Am I overfeeding him?

[Irish Eyes]

I EBF until just over a week ago. While BFing he went from 7lb 14 to 8lb 9 in 2 weeks. When we moved onto formula he went from 8lb 9 to 10lb 5 in a week. My HV has said that's too much and I'm overfeeding him. I was used to feeding him on demand and he was feeding constantly so now I'm confused as to when I should feed him? She said he should take around 4 oz every 4 hours but he can drain 6oz every 2 hours!

I don't want to leave him hungry but I don't want to overfeed him. His nappies are fine although sometimes I think he struggles a bit with his bowel movement. His nappies are a lot wetter now than when he was BF

 

[vintage67]

If it were me, I would continue feeding on demand. We did with our son. He's 8 months old now and a very long boy but not overly heavy. Your baby is growing so rapidly right now; no way I would withhold food, BM or Formula.

 

[HellBunny]

Feed on demand, i don't get the whole "feed every 4 hours" they seem to come out with, my son would be hysterical if i made him wait! I've always fed both babies on demand and no harm came of it, just happy contented babies xx

ETA: DS1 would feed every 2 hours day and night till approx 5 months, DS2 currently feeds every 1-3 hours, they both have/had way more than what the box says or what the HV says but they're happy, DS1 was a big baby (on the 98th line) he's now around the 75th x

 

[Irish Eyes]

Thank you. I tried setting a routine of every 4 hours but there's no way that I can make him wait if he's hungry!

 

[mommysbaby]

I really don't understand how anyone makes a routine for that small baby. I could never so that. Moreover my ped says u can never overfeed an infant. If he is full he will refuse the bottle, spit the extra milk or vomit occasionally. we should feed them as they want.

 

[Starry Night]

I kind of disagree. Some babies can be overfed. My son would eat until he would projectile vomit all over the place. I brought him to his doctor and he said to cut back and the projectile immediately stopped. If your DS is consistently throwing up vast amounts immediately after eating then I would cut back. I still have to measure out what my son eats otherwise he would keep going until he was ill. (He cries when ever I take the food away but I have to do it...and he is a very heavy boy still)

I also believe in routines but I know that's not popular these days. But I never stuck to the 4 hour routine. I fed my son every 2 1/2 to 3 hours until he was 4 months old. If he cried before the 2 1/2 hour mark I would feed him but that only happened maybe once or twice during a growth spurt.

 

[Mummy Bean]

there no way my little guy could last 4 hours...he cant even last three atm (except at night).

i would just continue to feed on demand...if you are really worrying then maybe feed him a bit less more ofter say 3oz every 2-3hrs.

but unless he hugely over weight ot throwing most of his food back up i would just carry on doing what your doing.

(this is why i dnt see the health visitor...unhelpful advice)

 

[dizz]

Mine took herself onto 4 hourly feeds recently - but she was on a 3 hourly routine from birth - not by our choice but because the hospital forced us to do it that way when she was in as a preemie... loads of trumpeting about "don't feed her sooner - we do it this way for YOUR convenience" - even if I didn't WANT to do it that way I had no blooming choice. When discharged she bounced around between 2/3 hourly feeds for most of the time (2 hourly through growth spurts) and then suddenly just started going roughly 4 hours one day all of a sudden.

I don't do it as a routine as such now (unlike in the hospital where I had to write down to the MINUTE when I'd fed her and how long it had took), more as a rough guide of when she's likely to start to get hungry again - in that respect it helps to plan the day - in an "oh that appointment is going to be around when she's getting hungry - I'll make sure I take a bottle and carton of milk" but as in some kind of gospel of "you're not due for a feed for another 38 minutes?" Sod that lark and it's one I've dilligently ignored since we were discharged (and occasionally slightly fibbed about when questioned).

 

[Vickie]

We feed on demand as well (exclusively FF) and he's made his own rough schedule that I go by (feeds roughly every three hours from 9 a.m.-6/7 p.m., dream feed at 10 and up at 3-4 a.m. for a feed)

A couple of weeks ago (at about the same age your LO is) Rhys was almost draining 5 ounce bottles every 3 hours (which is a lot for him!) but after a few days he settled back down to 3-4 ounces every 3ish hours (during the day, he goes longer at night) that he was at before. I put it down to a growth spurt

 

[Noelle610]

You know, I'm generally a believer in feeding on demand too. That said, my LO has reflux and sometimes I just don't feel like she's able to distinguish hunger from gas. I also think she eats very, very quickly sometimes and then gets sick. You know how adults can eat too fast and become overly full because the food doesn't have time to "settle"? I think the same thing can happen with babies.

I certainly think you should feed LO when hungry, but what's helped me is to ensure that Charlotte eats slowly. Milk from a bottle comes out faster than it does from the breast. First you can make sure you have the right size nipple. Then, I feed her maybe an ounce or too, then burp her before giving her the bottle again. This gives her an opportunity to get gas out and let whatever she's just had settle. It seems to really reduce her discomfort and spitting up.

Hope that helps!

 

[Solena]

Because of the massive weight loss my daughter had in her first three days, for quite a while she had to have a feed every 3 hours maximum, and that didn't stop until she was about 6 weeks old, when we were able to start feeding on demand. Since then she's been fed on demand. She was a big baby at birth, and still is, but is growing along a good line now, without any major deviations.