Over feeding a breasted baby

[Folicacid]

Is it possible? My 19 week old on is EBF and was 25th on birth, down to 9th a couple of weeks after and then has consistently climbed, 50th, 75th and now 91st. Nurse keeps saying what a lovely bright eyed healthy baby he is and that he is doing really well on breast milk (he was three weeks early).

However, a family member is commenting about him sicking up a bit after feeds and is insinuating that this weight gain and the posseting means that he feeding too much. They are from te generation that breast fed in a 4 hourly routine. There is a cat's bum mouth at him feeding every 2.5 to 3 hours. I thought that was normal?

Have I over fed my baby? I'm beginning to doubt myself after being pleased wit his progress.

Argh breast fed in title not breasted!

No, its not possible to over feed a breastfed baby.

All three of mine were porkers and piled on a pound a week, regularly. I have asked the same question for reassurance) on MN before :)

Thanks soup dragon. Is his sticking up him regulating when he as taken in too much? Or do they not take in too much? If that makes sense? Read up on kellysmom about how much more work it is to feed from breast so thy don't bother to overeat as its a hassle (hugely paraphrased).

The sicking up may be his way of regulating his feed quantities, yup. That's why you don't need to worry about any over-eating - he's throwing up the excess. (Assuming here that he's not throwing up full feeds, and he's not unhappy when he pukes.)

Blimey - that is paraphrased! Babies don't find bf a hassle! They self-regulate, but it's not a foolproof system :) and some babies do take in a bit too much and then they sick up the excess. Your baby is being seen at the clinic from what you say and you and your HCPs agree all is 100 per cent fine :)

Your family member is being rude and undermining - they should be asked to desist :(

tiktok yes sorry, multitasking so knew was taking liberties a bit with my paraphrasing. Eating is never a hassle of course!

notquite he doesn't sick up a lot. Certainly not a whole feed. Sometimes it can be half an hour after a feed, other times straight after.

I'm going to cut down on my dairy to see if that helps.

Family member says the sicking up 'must be bothering him, don't care what anyone says', although baby doesn't seem fussed.

I wouldn't think you need to cut down dairy especially if as you say he's not fussed about it.
Some babies do posset more than others dd did ds2 was never ever even a tiny bit sick after feeds greedy monkey he was a chunk and tbh at almost 2 still is and still never wastes a drop of food.
I've heard people say that breastfed babies are often leaner than ff babies none of mine were they climbed the centiles but are now all perfectly proportioned.

Tell family member to stick it as they are talking rubbish.
Baby controls it's milk supply, if it constantly feeds for a day it's telling your body to increase supply cos it needs it. Just like putting out a note for the milkman. If baby doesn't feed much then it's telling your body to decrease supply.

However some babies do posset and in varying amounts, DS did posset a lot for first year and always does massive burps after his nighttime milk now and even at 2 has a bit of a posset but so did his dad as a baby and his dad was entirely ff.

DD went from 50th centile to off the charts in a few short weeks. She was never, ever sick. And she's remained at the top of the charts for weight and height. She is a tall, lean, muscular 4yo. She was just destined to be tall and as a baby because she wasn't mobile, being at the top of the charts for both meant she had rolls on rolls on rolls. They soon went when she was mobile.

DS is 6mo and about 91st centile, but again 91st centile for length. He is extremely sicky though. He's a happy chucker. It doesn't bother him at all.

Believe me, if something makes a baby cross then you know about it. They don't experience discomfort, shrug, internalise it and get on with the Times crossword. They, to use a cliche, bawl like a baby.

Tell your family to keep their ignorant asides to themselves.

I should add that DH was most probably ff on the same 4 hour cycle as you family member proposes...as I got similar comments from mil.
Only now does she concede that she is envious of how I'm am with DS and wishes she had done differently.

Laughing at Show's crossword doing baby.

Your DCs growth sounds exactly the same as DS's (25th to 9th at 6 weeks to 91st at 6 months)! At 6 months he looked like a sumo wrestler - all gorgeous and plump. By the age of 1 he was right back on the 50th centile where he'd started off. He's remained between the 50th and 75th centile for weight ever since and between the 75th and 91st centile for height (both DH and I are tall).

I think that there's a big difference between posseting in babies (just bringing up a bit of excess milk) which brings comfort and relief from feeling full and vomiting in adults which is generally nasty and associated with being ill and can be painful.

I would definitely get advice from a GP before cutting back on dairy - it's a good source of protein, calcium and many other things for you at the moment.

HTH.

Both my sons were vvvv sicky and I got similar criticisms from family - dad kept telling me I was over feeding him and mum frequently made comments about how my milk must be coming so fast it was overwhelming him, gushing at him, forcing him to take too much so he sicked up the excess. I just bought more muslins and ignored them and DS1 sat consistently on the 50th percentile while DS2 is sitting consistently on the 25th. Just ignore them and do what feels right for you and your baby.

I remember alot of my family said i was overfeeding him.

the response i gave was "are you a medically trained professional? no? well, the woman who is, the nurse, said he's fine"

that shut them right up. it was a bit rude but i had been up since 5am.

As others have said I really don't think that you can overfeed. My DD1 was 25th centile ish at birth, and soon well up above 90th. She was a VERY sicky baby, and I sometimes wondered if it was because she fed too much (she really was unbelievably chubby!!). It clearly wasn't due to over feeding though - some babies just do posset all the time and very annoying it is too. DD2 and DS were just the same on posseting front although neither of them ever wavered much from 50th centile (so didn't have all that chubbiness and squidgy baby fat that people were always commenting on with DD1). FWIW DD1 is now 7, she is extremely tall for her age and very lithe and skinny, even though she still eats like a horse (as she always has done from birth)

DS was on the 50th centile at birth and at 8mo is now on the 98th. He is also on the 98th for height so in proportion but common sense never stopped a HV from handing out crap advice. When he was about 4 mo the HV panicked me and told me I was over feeding (EBF) and referred me to a BFC.

I turned up to the BFC and said I had been referred by HV because of his weight. She said "but he is a little porker!...Wait, you mean she thinks he is too big?" She then did a face.

She explained it to me like this. A baby's birthweight is determined by how well he/she is fed by the placenta. That's all. After the baby is born and if EBF, they regulate their own intake and grow at their own pace to the size they are genetically programmed to be. Hence why some babies rocket up the chart and some slide down it. It's all genetic and you cannot over feed a baby on BM.

I did report this back to the HV.

My 14 w/o DD is EBF and was on the 25th percentile at birth and has climbed steadily to now settle between 50th/75th percentile.

About once a day she will bring up most of a feed but she is not upset by it at all and will smile at me whilst I'm bloody clearing up the mess! It's usually when she's had a bit too much. It doesn't bother her and the paediatrician I was seeing for another matter said it was perfectly fine as well.

Hello everyone, sorry I haven't been able to be back on long enough for a reply. Thanks so much o all your posts and reassurance. Am going to go for the lalalalalala approach. It really helped to hear about your experiences. Next time I feel ratty with comments I will imagine baby doing he Times crossword