Time for hungry baby milk?

[fire]

My son is nearly 4 weeks old, he was 8lb 7oz at birth, he's feeding really well and taking 5-6oz every 4 hours, when I've looked at how much other babys are taking it seems like my sons greedy! I'm hoping its cos he was a big baby when he was born.

He's currently on Cow & Gate 1. I wasn't sure if there was an 'age limit' as to when to switch to hungry baby milk.

Also if I switch to hungry baby milk do I still make up 6oz bottles? Not sure how the hungry milk works.

 

[bubbles123]

Hungry baby milk has a different protein balance than regular first milk. First milk is whey dominant (the same as breast milk) whilst hungry baby milk is casein dominant. Casein protein is harder for a baby to digest, the idea being it will fill baby up for longer. You may find LO takes smaller amounts because of this. It has very small differences in nutrients but basically the same energy (calorie) content as first milk. Your LO is going 4 hours between feeds and only taking 5-6 ozs so in my opinion there would be no need to use hungry baby milk yet. I would wait until LO is downing 9oz bottles very frequently and still seems hungry before you move to hungry baby milk. Also, please ignore the feeding charts on the back of the box or what other people say their baby's eat - they are all different. My LO had way more than the recommended amount for weeks before settling down. Also, hungry baby milk is suitable from birth as far as I know but you do not need to use it at all - there's no need to progress through the milks IYKWIM. First milk is fine until they're 1 year old. I never needed to use hungry baby for example.
Having said that, there's nothing wrong with hungry baby milk if you need to use it, but I would wait until LO seems unsatisfied by first milk before you considerer it

 

[ttc_lolly]

PP is spot on ^^ hungry baby milk has the same calorific content as first milk, it is just made to make the baby feel fuller for longer. I wouldn't say you needed to switch though, my baby was low birth weight (5 lb 5) and at 4weeks is now 7.5lb and she drinks 4oz every 3-4hrs and that's more than the ''recommended guide'' says for her weight but I just go by what she demands! x

 

[fire]

Thanks for your advice ladies, I'll probably stick with first milk then.

 

[cherryglitter]

Yeah I would stay with the first milk for a while, and just keep upping the ozs if need be.
I think when a babies taking say 8-9ozs for every feed, hungry baby milk might be an option! If baby is quite content though I would leave them on the normal milk.

The way I see it, if we were breastfeeding we would have no idea how many ozs they were having at all, so just go with your baby hun.

 

[dizzymeg]

oh I am glad I read this, i was wondering whether olly should be on hungry baby milk, but I wont now I have read this! x