EBM and weight-gain

[Peaceloveandbiscuits]

My baby weighed 7lb15oz at birth and now weighs 13lb2oz at 5 weeks. He's at the top of the 91st percentile but I'm concerned that he is eating too much and is gaining too much weight. He will happily take between 90-150ml at each feed (still every two hours on average). Occasionally he will spit up excess so this makes me think he is only taking what he needs, but his weight gain makes me wonder if I'm forcing milk down his neck that he wouldn't be having if he were breastfeeding. I appreciate that this is tied up in my guilt that I feel unable to breastfeed, and insecurities with my own weight, but could there be anything in it? I feel like I'm harming him by over feeding him somehow

[squizita]

In the red book it says high percentile babies are usually healthy and meant to be that weight. :)

[BMO]

Does he have a dummy? Babies have a need to suck and bottle fed babies need to be able to comfort suck without feeding.

[Peaceloveandbiscuits]

BMO we have one but only use it when occasionally he won't settle at night and definitely isn't hungry. Do you think we should use it more regularly instead of feeding every time we wants to? He spits it out if he doesn't want it.

[BMO]

If he's unsettled after a feed you can try it - ime if a baby is hungry they will spit it out pretty quick!

Breastfed babies average about 25oz a day, so if he's had 3oz and is unsettled an hour or two later I'd try offering a dummy before another bottle.

[Peaceloveandbiscuits]

Thank you BMO I will try that! I've been trying my best to breastfeed again the past two days, but I need to express first because I'm so engorged all the time and it's impossible for him. But then I worry that there's nothing left for him to feed! I think I just need something to worry about

[Redling]

My DS would not take a bottle if he wasn't hungry. What centile is he on for his head and length? My DS is 91st for head and length and went from between 25th and 50th centile for weight at birth to nearly 91st now at 5 months. He weighs around 18lb now. He puts on over 1lb per week in growth spurt periods. Please don't think you are force feeding him, just take the bottle away when he stops sucking and re offer it to see if he wants more. If he stops sucking stop feeding, he'll soon tell you if he wants more milk! Feed on demand and trust him to take what he needs. There is no such thing as greed in a baby. My DS pushes the bottle out of his mouth now when he's done. I never found my DS would comfort suck a bottle and when he started using a dummy at 10 weeks it made no difference to his feeds. Also weight gain can be crazy in the first few weeks as some babies catch up to their centile line, then they follow it at a much steadier pace. Enjoy your baby and try not to feel guilt.

[addictedtosugar]

Congratulations on your new baby.
Has anyone commented on his weight gain? Its very, very impressive (I make it 50th centile at birth, and 98th now).
It may be completely normal for him, but I'd also consider silent reflux. It may be that acid is coming back up, so he is asking for milk, and this soothes things briefly, but then the cycle repeats. If he is generally contented this could be a false guess, but may be worth investigating further.

[Monikita]

He may well be fine - is he long like Redling's? If you're worried you could try paced bottle feeding (Google for vids), wind him half way and switch him to your other arm when you resume feeding to mimic switching breasts.