How can I settle my 'hungry' baby?

Question

My baby takes her bottle and an hour later she will be crying for more food. I do not want to keep giving in to her as she will take too much milk and get fat. I do not like the idea of giving her a dummy. What can I do when she starts crying for food, when I know she can't really be hungry?

Answer 1

If she's old enough, try giving her some water or juice between bottles. Try giving her some food or those Gerber puffs even. You can try putting some cereal in her bottles.
She might be a hungry baby. My baby is like that and the doc has always told me to feed him when he's hungry.

Answer 2

I know just what you mean, it's really tough having a 'high need baby' as its often put. Im breast feeding which makes it worse. I don't think there is a 'one size fit's all' solution though. Ive found sleep can help a bit. My baby never would sleep unless you put him down to sleep. I found putting him down to sleep during the day avoided him getting too cranky and over tired and feeding for comfort. Despite this he is a HUNGRY baby, you could not believe the amount this 5 month old can pack away in any 24hour period! When he was newborn there were no breaks between feeding I was just a 24/7 nursing machine! All you can do is maybe try the formula for hungrier baby's but just keep offering it to her she wont get fat..she may be sick though if she's not really that hungry and the crying is due to other reasons i.e. she's over tired or collicy. All i can say is hang in there and don't under estimate what some babies need to fill their tummy's. Good luck!.

Answer 3

How much is she eating in one sitting? It may not be enough. As far as her getting fat, babies will not overeat. They eat until they are full and then they stop. I was worried about the same thing with my son. If she acts like she's hungry, feed her. And maybe increase her milk so her satisfaction will last longer. Plus babies are supposed to be a little chubby. It makes them even cuter than they already are. Just remember, she'll burn off all the weight when she starts getting more mobile. Once she learns to crawl and walk and run around, she'll be working off all those extra pounds. It could be sometimes that she just wants to suck. My son soothed himself by sucking. Try a binky or something. If all that doesn't help, she may be coming down with a cold and want to just be cuddled. I wouldn't stress about her getting fat though. If you have any other questions, I'd call her doctor. THey can tell you what to do and it always sounds better coming from a professional

Answer 4

How old is she? It's possible she may be ready for something a little more substantial. They recommend holding off on solid food until six months, but my little girl was starving all the time by about five months. Her doctor said it was okay to start a little early. Even if she's not old enough for that yet, don't keep food from her when she's hungry. Babies know when to stop eating. She could also be going through a growth spurt - babies often eat like horses during these, which happen several times in the first year. They usually only last two or three days.
Hope this helped!

Answer 5

It is normal for babies to be on the chubby side! They all grow so quickly - never put anything other than milk in your baby's bottle by the way - this is an old fashioned thing to do - baby can choke on it if you mix cereal in with the milk. I was told this by various sources when my little girl was a baby.

Can you get a bit of baby rice and mix it with milk - if your baby is over 4 months old - my daughter screamed and screamed for more milk every 2 hours - it was a nightmare until I realised she was growing and needing more! It won't harm them, although I'm not sure how old your baby is - read the instructions. Once I started doing that my daughter was back to her usual patterns. They need so much energy to grow, please do not stop giving your baby milk thinking that she will get fat.

Answer 6

a baby can be hungry an hour after filling that tiny little belly... why would you think they are not? increase the amount offered.. if she drinks/takes the entire bottle? she was hungry....

how old is she? is she ready for solids... rule of thumb is if she can sit in high chair.. experiment... but most of the calories/nutrients should be from bottle still.. eating solids at start is mostly for experimenting, introducing.... and should be fun.. for you and baby

babies are not like adults.... they do not eat out of boredom, depression, comfort.. they eat (nursing or bottlefed) because they are hungry! I do not know how much you are offering but increase the amount at each feedings.... burp more often in between ounces... sometimes an air bubble will make a baby feel full till it moves and then they find a big empty void in the belly.... and it could take an hour for that bubble to move, you know....

how old is baby? growth spurt could happen anytime... the first year my babies varied as different as night and day... one hit growth spurts every week... another once every month... or two months..... but everytime they were nothing but hungry.....and tired....

there are also some babies that when push comes to shove we find that although we guide, teach and love them... and do our best? they are their own person's right from the start.... and much as we do not "want" to give in and allow the binky, pacifier.... they "need" that extra sucking.... it is more than comfort..... and if that is the case.... fighting them makes it worse for reltaionship of mommy and baby right from the start.... of six babies... I had three I had binkies for... three that never took one....

if you know the baby does not want to play... is not wet.... and cries as though hungry? offer more feedings, or more at each feeding... a baby will not, does not over eat as an adult might.... or even as an older child...... if you are very concerned note amounts daily... amount of wet/messy diapers and at your next dr appt. bring it up to the dr....
good luck!

Answer 7

My friends little boy was like this. He was almost constantly hungry. She started him on baby rice at a youngish age. if in anydoubt, speak to your health visiter or your doctor.
Also, breast milk and bottle milk have diffferences. Breast milk is supposed to be more filling for the baby. So maybe think about giving that a try?
Another option is give them some water or if they're older, some really watered down juice to help fill them up between bottles.

Answer 8

I find a bottle of cooled boiled water with a tea spoon of brown sugar sometimes help! The sugar helps with the baby's digestive system aswell as the comfort of sucking on the bottle. It has really worked with the 8 week old baby i look after especially in the early evening before bed time!

Answer 9

Try other methods of settling her down. Just because she's crying doesn't mean she's hungry. And don't worry about her getting too fat at this age. She's just a baby. Feed her when you're sure she's hungry.

Answer 10

Just give her the darn food already! You can teach her about good eating habits later. A hungry baby is just that hungry! And some babies do have to intense need to suck! There is nothing wrong with giving her a dummy (I assume this is british for pacifier). Which is more important, not giving her a pacifier or your sanity? :)