Am I overfeeding ? - Help please

[Tillyscoutsmum]

DS is almost 7 weeks old. He feeds at least 2 hourly day and night. He then also has some periods of feeding more often. He has, since birth, done a few 3 hour stretches - but not regularly.

He is piling on weight - was 15lb 9oz at 6 weeks (just off the top of the chart) but was 99th centile at birth so not too much of a jump iyswim

He produces plenty of wet nappies but not many dirty ones - probably one per day (which is very different to how dd was but still "normal" ?)

He can be unsettled between feeds and is very windy and seems uncomfortable.

Am I giving him too much ? Should I be trying to feed him a bit less and if so how ? Or is he actually feeding so often because he's not getting enough from me ?

Any thoughts please ?

any green poo?

I VERY much doubt you can be overfeeding, I think it is impossible at 7 weeks old.

My 1st baby fed waaaaay too much and was like an elephant at 9 months and is now the skinniest in her class, I didn't worry about it but she did have green poo and thinking back she probably could have fed less but she was colicky and sucking helped.

My 4th baby (who is now 6 months) feeds quite a bit but isn't big and she only poos once a week if any of this info helps?

No green poo.

I think a lot of it is for comfort. Last night he fed at 11, 12, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7. From 4-6 he was latched on pretty much for the whole time. My nipples are so sore !

My dd did this but then was often sick if she had gorged herself so I knew she was taking too much.

Are you using a dummy? I found it very helpful between feeds.

That said it could just be a growth spurt and will settle down soon.

He was sick after the feed and just kept pulling away and screaming as though he really didn't want the milk. I've tried about 4 different dummies and he won't take the things.

He's been like it since birth so don't think its a growth spurt. He's clearly just a bit of a greedy guts !

have you tried the upturned little finger trick in place of a dummy?

Tilly - this sounds very familiar. My DS is almost 7 weeks old and also seems to feed constantly especially at night.

Does your boy sick up any of his feeds?

I don't think it is possible to overfeed at this age.

Upturned finger/knuckle etc. sometimes works for a few seconds but then he pushes it away and starts crying again.

Whitty - he doesn't sick up many. If he's been clustering for a while like last night, then he may posset a bit back on the last feed.

I don't mind getting up to feed him so regularly (well I do, but know he's very young etc.), its just when he seems really upset and uncomfortable, I wonder if I'm making it worse. I wish I had an off switch on my boob so he could comfort without gorging on too much milk.

BF babies can go a week without pooing (my big ds used to poo about 10 days) FF babies can go 3-5 days, mixed fed anywhere in between so i dont think he is being overfed but probable needs to feed so often due to his size. (DS2 was 10pound at birth & had similar feeding history)

Keep trying with the dummy, DS1 took one eventually & restored my sanity!

14 days without pooing was our record. Super proud and never beaten...yet...

dd2 is like this and I have had similar thoughts to you. Now at 10 weeks I'm more of the opinion that I'm being used as a dummy and it's just getting more and more frequent. I've just put her down after a marathon feed when she was sound asleep and she's crying again [sad}. I'll give her 5 mins.

Just today I was reading these pages after finding links on another thread about over supply and colic. DD2 is very windy and always in discomfort with it. Her poos are once every 24 hours and explosive and slimy. I've cut out dairy and gluten due to reflux but her nappies haven't improved. So I'm now wondering about this over supply business. This is a quick intro and this is a more in-depth analysis. this pretty much says the same thing.

better go - more human dummy action required

You cannot overfeed a breastfed baby. It's physically impossible!

Feeding constantly is, I'm afraid, totally and 100% normal for this age, particularly at night. (There's a physiological reason for that: BFing at night stimulates a hormone called prolactin, which in turn stimulates you to make more milk). 1 poo per day also sounds very normal and nothing to worry about.

There are lots of reasons why babies are unsettled during the day, not just wind and suchlike. Some need more cuddles than others, some don't like noise/stimulation, they can be sleepy, hot, cold, etc etc ...

I know it's very hard at this stage (I went barking mad when my DD was feeding every 2 hours at the same age), but if you can just go with it for a bit, it will soon pass. Allowing the baby to feed on demand will stimulate exactly the right amount of milk supply, which is a really good thing as it means you are less likely to have problems further down the track.

Good luck!

Thanks for the responses everyone. Last night was pretty much hourly again . I'm so tired.

This too shall pass...........