Prem Baby Q

Always_Alone

I had a thread a few days ago about my issues with not being able to breastfeed my 4 week prem baby and having to give him formula. I was overwhelmed by the response i recieved and thankfully i am coming to terms with the situation after watching my bubba thrive each and every day :j

I just had a quick question that i was hoping someone will be able to help with. Baby has gone from a birth weight of 4lb4 to 6lb in 3 weeks (greedy little s0d!!) and i have been advised to literally feed him on demand as he has some catching up to do.

However, after such a weight increase i'm wondering whether he's taking too much? He takes pretty much 100ml (3.5 ozs i believe) every 3 hours and i'm thinking whether this should be upped to 125ml? I am so scared of over-feeding him and i keep being told that if he takes too much, he will sick it up by himself because baby's self regulate - but he never does.

The side of the formula said it should increase when baby is 3-4 weeks but because baby is 4 weeks prem, has he reached this age yet or do i go by the corrected age, which is currently minus 10 days?!?

I'm soooo confused, any help would be much appreciated, thank you in advance

narabanekeater

My DD wasnt premmie but was born very small and still is (11 pounds at 28 weeks due to allergies) personally let your son decide make the bottles up and see what he takes at each time. The difference is only an ounce so after a few days if he doesnt drink the new amount you wont have hardly wasted any. Could you perhaps phone your Hv for advice. Wishing you and your son well xxx

pukkamum

Don't panic you cannot overfeed a baby they will just bring back up anything over what they need, being prem his body is probably laying down the extra fat he needs.
Just keep feeding him as you are love if you are happy, but i generally like babies to always have more in the botle than needed ie leaving a little rather than draining it all so maybe a slight increase to see how he tolerates it, i know my friends prem baby fed like billy o when she came out and is now very robust xxx

skintchick

Why don;t you talk to your HV? But my understanding is that as long as you dont force him to finish a bottle if he is done (turning his head away, spitting teat out, that kind of thing) then you cannot overfeed them as babies stop when they are full. The danger is if you force them to finish a bottle, but if you dont do that then you should be fine.

However, if you are concerned then your HV or MW can help you.

I belive that prem babies need to catch up and so will eat loads in order to do so, and that any calculations should be done on corrected age.

pinkcheshirecat

Hi AA,

It can be a huge shock to the system to have a premmie, the way it was explained to me was that when you b/f you can't see what the baby takes, its only because you can see when you bottle feed that you give it a second thought.

As a tiny baby, your Lo will only take what they need, so the midwives and scbu just said to me that once they are done, don't try and get them to take the last bits just CIS its nearly finished. So i'd say go for the 5 but be prepared for bubs not to take it all. HTH and good luck.

Pink

meritaten

hun - I wouldnt worry at this stage about overfeeding! I always think its better to have too much than too little! He is taking what he needs and Thank the Gods for it! put a little more than you think he will take into the bottle and dont worry if he finishes the lot! as long as he is satisfied and content - worry about regulating the intake later!

I remember your last thread and I am really pleased the little man is doing so well! you made the right decision then obviously!!!!!!!!!!!!
merit

Tigsteroonie

I was advised to always have 10-20ml more in the bottle than Andrew would take. So if he started finishing a bottle, the next bottle (or the next day if they're batch-prepared) would be 20ml more; and so on.

LL30

My lo was a greedy guts She was 8 weeks prem and my advice is to not read any stupid books! Babies self regulate their weight until the age of 2. They cannot be overweight from overfeeding, they simply throw it back up (obviously unless you're at weaning stage and you feed them a whole heap of rubbish!). Are you on standard formula or prem formula? I was concerned because my lo went from the 9th centile whilst being breastfed, to the 75th within 2 weeks of starting prem formula. The consultant wasn't concerned, she was born on the 75th, but lost so much weight and was using so much energy to breastfeed, she simply wasn't maintaining what should be her normal centile.

The advice I was given was to never end up with an empty bottle, there should always be some left over so that you know they've had enough (my lo was very clear when she'd finished!!). As she was on prem formula, the consultant did say that if she continued to rise through the centiles so quickly, then we would swap to normal formula - this never happened though, she stayed comfortably on the 75th. Are you still under the pead? I'd discuss it with them if you're concerned.

Always_Alone

Thank you everyone. I just think as a first time mom i am over-analysing everything and with the issues we had with the breastfeeding i am probably now OTT with the formula feeding as i still harbour guilt about the feeding. It doesn't help that he seems to have a bottomless tummy and hollow legs! We have increased how much we give him now and although he doesn't always take the extra, its reassuring to know its there should he want it. I've noticed he's also been a lot more settled esp as night so he was obv hungary and waking an hour after his feed wanting more.

LL30 wrote: »

My lo was a greedy guts She was 8 weeks prem and my advice is to not read any stupid books! Babies self regulate their weight until the age of 2. They cannot be overweight from overfeeding, they simply throw it back up (obviously unless you're at weaning stage and you feed them a whole heap of rubbish!). Are you on standard formula or prem formula? I was concerned because my lo went from the 9th centile whilst being breastfed, to the 75th within 2 weeks of starting prem formula. The consultant wasn't concerned, she was born on the 75th, but lost so much weight and was using so much energy to breastfeed, she simply wasn't maintaining what should be her normal centile.

The advice I was given was to never end up with an empty bottle, there should always be some left over so that you know they've had enough (my lo was very clear when she'd finished!!). As she was on prem formula, the consultant did say that if she continued to rise through the centiles so quickly, then we would swap to normal formula - this never happened though, she stayed comfortably on the 75th. Are you still under the pead? I'd discuss it with them if you're concerned.

We are just under the normal HV as although he was prem and had a low birth weight he has come on in leaps and bounds whilst on normal formula (not prem) so essentially he's not being treated any differently to a term baby, its just that i worry and with not being able to breastfeed i think i'm overcompensating and looking at how much he takes for such a small baby makes me wonder where he puts it all!

GemmaE

Hi AA, glad you are feeling better. My DD was also early and on the bottle really thrived, she took what she wanted and either left or threw up any excess. She went from teeny to a proper chunk, which was fab! Like others have said they have what they want, if he doesn't want any he won't take it.

Glad to hear you sounding so much better

meritaten

Always Alone - relax hun! feeding is sorted for now and its time you put aside any feelings of guilt - because you have NOTHING to feel guilty about! you tried breastfeeding, you did your best and it didnt work out - you have done the right thing by switching to formula and the little one is thriving on it! You have done your job as a mum, and now you get the pleasure of watching your baby thrive! You get my vote as a SUPERMUM any day of the week!
I am pro-breastfeeding yes, BUT women are human and often our bodies dont co-operate or things dont go as they should. The important thing here is that baby is fed and loved and mum can relax and enjoy feeding times - and I do admit that bottle feeding does mean that others can get in the act too!