Can babies overeat with BLW?

[Etoiles]

Hi all,

I have tried to find the answer to this on the web but have not really found much definitive.

Can babies overeat during solid food meals with baby led weaning?

I ask because my little guy can really eat a TON during meals and one day he kept eating so I kept giving more food and he ended up crying which is abnormal for him during meals so it seemed to me that maybe he had a tummy ache?

For example for breakfast I gave him two oatmeal banana balls (about 2.5 cm round), one blueberry pancake (6 cm round), a small kiwi sliced up (minus the ends and skin of course), a 4 cm neck from a pear and a 4 cm piece of banana! He ate ALL this, every last bite even grabbing the crumbs and sticking them in his mouth and so I offered him yogurt on a spoon and he ate some of that too and I think if I would have given him more he would have eaten it but I didn't want the possible tummy ache again.

Is this too much or is this a reasonable breakfast? It just seemed like a lot to me!

He did breast feed this morning twice before his meal.

He is a slim guy - 3-4% on the weight chart (although 82% on the height chart) so it's fine for him to eat a lot and he could stand to gain some weight but I don't want him to get a tummy ache from eating too much.

Do babies eat what they need or can they eat too much?

 

[MindUtopia]

I personally don't think you can overfeed a baby (unless they are clearly refusing it and you force it or they are vomiting after). Some days I feel like my daughter eats a lot. Yesterday for dinner, she had about 5 raviolis, some beef stew with a dumpling, about 1/3 of a banana and something else (I forget!). But she feeds herself and she is otherwise content, so I think it's fine.

 

[Meg26]

I also dont believe a baby will overeat on their own. They know when they are full but perhaps he is eating too quickly and thats causing an upset tummy. My little guy definitely has his days...sometimes he will eat and eat and eat and i cant keep enough food on his plate and other times he will eat alot less than normal. I would maybe try to pace him a little bit. Also, do you offer small snacks throughout the day or just meals?
My little guy gets a granola bar and milk first thing in the am, eats am entire package of instant oatmeal an hour later. Grazes on cheerios all morning. Naps. Has a light lunch (usually a 1/4 of a banana, a 1/8cup grated cheese and a 1/2 a piece or toast). Afternoon snack is usually a yogurt and a 1/4 cup of peas and carrots. Then dinner he eats a cup of spaghetti, a 1/4 cup of whatever vegetable i give that day, a few peach or pear slices and a yogurt to finish.

 

[sillysapling]

There ARE babies who will overeat on their own- by which I mean, they'll eat to the point of vomiting and then go back for more. Some babies really love food, to the point that they ignore their own signals in favor of eating. A few parents on here have had that problem.

If your baby is having stomach problems from eating too much, you'll likely be able to tell. I'd keep an eye out for any other signs of problems- like really unhealthy weight gain, unhealthy bowel movements, etc- but if your baby isn't showing any signs of problems, then there probably isn't a problem.

How much milk is your baby drinking? Has he cut out a lot of bottles/nursing sessions? THIS might be a concern, as your baby's main source of nutrition for the first year should still be milk, formula or breast or both, and if he's totally cutting it out then he might not be getting the nutrition he needs.

If you're really concerned, you may want to space these things out a bit to make sure the "I'm full" signals are able to get to his brain. Give him what you feel like is a decent amount, maybe the banana balls and pancakes, then when he's done eating those play for a little while, and if he's still showing signs of hunger offer the next item or two, then play for a little while.