how often is too often?

[Emma.b]

Need some advice/help ladies. Harrison is 4 days old now and we're having a bit of trouble with his feeds. His on aptimil stage one and seems to want to feed all the time.

For example he'll wake for a bottle at 12noon he'll take between 1.5-2oz within in an hour. He often falls asleep during the feed so half way through he'll be winded and bum changed then the feed continued. So he'll take about the 2oz. Then no sooner have you put him down, he'll be hands in mouth for another feed! So the whole process starts again!

I'm thinking of changing his milk to the hungry milk? Or is he too young yet? Xx

 

[Emma.b]

Or before changing the milk would it be worth changing the teat size? I'm using Tommee tippee bottles with size one teats. As he's falling asleep mid feed could it be the flow isn't fast enough and so he's getting warm out before he's full? Xx

 

[shell1978]

Totaly daft question but is it ok to change the teats so soon as i know tgey say 3months. Rian is 3wks now anx like your lo he sometimes falls asleep mid bottle. Sometimes we get 4hrs between feeds but other times its only 2 x

 

[Leah04x]

Definitely stick to the aptimil stage one milk for now, I think it's recommended you wait until LO is at least 8 weeks old before switching to hungry baby milk if it's needed. I switched Ethan over to hungry baby milk at 8 weeks and it was a total nightmare - belly ache & really bad constipation, so took him off it (obviously every baby is different, so your LO may get on well with it).
As he's only 4 days old, I'd stay stick with it and just feed him on demand. You'll soon find that the length of time between feeds and the amount he takes at one time increases. There's no harm in trying a different teat though. We switched Ethan to vari flow teats on tommee tippee bottles from when he was 2 weeks old and he got on much better with those, so would recommend those!

xx

 

[Petit Pois]

Just thinking about your comment about him sucking his hands again straight after a feed, Daisy does this! We've found it's a comfort thing with her, she wasn't showing any other signs of being hungry (head bobbing, making her little squeak noises etc), so now we just leave her or give her her dummy to suck on and she falls asleep. Obviously she's a bit older than your little one but when she was tiny she used to do the same thing and I just always used to feed her again but she'd only have a few sucks and not want any more (I was bf at that age mind you). Just some advice from my personal experience!

I know babies do feed A LOT, little and often it seems, when they're so little, so probably be worth sticking it out for a while and feeding on demand as he's still so tiny - wouldn't want to advise you not to feed him!

But might be something to look out for in the future


Tapatalking!

 

[brand new]

yeah i would say try changing teat sizes. My jack is 10 weeks old, adjusted age of 5 weeks and he is on size 3 teats! has been since he started on milk when he was in scbu! the midwifes recommended it as he was premmie. now i thought it would be the other way round but the neonatal nurses advised this, so i did as i was told! he is currently taking between 6 & 7 ounces.!! no wonder he went from 3lbs 14oz at birth to 8lbs 11oz now!!! xxx

 

[Emma.b]

Thanks for the advise ladies.

I did change his teats, he's got size 2 now and touch wood he's doing well on them! We are now feeding around every 2 hours and taking between 2-3oz! Yay He's also having periods of alertness between feeds and napping better!

Petit-pois - Your right about the hands being a comfort thing. I have noticed that when he's hungry he sucks his hands and also makes the appropriate cooing/whinging noises. And when it's just comfort he more rubs his face and occasionally sucks his hands.

Brand New - i would have never thought they'd advise such a large teat for a little baby! But it clearly works I'm amazed at what difference it's made to Harrison. Although he has to acclimatize to the flow of the teat, as he occasionally still sucks really hard and gets too much milk! lol

 

[Lou12]

Yup my LO was on size 2 teats by 5 days old - and it was so much better!

Also babies so young have such tiny tummies that they have to feed little and often.

Glad he's doing so much better

 

[MrsHope]

Do you think it's been worth changing the teat size? I'm still one the first one with Ruby and its taking her an hour to feed xxx

 

[shell1978]

We have just changed over to the no2 teats LO is struggling with it i think more milks going down his chin than in his mouth lol x

 

[MrsHope]

I agree Shell, tried it last night and it upset her! xx

 

[Emma.b]

Hey sorry MrsHope only just seen your question about the teats!

I know you've already tried now, so no point me answering lol I think it's just all trial and error. When i changed Harrison over he did get a bit of his milk down his chin, but by mid feed he'd got the hang of things. It's definately made a huge improvement to Harrison's feeds. He's now drinking roughly 3oz (sometimes a little more sometimes a little less) every 3-4 hours. And he's not falling to sleep half way through his feed, only nods off at the end, then i know he's had enough and it's time for winding.

Every baby is different though, what suits one might not suit the other. If your still having problems you could always try the variflow teats? Then your little one will only get as much as she sucks, might be better for her?

x x x

 

[Leah04x]

Don't know if this helps, but variflow teats were a godsend for us!
He needed moving on from size 1s, but wasn't quite ready for size 2 teats. We tried variflow teats from when he was 2 weeks old, and changed again to fast flow when he was 6 months old. The variflow allow them to control milk flow through the teat, so they may be best for your LO?

xx

 

[MrsHope]

Don't know if this helps, but variflow teats were a godsend for us!
He needed moving on from size 1s, but wasn't quite ready for size 2 teats. We tried variflow teats from when he was 2 weeks old, and changed again to fast flow when he was 6 months old. The variflow allow them to control milk flow through the teat, so they may be best for your LO?

xx

Thanks Ladies! Can u get them for the tommee tippee bottles? Xx

 

[kat1988]

Don't know if this helps, but variflow teats were a godsend for us!
He needed moving on from size 1s, but wasn't quite ready for size 2 teats. We tried variflow teats from when he was 2 weeks old, and changed again to fast flow when he was 6 months old. The variflow allow them to control milk flow through the teat, so they may be best for your LO?

xx

Thanks Ladies! Can u get them for the tommee tippee bottles? Xx

yep u can, and they're on sale in asda atm as well

 

[Emma.b]

^^wss

Xxxx

 

[MrsHope]

Don't know if this helps, but variflow teats were a godsend for us!
He needed moving on from size 1s, but wasn't quite ready for size 2 teats. We tried variflow teats from when he was 2 weeks old, and changed again to fast flow when he was 6 months old. The variflow allow them to control milk flow through the teat, so they may be best for your LO?

xx

Thanks Ladies! Can u get them for the tommee tippee bottles? Xx

yep u can, and they're on sale in asda atm as well

Thank you x

 

[Ella1979]

I never understood the different flow rates! Our LO was really tiny when she was born, but SCBU had her on the stage 2 teats before we brought her home (3 weeks old). Milk used to run down her chin, but when we tried the slower flow teats she just got really tired and fell asleep before getting all the milk she wanted.

It's all very much a trial and error thing.