3 wk old never satisfied

[harrysmum16]

My 3wk old is never satisfied after a feed! some times he will take so much milk that he will be sick or get the hiccups and still want food. He was on 1 teet and my MW told me that he was struggling to get milk as he was falling a sleep half way through a feed so we changed to size 2, I have asked the HV for advise and all she said was to give the baby food when he wants it but that can be half hour or hour after a 4oz feed. this is starting to make him over tired as he is so hungry that its hard to get him off to sleep, MW suggested hungry baby food but HV said not too...  Any suggestions??

[creations]

Hello, welcome to BW

I expect there will be some other advice coming your way but what springs to my mind is to check for reflux.  Some LOs with reflux find sucking comforting, it eases the pain of the reflux to constantly suck and swallow but if they don't need the milk then they sick it up again.
Do you think there might be any other symptoms of reflux?

With regards to hungry baby milk, I personally wouldn't use it.

[waffling3]

Don't use hungry milk my ds was the same he was so hungry but that milk made him have severe wind and tummy ache! Wish I had never used it! Deffo check for reflux my son had it and went on gaviscon which helped. But I'm afraid it's mostly just a case of riding it out till weaning x

[harrysmum16]

I took him to the doctors yesterday afternoon and asked if it could be colic or reflux, and the doctor said that because he doesnt vomit alot or have the hiccups nearly after every feed that its neither! he said bringing up small amount of milk is normal when burping and that he is just fussy & clingy, He also suggested hungry baby food as it is thicker so if he DID have reflux it would help???
So basically it was a waste of my time going as the only other thing he suggested was giving cooled boiled water in between feeds as he may be thirsty...

[creations]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with your doc.  A 3 wk old doesn't need water.  In the past (way in the past) formula was not so well balanced as it is now and there could understandably be instances where LO might need some water but modern formulas are very well balanced and a LO really shouldn't be taking water at this age.

Reflux doesn't always involve huge amounts of sick, silent reflux is painful and damaging and often shows very very little or no sick up.  There are lots of FAQs on this board:
Colic, Reflux, & Crying

you can also read symptoms of reflux and silent reflux here
http://www.cradle2kindy.com.au/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=1159&PostID=15358
I'd probably start with this page just to see the list of symptoms before exploring the BW reflux boards further, after all you don't know yet if this might be the cause of the excessive feeding to the point of sickness. If you don't have time to read the whole page just scroll down to the symptoms list.

If you feel that your LO might have reflux or silent reflux tell your GP you want a referral to a paediatrician.  GP's cannot be expected to know everything about everything.  If it is reflux you need reflux formula or a safe thickener that can be added to your regular formula, and meds to control the acid.  I still wouldn't use hungry baby milk.
Don't worry about going back to the GP to ask for a referral, it is your LO's health that is the most important thing.  I know it can be hard to be assertive. xx

Are you giving him enough milk in his bottle so that he takes to his fill and there is still some milk left (about 30ml or 1oz)?  LOs should be offered more than they take so you know they are full.  This might help reduce the frequent feeds.  You can also try stopping to burp half way through the feed in case he has wind filling his tummy, not leaving enough space for the milk.

Waffling3 - just want to say that there are good reflux meds available to control stomach acid if LO needs them.  Infant Gaviscon was an ok temporary measure for us but isn't viewed particularly highly as a long term solution.  The damage caused by reflux can be considerable so LOs should be properly medicated where necessary, holding out to weaning isn't always the answer.  My DS is 21 months, been eating solids since 6 months and still has reflux meds twice daily plus a thickener in his large milk drink of the day (he can manage an oz or 2 of milk without thickener as a drink with his dinner).  There is a list of the possible results of untreated reflux in that link above if you wanted to take a look. xx

[Lolly]

UK advice is still that a formula fed baby can be given a little cooled boiled water between feeds BUT they should only have an oz or 2 in total over 24 hours.

A thicker formula may help, but instead of a hungry baby formula which is harder to digest have you tried a comfort/ eaasy digest formula? They are a thicker in the bottle and are lower than lactose than standard formulas. If I was going totry another formula I would try a comfort one first.

Laura