Over Feeding ... Midwives not saying the same thing

[Haych86]

Hey so my Little man is 10 days old today and has been weighed for a second time. He has put on 10oz in 4 days so is now 8lb 10oz

Midwife said I am feeding him too much too often which I knew he was waking too often for a feed anyway which is why I asked my previous midwife about it, but the midwife I had 4 days ago said that it was all normal when I asked about him wanting a feed every 2-3 hours and taking 2-3oz each time. Now I'm getting told its too much and I should be making him feed every 3-4 hours which is what I thought it should be anyway. I am so confused I get one thing from one and one thing from another. I am going to start offering him cooled boiled water if he wakes too early for a feed now. I just feel like a bad mom after the midwife that came round today because she said your feeding him too much your spoiling him. But I really was just going by what I have been told.

I also have had the midwife tell me that my baby is not suffering from colic and that he is too young to suffer from colic. Even though once again the midwife before me said he was suffering from colic and to use infacol.

So basically I'm a bad mom and dont know what I'm doing ... or atleast thats how I feel!

 

[OmarsMum]

Hi hun, you'r not a bad mom, he's still tiny & needs his milk. There is a growth spurt between 7-10 days & LOs feed more during this period. You can never overfeed a baby, he will get sick if he takes more than what he needs. If he's fine & happy with the quantities he's taking there is nothing to worry about hun, you'r doing great xx

 

[charlotte-xo]

what a muppet!!..im sorry but no way is that over feeding your baby is hungry end of..they wake and tell you when there hungry he wont eat for the sake of it..stupid midwife..

Alfie wakes every 2 hours for a feed and takes 4-5oz at a time sometimes he wakes 1 1/2 hours after guzzling 4oz and then takes another 3.

dont worry about it

--x

trust your own instincts your not a bad mother at all hun how can feeding your baby when hes hungry be a bad thing

 

[lozzy21]

You cant over feed a baby, if they take too much they are just sick. If he wants feeding id say feed him.

 

[PepsiChic]

id ignore both midwifes.

i agree with the others, he'll let you know when hes done eating. My Lo fed every 2 hours for the first 14 days then went to 3-4 hourly feeds.

if he eats too much he'll vomit out what his tummy cant hold. or when hes feeling full he'll stop feeding from the bottle or try to turn away. dont try and get him to drink anymore at that point.

the reason they feed so often is that their tummys are tiny so can only hold so much milk at one time. their bodys work super fast to break the milk down and digest it though so the tummy empties really fast.

thats why very young babies drink so often

 

[Haych86]

So is him gaining 10oz in 4 days as bad as the midwife is making it out to be? Cos she really made me feel like I'm doing something wrong! ... Does anybody else offer their baby cool boiled water inbetween feeds?

 

[PepsiChic]

i wouldnt offer water at that age but thats just me and i havent and wont offer water till hes weaning.

I dont think theres a problem with your LO putting on that weight. my LO had a huge growth spurt at 9 days old. and again at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 9 weeks, and the biggest yet at 3 months.

i wouldnt worry about it.

 

[Kimboowee]

As said. He'll let you know when he's hungry and when he's had enough.

 

[OmarsMum]

I started offering DS water when we started proper weaning at 6.5 month & only few sips. They dont need water before weaning & introducing animal protien unless they'r constipated, dehydrated, or the weather is too hot. xx

 

[Kerry.]

I agree with what everyone else has said - your baby will only take what he needs and if he takes any more, he'll just be sick. My LO put on 6oz in a week (he now weighs 10lb 11.5oz) and he has 4oz every 3 hours, although sometimes he'll want a bottle sooner, and sometimes he'll want more than 4oz.

Every baby is different, so don't feel like a bad mother - you're doing a great job

 

[AlwaysPraying]

They worry when baby doesn't gain properly. The point of all this is to have baby gain weight! Just like other things you need to see a trend over time to see I there really is an issue. They will monitor your baby over many weeks and months to see if there is a true issue, not just a few days. Growth spurts are important and healthy for baby. I see no issue with your babies gain!

Personally I would not offer water between feeds at all. It fills the tummy with no calories and can mess up babies electrolytes if done too often. Is baby is waking hungry then baby needs food.

 

[AlwaysPraying]

Oh and you are not a bad mother! I had the opposite issue with our nurse. Was told baby wasn't eating enough volume or often enough. I would cry as I tried stuffing my boy with a bottle but he didn't want it at all. Days went by and he wasn't gaining what he should be and I was told to feed more. Baby would shut his mouth and not let anything in no matter how hard I tried. The nurse said "I don't know what else you can do it's not like you can force feed him, but he needs to gain more weight right now".

Three months later he eats like a champ and is growing wonderfully! I hate how they made me feel, inadequate and stupid. It took a long time to get through I and trust my baby and myself that we were doing the right thing. Sorry for the rant just sometimes these nurses drive me mad.

 

[fairypop]

Hiya

Don't listen to the MWs....you can't not feed him when he wants it! Well, I couldn't do that, my LO would just get so worked up into a frenzy, when he wants his milk, he wants his milk!

My baby was 9lb 1/2 oz when born and is now 10lb 5oz two weeks and one day later....porky chops!

My health visitor and mw's said that you can't overfeed them, they will be sick if they are full as their tummies are only so big, they can't take extra food they don't need.

At 8lb at birth too, he was already a bigger baby and needs more food

x