Hi IMs,
It is possible I'm overfeeding my baby?
Some info; I'm a first time mum, and a single mum of a 6 week old gorgeous little boy. He was born 2.24kg at 37 weeks by emergency cesarean due to us both going into distress during my planned induced labour, he was sga (small for gestational age), so he had a smaller stomach born. His first 3 days he drank 20ml of EBM (expressed breast milk) 8 times a day, I expressed because he couldn't latch. Iwas released from hospital with no advice on When or how to increase his feeds, so I tried to just read him and by 2 weeks he was having 70ml 8 times a day. By 3 weeks I couldn't produce enough milk to feed him, so I switched to formula and he was 100ml out of a 120ml bottle 6-7 times a day. At around 4 weeks he was wanting more so I started making 180ml bottles and letting him go until he's finished. He's now drinking 180ml 5 times a day, and from my looking around online that's a lot more than recommended for his age and weight? He's now 3kg and apparently should be having 450-600ml a day, and he's actually having 900ml, but I'm just following his lead.. am i overfeeding without meaning to?
Am I overfeeding without meaning to?
Am I overfeeding without meaning to?
Posted in:
Baby & Toddler, Baby Feeding
7 Replies
Mine was the same. It is easier for them to chug bottles, and thats just a guideline not all babies will be the same, if hes happy and well thats your measure, thats really the best you could wish for!
I usually say that babies will eat/drink as much as they need to.
You haven’t mentioned what he is like and if he is happy, does he get belly aches or bad wind, trouble pooping, trouble settling/sleeping from pains or anything like that? Which would maybe mean he is guzzling too much per day.
If he is happy, I’d tend to think he is fine and just trying to catch up. My kids rarely ever followed the recommendations/guide lines but they were happy bubs so I just went with what made them happy.
I really really REALLY do not believe in overfeeding, each baby is a case by case. My son was having breastmilk PLUS 30ml of formula every 2 hours when he was born - he left the hospital well above his birth weight. He was an extremely hungry and greedy baby..
I eventually exclusively expressed due to BF issues, he was drinking 200ml by 2 weeks old every few hours and I was also topping up with formula.. I was constantly told I was overfeeding him on breastmilk but he was always a starving hungry baby.. and now he is older and eating solids he is just as hungry (and I have had a test to ensure there’s nothing going on).
I would chat to your MHN but take it lightly what they say, they only follow a guideline and not a case by case situation :)
Sounds like you’re doing an amazing job, he was born so small, it sounds like he is catching up, which is awesome, congrats ❤️ The babies you are comparing to were born probably 3 to 3.5 kgs, he needs the extra to get where he needs to be.
If he's vomiting from too much then yes... But don't forget he might be vomiting due to drinking too fast/reflux or any number of other things too. Just watch his weight. Being born low, building up some bulk this early on is probably a good thing
My son was having full 180 ml bottles at around 6 to 8 weeks old, every 3 hours if I could stretch it out that long. I had so many people tell me i was over feeding him, I was spoiling him with milk, blah blah blah...
He was just a hungry baby quite simply and I wish I spent less time worrying about strict feeding schedules to be perfectly honest, you know your baby, if he's hungry he's hungry.
Just keep doing what you are doing. Unless he’s throwing up regularly then it’s not too much. I had a smaller Bub that was 6 weeks premiere (born at 3lbs 7oz) and I struggled with her. She had the tiniest appetite and was forever a worry. She took a little longer but eventually caught up to the other kids :-)