Can BF babies overeat?

[Steph82]

My almost 5 week old seems to be constantly eating . I know that some of his nursing, is just for comfort... but other times, he seems to genuinely be hungry
He has gone from 7.14 at birth to 11.4 today . So he is gaining PLENTY.

Today, I gave him a bottle (4oz) or pumped milk at 6pm. By the time we got home at 7pm, he was hungry again and we gave him another 2oz. Within an hour, he was hungry again . 6oz in 2 hours should be plenty for a 4.5 week old, no?
Could I be overfeeding him? I always heard that BF babies cannot overeat, but it seems the norm for his age should be 3-5oz.

Any suggestions?

 

[staralfur]

The only thing you can really say is "normal" at that age is the constant feeding. He's still building your supply and coming up to a big growth spurt. Don't worry about how much he's feeding, just keep feeding him whenever he wants to nurse.

If he gets too much he'll spit it up.

It seems excessive but trust your baby and your body and it'll slow down soon.

 

[readytotry]

You can't overfeed a breastfed baby but if a baby is mostly breastfed they can guzzle when given a bottle because it is much less work than breastfeeding for them. At five weeks old wanting to feed all the time is very normal (although it can be exhausting).

 

[Steph82]

Thank you ladies.

LO has also been super fussy these last 5 days (which I know can be normal)... he is gaining plenty, so I'm not worried about him not getting enough.

I do think, that he may be getting too much foremilk (since he only nurses for about 10 min each feeding, and then I switch sides for the next feeding). I will try to block feed for a couple of days, and see if things improve.

 

[LittleBean19]

I think this article is perfect for your question

nurshable.com/2012/01/10/overfeeding-a-baby-with-a-bottle-vs-the-breast/

 

[Steph82]

I think this article is perfect for your question

nurshable.com/2012/01/10/overfeeding-a-baby-with-a-bottle-vs-the-breast/

Great article... Thank you.

But now you have me worried about what will happen, when I go back to work in 2 weeks. LO will be bottle fed with my expressed milk. I guess I will have to check with the pediatrician to see how much to feed him

 

[doggylover]

Oh my gosh my mum just implied today that I feed LO too much. I say implied, she outright said that she is eating too often (today it was more or less every hour.)

As with you steph, I know some is just for comfort, but she does eat at every 'sitting' even if its just for a few minutes.

So glad to see this thread and know I'm not doing anything wrong as my mum really worried me that I offer her the breast too much and am doing the wrong thing.

 

[seaweed eater]

Steph, while it is true that it is easier for them to eat from a bottle and therefore they may eat more that way than they would otherwise, I don't think adhering strictly to the doctor's recommendation is the way to go. Taking that as a starting point and doing some experimentation is a better approach IMO. My LO was always a big eater, and now that he's at daycare they give him a 4 oz bottle every hour and a half to two hours. It's more than the guidelines say he is likely to need, but I know he really needs it because we've tried smaller bottles and spacing them farther apart, and he gets hungry. This way he sometimes starts getting fussy right around bottle time, and he usually finishes his bottles but sometimes doesn't.

So, I would start with your ped's guideline (or the one from kellymom, or whatever -- something like 3oz every 2-3 hours, at your LO's age) and see how it goes. But don't be afraid to change things around if necessary. Not every baby is alike.

Doggylover, nursing is a whole different thing than bottle feeding. It's common for people who don't understand BF (or haven't done it in a long time, even) to say that nursing on demand is too much, because it can be much more frequent than a FF baby on a schedule would take a bottle, but it's NOT. Keep doing exactly what you're doing!!

 

[Steph82]

Thank you seaweed... You are right of course... Since there is no one guideline (unfortunately), I will have to use trail and error.
Good thing I have been freezing milk in 2, 3, and 4 oz portions. That way it will be easy to adjust and add when needed.
I so wish there was a one size fits all answer

 

[seaweed eater]

Don't worry, it won't take you very long to figure out at least they know how to tell you pretty clearly when they need more.

 

[stephie_corin]

I'm so sorry you have to go back to work so soon but good on you for continuing to breastfeed! Well done mamma

I've read 1-1.5 oz for every hour mum is away. He will learn to take more when you are together during growth spurts. Make sure your care giver is familiar with other ways to soothe your baby and doesn't offer milk at every cry. Lots of good luck to you! Ps my name is also Steph and I'm born in 82 - not sure if that's what your user name means but it's a funny coincidence! X

 

[Steph82]

I'm so sorry you have to go back to work so soon but good on you for continuing to breastfeed! Well done mamma

I've read 1-1.5 oz for every hour mum is away. He will learn to take more when you are together during growth spurts. Make sure your care giver is familiar with other ways to soothe your baby and doesn't offer milk at every cry. Lots of good luck to you! Ps my name is also Steph and I'm born in 82 - not sure if that's what your user name means but it's a funny coincidence! X

Lol yes on both! Maybe our name was popular back in 82

Thank god, my mom will be watching him... So we can work together on the adjustments. I truly hope your right about him adjusting his feeds to when I am home. I had already told my mom, that she would have to text me at work when feeding, so I could pump at the time (so I wouldn't miss any high feeding days).

 

[doggylover]

Doggylover, nursing is a whole different thing than bottle feeding. It's common for people who don't understand BF (or haven't done it in a long time, even) to say that nursing on demand is too much, because it can be much more frequent than a FF baby on a schedule would take a bottle, but it's NOT. Keep doing exactly what you're doing!!

thank you I was so surprised to hear it from my mum as she is a huge bf advocate and we were all bf as babies, but I guess things have changed a little in 26 years, and maybe feeding on demand back then wasn't the norm, or she has simply forgotten how much tiny ones need to eat!