Can you BF too much?

sleepy33 · October 2013

So we just returned from our 2 week pedi appt (which was actually only 6 days since our last appt). Baby has gone from 20 inches to 21.24 inches, and gained 11 oz (from 8.3 up to 8.14). So that's darn close to 2 oz a day. Up until now, I have been nursing on demand, generally about every 3 hours (or longer) during the day, and about every 2 hours at night. We had a couple nights where he wanted to nurse every hour.

Dr basically suggested I try to cut back a bit on nursing, maybe sub out a paci every now and again, wake him every 2 hours to nurse during the day and try to only nurse once between the hours of 11pm and 6am. He was very careful to say to 'try' this and not force the issue if he's really hungry and not just wanting to be comforted. I'm not sure I'm savvy enough to tell the difference.

Thoughts?? I have always heard nursing on demand is the way to go w/ a newborn, but the pedi definitely implied he had gained too much weight and would like to see it level off and/or decrease somewhat.

sleepy33 · October 2013

Oh, forgot to add he went from 52% in height to 80% in height, and from 80% in head circ to 89% in head circ. If that matters at all.

Mae208 · October 2013

I don't BF but I've never heard that you could BF too much... My LO has gained more than yours and our pedi didn't say a word about too much eating.

MegN423 · October 2013

That's awesome your LO is gaining so well! It could be that your LO is going to pack on the lbs. in the beginning and then level out later on. I have always offered a paci between feedings, but I would definitely continue to demand feed. 1 week seems so early for the pedi to recommend trying to cut back.

CousinVicki · October 2013

some pediatricians are seriously moronic about this, yours is no exception. NO you cant BF a newborn too much! unless it's straight up comfort nursing and you need a break, yes a pacifier can help, but if you are ok as things are, keep on truckin

mobilejen · October 2013

I'd probably consult a lactation specialist before making a decision. MD's aren't always that knowledgable re: breastfeeding.

SweetCFly · October 2013

I go to a breastfeeding "support" group on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the hospital where I delivered which is run by the LC's. Baby is weighed in only a clean fresh dipe at the beginning, you feed and chat with the LC's while there, and then weighed in at the end (in same dipe, dirty or not) to see "milk transfer" during the feeding. A has been getting between 1.4-2 oz per feeding each time we've gone, the first time we went he was 9 days old, he's now 18 days old (apparently most babies < 2 weeks get about 0.5 oz and LC's are trying to get moms to successfully get babies to 1 full oz per feeding).

When he was born A weighed 7 lb 12 oz and 19 inches... at our 2 week pedi appt last Friday he was already up to 8 lb 9 oz (75th%) and 19.5 in (25th%), 37 cm head circumference (95th%). Our ped said continue what we are doing,let him be the boss and feed whenever he wants. The LC's today told me the same thing, and at the the BF support group session today he was 9 lb 7 oz.

Both ped and LC's said his growth will eventually level out, by 4-6 months but I'm with you... holy crap this kid is going to be big. My mom said I was under 20 lb at 1 year old, at the rate my kid is going he will be 25+ lb by 4 months old! I am not sure what babies are supposed to weigh as I am a FTM. Just seems so big!

JMU_Bride09 · October 2013

I personally would not follow your doctor's advice. You can't overfeed a breastfed baby. Just follow LO's cues and feed on demand. Every baby grows differently; I don't trust those percentile charts 100%.

asilwhite · October 2013

Totally agree with the others, keep doing what you're doing!! My LO was 5lb 11oz at birth and as of 3 weeks he's 7 lb 12 oz so he gained 2 fill pounds in 3 weeks!!

I would continue to nurse on demand, you're doing great!

huntjul · October 2013

My LO is EBF and gaining 3/4 lb per week for the last 2 weeks. I'm still feeding on demand and not using a paci.

--halo-- · October 2013

I'm curious why some of you are waking baby every 2 hours during the day to eat when they are gaining weight just fine. Is it to try to get them to sleep more at night?

kdjudd · October 2013

You can breastfeed too little, but not too much. Just keep doing what you are doing! It sounds like your LO is thriving!

--halo-- · October 2013

crunchymama11 said:

--halo-- said:

I'm curious why some of you are waking baby every 2 hours during the day to eat when they are gaining weight just fine. Is it to try to get them to sleep more at night?

Yes. Some babies sleep all day and eat all night. It's a way to try to encourage them to sleep at night and eat during the day.

Would it help with awake times as well? Our little guy sleeps 3-4 hour stretches during the day and also at night. BUT he will have a 2-3 hour awake stretch at night that just kills us. :P

sleepy33 · October 2013

Thanks for all the input!

chuicafina · October 2013

DD had her 2 week appt yesterday. She had gained 1 lb 7 oz since her last weighing exactly 2 weeks before (she was 2 weeks 3 days at her appt). She had also grown .6 inches. Her NP was happy with her weight gain and said nothing about cutting back. I would continue to nurse on demand and keep in mind that BF babies gain faster early on. I believe the WHO actually has a different growth chart for BF babies since their weight gain pattern doesn't compare well with that of FF babies.

Painterlady · October 2013

Umm I've heard of this but do not agree with it. I'd get a new pedi...sounds too old school for my liking.

RedZee · October 2013

I had a similar experience with DD1. My ped's office is VERY pro-BFing. The nurse practitioner is pretty informed about BFing and at the first appointment spends a long time making sure latch is good, etc. (Though her advice often differs from LC's advice.)

DD1 was 7lbs at birth and I think got to 11lbs at her 1 month appointment. The nurse practitioner also said I was maybe overdoing it with nursing and it sent me in a tailspin. I found it confusing and kind of upsetting. After a bit, I started to understand her point a bit better. Babies cry for reasons other than hunger. Nursing feels good and it calms them for lots of different reasons, but it doesn't have to be the only way you soothe them (and I think there are reasons to use those other ways when possible). For me, every time DD1 would cry at night, I'd feed her. After the NP told me to do different things, I offered a pacifier or tried rocking her for a minute or 2 before trying to nurse. DD1 would often go back to sleep and it ended up that she started sleeping for longer stretches, which was really nice for me.

To be clear: I didn't let her cry it out or discourage her from eating in general. I just didn't offer it as the first thing. Her weight gain continued at a normal rate and she nursed at regular intervals.

sleepy33 · October 2013

kdevin27 said:

I wonder what your pediatrician would say about my baby- at four days old she weighed 7lbs 6 oz and 2 weeks later weighed 8lbs 12oz. Pediatrician was impressed with her weight gain and didn't seem concerned. She also grew 1 1/4 inch in that time as well.

Well, I think he'd probably be more ok with it b/c if I'm doing the math right, that's closer to a 1.5 oz per day gain, whereas we are closer to a 2 oz per day gain. I think that was the math that caused him to say something, since I think the average is like 1 oz per day gain at this point.

sleepy33 · October 2013

RedZee said:

I had a similar experience with DD1. My ped's office is VERY pro-BFing. The nurse practitioner is pretty informed about BFing and at the first appointment spends a long time making sure latch is good, etc. (Though her advice often differs from LC's advice.)

DD1 was 7lbs at birth and I think got to 11lbs at her 1 month appointment. The nurse practitioner also said I was maybe overdoing it with nursing and it sent me in a tailspin. I found it confusing and kind of upsetting. After a bit, I started to understand her point a bit better. Babies cry for reasons other than hunger. Nursing feels good and it calms them for lots of different reasons, but it doesn't have to be the only way you soothe them (and I think there are reasons to use those other ways when possible). For me, every time DD1 would cry at night, I'd feed her. After the NP told me to do different things, I offered a pacifier or tried rocking her for a minute or 2 before trying to nurse. DD1 would often go back to sleep and it ended up that she started sleeping for longer stretches, which was really nice for me.

To be clear: I didn't let her cry it out or discourage her from eating in general. I just didn't offer it as the first thing. Her weight gain continued at a normal rate and she nursed at regular intervals.

Thanks, I think this was exactly what he was trying to say, and it makes sense. Yesterday, I took his advice about trying to feed closer to every 2 hours during the day. Baby spent a LOT more time awake during the day than he usually does. Then I fed him and put him down at about midnight, and he slept until 4, then fed and he slept again from 5 to 8. MUCH better than the last few nights of hourly feeding! He's also sometimes taking a paci instead and going back to sleep, which is nice and I think is clearly an indicator that he's not truly hungry every single time he fusses.

RedZee · October 2013

sleepy33 said:

RedZee said:

I had a similar experience with DD1. My ped's office is VERY pro-BFing. The nurse practitioner is pretty informed about BFing and at the first appointment spends a long time making sure latch is good, etc. (Though her advice often differs from LC's advice.)

DD1 was 7lbs at birth and I think got to 11lbs at her 1 month appointment. The nurse practitioner also said I was maybe overdoing it with nursing and it sent me in a tailspin. I found it confusing and kind of upsetting. After a bit, I started to understand her point a bit better. Babies cry for reasons other than hunger. Nursing feels good and it calms them for lots of different reasons, but it doesn't have to be the only way you soothe them (and I think there are reasons to use those other ways when possible). For me, every time DD1 would cry at night, I'd feed her. After the NP told me to do different things, I offered a pacifier or tried rocking her for a minute or 2 before trying to nurse. DD1 would often go back to sleep and it ended up that she started sleeping for longer stretches, which was really nice for me.

To be clear: I didn't let her cry it out or discourage her from eating in general. I just didn't offer it as the first thing. Her weight gain continued at a normal rate and she nursed at regular intervals.

Thanks, I think this was exactly what he was trying to say, and it makes sense. Yesterday, I took his advice about trying to feed closer to every 2 hours during the day. Baby spent a LOT more time awake during the day than he usually does. Then I fed him and put him down at about midnight, and he slept until 4, then fed and he slept again from 5 to 8. MUCH better than the last few nights of hourly feeding! He's also sometimes taking a paci instead and going back to sleep, which is nice and I think is clearly an indicator that he's not truly hungry every single time he fusses.

That's awesome! Sounds like your pedi wasn't so wrong and you'll get some time to sleep. It also means that your H can do some of the comforting, which is good for everyone IMHO. (My H was amazing with DD1 during her "witching hours" from 6-8pm when I'd be crying and feeling like a failure.)

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