Hungry baby formula?

alison6692

Sounds like you have had lots of good advice so don't want to bomabrd you with more but would say I think cow and gate have a careline ( I use Aptamil and I ring their careline) They give me lots of advice about changing milk and if it was the right decision. They are very well informed.

I had a baby that seemed hungry and unsettled all the time but turned out she was dairy intolerant and with my second baby is totally different and what I thought was him hungry and irritable I learnt after time was him tired and wanting to go to sleep.

I also say feed on demand and trust your own instincts.

Good Luck x

nonnatus

Hello and lots of congratulations!

A lot of the advice already posted is fabulous. I'm a midwife and particularly echo the advice about the 3-4 hrly feeds being a MAXIMUM amount of time a baby should go between feeds. We get a lot of confusion around this on the wards so we're obviously not explaining it properly .

Most babies have regular feeding/growth spurts where they will want to take more food, more often and that's just fine. As long as you don't leave it any longer that the 4 hours between a feed.

The only thing i totally disagree with is the addition of extra water - you really mustn't do this when your baby is still so young. The formula is designed really well to provide the right balance of nutrients and hydration and messing with this balance will affect your baby's appetite, digestion, bowels and waterworks. Stick to the instructions on the tin and just feed when baby is hungry.

You sound like a great mum - keep going, sleep whenever you get the chance and before long your little baby will be a great big toddler!!!

alison6692

nonnatus wrote: »

Hello and lots of congratulations!

A lot of the advice already posted is fabulous. I'm a midwife and particularly echo the advice about the 3-4 hrly feeds being a MAXIMUM amount of time a baby should go between feeds. We get a lot of confusion around this on the wards so we're obviously not explaining it properly .

Most babies have regular feeding/growth spurts where they will want to take more food, more often and that's just fine. As long as you don't leave it any longer that the 4 hours between a feed.

The only thing i totally disagree with is the addition of extra water - you really mustn't do this when your baby is still so young. The formula is designed really well to provide the right balance of nutrients and hydration and messing with this balance will affect your baby's appetite, digestion, bowels and waterworks. Stick to the instructions on the tin and just feed when baby is hungry.

You sound like a great mum - keep going, sleep whenever you get the chance and before long your little baby will be a great big toddler!!!

Yep I am paeds nurse and wouldn't be adding water for such a little one either.

fsdss

alison6692 wrote: »

Yep I am paeds nurse and wouldn't be adding water for such a little one either.

i missed this before - neither would i be offering that advice (i'm an infant feeding lead worker for the NHS)

patchwork_cat

I was told often by various HV's to give my babies a little cooled boiled water in between feeds as they may be thirsty not hungry. I am not talking about over diluting milk - was this incorrect advice?

fsdss

patchwork_cat wrote: »

I was told often by various HV's to give my babies a little cooled boiled water in between feeds as they may be thirsty not hungry. I am not talking about over diluting milk - was this incorrect advice?

thats fine for formula fed babies;) to give them extra fluids in the form of cooled boiled water in between feeds, breastfed babies dont need the extra water, but it'll do them no harm if you decide to.

patchwork_cat

Nonnatus, Alison and yourself have all said do not give water. Am I misunderstanding and you are infact saying do not overdilute forumla or are you talking about breastfed babies, which is not what this topic is about.

fsdss

patchwork

what i am saying is not to overdilute the infant formula but to offer a drink of cooled boiled water in between feeds (helps with constipation relief too). formula milk should be made as per instructions on the tin. breast fed babies do not need to have extra water between feeds, but you can do so if you wish.

i hope that is clearer for you

fsdss

fsdss wrote: »

patchwork

what i am saying is not to overdilute the infant formula but to offer a drink of cooled boiled water in between feeds (helps with constipation relief too). formula milk should be made as per instructions on the tin. breast fed babies do not need to have extra water between feeds, but you can do so if you wish.

i hope that is clearer for you

i have just read the above advice again and can see where the confusion lies. in our PCT we say that its ok to offer a little cooled boiled water in between formula feeds to relieve constipation and such like. its really a parental decision weather to do so or not.

alison6692

Hello x

All I am saying is that with such a young baby and whilst you are trying to swap milks and sort out some kind of feeding plan then adding water is probably not advisable at the moment. However I would really reccomend chatting to the company who make the formula milk and / or your HV to get advice.
As someone mentioned warm boiled water can be great for colic and constipation but it wouldn't be great to fill a young baby up on water. Its always tricky advising on a forum so thats why I would avoid the water until you have spoken to a health professional about each particular case.

Good Luck x