4 Month Old & Expressed Milk

[Mango]

My daughter is now 4 months old. I am away fro her for one feeding each morning during which she gets 5oz of expressed milk. She has been finishing the bottles and then fusses badly for about 5min but then settles.

I am able to pump 6oz for each missed feeding. Should I bump her up to a 6oz bottle then? It seems like sooooooo much for a tiny tummy.

How can I be sure she is not overeating because of the nipple flow on the bottle.

What would you do, stay at the 5 or go up to 6?

 

[sam's mum]

I would go up to 6. Sam doesn't have bottles very often, but I usually put 6 in a bottle, with the slowest flow teat. Sometimes he'll finish it all and sometimes he'll leave a bit, so he does stop when he's had enough. If you use the slowest flow teat she'll tolerate she'll have to work for the milk and shouldn't have any more than she needs.

 

[Margerle]

What is your letdown like? If it's fast, the open teat shouldn't bother her, and she shouldn't overeat. Plus, one overfeed a day isn't going to do long term damage, she'll regulate and quit eating when she's done - eventually.

Though I might pump 5 ounces for a couple days and see how that goes.

 

[sam's mum]

Another thing I forgot to say is that when I'm breastfeeding Sam, he likes to stay and just comfort suck for a bit sometimes when he's finished feeding, but when he has a bottle he finishes it and has nothing to suck on, so he sometimes gets a bit upset! As soon as he's distracted with something else he's fine though, so it could be just that and not that she's still hungry.

 

[Ragirl]

I would go ahead and try 6 oz. Babies do not generally "overeat"- they are more in tune with their hunger signals than many adults. If he is wanting to suck for comfort, he will most likely spit the bottle out and just fuss for a dummy/your finger/somethign to suck on, but won't take food. If you only stick with 5 oz, you will never know when he is ready for more. What I did with my son was that every 3-4 weeks I would increase his bottle by an oz and see if he ate it. If not, I kept it the same for a few more. If he did drink it all, I knew he was ready for an increase. Hope that helps.

 

[Mango]

Thanks so much ladies! That makes a lot of sense. I'll increase her to the 6oz and see how it goes. She has been waking durring the night to feed which is uncommon so perhaps it is a growth spurt. Thanks for all your help