Told to feed more but worried.

[Hopful85]

Hi all I really need some advice please!

My daughter is 6 + 6 so I took her to the dr for her 6 week check up yesterday. She was weighed and had put on weight which I was happy with. I asked the dr if her gain was good and she said she is a little off the weight she would expect according to the red book guidelines and I should ask HV (Health Visitor) to explain. The HV (Health Visitor) was due later that day so I brought this up and said my LG has 5 bottles a day made up to the correct guidelines. The HV (Health Visitor) says she should be on 6-7 bottles a day which shocked me as she’s very content and always eating in my eyes. She still sleeps lots but feeds on demand and we play a lot, tummy time ect. She’s told me to feed her 6-7 bottles and let her know the weight gain in 2 weeks. Today I’ve fed my daughter and honestly I feel like I’m force feeding her. She cried and got fussy when trying to make her finish her bottles completely. Also she sicked up a whole bottle after my husband fed her, it came through her nose and this distressed us all. Not sure want to do now?

She’s bottle fed and on special milk as she’s lactose intolerant.

[Hidden]

I’ve just looked back at what my baby was drinking at 6 weeks and she was on the same amount of bottles as your baby. Occasionally she would have 6-7 but it averages around 5 a day. How many ounces is she drinking?

All babies are different and I know some people with babies who hardly drink anything and some that drink tons.

It’s not like you can force feed a baby (not blaming you) if they don’t want it they don’t want it and it’s not really fair they are making you stress out over this.

I would go with what you feel is right. Your baby would cry for more milk if she wanted it. If she’s happy enough with wet nappies etc and her soft spot is fine go with your instincts.

Mum knows best and your doing a great job xx

[Hopful85 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks so much for your reply. I felt so mean forcing her to drink more then she was comfortable with. Thinking about it if she keeps being sick due to force feeding she’ll probably loose weight. Thanks for your advice she’s a happy baby and yes if she wanted more I’d know about it lol.

She has 4oz per bottle and is very rarely sick. I’m 5’1 so quite small height wise I think she’s just taking after me and is small too. We went to a wedding on Monday and there were 2 other baby girls a similar age and they were massive in comparison. Obviously comparisons were made so I think the dr and HV just sent me over the edge xxx

[Hidden in reply to Hopful85]

My LG had about 3-4oz each time as well. I’ve heard but not sure if it’s true if they sick up a bottle it’s because they are full and don’t want anymore. I would just explain to them how it went when you gave her more. Also if she’s sort of following the amount that it says on the formula box then I wouldn’t worry.

One week my LG put weight on but didn’t put on as much as the line in the book said but they weren’t too worried as it was only one centile and then she went back to following her line again.

Don’t compare to other babies either I know it’s hard to do especially when they’ve made you worry but my LG was 10lb 1oz when born so was huge against other babies her age but seems to of levelled out now xx

[duncat in reply to Hidden]

You should feed what you we’re feeding before as she clearly can’t tolerate more silly dr and health visitor for trying to get you to feed more.

She’s putting on weight so should be no issue as long as she’s not loosing weight they need to back off.

Not every baby needs the same they’re all different 😊 xx

[Hopful85 in reply to duncat]

Thanks duncat I feel much better now about telling her it didn’t work and I won’t be making her eat more if she doesn’t want it xx

[Hopful85]

Thanks that makes me feel better. Also she’s had a cold since Tuesday so slept much more and I let her because I felt she needed it. I understand they have to go by the book but like you say not all babies are the same. Yes she’s having too much in one sitting I’d say so being sick xxx

[Hidden in reply to Hopful85]

My LG always goes down with her milk intake when she has a cold too. Try not to worry too much xx

[Hidden]

Most babies need 150ml (sorry don’t know oz) per kg of their weight until about 3months old. You could try smaller amounts more often to get that amount. I would speak to the HV on Monday and explain about feeling like you are force feeding- the weight is normally compared to the line that baby has been growing along rather than to other babies the same age. In the meantime, if she is having a good amount of wet nappies then she is not in any danger. X

[Hopful85 in reply to Hidden]

I just don’t know what they expect when they tell you to feed on demand. My LG will push the teet out of her mouth if she’s had enough and or needs to be burped. When she cries the first thing I do is offer a bottle. Doesn’t help that when I burp her she falls asleep lol and will not be woken!

[Hidden in reply to Hopful85]

Sounds like you are doing a great job! Doesn’t sound like you have had the most helpful advice from HV etc ...

[Hidden]

I fed 6am-10am-2pm-6pm-

10pm-2am. Prob around 4oz my babies couldn’t drink that much I switched to hungry baby formula as they’d drink the same amount but would fill them better. I wouldn’t worry if she’s full, happy and settled.

[Hopful85 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks that’s a very similar pattern to us and she poos twice a day and planet of wet nappies. I certainly know her hungry cry so she’s definitely content with her feeds

[Hidden in reply to Hopful85]

I wouldn’t worry then my babies weren’t chunky their bellies were little should see the size of them now lol

[Rizamina]

I'd do feed on demand. Your wee girl sounds very happy. My wee one was one 6 bottles a day when he was 4 months old but he dropped his feeds himself. If she seems content and is putting on enough weight then I would do as your doing

[Mumworg4]

Oh my word ! Aslong as baby is putting on weight I struggle to see an issue, every 3 2 4 hours is a general guideline ..all baby's are different ! Your doing nothing wrong shes gaining weight !

[Hopful85 in reply to Mumworg4]

I hate all these guidelines and I know it just gets worse as they get older. Thanks for your reply I feel more confident in what I’m doing is tight for my daughter xx

[Hidden]

As long as baby is having a minimum of 4 heavy wet nappies in 24hrs and meeting all developmental milestones I wouldnt worry, someone has to be at the bottom of the chart just like someone needs to be at the top, being at the bottom doesnt mean they are losing, and being at the top doesnt mean they are winning. All people come in different shapes and sizes and so do babies.

[Hopful85 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Izzy. To be honest noon ever explained the growth charts to me and your completely right. She’s hitting all the developmental milestones for her age and her toilets are as expected too.

[amazed]

If you are happy with her weight gain then don't bother going back and having her weighed. You can tell if she's growing by whether she's getting through clothes. Just go with your gut. There are so many pressures on us mums and their charts are made for average babies and all babies are different. Obviously they don't want you to be starving your baby and maybe there are some mums who literally need to be told what to do because they haven't got a clue but just don't get her weighed and feed on demand. That's my advice as a mum of 4. I've never taken any of mine to be weighed. They've all been different sizes so how they could adhere to 'their line ' I don't know. Take for example my 3rd son, 75th %ile when born. Used to fight at the breast- mine run hot or cold, no'warm' its all or nothing and when it was nothing he'd get really frustrated and stop sucking,seemingly not believing it would ever start again. He couldn't wait to get food down his neck and was eating 3 times a day from 6 months onwards so at 9 months I talked to hv about putting him onto cow's milk bottles and she oked it because he was such a good eater. Well, he couldn't get enough milk down him and within a month he'd gone from 75th to 95th%ile, not fat just muscle (he's not even 3.5yrs old now but he wears age 5 clothes!) If I'd followed the official advice then I would've carried on happily following that 75th line and essentially starving him.

Trust your instincts xxx