Hungry Baby?
Posted by Zolly | Under Nutrition Tuesday Dec 29, 2009My baby is 11 weeks old and i have been told by my hv that she is putting on too much weight, she was born weighing 6lb 8oz and is now 14lb 10oz! She is very long for her age, she is now 63cm long, the ave baby at her age should be 59cm. She is a very hungry baby, I have tried her on hungry baby milk (my hv advised it) but it didn’t make any difference so she is back to her normal milk. I went to my hv last week and she told me to give her a maximum of 30oz of milk a day and supplement with cooled, boiled water. This seems to be working well but my hv told me that she should have about 1oz of water between feeds but she is having between 2-3oz of water between feeds. She still takes all her milk as well so she is getting all the nutrition she needs. My question is, is it ok for her to be drinking so much water?
Where in UK are you? Our HV has been fine with us about feeding our Daughter as much as she needs it , Our daughter is 8 weeks and weighs 13Ib 1oz and is 61cm, although she was born weighing 9Ib 2.5oz but all the same your babys length and weight sound about right compared to our little girl . So even though she has put on alot of weight as long as she doesnt look over weight I dont see why your HV sees her feeding a problem as our little girl is just as heavy and long but is still slim with diff in weeks Im sure she will have caught up with your daughter by 11 weeks . Our Daughter is drinking 6-8 ozs every 3-4 hours on Hungrier baby milk which we have just put her on in the last few days . Our HV has advised weening at 16 weeks if we can hold off till then if not were to let her know . It sounds to me like your health visitor wants you to starve you child when she is a big and long baby she is bound to feed more than an average baby Id follow your own mothering instinct a bit on this one.
what is an hv?
she is 11 weeks old relax do not worry so muh she may possibly be really needing to suck it is soothing to them
my hungriest was 22 lbs at 4 months
he is a fine strong boy
I agree with most in saying that if she is hungry, feed her! However there are a couple of concerns. First of all, is she hungry or just wanting to suck? Baby’s do have the urge to suck and maybe she needs a pacifier for a little while. However, if she is hungry, she should eat! Secondly, too much water can cause “water intoxication” in babies and it is very serious. A healthy baby under 6 months should not receive more than six to eight ounces of water in addition to their daily formula intake. There is a lot of information about this on the web. Here is one of many articles:https://www.akronchildrens.org/cms/tips/…
Good luck!
sammy’s mammy and the other mama (sorry!) are 100% RIGHT. your doctor is COMPLETELY out of line. if the baby is crying and hungry and keeping all the food down (that is the key–keeping it all down) then you HAVE TO FEED THE BABY.
any doctor that says a baby needs to be put on a diet is out of line and you should TELL THEM THAT.
you NEVER EVER put a baby on a diet.
NEVER!!!!
both of our kids were VERY large and are completely off both height and weight charts. they were NEVER on the height snd weight charts.
and yes, of course your baby can have that much water.
we also put a little brown rice in the bottle to make our kids feel a little fuller.
how often are you feeding the baby?
fill up the bottel to 8 oz and see how much the baby takes. can your baby go about every 3-4 hours?
MIDNIGHT ANGEL is 100% RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…
you are the mother. it is your baby. yours. if your baby is crying and screaming and wants a milk then PLEASE feed your baby. please!!!!!
yes, babies can be born with diabetes. that is true. you can have yours tested. but please, in the meantime, if you want your baby to sleep better and be happier, please listen to your baby’s cries.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
they say not to give water because it can fill the baby up and the baby won’t want formula/breastmilk but in your case it is fine because your baby is drinking too much formula which is not good. your hv (dr?) is right and it is ok..
I don’t think so, where r u from?
I’m sorry, but what kind of health adviser would tell someone to not feed a baby who was obviously hungry. All babies are different and will have different needs. As long as you don’t start stuffing her full of sugary snacks when she starts weaning then she is fine.
Drinking so much milk might be making you baby thirsty and water alone will not take away the thirst, go and buy some sugar free “baby juice” dilute as per instructions and try it, you might be surprised, it worked for our two. As for the size of your baby the weight will stabilize when the little darling starts crawling and getting more mobile
I was always told a baby self regulates how much formula they need…they will eat/drink when hungry and stop when they are full….no such thing as an overweight baby…if 30 oz a day is not satisfying her at feedings, I would fill that 8 oz bottle and let her take as much as she wants/needs…I don’t know what hungry baby milk is, but i thought plain water is unneccessary until they are on table food…
well by daughter was born 6lbs 6oz. at 2 months, or 8 weeks she weighed 12.06lbs, she was not fat or chubby or abnormal, she was feeding every few hours similar to what your baby is, and because she was a big eater i started her on baby cereal. she was 23inches 8 weeks aswell which is about 58 cm again very similar to yours but younger. at 4 months she was 15.9lbs at 5 months she was 17 pounds (solids 3 times a day) 7 months she was 19 pounds and off forumla on whole milk, 3 solid meals a day….
i think your HV is crazy. if your baby is hungry feed her. Our kids sound about the same and mine is now 12 months old. Healthy, happy and not over weight. As for the water…. sounds like your HV is telling you to use it to fill her up so she isnt eating so much which is wrong… you can give them water to sip on between meal if they are thirsty but not to replace a feeding…
Yes, water is not going to hurt her.
My advice is to distance yourself from the HV
Your baby is going to be tall and needs more food than most. there are no text book babies and the HV’s job is to look for problems, then they consult the ‘bible’ of charts and figures and tell you that you are doing something wrong!? All babies need different amounts at different times and i am sure your baby will level out as she grows up. trust your instinct. if she is happy, growing and well what is the problem?…
Most babies don’t need to supplement with any water. You do need to be careful to make sure her electrolyte balance does not get thrown off. Does she appear overly chubby? Alot of babies get this way and then grow out of it. Have they checked her for something like diabetes? I know in adults, excessive thirst is a sign. I imagine that would be the same for babies too. I don’t know what else to tell you. Honestly, I would find another doc and get a 2nd opinion.
absolutely fine. She sounds like a happy bouncy baby! keep up the good work mum!!! btw I would let her eat what she needs
you should follow your instincts no two baby’s are the same,
if a baby is hungry then feed them, my 8 month was born big at nearly 10ib hes always liked his food and from a few weeks old was having a full bottle of sma for hungrier babys, and drinking 3oz of cooled boiled water btween feeds was on solids since 18 weeks old and is off the scale for his size, hes not fat but big for his age, wears cloths for a 12-18 month old baby although hes only 8 months old.
my health visitor says his weight and size is perfect for the size he was born,
if he needs a feed he gets one,
your the mother of your baby and you know best.
♥Midnight~Angel♥
Don’t worry, babies are all different. If she is hungry, I would feed her. You can’t not really otherwise she’ll scream her head off and eventually be poorly. Good luck!
I ve always read that littlle babies dont need water. if your baby is healthy you should not limit its food. maybe a medical condition or gas pains make baby think its hungry. get a second opinion. dont put anything else in the bottle but formula or breast milk!
try putting a bit of rusk in her bottle and reduce the ounces , it worked on my sisters baby