ff for 4 week old. How much is too much?

[firstpregnancy]

To start with, DS would always refuse more milk when he'd had enough, but for the last week or so has regularly been finishing 150ml (5oz) in a feed (feeds 7-8 times in 24 hours usually, and can be anything from 100ml to 150ml, but increasingly 150ml). In the past couple of days he has seemed hungry still when he has finished and starts rooting almost immediately.

Last night we made up 180ml (6oz) for his bedtime feed, and again this morning I made up 180ml again, just in case, which he finished and then started looking around for more. He went to sleep eventually, but I'm sure he was still hungry.

He just doesn't seem to settle after a feed any more. We are at our wit's end, as it seems like he is having far too much, yet I'm sure he is still hungry. Could we be misreading his signals? I'm sure we're not. We try everything else before resorting to the bottle, but it seems like it is the bottle that he wants. Should I just feed him as much as he wants? Any distractions we give him are only temporary, even sleep. I can't seem to find anybody who has the same problem, which is why I feel sure he is getting too much.

Has anybody else been in the same boat - if so, what did you do?

Babies have growth spurts and hunger spurts. Try offering him bigger feeds and see what happens. Worst case - he drinks a bit too much and sicks some of it back at you.
Or it may be that he wants more sucking time, in which case the magic answer is a dummy.

My DD is 7 weeks old and has 120ml every 4 hours as per the SMA tin. If mine has too much she immediately brings it back up. If she roots around for more, a dummy usually works. We did find the other day that she was thirsty rather than hungry so we gave her cooled boiled water. If you're worried speak to your health visitor.

Thanks for the replies. We have tried the cooled, boiled water but DS hasn't taken to it yet. We did wonder if it was the sucking he was after, rather than the milk, as he does seem to like nursing it quite a bit. We have been thinking about using a dummy - maybe now is the time to start. He has actually been happier today on the bigger bottle, so will see how he goes over the next couple of days (he hasn't sicked any up, so maybe he just needs more). Health visitor is due on Thursday so will ask her about it then.

I wouldn't offer water - don't think it is recommended for small babies.

Babies have a very strong need to suckle, and with breastfeeding they can comfort suck but it isn't possible to do that with a bottle without taking in milk. I would definitely offer him a dummy - if he is hungry he will spit it out. You don't want to get to the point of feeding him til he's sick, as even though he'll be throwing a lot up taking too much milk in regularly can still lead to overfeeding.