At what point would you stop feeding a baby that's obviously mouthing?

[Wills]

Hi, We generally have bad evenings but ds does mouth a lot so I keep feeding (mix of me and bottle). I would say that between now and 5.45pm and now he's had at least 10 ounces. He's only 4 and half weeks old. 10 ounces in 3.5 hours seems rather a lot but he does feed intensley in the evenings. The thing is that I'm worrying that he's feeding because it gives him comfort i.e. he's got colic rather than because he wants food. Saying that he DOESN'T throw it all up. Yesterday we had a similar evening but things improved rapidly once he'd poohed. Like yesterday he hasn't poohed all day. If you give him food he rapidly falls asleep. Lay he down and he wakes up within 5 minutes. If you pick him up and try to comfort he mouths like mad as though he's absolutely starving.

Dh has just taken him out for a quick drive but I'm doubtful that once out of the car seat that he'll stay asleep.

so. Do I keep feeding him? Is 10ozs in 3.5 hours a little excessive for a 4 week old baby? My gut feeling says I'm feeding his pain. Any advice or thoughts?

pleeease

Ahh poor you. Babies do cluster feed in the evenings especially if they are going through a growth spurt. If you breastfeed he is LESS likely to get colic (not absolute though). Don't worry about how much he is taking. When bf babies can't overfeed themselves.

os the bottle formula or ebm? Maybe just try breastfeeding and ebm, and make sure he doesn't gulp air in the bottle.
tbh, at 4 weeks, I wouldn't have thought it matters whether he feeds for comfort or hunger - if it helps, give it to him.
good luck

cross posts with jennt, who said what i was trying to say!

Can you bfeed in the evenings?

Are you sure he's hungry? Try giving him a dummy. Works wonders IME. I'm not saying don't feed, but if he's just taking enough for comfort and then waking as soon as you lay him down, I wonder whether it's sucking he wants, rather than food.

Just wwanted to post to say that I am going through exactly the same thing with my dd and on Tues night thought I was going mad and that if she didn't stop sucking my nipples would fall off!

Pleased to report that things are improving very slightly and my nipples are still firmly attached . I have just continued to feed her. Did try a dummy but she just spat it out and tbh she is teeny tiny and needs to feed and grow so feel that at least if she is getting a little milk from her comfort sucks then it all helps.

IIRC I found that mine didn't settle well after feedathons. They tended to settle better if they had a bit of a gap between feeds. That's where the dummy came in helpful. Neither of them could hold the dummy in at first. It certainly looked as if they were spitting the dummy out, but that's just because the only suck they know to do is suckling, which has a pushing action with the tongue. I had to hold the dummy in with my finger for the first couple fo weeks until they got the hang of it, but it helped enormously.

cluster-feeding in the evenings is v normal in a baby that age.

Tbh I don't think there's much wrong with a baby wanting to suck for comfort, but I remember how relentless it feels. It's only for a few weeks though. Can you sit down in front of the tv and relax while he feeds (and hopefully get dh to wait on you hand and foot )?

my ds2 who is 16 weeks was like that at 4 -6 weeks. could be plugged on continually for 7 - 10pm. it does settle

Giving a dummy does not starve the baby. A baby who is hungry will not be settled by anything other than a feed, even the dummy won't work for more than a few minutes. That way you can tell whether the baby wants to suck or to feed.

Wills - Sorry, nothing to add that hasn't already been said. You have my sympathy though. Dd was like that for about 5-8 weeks, I hated it and it got really painful. She did eventually stop though. Good Luck.