Too much milk for EBF?

[Thistledew]

DD is 3 weeks old. She is exclusively breastfeeding.

I know the general rule is that a breastfed baby will self regulate and cannot have too much milk but I was wondering if there are exceptions that might prove the rule.

DD has fed well from birth and quite obviously loves her food. From 2 to 3 weeks old she has put on an impressive 500g! She does suffer from mostly silent reflux and needs a lot of winding to bring up some impressively large burps after every feed.

She mostly goes 3 hours between a feed, but sometimes this will be a couple of feeds at a session- for example she will wake hungry from sleep, I'll give her a feed then change her nappy and then she will want to feed again. Feeds usually last around 15 mins and she feeds actively- you can hear her gulping it down and she will come off the breast herself at the end.

Sometimes, especially in the evening she gets quite fractious and just wants to feed and feed, but then seems in some discomfort and I think her stomach is uncomfortably full. She is then sometimes a bit sick when she burps.

I was wondering if there is anything I can do differently to help the reflux? For example, should I put her back on the same breast if she asks for a second feed so that she continues to fill up on the hind milk - which she also has to work harder for - rather than gorging again on the other breast?

In the evenings when she is rooting for feed after feed but not really settling and in obvious discomfort I've taken to giving her to DH to settle so she knows that there is no more food at that point. Is this a good idea?

Any advice gratefully received.

The feeding in the evening is completely normal, my daughter used to cluster feed for hours on end and it’s a developmental thing at that age. She may also be trying to increase your supply so try and keep her on the breast if possible. She will regulate her feeds so she doesn’t over feed and you can’t over feed a breastfed baby.

What is making you think she has reflux? My daughter was awful at getting her wind up so I sympathise!

With regards to hind milk/fore milk I believe this theory has now been disproved so just put her on whichever boob feels fullest - eg if she’s only fed for 5 minutes on one side rather than her normal length of time pop her back on and see what happens. She’ll soon come off if she wants the other side instead.

3 weeks is prime growth spurt time! She is cluster feeding and building up your supply, which is a very important part of breastfeeding in the early days. Put her to the breast as often as she wants/needs. If she is fussy and settles nicely for your dh then of course it's fine to hand her over to give yourself a break! If she's still unsettled with him though, just feed her. Their digestive systems are a bit rubbish to start with but they sort themselves out in the end. It sounds like you're doing a great job!

I suspect reflux as if she hasn't brought up enough burps after a feed and I lay her down, you can hear her brining up and re-swallowing liquid, and occasionally she will be a bit sick. This is accompanied by her arching her back and sometimes crying until the burp comes. She sometimes has a second episode like this an hour or so after the feed.

I was surprised at the 500g weight gain in a week, which means that she has gone from the 50th to 75th centile in just 7 days. She is still in proportion at the moment as she is around the 91st for length, but if she continues to gain at this rate she will soon be off the charts!

DS was never that bothered about food and was (and still is) always on the skinny side so this is all new territory to me.