Overfed

@vespin We’ve only overfed (or at least I suspect) once and it resulted in screaming for 2 hours and projectile vomiting. Then he promptly fell asleep for the night and was totally fine the next day. He had about 2oz total more than his daily average when this happened.

We went from level 1 to premie nipples at some point and it helped. It took us a while to work up to level 2. It was taking him 35-45 minutes to drink 5oz with level 1. He was getting angry and would stop eating because it was taking too long. We were at about 5oz a bottle around the 8 week mark but had been feeding mainly BM at that point. Now we’re mostly formula and just went to level 2 nipples and 6oz bottles for an average of 30oz a day at 21 weeks.

At 8 weeks we were still in the thick of it for gassy & fussiness. We used gas drops as frequently as allowed & gripe water regularly.
 
@vespin One can never go wrong if they go with and diligently follow babies’ hunger cues. Babies are fully capable of regulating the amount of food (formula/solids) that they will consume. Some days my son eats a decent amount. Some days he eats less, some days he eats more: either way he makes up if he eats less. Babies can eat more during growth spurts and then eat less once that phase gets over.

When my son was on Neocate he would eat pretty less for his age. We changed his formula and he upped his amount remarkably! All kinds of things happen with babies. If 1. Baby is gaining weight and on their curve/exceeded their curve 2. Happy and comfy; it’s all good! 😁
 
@vespin Overfed?? That is possible, but very, very unlikely. Go back to size 2. Tell the pediatrician you dodnwhat they asked but it didn't help. Don't elaborate. And ask for next steps.
 
@vespin Just chiming in to add my love to the chorus - this is bad advice. Bad bad bad.

Using too fast a nipple is definitely a thing that parents do but if you were using #1, that shouldn't get you any more stringent advice than "hmm don't raise that again".

And overfeeding is literally not a thing unless baby's digestive system is wildly off the rails. That is a dangerously misleading term to use to a parent.

I know people on Reddit jump to this very quickly but the advice you received is so far off best practices that it would be a deal-breaker for me -- I would strongly consider looking for a new doctor.

Source - had baby who was in feeding therapy (and also ate a LOT). My kid ate so much, he jumped 10-20 percentiles between appts. We fed what he wanted. His growth completely normalized at 1yr on food.
 
@vespin I don’t have much advice for you, but wanted to say I’m walking this same line right now. Pediatrician said not to feed him over 2.5 ounces but if I don’t give him about 3/3.5 ounces he wakes up an hour later starving and that’s not sustainable for any of us in my house.
 
@vespin My 3.5 week old is eating 3oz every 3 hours. It will take a week or two for a baby to adjust to anything. Is your baby staying on the growth curve or is she skyrocketing? How much is she eating total per day? 5oz every 2 hours even overnight is 60oz per day, which is double the average intake for even older infants.
 
@vespin Does she skip night feeds? Because 5oz every 2 hours over a day is 60oz, which is definitely on the high end. For 6 weeks (up to 2-3 months the range is up to 16-32oz). If she’s getting 40oz ish a day that is also normal esp if she’s having a growth spurt. But over 50oz seems high.

Did you double check how you’re making the formula is right?
 
@alysson She usually sleeps 6 hour stretches. Now that I hear it, it does sound like quite a lot, but she’s always acting likes hungry. Attacking her paci, biting at her hands. So I just always give her more
 
@vespin Omg you have a baby sleeping 6hr stretches at 6 weeks?! Don't change a god damn thing you're doing girl. Tell that pediatrician to kick rocks.
 
@vespin Ok so in a 12h sleep window she’d have 3 feeds instead of 6 right? In which case you’d have 9 feeds a day of 5oz bottles, which is 45oz. That doesn’t sound too bad if that’s the case. Anyhow, I’d start tracking the daily intake and observe trends week over week. On growth spurt weeks it’s always 15-20% more
 
@godlover452 She was saying I was giving her too many ounces. Her nipple size was definitely too big, at least that’s what I think it is. I moved down one and it’s been such a difference
 
@vespin Here's my experience with this kind of thing.

In the hospital, we were constantly changing her. Then a nurse told us that we didn't have to change her so much. So we were changed to every other pee. The next nurse came on, looked at her, saw she was red, and told us we weren't changing her enough.

First dr visit we explained our feeding schedule, which was just about double what was recommended but she was hungry all the time and never threw up (not once in the first eight months, spit up, not full vomit). Dr said we were feeding her too much, gave us "appropriate" volumes. We stuck to that. Next visit a week later, a different dr in the same office told us she was underweight. So we went back to what we were doing before being told it was too much.

From those two incidents we decided to be a bit judicious on how we would implement their advice. Now, all percentiles are great and she's hitting her milestones. We feed her on schedule or earlier, and she takes what she wants.

I'm not going to tell you to ignore your dr. But, while they have vast storehouses of knowledge and experience vs what little we can learn without years of schooling or field work, no one knows your baby like you do.
 
@vespin Uh... get a new pediatrician. WTH?!?

Facts: Even if you believed it was even possible to "overfeed" an infant (many experts now say it's basically impossible), the baby would be spitting up a lot because there's no room left in the belly.

You have clearly stated that while baby gets gassy (most babies do), there is NO SPIT-UP!

The recommendation is to give baby 2.5 os for every lb they weigh over the course of a day, up to 32 oz. Keep in mind, this is average, and babies can eat far more or less. My own kind of peaked at around 27 oz a day before starting solids and the formula consumption dipped and then dropped off a cliff once she got the hang of solid food. I think maybe she had a day or two in total where she hit that 32 oz mark, and she's TALL. She started walking early, she's not yet 2 and babbling away like a 2 yr old, and sits on the top of the curve for height and weight, but is charting along her own growth curve beautifully. Our pediatrician NEVER accused us of "overfeeding" her by giving her 5oz bottles. That's nuts!
 
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