# Help! I'm overfeeding my newborn!



## Alvenchrst

I really didn't think this was possible with breastfeeding. I breastfeed on demand about every 2 hours, about 10 minutes perfeed, but sometimes he often likes to cluster feed, like 8 minutes everyhour. I thought he might have reflux, so I took him in to the Dr. He is 3 weeks old and has gained 2lbs 13 oz in 2 weeks! Everything I've been reading is saying that it is impossible to everfeed a breastfeed baby, but I even know that this is exsesive. The Dr. told me I should be feeding every 3-4 hours, blah blah blah some noses about breastfeeding like that. I am going to schedual a visit with an LC, but I'm afraid that is is severly abnoromal and may siginal a more serious unerlying medical cause.

Any adivice?

Thanks


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## Skim

Welcome to the land of the superchunk! lol

Totally normal for bf babies, I wouldn't worry. They do that...

nak


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## turtlemama77

I don't recall my dd's exact weight gain in the first months, but she gained pretty rapidly, too. She also nursed frequently for food AND comfort. I don't think I'd try to stretch out the feedings of such a young babe.

Is it possible the scale was off when your babe was weighed?


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## obnurse

Sounds normal to me! I have a super chunk too, he gained quickly. Stretching out feedings in a bf baby to every 3-4 hours is rediculous.
My DS was 9lb 4oz at birth, went down to 8lb 11oz at maybe a week, and was 10lb at 2 weeks, 12lb 4oz at 1 month.
I wouldn't worry at all that something is wrong with your child. keep up the good work!


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## alexsam

My newborn gained over a pound a week at the beginning and he only ate breastmilk. He is and always was a big boy, but he is also strong and healthy in every way. Nothing was wrong with him, he was just big and hungry! My ped was not concerned about the initial weight gain (and she said, as well, that it is not possible to overfeed a nursing baby and not to worry one second as my exclusively breastfed boy passed the 100% tile for weight!) and promised me that it would slow down. It did, and everything was fine. DS now kind of looks like a toddler linebacker, but it's all breastmilk and organic wholefoods- some kids are just big!

If you're worried, I'd get a second oppinion. Is there more than one doc in the practice? Shedule your next visit with someone else and see what they say. Or get a recommendation from a friend who breastfeeds (it's really surprising how many docs are not familiar with breastfeeding on demand and breastfeeding in general!) and try their doc. Finding a medical practioner who you work well with and trust is important...


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## Periwinkle

My baby gained 1 lb. a week for the first month or two. He was quite a chunk... off the charts! He was 16 1/2 pounds by 2 months old.







If you are truly feeding on demand then sit back, relax, and delight in those newborn breastfed baby rolls!


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## damyen's mommy

I just had to agree with everyone else. My ds was super chunk too. He went from 7'8 to 7'4 to 13'4 at about 6 weeks. He weighed in at 19 lbs at 4 months but now at 23 months weighs 30 so he slowed weigh down around a year of age.


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## CherryBomb

It isn't possible. Your doctor is full of it. Feed your baby on demand. Your baby sounds just fine. 1.5 lbs in a week is not a big deal. My daughter gained fast, too. How long is he?

Seriously, my daughter was 6lbs 10oz at birth. At 4.5 months, she was 16lbs 4oz. She's perfect. At three weeks she had gained 3.5 pounds since birth, even though she had been on nothing but IV fluids for 7 or 8 days. She's also very long. She's already growing out of her 6-9 month clothing. Some babies are just big. As long as he's following his own curve, is more than likely just fine.


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## FrederickMama

I nursed my son every hour for the first couple of months. When i called the midwives after the first few days they told me it was completely normal. Thank god i didn't have anyone tell me different. Yes, he gained weight from 9lb.12oz. at birth to 13lbs at 4 weeks.
I have never heard of over feeding a newborn breastfed baby. The need to nurse is driven by instinct and they will nurse when hungry and stop when full. And since the breast milk is exactly what your baby needs, it is processed easily and rapidly and the baby needs to be fed more frequently.
I find it extremely troubling that so many people are in a hurry to schedule our babies. As if they have to conform to us and our needs first.

Also, wanted to add - welcome to the scary world of first time parenting. Seek out advice and more advice and try not to let one person be your sole source for parenting/health/baby stuff even your trusty doctor.


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## dukeswalker

Honestly, when I read the thread title - I thought it was a joke - thats how crazy I thought it was!









My dd#2 was born at 7lb - by 5 months she weighed 20lbs - thats about 13 lbs in 5 months - SHe is now 4 years old and her preemie niece (same age - who was also bottled fed quite a bit) is chunkier than she is! SHe is slim and trim and perfectly healthy - but had you looked at her in the eraly months - WOW!!!


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## CherryBomb

Also remember, the charts your doctor is probably using are for formula fed babies. Formula fed babies gain slower in the first 3 months, and faster from 4-12 months. So that can make his weight gain look more dramatic, too.


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## mmm0708

Don't worry. My DS gained rapidly too, perfectly normal. Be proud!!


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## emmabella

Here is a great article from KellyMom.com about this topic:

http://kellymom.com/babyconcerns/gro...t-toomuch.html


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## tuffykenwell

My DD was 8 pounds 3 ounces at birth. Figuring on a 10% weight loss I figure she was probably around 7 1/2 pounds at her lowest. At her 6 week appointment she weighed 11 pounds even and at 6 months she weighed 23 pounds. She was literally off the weight charts.

Now she is 13 months and about 25 pounds. She is dropping percentiles like a stone but you know what?? She is growing on almost precisely the same growth curve as her older brother did 2 1/2 years before.

He sounds normal to me!

Steph


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## alegna

Normal. Dump that ped.

-Angela


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## its_me_mona

Advice? Stop taking nutritional advice from your pediatrician. You cannot possibly overfeed a breastfed baby (well, okay, technically you CAN but they will just spit it all back up) and any pediatrician that recommends putting an infant or a child on a diet (which is exactly what he/she is doing when he/she says not to feed any more than every 3-4 hours) should not be trusted.

You are doing a GREAT job! You should be rejoicing in the power of your body's ability to not only sustain but allow your baby to be THRIVING! Please, keep doing what you are doing! It's perfect!


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## Clarinet

I'd definitely ignore the pediatrician. My daughter gained 5 1/2 pounds her first two months and the doctor reset the scale and re-weighed her twice. She gained another three the next two months and the doctor told me to stop feeding her at night. Uh huh. Like that's going to happen.

I found that if my daughter wants to suck for comfort (which she does once or twice a day), most often she's not sucking hard enough to get anything. I don't think you can overfeed your baby if he's not puking.


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## Danae

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Alvenchrst*
I really didn't think this was possible with breastfeeding. I breastfeed on demand about every 2 hours, about 10 minutes perfeed, but sometimes he often likes to cluster feed, like 8 minutes everyhour. I thought he might have reflux, so I took him in to the Dr. He is 3 weeks old and has gained 2lbs 13 oz in 2 weeks! Everything I've been reading is saying that it is impossible to everfeed a breastfeed baby, but I even know that this is exsesive. The Dr. told me I should be feeding every 3-4 hours, blah blah blah some noses about breastfeeding like that. I am going to schedual a visit with an LC, but I'm afraid that is is severly abnoromal and may siginal a more serious unerlying medical cause.

Any adivice?

Thanks

Wow! Liberty used to cluster feed all day about every 45 minutes for prolly the first month or so. I just call her sturdy.

LLL actually says that if we truly let our babies feed on demand that they prolly nurse over 25-30 times a day. (This was based on research from some tribes in Africa that kept the babies slinged and had free reign with the breast)


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## sapphire_chan

From what I've read on here, you definitely want to look into another pediatrician because come the 12 month mark he's going to be whining that the baby is "failing to thrive" and demanding you up the calorie count. Why? Because he has no idea how breastfed babies grow. For example, a breastfed baby can be following the formula charts (read-- the ones your ped is using) right at 50% for most of his or her life and then will start dropping off the curve to hit 25% at 12 months. Looks like the baby is sick, but s/he's acutally just fine.

Just like your little (or not so little







) baby is fine!


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## InDaPhunk

LOL @ "feed him every 3-4 hours", that's hilarious....is the Dr going to come to your house and do a little song and dance for your DS so he doesn't scream his head off for the two hours after he becomes hungry? I would love to have seen my DS's reaction to having to wait 3-4 hours to eat when he was a newborn....much less now.

That dr is coo coo for cocoa puffs. Fire him and feed your son when he's hungry. Look at it this way, even if your son has an underlying medical problem (which seems pretty unlikely), I dont think that denying him food when he's hungry will be the treatment or cure for it. Yay on having a healthy son with a good appetite!


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## mommycaroline

You've gotten some terrific advice here. I second just about everything posted.









But, I also want to ask about the scale your baby was weighed on. Is it the same one? Weights can fluctuate dramatically on different scales and under different circumstances. To truly measure weight gain in an infant, you need to be using the exact same scale (identical models are not enough, it has to physically be the same scale) that has not been recalibrated in between visits. Baby needs to be naked, no diaper, nothing. If any of these things have changed, the weight gain is inaccurate. I wouldn't be surprised if you notice a dramatically lower weight gain the *next* time you weigh him, and boy wouldn't your ped look like an ass if he'd recommended adjusting your nursing pattern based on false information (which is essentially what I believe he has done).

Good luck, mama! Chunkers are cute!


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## justmama

Okay my dd isn't off the charts chunky but listen to this weight gain:

birth at 34weeks 5lbs 3oz
day 3 of life 4lbs 8oz
day 11 of life and first day home 5lbs 5.5oz(yes she gained a lb in 8 days as a PREEMIE!)
2 months old 9lbs 6oz
5 months old 16lbs

So in 5months my daughter more than tripled her birthweight. My older dd calls her baby sister "superchunk." That's the baby's superhero name btw!














So she might not have been a huge 5 month old at 16lbs, but from where she started out at, that's a HUGE weight gain, especially for a preemie who was in and out of the hospital during that tme. For part of that time she wasn't even nursing, she was iv fed due to RSV. So it's completely impossible to overfeed a breastfed baby just because they gain fast. Your baby sounds healthy and delightfully chubby. Great job mama!

Meg(oh and by the way, my 16lb 5 month old girl is now a lean 19lbs at nearly 1 year old. she slowed WAY down. had we been doing well-baby visits, I'm sure they would have told me to up her calorie intake)


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## Mamma Mia

What you describe sounds normal. IIRC breastfed babes gain more quickly the first 6 mos or so and then slower than FF babies after that. Also, IIRC, I was a superchunk baby myself and there was no problem. I'd have to ask my mom exactly how fast I gained, but what you describe sounds like about it. I agree with CherryBomb, your ped. is full of it. Keep doing what you're doing, and invest in a sling with lots of support because it sounds like you're gonna need it!


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## starlein26

it's absolutely normal for me! ds gained very well and very rapidly until around 6 months and then mellowed out...love

my ds put on a near 3 pounds in 1 week though...







he was born 9lbs13oz and was 12lbs at 1 week! don't worry...you have a baby that's truly thriving!! my ped also told me a bunch of crapioca about waiting but don't even listen to that misinformed babble...doctors take NO classes on breastfeeding in medical school.


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## hellen

Not that you need any more confirmation but my ds was the same. He gained very quickly from birth (7lbs 2oz) at the rate of about a pound a week for the first several weeks. He was about 18lbs by 5 months and now weighs about 22lbs. It really is perfectly normal. I also fed on demand which was a lot in the beginning.


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## Ammaarah

Ped is full of crap. My daughter is also doing the "Race to the Top of the Percentiles" game, but my ped is thrilled every time she sees her and would never suggest rationing food. Remember, your little one's brain is developing and he needs to eat as much as he wants. Eventually, his feedings might space out to the desired 3-4 hours, but he may just be a big eater in the first few months. Remember you are helping LOWER his odds of obesity by BFing on demand.

I wonder if babies who are fed on a strict schedule and not as much as they want go on to have eating disorders or problems later. The way people in the U.S. act about food, I wouldn't be surprised if the roots are in childhood.

I also think the scale might have been off a bit.


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## sbgrace

I didn't read all your replies but some reflux babies eat a lot because when they are swallowing/eating it keeps the acid down. I'm shocked (well, not really I guess...) that your dr. didn't mention that. I would recommend adequate dosages of reflux meds that really work--prevacid or prilosec at these dosages http://www.marci-kids.com/dosing.html


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## mimim

I love MDC.







Alvenchrst, aren't you glad you posted hereand got so many reasurring answers?


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## Alvenchrst

I don't have much time to reply, but I simply wanted to say THANK YOU very much for the encouragement, and now I feel totally confident that I'm doing the right thing!

I called Trace's normal ped and he basically said the same thing all of you are saying, that lady really was smoking something. He agreed with me that Trace has reflux, but said they don't give meds unless they aren't gaining well, too bad, my little guy is having such a hard time with it and we are in desperate need of some sleep. We ordered an amby, supposed to be perfect for our situation, hope it helps!

Ashley


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## DaryLLL

Reflux? Fast weight gain? Is your baby gassy, choking on milk when it lets down, does he have green frothy poops? Does he fuss at the breast?

It is possible to overfeed a breastfed baby (contrary to all of the above posters) if he is getting too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk, common in women with oversupply.

In and of itself, fast weight gain of a lb a week is within normal range. But if baby is in pain from tummy upset, that is not good. Of course, only feeding every 3 or 4 hrs is not the answer. Feeding from the same breast for 3 or 4 hrs (sometimes longer, YMMV) is the answer.

If you answer yes to the above questions, look here:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html


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