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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

overfeeding

27 replies

moonincancer · 10/01/2009 23:35

my son is 8 weeks and weighs 14lb. he was 7lb15 birth. he feeds at least every 4 hours, more like 2 mostly. is it possible im overfeeding him? he does bring up lots of milk too, after most feeds. a family member was commenting today, saying how chubby he is, and that im overfeeding him, i didnt think it was possible? tell me my father this family member doesnt know what hes talking about

OP posts:
Original poster
moonincancer · 10/01/2009 23:36

my father

OP posts:
DevilsAdvocaat · 10/01/2009 23:37

he doesn't know what he's talking about.

sorry not very helpful but trust your instincts. babies need food. is he ff or bf?

CharCharGabor · 10/01/2009 23:37

Is he bf? If so it's impossible to overfeed

DevilsAdvocaat · 10/01/2009 23:38

talk to your hv or doc if you're worried about weight/feeding too.

faeriemoo · 10/01/2009 23:38

It is, of course, possible to overfeed a baby, like it is possible to overfeed yourself, IYKWIM? He is maybe being sick because his tummy is too full. What signs is he giving you that he wants fed 2 hourly? What happens if he is giving you what you perceive to be signs of hunger but you are unable to feed him there and then?
Or he could just be a chub

Original poster
moonincancer · 10/01/2009 23:39

yes, breast, thought i was right

OP posts:
madmouse · 10/01/2009 23:39

what charchar says

if ff don't reduce bottles until you have spoken to a hcp who does not spout nonsense

DevilsAdvocaat · 10/01/2009 23:40

i second charchar.

but with ff it's different but i'm not the person to ask i'm afraid.

good luck

Original poster
moonincancer · 10/01/2009 23:40

faerie, sucking his hands, turning his head and rooting, whinging leading to crying

OP posts:
DevilsAdvocaat · 10/01/2009 23:41

continue as you were then!

CharCharGabor · 10/01/2009 23:41

Yep definitely impossible to overfeed then, even if you offered the breast every ten minutes Rise above it and ignore any daft comments. You're just making some gold top breastmilk

I like it when someone says 'what charchar says'

CharCharGabor · 10/01/2009 23:41

Yep definitely impossible to overfeed then, even if you offered the breast every ten minutes Rise above it and ignore any daft comments. You're just making some gold top breastmilk

I like it when someone says 'what charchar says'

CharCharGabor · 10/01/2009 23:42

oops!

faeriemoo · 10/01/2009 23:45

Is it really impossible to overfeed them? But possible to overfeed a FF baby? Why is that?

I know when my DD2 was younger I used to offer her the breast at the slightest little whimper. She would often suckle for a minute or two even though she didn't really want or 'need' it. Surely that counts as overfeeding her? Really, in hindsight, it was wind causing her to be unsettled.

Original poster
moonincancer · 10/01/2009 23:46

sodium i think

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faeriemoo · 10/01/2009 23:47

moonincancer sucking his hands at this age is perfectly normal and may not indicate that he is hungry. Try seeing if he has any wind before offering him the breast.

Of course, if you are perfectly happy to feed him when he seems to want it, just whip it in there

CharCharGabor · 10/01/2009 23:53

Yes it's impossible. Because bf babies are able to comfort suck whilst getting little milk, however much you offer they will only take as much as they need. DD fed really frequently in the early days and pretty much hourly until 9 months, and she's teeny.

It's possible to overfeed a ff baby as they cannot comfort suck without taking milk, so can carry on sucking when not hungry. Some parents (and I am in no way suggesting most or even a lot of parents do this) encourage babies to drink more i.e. to finish the last ounce. I think this is quite rare but it does happen.

madmouse · 11/01/2009 00:03

breastfeeding is a very finely tuned mechanism and baby is in very tight control of what they drink, so if full they will come off and turn away.

Bottles of formula flow faster with less effort and less control so the baby's mechanism for appetite control is not working a well.

I guess that means you can overfeed on expressed milk in a bottle?

madmouse · 11/01/2009 00:04

by the way, do not panic and do not let anyone panic you if in the next two months or so he starts slowing down a lot in terms of weight gain and starts coming down the charts. It is called 'catching down' and is normal for bf babies. hv do not like it as it defies the charts

CharCharGabor · 11/01/2009 00:10

Yes you can overfeed on ebm. Apparently bf babies need 1oz per hour. So if they feed 2 hourly they need 2oz. They can still be rooting after that though, because they're used to having a comfort suck afterwards.

Agree with madmouse on the catching down. DD put on a ton of weight in the first few months, then stayed in 3-6 month clothes until about 10 months!

faeriemoo · 11/01/2009 00:14

CharChatGabor it is not 1 oz per hour they need, but approximately 25ozs per day (over their waking hours).

E.g. If your baby sleeps for 12 hours of the day, they need to take in approx 25 ozs during the twelve hours they are awake, so therefore need 2 ozs for every hour IYKWIM?

madmouse · 11/01/2009 00:16

ok most of me is asleep but what is left suggests that 25oz per day and 1oz per hour boils down to the same thing

CharCharGabor · 11/01/2009 00:17

Oh yes sorry, haven't read the Kellymom article on that for ages as DD never had ebm/slept through

CharCharGabor · 11/01/2009 00:18

Suppose if they sleep through then they'd have to make up the ounces they'd miss in the day. I wouldn't offer more than 4oz at a time though, I prefer little and often.

faeriemoo · 11/01/2009 00:30

But even if they are not sleeping through the night, they are still sleeping. Unless your babies are awake for 24 hours a day of course

Even sleeping for an hour every four hours during the day and sleeping a three hour stretch at night means they would be sleeping at least 8 hours in 24, which means those 25 ozs need to be spread over 16 hours, so more than one oz per hour!