How can I avoid bf-ed ds developing unhealthy eating associations?

[pixsix]

My ds is 12 weeks old and exclusively breast fed. He has been seeing the GP quite regularly because he vomits all he time. He's now on Gaviscon which seems to be helping most of the time.

The last time I saw the GP we were talking about his weight gain and I asked if it was ok that he's gaining weight so fast because he's gone from 9th centile at 4 weeks to 50th since being on the Gaviscon. She said it was fine, they don't worry about obesity in babies, only in older children. She did say however that I should not treat all of ds' upsets with bf-ing because that leads to unhealthy eating associations which can lead to obesity.

My question is, how do I know when he's feeding for comfort and when he's really hungry? When he's upset he often head-butts me for milk and I tend to always try feeding as the first port of call if he's crying and I'm not sure why. It's very rare for him not to latch on and suck and he does feed a lot especially in the afternoon and evenings. I'm worried that I'm feeding him too much and setting him up for problems later in life. It's something that really worries me as I think I have a lot of unhealthy eating habits myself.

Are there any ways to tell when he's really hungry and should I be trying to find ways to distract him at other times?

I'm thinking about this today as he has been sad from his vaccinations so I've been feeding a lot to keep him calm and I am worried that I'm doing the wrong thing.

TIA for any advice.

Um, your GP is talking utter shite.
Your ds is way too young to be worrying about that!

I second that nickytwotimes!

It's fine to learn to distinguish between differnt cries - when is he hungry/tired/upset? Bu tthe answer to any desire for comfort from a young baby is feeding!

As he grows you will start to notice that his cries when he is hungry are different from pain/wet/tired cries. But really, even if you don't, he won't develop unhealthy eating habits because breastfed babies stop feeding or fall asleep if they have had enough.

Feeding because he's ill is fine too - all breastfed babies use milk for comfort as well as nutrition and there is nothing wrong with that. I'm breastfeeding my second child and my first - who fed for over two years, has no problems with comfort eating and happily wolfs down solid foods. Nor is she enormously fat or overly attached. Just confident and happy because she knows that when she needs me, I'm always there for her.

ditto what everyone else said

but also wanted to add that if the charts they are plotting him on are the normal ones they are based on bottle fed babies.
there are different charts for breastfed babies and your child may be very different on those.

this is because bf babies do tend to put on quite a lot of weight fairly quickly, and then plateau a bit later on.
so what he is doing is totally normal. but on a bf chart he may not have reached the 50th centile iyswim?

anyway, you sound like you're doing a grand job. you cna't overfeed a bf baby, and all you are doing is responding to his needs by comforting him. that's a GOOD thing imo

No no no! Our friendly BF experts will be along shortly, but please don't feel you are doing anything wrong.

Your DS will feed both for hunger and for comfort and this is totally normal. Sometimes when they are so young it is not always easy to know which is which, but if in doubt get the boob out. You will learn his cues (head butting is a good one!) and his feeding will probably settle into some sort of pattern fairly soon. Except for during growth spurts, teething, colds, etc., etc.

Cluster feeding is totally normal - I found early evenings challenging at this age b/c DS would feed every 1/2 hour for 2 hours. This will also settle down.

BF babies learn to stop feeding when they are full. This should set your DS up for good eating habits in the future.

BF is a huge comfort for babies when they are unwell, or have had injections. Carry on as you are. You're doing a great job.

Message withdrawn

Thanks for you reassurance everyone. I'm so glad I'm not going to have to sop feeding whenever he wants to as it is such a comfort to him whenever he's upset.

'If in doubt, boob out' has pretty much been my mantra for the last 12 weeks!

You can not over feed a demand BF baby.

Good mantra btw

12 weeks! Is your GP the twin of that creep on GMTV? Hillary Jones??

12 weeks: mummy=booby=cuddles=comfort=safe=warm fuzzy feeling=full tummy

his flipping world isn't any bigger than that yet!

Maybe we should get some t-shirts made.

When he's a toddler, don't give him a biscuit to make him happy every time he falls over. Until then, relax and be proud of your happy healthy little man!

pixsix you probably know more about bfing than your gp. they don't get any proper training and have only their own experiences to go by.

JFly I'm laughing at the thought of the t-shirts! I think that would make my feeble attempts to be discreet in public even less successful.

fishie I didn't know that about GPs, thanks for letting me know.

Bubbaluv thanks, I am quite proud, especially of his chunky little thighs

Thanks everyone again for your support and wise words. I hear him crying with his Daddy so I'm off to latch him on again. You have all made me feel so much better. Thank you.

What bubbaluv said. A tiny baby needs to be fed frequently. This will not mean that you are going to morph into someone of such little imagination that you will still come rushing round with the spaghetti bolognese every time your 16yo curses his homework.

Twelve weeks old is not when you lay down the habits that are going to last you a lifetime. Really, seriously not.

You don't have to make sure that he says pardon me when he burps or puts his dirty clothes in the laundry basket either, though both of these are excellent habits for when he is just that little bit older.