I thought you couldn't overfeed a breastfed baby?

[Bloodsocks]

As according to my doctor this morning you can.

I think my 5 month old is suffering from silent reflux. She screams when laid flat a lot of the time (proper in pain screaming not just crying) does wet burps, gets hiccups frequently, has a cough and sounds chesty and arches away if I lay her down to feed.

My doctor thinks its because when I go to feed her, her tummy's too full so I should try and space feeds out more. By surely you can't overfeed? if I offer and she's not hungry she won't take anything so I stop offering.

I feed her in average every 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours as she feeds to sleep normally.
Is this too much?

She's given me some infant gaviscon but as a bottle refuser I'm not sure how much we will be able to get into her with a syringe (she spits out delicious calpol!)

Anyone have experience of this? CAN you overfeed a breastfed baby?

You're not meant to be able to, though it was something I wondered about! Feeding every 90 mins does seem quite often for a 5 mth old though, it sounds like you offer rather than her demanding.
Is the reflux the reason you don't wait for her to signal she wants a feed?

Tbh i'm not convinced gp's are experts on bfeeding, so if you have a good hv, perhaps check with them?

Also when you say you lie her down to feed, she may be arching because of the reflux, try feeding her a bit more upright as it might be more comfortable for her.

I'm seeing the HV this afternoon. I don't know if I'm doing it wrong then, I would probably say I offer. She doesn't seem to do the signals of hunger like she did when she was little. Maybe cause I'm stuffing her full every time.

I was always under the impression that if they don't want they won't drink!

its not normally 1 1/2 hours, today she's fed at around 5am, 8am, 10am and that was the last time I fed her.

She used to sleep through the night and the past 2 weeks has been waking up for a feed as well.

Why don't babies come with a bloody instruction booklet.

The GP is unlikely to have had any breastfeeding training.

It's hard to overfeed a breastfed baby - but sometimes if they have reflux and are in pain they might feed more than they strictly need to because the milk soothes their burnt throat. Feeding isn't going to cause reflux though.

You really are best off getting in contact with a Breast Feeding Network or NCT breast feeding counsellor. You can access these services for free and don't need to be a member of their organisation.

Steer well clear of midwives, health visitors and GPs - their training in breast feeding is really limited and they give shocking advice.

It's possible you have fast let down so baby gets exhausted gulping down a fast flow and swallows too much air. Try the biological nurturing position - it really helped us with my fast flow.

Is that where you lay back and they lay forward on your tummy nancerama ? I do that on one side as I could never position her properly, will try the other side as well.

Sometimes a breastfed baby will feed a lot if they are in pain, so refluxy babies often feed frequently for relief.

Like everyone else said, have a word with a breastfeeding counsellor. DD fed all the time and was a very, very fat baby. Looking back, I think it might have been an undiagnosed tongue tie that stretched as she got older. But as soon as she hit toddlerhood she slimmed right down and is now tall and slim.

That's the one. You can either be lying down fully with baby off to one side, or you can sit in a normal chair or sofa, bum close to the front of the chair, leaning back a bit.

Thanks everyone. will see if the HV has anything useful to add then ring one of the helplines this afternoon.

Oh, and you're not doing it 'wrong', don't ever feel that. It's hard work, especially if it's not all easy!
Thinking about it some more, she may be teething, which will also mean she's looking for comfort, hence being happy to latch on.

And the times you give as an example of how often she's feeding sounds fine, not too often at all

Thank you onedog I think it's teething which has flared her reflux up because of all the continuous drool saliva, but looking in her mouth I can't see anything that might indicate a tooth coming through. If it's that I want to come through so I can get my happy baby back!