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Parenting

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Original poster

I’ve overfed my baby. Help!

36 replies

B00cock · 25/03/2020 22:21

I’ve got a 5 day old baby, who’s also our first child, and regrettably we’ve realised that we massively overfed him yesterday therefore last night was horrendous (baby didn’t settle until 4:40am) followed by an entire day of crying.

We are using mixed feeding, however today I have only breastfed and continue to do so for the foreseeable. But is there anything else that can help soothe my poorly boy?

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SofiaAmes · 25/03/2020 23:01

As others have said...it's all totally normal!! DD slept through the first couple of nights and then all hell broke loose. She screamed for the next year, started speaking in full sentences by 12 months and then complained for the next 2 years in between screaming. DD was exclusively bf until 5 months when she was diagnosed with hidden reflux and we supplemented the bfing with a bottle of special stay down formula. Started solids at 6 months and stopped the bfing at 11 months. She is now 17 and as teenagers go... pretty ok...although sheltering at home with her and 3 of her teenage friends is getting a little old.

katmarie · 25/03/2020 23:03

Worth bearing in mind as well, you tend to get more wind with bottle feeding than breast feeding in my experience. Which might explain the discomfort.

SofiaAmes · 25/03/2020 23:03

Ds was exclusively bf and fed for an hour every two hours day and night for the first 6 months. He never cried....just vomited a lot...it turns out it was completely unrelated to the feeding...he was diagnosed at 11 with cyclical vomiting among other things.....

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WestWasnt · 25/03/2020 23:50

If he’s never had that much formula before it may be that it’s upset his tummy a bit as he’s used to breastmilk most of the time. You could think about trying to express if you’d like him to be able to have a bottle sometimes but don’t want to use formula anymore. It can be very time consuming though for some women, others find it quick and easy.
My eldest would settle for a longer sleep at bedtime if he’d had a bottle of expressed as he would drink more than he would from a breast feed. My youngest didn’t get on with bottles though at all for months, they’re all different.

Original poster

B00cock · 26/03/2020 03:34

Thank you for your reassurance. I’m just on my first feed of the night and it definitely feels like I’m getting my old baby back already just by cutting out the bottles, I know it’s a massive learning curve for both us as parents and baby. I know the poos are runny in the beginning but I could just tell yesterday that something wasn’t right (maybe my mother’s instinct works already!) he looked in so much pain. Although one thing I have learned is that I wasn't the best at winding, but I can assure you that has now all changed! He was put on mixed feeding by the hospital which I was happy with and will continue once he feels better.

Thanks again for all your replies, fingers crossed it was something of nothing.

OP posts:

BecauseReasons · 26/03/2020 06:42

I'd agree he needs to be on the breast more than 8 times a day- I was told every two to three hours, day and night, waking them if need be in the very early days. Formula is much harder to digest and makes them constipated, so is likely to cause an upset stomach.

WRT breastfeeding- if in doubt, whip it out.

RobynSH · 26/03/2020 06:52

Feeding from you for hours is normal.

Don't add the bottles too.

You can't over feed a breastfed baby. So just breastfeed whenever he wants and don't add in the bottles. May have been that that upset his stomach, it's a lot harder to digest than breast milk.

MrsGrindah · 26/03/2020 06:56

Also remember he’s new to this too! For the past nine months you did it all for him. Now he’s got to learn how and when to feed , sleep ,poo! All in a bright noisy environment that he’s not used to.

Waiting1987 · 26/03/2020 07:02

Has the midwife mentioned he could be jaundiced? Often that means they are sleeping/don't cry/don't wake often for feeds. Breastfed babies tend to feed a lot more than 8 times a day. Particularly at night they can want to be at the breast almost constantly. How many hours is your baby going between feeds?

Congratulations on new baby!

simbobs · 26/03/2020 07:29

Babies would be so much easier if they came with a personalised instruction manual! It sounds like you are doing fine, but you never mentioned why the hospital put him on mixed feeding. I assume that your milk supply wasn't adequate at the time, but if you continue to feed on demand this will sort itself out. Is it possible that he is lactose intolerant? That would cause some of the symptoms you described.

TinklyLittleLaugh · 26/03/2020 10:58

Why was he put on mixed feeding? Because that seems to me to be the most faff of all feeding regimes.

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