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Erratic feeding baby - help!

Hiya Ladies

Lily is 8 weeks on Tuesday and feeds very randomly. She can go for 5 hours in the night but duirng the day I can never be prepared for when she will want to eat! She will sometimes go 3 hours between feeds, or 4 but most often around 2 hours. One some occasions 1 hour 30 mins! She is on 5oz bottles but doesn't want more than that in one feed. I have made bigger feeds but she doesn't take it all. I spoke to HV about hungry baby milk and she was like 'noooo' she's too young. Rang cow and gate and they said to hold off until 12 weeks. But I'm not sure I can. I am constantly sterlising and when I go out my change bag is full of bottles and formula.

What do you all think? Should I try hungry baby milk? Maybe just one in a morning and see how we go? Anyone else had this experience? I think I'm going mad!!

Thanks.
xx

Replies

  • Joseph used to feed like Lily and it was a nightmare because whilst he went to sleep no bother at night he would have the same random pattern of eating!

    The best advice I was given was make him wait 3 hrs between feeds because all he was doing was 'snacking' and therefore wouldnt be hungry enough to take all his bottle - the most he ever took was 3/4 oz's - I managed to get it up to 5/6 oz and after about 2 days was much more settled and I felt more in control and could plan my day much better.

    When I first made him wait he screamed blue murder but it was more temper than hunger! And I changed to C&G hungry formula before 12 weeks but I used to give him the stage 1 first thing on a morning as HV recommended not to cut it out completely as it has some 'brain boosting' thing in it!! Cant remember now...

    Good luck! x
  • Thanks. I think I will go to Tescos tomorrow and get some Stage 2 milk and introduce one of the feeds of that. I would go now but am soooo tired!

    She is eating again now!
    xxx
  • I will let you know I get on. Lily screams and screams if I don't feed her and she cries (real tears!). It really upsets me, she is so hungry bless her.

    xx
  • I would swap her to hungry milk for all feeds. It's suitable from birth after all! Some babies need that bit more. Gabe has been on it from 5 weeks. He was on SMA white and yes, did get quite constipated on that, however he's now on the Cow n Gate one and his poo is really runny so I think Lily will be fine. xx
  • Hiya i gave Leo hungrier baby milk from 4 weeks as he was sooo hungry he was 10lb when born, i found he was a little constipated from the thicker formula so i gave him cooled boiled water inbetween feeds which did the trick.

    I havent had this problem with james he is 8 weeks tomorrow and feeds well every 4 hrs sometimes 5 hrs and is taking a full 5 ozs so i think i will make up the 6 ozs.He goes 6 hrs at night but he is on c&g comfort milk and thats really thick as he started with wind at 3 weeks and it really settles his tummy as well as the colief it costs me just short of ??30 a week to stop his wind x2 tubs of comfort milk at ??9 a tub and the colief is ??10 a 7ml bottle which lasts a week but i would pay anything to help him.
    vikki xx
  • Tyler is EXACTLY the same. He has no feeding pattern and wont take anymore than 5oz. The only feed he always has the same is his 8 o 'clock one then he sleeps about 6 hrs. I dnt want to put him on hungry baby milk as I think it will do more harm than good (constipation/bloated belly ect.). I think its more of a routine problem so im gonna feed him every 3 hrs whether he wants it or not. If he dosnt then he'll have to wait another 3 hrs. Its gonna be hard but with 2 other toddlers i need to start getting into a routine. Good luck with the hungry baby formula, I hope it works.

    Elaine and boys xx
  • evie used to be like this when she was younger, and would literally feed every half an hour. she'd only take upto 3oz at a time. my HV said evie was an example of a "top up baby" as she calls them, who just feed little and often and it's snacking rather than having one proper feed.

    She did say that it would be better to force evie into a feeding routine for my own sanity and that evie needed to be taught to wait between feeds. So straight away we started and we made her go 3hours between each feed. it was very difficult listening to her cry but even after the first 3hours she then guzzled down a 6oz bottle and so easily went the next 3hours hours without feeling hungry.

    It got easier and easier with every feed and she would finish an entire bottle in one go.

    Perhaps before you try hungry baby milk try getting a routine going nd make her wait at least 2hours between feeds? gradually you might find she takes more in one go.

    I'm sure it wouldnt do lily any harm to be on hungry baby milk, the only reason id suggest not to is that you might find in another 8weeks time she gets even more hungry and it would then be a good time to change her milk over before weaning her. at least this way you can rule out lily just being a "snacker" before going onto the hungry baby milk as you might find changing the milk alone doesnt get her into a feeding routine!
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