I was told a BF baby cannot overeat but a formula fed baby can?

Question

My daughter was formula fed until I finally started re lactating. Her weight has been "off the charts" and to the point where it was dangerous. I had SEVERAL people online (yahoo answers) tell me "a baby cannot over eat" so I listened and let her eat what she wanted. HOW stupid was I to listen to all these women on here, huh? (She was eating 9 ounces every 2 hours at a month old!!!) NOW she is being BF and eating the right amount and her weight is doing well. Then I was told by doctors that "some women are misinformed and that BF babies will not over eat but Formula fed babies most certainly can". Anyone else hear of that?

My daughter was having breathing problems and was very unhealthy, trust me, she was over eating. I will never listen to anyone but her doctor again. I was a bad mom for putting her life in jeopardy like that! :(

How odd is it that when I use to post questions that my daughter was over eating on formula that EVERY answer was "no she is not" however, now EVERY answer is, "yes they can"??? hmmmmm...

Answer 1

Babies who are exclusively fed at the breast don't overeat. Watch your baby for hunger cues and let her nurse when she needs to nurse. She should choose when to nurse, how long the feeding lasts, and whether she nurses on one or both sides. This is how breastfed babies adjust the protein, carbohydrates, fats, and liquids they receive. Your milk supply will adapt to meet her needs. Breastfed babies need the same amount of milk (about 28 ounces every 24 hours) from about 1 week of age until they start solids, at around 6 months of age. Then they start taking in less milk as the amount of solids they eat increases.

If she's being given bottles (even of breastmilk) or solids, though, she could be overfed. It's easy to coax a baby to take a bit more than they need. So if your baby sometimes gets bottles of your milk, then, yes, she could be overfed.

There is a condition called oversupply, where your body makes more milk than your baby needs. Typically, there are signs of problems, though - baby often is unhappy at the breast (gasping, choking, or coughing while nursing), baby refuses to nurse for comfort, baby may be colicky or gassy, and may have greenish poop. These babies often gain weight much faster than expected (normally a breastfed baby gains about 5-7 ounces a week during the first few months of life). If this sounds like your baby, a La Leche League Leader or IBCLC (board-certified lactation consultant) can help you resolve the problem.

Answer 2

Oh yes, I've seen it too. My friend's baby 'ate' like 8 ounces a time at three months! He's 10 months old now and weighs a whopping 30 lbs (believe it or not!!). She can't even find diapers for him anymore, and he's so heavy he has trouble lifting himself to stand! When he gets very busy, he starts to snort and get out of breath, like an old man. I feel sooo sorry for that poor tyke. He doesn't have a bad mommy, she was just uninformed... she's trying now to get him to eat less, but it would seem the damage is done. He eats three meals a day, and still takes about 5 x 9 oz bottles a day too. She says he's always hungry!

You CAN and a lot of ppl DO overfeed formula fed babies. I have nothing against women who choose to give their babies formula, but they need to be informed.

Of course, all that said, not all babies are the same. Some will eat and eat and eat, while others will stop when they've had their fill.

Answer 3

A baby who exclusively breastfeeds from the source CANNOT overeat, they can undereat however, if there is a problem with latch and so on. A baby on bottles of breastmilk CAN overeat. A baby who has breastmilk AND formula can overeat as well. If bottles are involved, overeating can happen.

ETA: Now just to tell you, drs can be wrong too, so be sure to check things out that don't sound right to you. Get another opinion. Now Yahoo isn't necessarily the best place for a solid opinion, but it can get you started.

Also, breastfed and formula fed babies can be chunky or thin. My son was solely breastfed and he was on the thin side. Those stereotypes on babies don't hold true.

My very thin son was a breastfeeding monster his first year, hmmm, so how did he not overeat?? Nature's design.

Answer 4

well you mostly come on here for advice or recommendations and thats what you will get. Asking the dr. first is the best thing you could have done. My son at a month would eat 4oz maybe every 3-4 hrs, I've never heard of a little baby like that eating 9 ounces!

Answer 5

Yes. I've read, but don't know how accurate it is, that the reason is that breast milk doesn't get sucked out the way bottled milk does. You know how if you eat really quickly, you can end up eating too much because your body hasn't yet gotten the signal that it's had enough? Breast milk supposedly comes out slower than milk from a bottle--which is why it can take 20 minutes or so to nurse, but a baby can down a full bottle in less than 5. The baby's not getting the signal quickly enough that its tummy is full. Mom sees the bottle gone in 5 minutes, thinks baby needs more, gives more, baby drinks more, etc.

There's also the aspect that mom's milk is limited in supply--it gets produced as needed, but as baby sucks, the flow slows and it'll eventually dwindle to very little. A built-in signal that it's time to stop eating, I suppoe. Bottled milk can be replenished continually!

Answer 6

there have been 1000's of youngsters have been formulation fed many some years. those stats are actually not precise. i grew to become into nicely knowledgeable approximately some super reward of Breast feeding. yet I made the choice to formulation feed, for own motives. Will I breast feed interior the destiny? No. yet i'm able to assert that breast is excellent, in case you may provide your little ones breast milk. Do i think of formulation is evil, and poison? No way! could I permit my offspring drink donated milk? extremely not. You never comprehend what illnesses, pollution, viruses, metals that the different mom would have. To me that grew to become into not an selection the two. So I chosen formulation. I dislike judgmental, hateful rude human beings. there is not something incorrect with formulation feeding. it is an impressive selection to breast feeding. not each mom interior the international is able to breast feeding. in spite of what "some" human beings would say. To me it is not worth arguing over with somebody, who refuses to think of exterior out of their very very own evaluations or innovations. no person has the "good" answer. And in simple terms because of the fact which you have been "knowledgeable" in some thing, would not make you an authority. What makes you an "expert" is listening, discovering, being compassionate, coaching with a open suggestions, and leaving your criticism on the door. nicely it is my 2 cents. i comprehend i visit get thumbs down for my answer.

Answer 7

I agree...But I also have to say that not all formula fed babies overeat. My son is formula fed and is 54% on the weight chart for his age. and 76th for his height. It all depends on the baby. And how educated the parents are as to tell when the child is full. Some parents don't know when to stop feeding.

I know I might get thumbs down but oh well...

Answer 8

I had to formula feed my son, because my milk didn't come in. So what the dr. told me was... It takes a baby 20 to 30 minutes to breast feed. That is because it takes more work to get it out of the breast. But to feed a baby with a bottle only takes about 10 minutes. Since it takes a baby's brain almost 20 minutes to register the fact they are full, it is easy for them to overeat. So if you take lots of time to burp them, or use the breast bottles from First Years. It takes longer for them to eat, so they won't overeat. My Dr. said not to feed them more than 32 oz. in a day, EVER. I hope that helps.

Answer 9

I've always known that a formula fed baby can over eat.

it's most often the good intentions of the parents/caregivers to "make" baby eat that last ounce, because it's expensive,and that's how much he/she always eats... not taking into consideration that when a baby pushes away a bottle it may be because he/she is done!!

with breastfeeding we learn to trust our bodies and our babies. we learn that the scale, the number of ounces, the clock is NEVER the reason to feed. some bottle feeding parents/caregivers know this... but from my experience in the daycare setting and my family - most don't.

BTW.....APPLAUSE for you for relactating!!! how awesome!!

Answer 10

Oh yeah. It's true alright. Formula is the same consistancy all the way through, whereas breastmilk varies. The foremilk is fairly unsubstantial, so doesn't cause much in the way of weight gain. It's the hind milk where most of the fat content is, and if bub is only snacking, they don't even get through to the hind milk.