Big baby hungry all the time?

[helen2014]

My DS was 10.5 lb at birth and now weighs 21 lb at 17 weeks.  He has been doing really well on a 3 hr EASY from birth - I was feeding at 7, 10, 1, 4 & 7 with one NF around 2 or 3 (DF doesn't work for us).  However, the last 3 weeks, things have started to go a bit wrong.   I started extending the time between feeds but he got more and more hungry in the afternoons and started waking twice at night around 1 and 4.  I introduced an extra feed in the afternoon in case it was a growth spurt and this worked really well at first - he even STTN twice. But now he seems hungry all the time, I'm feeding 6 times in the day and once or twice at night and all his naps are down to 45 mins.

I thought that maybe my supply wasn't enough any more, since he is such a big baby, so I tried offering some formula top-ups but he rejected them. This weekend I tried replacing the mid-morning feed with formula to try and get him to take a longer lunchtime nap but he has had an allergic reaction to the formula (stomach cramps and rash on his face and nappy area) and he still woke after 45 mins.

I also worry that perhaps I am misreading the signs and it's not hunger but something else causing him to wake up early from his naps.  Because of the short naps, we've had some days where I have ended up feeding him shortly before putting him down for a nap but he still woke after 45 mins.  I don't think I've done any accidental parenting - he's very good at putting himself to sleep in his cot and settles easily with shush-pat if he wakes in the night but I can't get him back to sleep at naptimes.

Does anyone have advice for getting a hungry baby onto a 4 hr EASY? I don't mind doing one NF but two is a killer.  Should I try again with a different formula to offer top-ups or replace feeds?  Should I introduce solids?

Thanks in advance for any replies

Helen

[*Ali*]

Hello and welcome to baby whisperer

How long is he awake before you are putting him down for a nap? 45 min naps are typically undertired so it could be he needs a slight bump in A time if he is doing less that about 2hrs.

2 NFs at 4mo is well within the normal range so doesn't seem excessive really. There is a growth spurt at 4 mo so he could be going through that. I would just feed more often as he is demanding. That is how he will give your body the message to up supply. Babies also change the way they sleep around 4mo and start to spend less time in deep sleep than they did in the early months which is why so many babies sleep long periods and then start waking more between 3-4mo.

Are you already offering both breasts at each feed? If not now would be a good time to start. You can also start offering the first breast again after he has finished the second. This will help him get more of the fattier hindmilk.

Wanting extra milk is not a sign of needing to start solids. I think he is still too young for that. I'm not sure where you are but in the UK and most developed countries the current recommendations are to only offer breast milk until 6mo. The signs to start solids are that LO should be able to sit unaided (not propped up in the high chair), bring things in their hand to their mouths and have lost the tongue thrust reflex to push things out of their mouths with their tongue. It is unusual for these signs to appear together much before 26wo. And most solid food you would offer at this age would be low calorie veggies etc. Breast milk is much more calorific and contains all the nutrients he needs at this age.