How can you tell when baby is finished eating?

[fashionlover]

I am having trouble figuring out how much my baby should be eating? I am doing a combination of bottle feeding and breast milk...all of it being breast milk. She is definitely cluster feeding which is making my supply a lot more. I am just wondering how much she should be eating because it seems as though the moment I stop feeding her she is rooting for more. Tonight I was feeding her out of the bottle about 4 oz of milk then she projectile spit up everywhere.
Any advice?

 

[toby1331]

How old is your LO?

 

[fashionlover]

How old is your LO?

She is 12 days old.

 

[staralfur]

Generally speaking if she's feeding from the breast she'll just stop when she's done. Adding the bottle may be complicating things a bit as she'd be getting more and quicker from the bottle.

Any particular reason you're giving the bottle?

 

[fashionlover]

Generally speaking if she's feeding from the breast she'll just stop when she's done. Adding the bottle may be complicating things a bit as she'd be getting more and quicker from the bottle.

Any particular reason you're giving the bottle?

I started giving her the bottle because my nipples have been cracked and excruciatingly sore caused by bad latch in the beginning. Was using bottles as a means to allow my breasts to heal to try to get back to feeding normally again. I have been using a nipple shield and it seems to be helping out a lot. Still trying to get the hang of breastfeeding, never realized how hard it would be.

 

[staralfur]

Yeah, I hear you. It is very tough in the beginning.

I would maybe try giving her less in the bottle and see if she'll settle on 1-2oz instead.

 

[w8ing4bean]

I know when my LO has had enough as she'll either come off by herself and be content, or she'll be asleep x

 

[Katrina18]

I did the exact same thing..I had no idea how hard it would be and after cracked and bleeding nipples I started pumping and giving her the bottle while I healed. I only gave her 1.5-2 ounces as this was the most I was pumping and figured I didn't want to give her much more than she would be getting if she was on the boob (even though I know baby can always get more than pumping)..also her dr. said 1.5-2 oz was good for that age. (My baby was also around 2 weeks old when I did this)..have you tried maybe a pacifier or your clean finger to see if she just wants to suck? She may be rooting due to wanting to suck rather than hunger..Some babies can get nipple confusion but it sounds like you're already doing ok going back and forth between bottle and boob.. (my daughter was ok going back and forth too so sometimes the pacifier helped)..
Good luck..it does get better..I pumped only for a few days and after I healed we went back to the boob exclusively and have been for coming up on 3 months!

 

[sweetthang24]

On the breast it's very difficult to know how much she is actually getting but remember her tummy is still very small at her age. It is the size of her fist ( for reference) so I think 4 oz is a lot and that's the reason she chucked it back up. It's very easy to over feed using a bottle vs the breast.

The rooting could just be comfort sucking, a dummy might help with that.

For your soreness try rubbing some expressed breast milk on them and air dry. lansinoh was a lifesaver as well. Apply after every feed and it helps keep them healed xx

Hope this helps xx

 

[counting]

I was told he is done(in the newborn phase) if he
1)falls asleep, is burped, relatched and falls asleep again.
2)Pulls himself off the breast, and does so again when you attempt to relatch
3)If he remains on the breast sucking, but his arms are " floppy" and limp, and his sucks do not have frequent swallows.

I do allow my son to comfort suck, and he usually doesn't pull off after a feed, he usually goes to sleep or does the limp arm when he is full. He does overfeed himself from the breast though sometimes from getting bits of milk from comfort sucking and he will spit up what looks like a lot. But he is gaining great so it's just a laundry problem. No advice on how much to give from the bottle though, good luck!