible at brining up his wind so i have been using infacol and dentinox which seems to help alot although he just doesn't like parting with his wind!

He hates going to sleep at all and fights it every step of the way to the point where he cries because he is over tired. I decided to try him on the SMA Blue cap, Extra Hungry Baby Milk for the night feeds only which seems to have settled him a little bit during the evening, however i am unsure as to how much to offer him? I gave him 180mls last night and he only had 120ml, however he was really constipated and when he finally emptied his bowels an hour later he had the rest of the bottle and wanted more. I gave him another 60ml and that seemed to fill him however it took an hour and half to get him back to sleep and then 3 hours later he was hungry again so i offered him 180ml again and he only took 100ml?? Again 3 hours later he was hungry so i switched back to the yellow cap and he had the full 180ml again.

I'm not sure whether it was the right thing to do, switching to the hungry milk as in terms of feeding he is still going every three hours. I have only been doing it for 2 nights so i don't know whether to give it a week or two and see if things have improved?

Do you think my LO is feeding too much at 4 weeks? xx

 

[fluffyblue]

My little one is 4 weeks too and is being fed on demand, he has approx 3/4 oz every couple of hours at the moment. He is on Cow and Gate comfort for colic and constipation but we feel he is never settled, he loves the milk and isnt sick or spits up but always seems hungry. I have tried the C&G hungry milk but he seems to sick up slightly from it and to be honest it didnt take him any further between feeds.

I tried him on the Aptamil Hungry last night and he seemed slightly more settled so I might change to the Aptamil Comfort combined with hungry

Your LO may just be having a growth spurt, I wished Ollie would take so much !

 

[KellyMomma]

i know it can only be healthy him feeding so much but i just worry that he is having too much, is that possible? xx

 

[Thaynes]

Hello, i need some advice...

My LO is 4 weeks old and is having a good 7 ounces every 3-4 hours. He is terrible at brining up his wind so i have been using infacol and dentinox which seems to help alot although he just doesn't like parting with his wind!

He hates going to sleep at all and fights it every step of the way to the point where he cries because he is over tired. I decided to try him on the SMA Blue cap, Extra Hungry Baby Milk for the night feeds only which seems to have settled him a little bit during the evening, however i am unsure as to how much to offer him? I gave him 180mls last night and he only had 120ml, however he was really constipated and when he finally emptied his bowels an hour later he had the rest of the bottle and wanted more. I gave him another 60ml and that seemed to fill him however it took an hour and half to get him back to sleep and then 3 hours later he was hungry again so i offered him 180ml again and he only took 100ml?? Again 3 hours later he was hungry so i switched back to the yellow cap and he had the full 180ml again.

I'm not sure whether it was the right thing to do, switching to the hungry milk as in terms of feeding he is still going every three hours. I have only been doing it for 2 nights so i don't know whether to give it a week or two and see if things have improved?

Do you think my LO is feeding too much at 4 weeks? xx

When my son was 3months old so are 14weeks he was eating like 7 oz every 4 hours and the WIC office told me he was eating way to much. From what I've been told you LO is only supposed to eat like 24oz and 30oz. I'd try decreasing him to like 4 or 5oz every 3 or 4 hours. I don't know if you use a binky/pacifer but you might try that. Sometimes babies are full they just haven't satisfied their stucking reflex. I started giving my LO a smaller amount then gave him the binky for a few minutes and he is perfectly happy now.

 

[a_c]

I would really advise not reducing food, at just four weeks your baby should drink whatever he wants, you can't over feed! Keep getting him
weighed, if he's going up on the percentiles too much the hv will say but it's weight that's more important than number of oz. Please just give your lo whatever they want.

 

[Thaynes]

Unlike the breast-fed baby the most common problem in the early days with formula-fed babies is overfeeding. The reason I believe this can happen with some babies is that they take the bottle of formula so quickly that their natural sucking instincts are not sat*isfied and they end up screaming when the bottle is removed from their mouth. Many mothers interpret this cry as one of hunger and end up giving them another bottle of formula. A pattern of overfeeding can quickly emerge, resulting in the baby gaining huge amounts of weight each week. If this problem is allowed to continue the baby quickly reaches a stage where milk alone will not satisfy his appetite, yet he is too young to be given solids.

this comes from Overfeeding Babies - The Most Common Problem in the Early Days With Formula-fed Babies
By Cindy Chung

I'm only saying what the professional nutritions at the wic office told me.

 

[bigbetty]

I had a visit from my health visitor today. I told her that Francesca is taking between 3 and 5oz every 3 to 4 hours - even more if she is still hungry (although it's usually only an extra half oz). She was more than happy with this and said give her what she wants - you can't overfeed a baby this young. She also said I might find she gets even hungrier during a growth spurt - usually around 6 and 12 weeks.

She asked me which formula I was using and I told her SMA gold - she said to stick with that for at least the first few months as it contains essential nutrients for a newborn that the hungrier baby formula doesn't have.

Francesca was weighed this morning and she had put on just under 1lb in 9 days and is following the curve on the growth chart between the 50th and 75th percentiles very nicely.

I have to admit I was worried that she was taking too much but we feed on demand and if she has finished her bottle and still seems hungry we always wait a bit to see if she will settle first, and if she is still showing signs of hunger then we will give her more. The visit from the health visitor this morning has put my mind at rest that we are doing the right thing and I'm happy again now xxx

 

[Cookie1979]

My 12 week old is having the same amount as your baby is and i was told today by the hv that he is having too much. If your baby is hungry then you really need to feed him, but perhaps try a couple of things to hold off feeding. For instance I started using a dummy and it does help, also the hv suggested giving boiled cooled down water inbetween, my baby hates it but you never know yours might not mind it. I think I might try again and use warm water rather than cold as he hates cold formula.

I personally didnt find that hungry Baby formula worked. I found SMA gold to be the best for mine.

If you are worried at all then speak to your hv.

 

[angelic_one]

It's a myth that you can't overfeed a young baby- you can, especially when formula feeding! People on this forum told me that you couldn't but I realised from experience, and from further research that you can and it can be a cause of colic. As Thaynes has said, your LO may just want to suck. It's a common mistake to feed a baby just to settle them, I've realised a few weeks ago that I've been doing it to my LO, in her case I was feeding her too often and she didn't have time to digest it properly. Have now got her feeding more every 4 hours instead of snacking every 2-3 hours.

I suggest that you talk to your health visitor, try a dummy and try other ways of settling. Also is your baby getting enough sleep? Overtiredness can often lead to over-feeding as the baby suckles for comfort.

 

[bigbetty]

I can only go by what my health visitor told me - her exact words to me today were you can't overfeed a newborn baby

 

[angelic_one]

That's fine, I didn't mean to offend, just wanted the OP to know it's not as black and white as 'you can't'. If you have a sucky baby, you really really can. Any amount of research that goes further than message boards, all full of people saying you can't, shows that you, in fact, can. That doesn't mean that she is though, as babies can also just be extra hungry, but it's worth making sure. Over-feeding can cause extra wind, uncomfortableness and can be a viscous cycle as the baby wants to feed more to relieve their pain.

Kellymomma, You may find this article useful: https://www.babycareadvice.com/babycare/general_help/article.php?id=14#44

 

[bigbetty]

That's fine, I didn't mean to offend, just wanted the OP to know it's not as black and white as 'you can't'. If you have a sucky baby, you really really can. Any amount of research that goes further than message boards, all full of people saying you can't, shows that you, in fact, can. That doesn't mean that she is though, as babies can also just be extra hungry, but it's worth making sure. Over-feeding can cause extra wind, uncomfortableness and can be a viscous cycle as the baby wants to feed more to relieve their pain.

Kellymomma, You may find this article useful: https://www.babycareadvice.com/babycare/general_help/article.php?id=14#44

No offense taken love.

There is so much conflicting information about bringing up babies that I get confused tbh and you can guarantee getting different opinions from every health official you see lol!

I just look at all the info, go with my instincts and pray I'm doing the right thing!!!

 

[KellyMomma]

he fights his sleep all the time and cries for over tiredness....we started giving him a dummy to try and pacify him before his feed, we hear/ see him chomping away at the dummy when he is starving so we know it is hunger. We were told by the MD to offer him 30ml and when he polished it offer him 60ml and so forth. before long he was polishing 150ml every time which is why we offer him 180ml. He might just be going through a growth spurt, i don't honestly know. We don't have a HV coming to see him, she came once and that was it? xx

 

[Cookie1979]

All you can do is go with your instincts and do what you think is right.

My baby overfed quite often in the beginning and when he did he would sick it back up, when their tummies have too much they get rid of it. It didn't take long for him to be able to take much more and he hasn't been sick since he was about 3 or 4 weeks old. I've always done baby led feeding, and as much as some might say I overfeed him I dont really think I do, yes he might have more than other babies his age, but he is in the 98th centile for his height and he's not chubby in the slightest, he needs it because he is so big.

Just go with what you think, if your baby is hungry feed him. I dont know your feelings on a dummy, but if its true that some babies just want to suck then it might really help you.

Some of us just have guzzle monsters I think.

Good luck!!

 

[angelic_one]

That's fine, I didn't mean to offend, just wanted the OP to know it's not as black and white as 'you can't'. If you have a sucky baby, you really really can. Any amount of research that goes further than message boards, all full of people saying you can't, shows that you, in fact, can. That doesn't mean that she is though, as babies can also just be extra hungry, but it's worth making sure. Over-feeding can cause extra wind, uncomfortableness and can be a viscous cycle as the baby wants to feed more to relieve their pain.

Kellymomma, You may find this article useful: https://www.babycareadvice.com/babycare/general_help/article.php?id=14#44

No offense taken love.

There is so much conflicting information about bringing up babies that I get confused tbh and you can guarantee getting different opinions from every health official you see lol!

I just look at all the info, go with my instincts and pray I'm doing the right thing!!!

Tell me about it, it's a nightmare. Especially when HVs make great sweeping statements like "You can't do that" when what they mean is "With MOST babies you can't do that." I think that a lot of health officials like to pretend that all babies are the same, makes their job easier. When in reality it's so much more complicated.

You should be able to speak to a HV at the baby clinic when you get LO weighed btw Kellymomma?

 

[bigbetty]

Francesca woke earlier about 2hrs after her last feed. She started sucking her fingers and smacking her lips which is her usual sign she is hungry. I wasn't prepared to give in and feed her straight away though, so gave her a dummy and sat down for a cuddle. She soon dropped back off to sleep and is still in her pram now - it's 4 and a half hours since her last feed now!!

I agree with you angelic_one - there is far too much generalisation by the health officials!

 

[Cookie1979]

Oh yes my boy often sucks his hands and his clothes but it doesnt mean he is hungry, he just likes to suck, its a comfort thing. I'd rather he sucked a dummy than slobber all over his clothes.