Do babies ever 'overeat'?

[KelaS]

Hi all. DD is 3 weeks old, and I have been wondering lately if she sometimes feeds more because she wants the comfort of sucking rather than because she is hungry - mainly because she seems to spit up pretty much the entire feed straight afterwards, or sometimes the milk even leaks out of her mouth while she is still latched on, but she still wants to feed. She is soothed by sucking on a finger though, making me think that she just wants to suck. Will babies ever take more milk than they need? And if so, how do I know when she is hungry and when she just wants comforting?

[KelaS]

Sorry, forgot to say I am bf.

[potoroo]

Kela - I'm sure someone will be along shortly with more info.

I don't think BF babies do overeat - although they do suck for comfort. At 3 weeks I couldn't tell with either of my DCs whether it was food or comfort, but one of he nice things about BF is that you can let them suck away anyway. Once they were a bit older (a few months) feeding was more regular.

[MrsBadger]

dd was just the same - IME as they get older they get better at sucking gently (therefore getting less milk) when they're only on for comfort, so spew less.

It's hard to suss at 3wks, so I'd keep offering the breast - you will get to know the diff between 'hungry' and 'other' (the likely culprit is 'tired').

[Lulumama]

let her come to the breast as often as she wants to get your supply established,breastfeeding is not just about feeding, but closeness and comfort,so don;'t stress too much

[thebluefoxategreensocks]

You never have to worry about breastfed babies eating too much (ie too many calories, getting fat etc). Your milk is just perfect and they'll feed when they need it. With both of my babies, they went through several "growth spurts", or trying to increase my supply, and for a few days it would feel as if they were always feeding. But it soon passed, and all went back to normal. Just have to try and stay relaxed and know it's now always like this!

[macdoodle]

Mine was/is same she is now 8 weeks and much better ..or at least I can tell easier whether she wants to feed or comfort...oh and she is porker (see photos on profile)...

[KelaS]

I did wonder about reflux, but she seems totally happy and content, doesn't cry when feeding etc, just sits there latched on, occasionally sucking, then spitting up quite a large amount. And this isn't all the time, I just noticed it quite a bit last night which is why I posted.

Thanks for all the replies, I guess what I was really asking wasn't so much will she take too much milk, but more can I let dp comfort her by letting him suck on her finger rather than feeding her all the time, but from the replies I guess I need to offer her the breast and then hope she will let me know if that isn't what she needs.