Can you over feed a 3 week old?

[dizzymama]

My 3 week old dd is being bottle fed and I'm becoming a bit worried that she's packing too much away! The Health Visitor did give me some sort of equation (weight x 2 + something or other) as a rough guide to the amount of fl oz she should be taking, but baby brain means I've forgotten what it is! She regularly takes 4 oz (she's feeding around every three hours at the moment) but often at her morning feed she'll take her 4oz bottle and then cry and wriggle until I give her another 1/2oz from a second bottle! At this rate she'll be on roast dinners by next week. Am I overfeeding her? If so how can I stop her?

erm, sorry that last bit should be 1 to 2 oz from the second bottle not 1/2 oz, I wouldn't be that worried about that!

My dd did this. We had to make up her normal 4oz feeds and then do extra 2oz bottles as well just in case she was still hungry.

My hv said that was normal cos like you I was a bit worried but she thought it was great that she had a good appetite.

Don't want to get your hopes up but dd also started to sleep through at 6 weeks and I'm convinced it was because she fed well.

Message withdrawn

I called ds Baby Huey because he ate so much! I don't know if you have that cartoon in the UK but it's an enormous duck in diapers carrying a bottle. Anyway, I wouldn't worry. As dh used to say, "At least we're not worrying about failure to thrive..."

I think your baby knows more about how much she should eat than any kind of equation

if she regularly takes an extra couple of ounces then make her up 6 oz bottles

good for your baby .. and good for you

and IMHO and IME NO you cannot overfeed a baby

I thought if you did overfeed a baby, they just brought the excess up?

Thanks guys, that puts my mind at rest. She's on sma gold, I wasn't sure when you could give them the hungrier babies stuff. Hearing that others have done this is fantastic, I think I will make her up some 6oz bottles and some 'extra' 2 oz ones. NewBarnsley, I really hope she does get to sleep through at 6 weeks! That is music to my ears tonight as she has been griping all day, has a fabulous bit of collic methinks

Hello, new at this. Can anyone tell me if b/f & formula works well? I'm going back to work soon & want to continue b/f but with my work it's unrealistic that I'll be able to express at work.

sorry, did I put this q in the wrong area?

sophie, you need to start a new thread