You can't overfeed a breastfed baby.

[SoLongAsItsHealthy]

Can anyone tell me why? I am always reading this statement but it is never backed up with an explanation.

I always assumed it's because the baby has to put so much effort into feeding. So they stop when they are full. And because you're not counting ounces of milk there is no push from you to 'just finish it off', it's very baby-led. And if it's comfort they want, they can suckle on the breast without drawing down any milk.

I don't have any actual evidence though, just observation from bf two babies on demand. One of whom fed all day and all night and was vast, and is now a skinny 4 year old, the other was far less interested and is a petit, but healthy, one-year-old.

maybe it is compared to a bottle fed baby. It is easy to drink from a bottle - suckling a breast takes effort for a baby - and they won't make that effort unless they are hungry.

My twins used to guzzle down a bottle of milk and then throw it back up again 5 minutes later - I don't remember my breast fed singleton ever throwing up after a feed.

Breastfed babies are in control of their own intake, solong. They can set the pace - so they can slow down their sucking and swallowing in line with their appetite and needs, and can simply stop and let the nipple fall out their mouths when finished.

With bottle feeding, it can be harder for a baby to control this - the teat can be a stimulus to suck beyond the baby's appetite, and the person weilding the bottle may have an idea of how much the baby ought to have at each feed, and may keep persisting. The teat can be sort of 'screwed into' the baby's mouth, whereas with breastfeeding the baby has to be a more active participant, opening wide and drawing the breast in.

Over-feeding a breastfed baby is virtually impossible for these reasons.

Does this help?

My understanding is roughly this (my only qualifications being about 3yrs of breastfeeding 3 DC's): Breastmilk is the 'perfect' food for babies and the baby has to work pretty hard to get it - relative to how easily it flows out of the teat of a bottle - whereas formula milk 'might' have excess stuff in it and they can guzzle it down pretty quickly. Having had a premmie baby with nipple confusion I have some appreciation for the distinction.

Plus generally when you breastfeed you just follow the cues of your baby as to when it has had enough, whereas with a bottle the tendency is to go "That is not X no. of ounces! I must force this baby to have more to drink or it will not grow and be healthy".

I am sure I will have offended someone with my generously offered response so I shall now retreat back to the teev and check back only when my self esteem can withstand a whole bunch of insults from the anonymous masses .

This thread got me worried, because our DS is bottlefed (for medical reasons DW cannot BF), and now i wonder if we feed him too much, how much is too much?

I had a poke around the tinterweb and the general concencus was that you couldn't overfeed a baby as it would just stop when it had enough, which seems to be true for DS as he rarly brings back milk, maybe twice a week at most, he's 2 months old now and fed on Aptamil comfort (easy digest stuff), and weight about 5kg.

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit, but, I am curious now..

StepSideways: it is possible to overfeed a formula fed baby, but you avoid doing it by being responsive to your baby's needs and being alert not to push the baby into taking more than he seems to 'ask' for.

ok, ta

My sister was told (by health visitor) she was overfeeding her exclusively breastfed son, as he was putting on too much weight, and should breastfeed him less! She didn't take the advice, and my nephew became much less podgy as soon as he could crawl and went on to stay the right weight for his height (he's now 9).

I think a big part of it is that your milk changes in response to your baby's needs and also the environment - so if it's really hot your milk becomes more watery and your baby can drink more to quench its thirst without taking in the equivalent extra calories as they would with formula.

I've also heard that if a baby comfort sucks at the end of a breastfeed he won't get as much milk as he does when feeding properly at the start, whereas comfort sucking at a formula bottle will keep on releasing milk at the same rate.

I managed to...my first dds was a lump. 21lb by the age of six months.

2 stone at 1.

She has been slimming down ever since....although isn't dainty.

However, if I'd formula fed I would have worried about this weight gain.

I then went on to feed a slip of child. dd2 fed just as frequently but can't have taken as much in.

I have a 4 month old who is exclusively bf. When she is ravenous she feeds with such dedication and efficiency it astonishes me. She just gulps and gulps until she is full when she drops off with that slightly woozy look. She mainly does this in the night and straight after her waking from her main lunch time nap. At other times she does more non-committal feeding and some of it, especially early evening, is for the suckling aspect rather than the food element. She is my second and I have gone entirely with her lead. I dont push it or get stressed if she fusses at the breast - even if it is some time since she last fed. She is just taken off and we dont try again til she gives me the signal. There is no way I could over feed this child - she is so clear about when she is hungry and when she isn't. That said, I am less sure that the same was my case with dd1 who I dont recall ever refusing an option to feed. She too however was always in weight to height proportions so again I didnt worry.