My baby is 6 weeks old, he was 8lb 15 when born and last Friday he was 12lb 12! He’s doing amazing but he’s feeding what feels like constantly!! He’s having 5oz every two hours in the day and his last feed is 6oz before bed!! He will then usually go 4 hours then wake again!!
I asked the health visitor if this was normal, and she said it was! I mentioned hunger baby milk as the one he’s on obviously doesn’t fill him enough!! She said they don’t recommend till at least 8 weeks......
I’m just wondering if anyone had swapped milk and if so did you notice a difference!
Written by
Lisaworthy1981
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I can't comment on whether or not it makes a difference but just thought I'd remind you that he's probably going through a growth spurt and he will more than likely settle before too long. I'd just say carry on as you are feeding on demand- stop worrying about how long he's going between feeds x
Feel like I’m feeding my LO all the time too although she’s mostly bf and although she’s not been weighed for a couple of weeks she’s turning into a little chubster lol xx
We must just have hungry babies!! He’s definitely getting a chubster but I love it, I think he just feeds more in the day then goes longer at night which is good!! Some night he goes longer than others!! Xx
As you might remember Mary was born 7lb 6oz and was 9lb 8oz almost two and a half weeks ago. We have our doctors appointment in the morning so I’m fully expecting her to have gained a LOT. I think she’ll be more like 12lb now. She’ll be 8 weeks on Thursday. She has about two 4 ounce bottles overnight as I was just too exhausted with the demands of bf xx
We’ve been advised by midwife and HV not to use hungry baby milk as the only difference is it contains more potato starch and doesn’t taste as nice. Recommended we just carry on feeding on demand and as long as baby is growing, everything should be fine fine.
Don’t know how true that is though, as we’ve had lots of conflicting advice so far!!
Congratulations! My baby girl is 6w old and was born 8lb. Over 1 month checkup she was 10lb3oz, so I suppose she has put on now another 1lb, so she's around 11lb something now.
Do you exclusively pump or weigh your baby to know exact amount is eaten?
(My girl was very fussy today and was nursing lots - thinking she went through a growth spurt. Glad she let me sleep 4h stretch tonight!
If baby is putting plenty of weight, I would wait to supplement.
Hey my LG loves her food, once I stopped breastfeeding and went to bottle initially she was every 2 hours then every 3 then around every 4 now sometimes longer, usually at night she goes 6 hours or but longer. What I did was when it seemed like she was getting a little too tiered on feeds / struggling to drink it all I changed the teats (before the age on the packet) then when it seems like she’s pretty much drinking all the bottles I up the formula by 1 ounce my LG is currently on 8oz I may need to up it to 9 but I’m hoping she will be ok for one more month as then I’ll start wearing her. So if your little one is pretty much drinking all the bottles increase by one ounce and see how that goes it may be they are ready
I remember asking the same question during the 2 hour feeds and when they told me it was normal I couldn’t believe it lol my friend had just told me feeds were every 4 hours she must have blanked out that part lol when I was breastfeeding that felt like it was all the time hourly they would last forever that was tough so changing to formula felt incredible at first!
HV don’t recommend hungry baby formula as it can cause constipation and there is no scientific evidence that it fills baby up more than normal formula. We also had similar issue and just fed on demand, he’s now settled down so was just a growth spurt
Was going to say this. A baby actually never needs anything more than first infant formula until they are one. The others were basically created following regulations restricting advertising and selling on special offer etc.
Don’t forget a new born has lots of growth spurts and also are born with a stomach the size of a marble, they can only take in so much milk but need more to grow and develop. They have to feed little and often to grow properly. If you were breastfeeding I’d guess you’d be having your baby on you what feels like 24/7. My lg was bottle fed initially and would feed constantly, that didn’t change when I managed to get her on my breast (she had tongue tie, hence the swap). It will calm down but don’t think that they aren’t getting enough from the formula.
Thanks everyone for your replies, I’m not breast feeding he’s on formula! That’s ok then that I can’t over feed him, he must just be a hungry boy!! We’ll just keep doing what we’re doing as he’s obviously doing great and putting weight on! Xxx
Hi Lisa.
I see others have given great advice.
I put my 16 week old daughter on hungrier fed baby milk 2 weeks ago as we wondered if it would fill her up more! Our one is from birth to 6 months.She was also breastfeeding too which last week she decided to up. I think it’s helped as she is more settled going longer between feeds & is sleeping much better generally going through the night more often than not. She is still a colicky baby & we give her baby probiotics every morning ( my sister swore by it) & gripe water in the evening which definitely helps. So far no bad constipation from hungrier baby milk 🤞🏻 I also gave it to my son at 3 months as he was also always hungry !!!
You can always try a pre made bottle to see how your little boy gets on with it.
You are his mum & will know what is best for his needs xxx
Hungry baby milk is not recommended at all - Your HV should have told you that - its quite common knowledge for a health care professional- I am shocked she said 8 weeks to you. Its simply sold as a marketing tool and isnt as good on their stomachs. Please keep buying your normal milk. If you think about it, as an adult we eat or drink every couple of hours and babies are no different. They will sometimes want a 'snack', sometimes a main meal or sometimes a quick drink. You can 'pace feed' the bottles, so they dont take too much in one go, but perhaps smaller amounts moe frequently. Babies might not want to finish a bottle. You can over feed formula fed babies (not bf babies) but you can watch that you dont do this by just following their cues If hes hungry, hes hungry. Babies are supposed to want to feed fairly regularly
Of course - she just should never have told you that. It’s so annoying when you can’t rely on a hv for reliable information! Yup just keep doing that
All you need is first stage infant milk until 12 months old when you no longer need formula. Anything that is sold as hungry baby, 6-12 months, stage 2 etc is all purely sold as a marketing ploy! Xx
This is normal. Don’t forget he has a tiny tummy, he can only fit so much in at a time even if his body is using it up quickly. Too much in one go and he’ll either be uncomfortable or throw it up. Don’t worry, you’re doing just fine mumma
My son is 5 months now and has 4 or 5 7oz bottles a day now. However he used to have about 10 bottles or more when he was around 8 weeks and would feed every 2 hours. I was worried too but he had always looked healthy and had plenty of wet nappies, been alert, slept well. HV advised to keep feeding on demand but also to try the next size up teat. This certainly helped him go longer between feeds when he got used to it, I couldnt understand the logic init but it worked!! He started sleeping from 9.30pm till 7am around 16 weeks which is super! Good luck with the rest of your journey! X
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
If hes hungry, hes hungry. Babies are supposed to want to feed fairly regularly 
8 weeks old not taking a lot of milk? 
Early weaning (baby rice and baby porridge) 👶 
Am I missing something? Unsettled baby.
