Am I over feeding 11do DD?

[fredmum]

I've done a search but most threads are about babies who are several weeks old, whereas DD is only 11 days.

We had a rough start with DD unable to get the hang of latching and my poor supply. We took the difficult and guilt ridden decision to FF, and she's been on formula since Friday. She dropped more than a lb from birth weight, but is nearly back now.

Midwife says she should be taking 60g and the bottle of formula says 90g per feed. DD will often polish off the 90g and either immediately root for more or an hour or so later she wants another feed. Tonight she's had about 130g in 2 goes. She is occasionally sick after a feed, but not every feed.

Should I continue just to follow her cues despite her very young age?

Follow her cues op! She’s putting weight back so your doing great!
The amount on the formulas are guidance only, pay no attention to them 😊

Also does she have a dummy? This may help with rooting for more straight after a bottle

@Moonshine11 no, she doesn't have a dummy but I have wondered if that might provide her comfort in between feeds

If she's had that sort of weight loss she's probably trying to catch up. Just go with what she wants for now

You could try paced feeding if you are worried about overfeeding. There is a concern that bottle feeding in the normal way with the bottle tipped up has the potential to override the baby's instinct to stop when they are full because gravity pulls the milk into their mouth and they have no choice but to swallow. Paced feeding, where you hold the baby semi-upright in a sort of supported istting position and hold the bottle horizontal or close to, allows them to slow down and take breaks like they would at the breast. They also have to actively suck to get milk out rather than it coming at them whether they want it or not.

But if she is indicating that she wants more and doesn't throw it up then it's likely that she does need the amounts you're giving.

Thanks all

@BertieBotts Thanks for this. I looked up paced feeding and watched some YouTube videos. I tried it on the last feed and DD did slow down and seemed to go at a more manageable pace, but she seemed to be taking in a lot of air. Is that ok? She can be tricky to wind and this can lead to projectile vomiting (only seems to happen at night) which I find distressing although she takes it in her stride. She doesn't usually root for more milk to replace it. But would taking in more air with paved feeding potentially make that worse?

You could try a slower teat on the bottle
Having her sitting up a bit but bottle tipped higher. I would always lean my babies back against me facing directly away and hold the bottle in their mouth with their cheek resting on the hand holding the bottle, it was a good angle and I didnt end up with arm or back ache.
Stopping every 2 oz to have a quick break and half way through to wind her
Definitely try a dummy, they often need a finger lightly held on the end of it to get it properly in place, but if she spits it out after a few minutes she is still hungry and not just comfort sucking

The best way to wind a baby
Sit on a chair so your thighs are parallel with the floor
Put baby on your lap with her legs against your tummy
Wait for 2 mins…seriously time it
Sit baby bolt upright on your lap with her legs straight out in front of her so she is like a right angle.

Put a hand under her chin to support her head and your other hand on her back to keep her straight
Wait
Lean her forward slightly so her tummy has a little pressure on it from her legs
If needed pat her back gently
Wait for the biggest burp ever

Thanks @SeaToSki !

I ordered some slower tests yesterday so they should arrive today. She's on MAM 1s at the moment so I've bought some 0s. I also ordered some dummies this morning and they'll arrive tomorrow.

I'll definitely try your feeding position.

With the winding, when she sits for 2 minutes with her legs against my tummy, do you mean she's facing me so in a "v" shape?

So when you are winding she needs to be flat on her back for a bit to collect the bubbles all together. Then sat bolt upright to allow the bubbles to rise to the top and escape.

The flat on her back bit is easy you just have to give it long enough

The sitting bolt upright is more tricky when they are very little as it is difficult to get them straight. The best way to do it is have their legs in front of them and support them to have a straight back.

Its a bit like if they were sitting on the floor and about to lean over and touch their toes in a gym class and had to keep their back arched not curve over.

You then hold them in that position until the burp errupts 🤣

@SeaToSki Ah, I see - thank you. I had her sitting up with her legs against me but I understand now. I'll try that on the next feed. Fingers crossed it works like magic! Especially at 3am when I'm desperate to get her burped and back down without a vomit explosion!

Air in the teat/taking air in while feeding is not thought to be a cause of trapped wind any more. But yes a slower teat may help :)