Anyone else's LO overeat?

[ShakeItBaby1]

So, i know that most people say BF babies "can't over eat," but I beg yo differ! My DD is a piggly, and stuffs herself. I can usually pump 8 oz when I pump (my letdown is pretty intense as well...), and she'll take that gladly by draining both breasts. Every TWO HOURS. This resulted in her spitting up more. Today she fed more than usual, and when I went to feed her 2.5 hours later, she wasn't havin it! She was crying and didn't want anything to do with eating.

So I guess my question is, has anyone else dealt with a baby who over eats? I feel so clueless now that she denied a feeding today (which resulted in me pumping 12 oz when i got off!)

 

[angelandbump]

Could it be that your baby is looking for comfort and not food every time but you have a strong let down, your baby ends up having another full feed?

Does she tend to throw up watery milk (not cottage cheese like) after every feed?

xx

 

[Girly922]

DD has grown out of it now but she used to overfeed. I have a strong letdown too and would easily get 6oz off each side if I pumped (I don't bother pumping anymore). She'd feed and feed and feed, and the moment we'd sit her up, I'd get covered in milk. Not spit up, just milk. On other occasions she'd continue at the breast, allow her mouth to fill with milk, and then spit it all over me rather than swallow it! She never figured out how to comfort suck without getting milk. It's a lot easier now my supply has regulated but I definitely had an oversupply back then.

 

[LittleNugget]

My DD didn't know when to stop either. I used to offer both breasts at each feeding, but she was spitting up a ton (and it was mostly just milk coming back up, not regular spit up). Her pediatrician said to just give her one breast at a feeding and that helped a ton with spitting up. She has continue to gain weight normally. I was engorged on and off for a few days while things regulated but it worked itself out. You could always pump the breast you don't offer if you need to build a stash or just let your body regulate itself.

 

[Rachel_C]

Is she definitely taking all that milk at each feeding? It's often said that babies get more milk by BF directly than you can express but it's also true that they can nurse for hours without getting much milk - they can work out how to latch and sort of suck without getting much milk. So it's possible that she's doing that and just wants the comfort and there's nothing wrong with that - comfort sucking is not a bad thing.

If she is taking that much milk, have you tried feeding on demand? I assume you're offering on a sort of schedule if you offered at 2.5 hours and she refused the feed. Past the first month, I wouldn't offer by the clock unless it's been ages, I'd just wait for LO to show hungry cues. Some babies will never go more than 2 hours without a feed and that's perfectly healthy but others will happily (and healthily) go 4-5 hours.

Is there a reason you need to express? If your let down is strong and you're expressing as well as BF her, it's possible that you are encouraging her to overeat... like if somebody tried to spoon feed you a whole chocolate cake every time you sat down for a meal. If you were left to feed yourself you'd probably only take what you needed but if it's there and in your mouth, you're less likely to say no! It's unusual for a BF baby to overeat if they're healthy and when they're free of other influences, but a boob emptying milk in your mouth is encouragement

 

[wish4baby]

So, i know that most people say BF babies "can't over eat," but I beg yo differ! My DD is a piggly, and stuffs herself. I can usually pump 8 oz when I pump (my letdown is pretty intense as well...), and she'll take that gladly by draining both breasts. Every TWO HOURS. This resulted in her spitting up more. Today she fed more than usual, and when I went to feed her 2.5 hours later, she wasn't havin it! She was crying and didn't want anything to do with eating.

So I guess my question is, has anyone else dealt with a baby who over eats? I feel so clueless now that she denied a feeding today (which resulted in me pumping 12 oz when i got off!)

Yes! My EBF, almost-4 week old has been over eating. I did some research online and I *know* she has lactose overload. Have you looked into that at all? My LO has lots of the symptoms!
Ours started because she was jaundiced right after birth, so I fed her constantly to help. And I pumped daily to build a freezer supply for emergencies (I stopped though when I was aware of how much my supply increased, and how fast my freezer filled)

My LO eats every hour, has around 12 dirty diapers a day (most are green), is gaining weight very rapidly, spitting up, choking on letdown, filling her mouth with milk and it dribbling out, some (minimal) stomach discomfort but is always soothed by feeding...I have an over supply and strong let down multiple times per feeding. Do y'all have any of those symptoms? If so, it could be lactose overload & you should google it.

I've decided to block feed (feed from 1 side per 4 hours) and try to stretch out the time between feelings. I'm a little scared of that because I have always fed on demand- I hate hearing my babies cry or fuss hopefully with these measures it should right itself soon.

 

[azure girl]

Mine! He will go longer occasionally and spit up milk, not spit up. He often gets hiccups from eating as well, he is just a little piggy!

 

[noon_child]

If you have a strong let down the oversupply (that is quite normal when your body hasn't regulated) will be very hard not to swallow when LO actually just wants to comfort suck. However pumping will give you more oversupply - do you need to pump? - and baby will swallow the milk to stop herself from choking.

If she is used to a strong letdown she may also be fussing on the first breast before she has actually finished draining the hindmilk so you'll swap her to the faster flowing second breats. Instead you could try breast compressions towards the end of her feed on the first breast to help her get hind milk and see if she can go without the second breast.

I'd also wind her each time she unlatches as wind pain mimics hunger and a baby will try to get rid of the pain by feeding. Also if she has reflux pain she will try to feed to get rid of that by feeding too, so although I don't advocate dummies/pacifiers in all situations they can comfort a full baby who is in pain (my LO would never take one but had mastered the shallow latch needed to stop the milk coming out while comfort sucking *ouch*).

 

[Girly922]

So, i know that most people say BF babies "can't over eat," but I beg yo differ! My DD is a piggly, and stuffs herself. I can usually pump 8 oz when I pump (my letdown is pretty intense as well...), and she'll take that gladly by draining both breasts. Every TWO HOURS. This resulted in her spitting up more. Today she fed more than usual, and when I went to feed her 2.5 hours later, she wasn't havin it! She was crying and didn't want anything to do with eating.

So I guess my question is, has anyone else dealt with a baby who over eats? I feel so clueless now that she denied a feeding today (which resulted in me pumping 12 oz when i got off!)

Yes! My EBF, almost-4 week old has been over eating. I did some research online and I *know* she has lactose overload. Have you looked into that at all? My LO has lots of the symptoms!
Ours started because she was jaundiced right after birth, so I fed her constantly to help. And I pumped daily to build a freezer supply for emergencies (I stopped though when I was aware of how much my supply increased, and how fast my freezer filled)

My LO eats every hour, has around 12 dirty diapers a day (most are green), is gaining weight very rapidly, spitting up, choking on letdown, filling her mouth with milk and it dribbling out, some (minimal) stomach discomfort but is always soothed by feeding...I have an over supply and strong let down multiple times per feeding. Do y'all have any of those symptoms? If so, it could be lactose overload & you should google it.

I've decided to block feed (feed from 1 side per 4 hours) and try to stretch out the time between feelings. I'm a little scared of that because I have always fed on demand- I hate hearing my babies cry or fuss hopefully with these measures it should right itself soon.

DD had/has lactose overload so I cut dairy almost completely from my diet. Worked wonders! A lot of your LOs symptoms also sound like too much foremilk so I'd definitely stick to block feeding on demand and try not to pump as this can increase your foremilk.