Can we overfeed our babies?

@mightyheart My son eats 35-40 daily WITH solids. You’re fine! If your baby is hungry, feed your baby. Old fashioned doctors might say otherwise, but they’re often the ones who just say “colic 🤷🏻‍♀️” without looking further cough cough CMPA cough
 
@mightyheart I don't remember all the exact numbers for our girl but that doesn't sound crazy to me. Until she got solids she upped her daily total till she got to about 32 oz and I get the impression there's plenty of babies who go over that. She was probably drinking even bigger bottles too cause she stopped eating at night early and was fine with every 3 hours.
 
@mightyheart I was worried about overfeeding my baby. The pediatrician reassured me that if the baby wants more, then give the baby more. Better to have a happy baby that has been fed than a screaming baby.
 
@mightyheart My 6 week old is literally eating the same amount as frequently as you outlined, went from 5 lbs 15oz at birth to 8lbs 7oz at her 1 month appointment and the doctor had ZERO concerns. As a matter of fact she said she was growing perfectly and at this age the baby doesn’t have social influences to make them eat more than necessary and they have a very good ability to tell you when and how much to eat. As long as she wasn’t spitting up, having tummy issues etc. then I know she’s eating the right amount and don’t change a thing. I’d say trust your gut and keep doing what you’re doing!!
 
@mightyheart Get a new doctor. Your current one is talking out his ass.

If he's giving you this bad advice right now, what kind of nonsense is he going to tell you when it's time for solids? When your kid is older?

It's fortunate that baby's so young, you can establish care with someone else easily -- they will watch baby grow from almost the start.

FWIW I had a tiny preemie and at 9 weeks out of the hospital, he too wanted about 5 oz, and he too was often not interested in waiting 3 full hours between meals. It's not that weird. 🙄

I swear some of the things I hear about pediatricians... Sometimes they just seem to regurgitate old wives tales, for healthy babies who don't have any specific concerns that activate "actually be a doctor" mode.
 
@mightyheart I went through exactly the same, honestly. We had no schedule at all and she ate every 1.5hrs to 3 or more. It was impossible to keep track of what was going on, when she'd be hungry again. I couldn't decide if she was eating too much or too little, but if she asked for food and ate it, then she must have been, right)

The day the doctor told me I should be on a 3h schedule, something just changed in both me and baby. Maybe it was a coincidence, but just maybe I was reading her wrong and she wanted comfort instead of food. I made it a point to keep walking if she was asleep in the stroller so she'd continue sleeping until it was time to eat (or keep holding her, offer a pacifier, white noise, whatever works for you to stretch the time). Life got so much easier. At 3 months we had already established set feeding times: 7am ish, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm then 11ish. I can't imagine going back to the life of chaos now.
 
@mightyheart I could’ve wrote this. 9 week old, regularly eats 5-6oz, sometimes we walk with her and she’s still hungry and will eat 7, sometimes she’s STILL hungry and will eat up to 8 for one feed (we assume it’s a growth spurt).

She regularly eats 28-32oz every day, 2-4 hours apart, rarely spits up unless a burp got trapped and we didn’t burp long enough, and she sleeps from 10-7, sometimes wakes up around 4 to be changed & maybe eat 2 oz, then back to sleep until 7-9ish.

She weighed 13.1lb at her 2 month ped visit on Tuesday (7lb 15oz when born). Pediatrician had absolutely no problem with her weight or how much she was eating for her age.

If she’s hungry we feed her. So I suggest if your baby is hungry then feed her!
 
@mightyheart I promise you that your baby knows better than anyone how much to eat. If LO does accidentally eats a little too much, she will spit it up. She is more in tune with her hunger than we as adults are with our own. And as others said: get a new doctor!
 
@mightyheart My LO is 11 weeks old and eating 5.5 - 6 oz oz every 3 hours.
Yesterday was 5.5 oz every 2.5 hours....hungry baby.
She ate 5.5 oz at 1800h and then 5.5 oz at 1945h. But she slept from 2000h to 1915h.
 
@mightyheart My son always ate at the top end (and sometimes a decent amount over) what the "recommended" number of ounces was per day. But our doctor always said he probably needed the extra food - he also didn't have digestive problems or really any problems with spitting up that would have indicated overfeeding. He's just pretty high on the growth curve and needed a little more than the average kid. And honestly, once I just decided to let him eat as much as he wanted our lives got a lot easier and he was a lot happier. Probably because he was actually full! That was one of the big perks of formula as well - no issues if he was still hungry, just make a little more for the bottle :D

He went through a super chunky phase around like 5 months or so, but once he got mobile he lost the baby chunk. And honestly, for a somewhat picky toddler he still has days where he's eating me out of house and home but I just try to trust that he knows when he's hungry and when he's full.
 
@mightyheart Yes, overfeeding is possible but you’ll absolutely know and likely never do it again. It happened to us once (projectile vomited on me 3 times middle of the night) and we backed down on his daily amount. I think that day he was close to 40oz somehow.

We averaged 30-32oz a day for a long time, usually five 6oz bottles a day. Now we’re comfortably at 28 a day now with solids worked in. If he’s hitting a growth spurt I usually add in another smaller bottle with a meal.
 
@mightyheart Feed your baby when she’s hungry and get a new doctor. Would they say that to someone who was breastfeeding? Don’t feed any sooner and limit the time? Absolutely not. Her body is telling her what she needs. Follow her cues.
Sounds like she is thriving to me.
 
@mightyheart Feed that sweet girl. I was told by my peds that my baby will tell me when she's not hungry. And when she's full. And she does. She turns her head at the bottle and "throws" the bottle out of my hand when she's full. And your so lucky she sleeping through the night at 9 week. Mine is 9 months now and sleeps through the night. It took a while to get her to do. We learned. But man. I was waking up ever 2-4 hours back then.
 
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