February 2014 Moms

overfeeding and colic

MoxyByProxyMoxyByProxy member
edited March 2014 in February 2014 Moms
lo has been a real challenge here lately with colic. I try really hard not to just stick a bottle in his mouth because he's crying but there are times he will start sucking on his hands and act like he's just starving even if it's only been 2 hours since eating.

I've tried swaddling, gripe water, gerber drops, a bath, and finally a switch to soy formula which has helped some.

He was taking 4-5 oz every 2.5-3 hours but once we switched he started sleeping more and going up to 4 hours per feeding with the exception of last night where he screamed from 8:30-12 and acted like he hadn't eaten all day.

I tried to hold him off since it was right at the 2 hour mark between feedings but he started sucking his hands and became inconsolable. I gave in and gave him a couple ounces and he fell off into a cat nap only to go back at it an hour later which then turned into my giving him more to eat. Rinse repeat.

I guess this would xp with the formula thread but idk what to do since I may actually be the problem here.

Do I continue to feed on demand while he sorts himself out?
I have a feeling he is comfort eating/sucking but gets ticked off when I offer a paci.

How do i redirect him if that's the case?
Tia
BabyFruit Ticker

Re: overfeeding and colic

  • when DD cries like that, I try her binky and calming strategies first. if she's hungry, she won't take the binky so then I know she's hungry again. I don't hold out on her because it's earlier than normal to eat though. babies will comfort suck but if they eat too much, they'll spit up. is LO spitting up a lot? if not, it could be a growth spurt. I'm on mobile and can't see your ticker, sorry!
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  • My ticker is broke :( he's 6 weeks today.

    He has never spit up although he's been having explosive diapers. Yuck.

    I have a dr appt today for him and I dread going because I'm sure the dr will be like holy chunky monkey! (Stupid fear I guess)
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • Ty car. I had read somewhere that you couldn't overfeed that they would stop when full but when i called the dr office the nurse was like.. lets make sure you are not over feeding. (Even at his first check up the nurse gave me raised eye brows for his weight gain) It's confusing. I don't want to be the cause of a problem.. weight.. tummy aches or otherwise.

    I just want him to stop crying and be happy. (And not hungry!) :(
    BabyFruit Ticker
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  • Rach521 said:

    when DD cries like that, I try her binky and calming strategies first. if she's hungry, she won't take the binky so then I know she's hungry again. I don't hold out on her because it's earlier than normal to eat though. babies will comfort suck but if they eat too much, they'll spit up. is LO spitting up a lot? if not, it could be a growth spurt. I'm on mobile and can't see your ticker, sorry!

    This is our approach too. If LO barfs a ton immediately, I know we've od'd and make a note for next time. It's super frustrating that reflux cues can be almost exactly the same as hunger cues, and I know you can technically over feed a reflux baby if they are FF because they sometimes drink milk to make their tummy feel better momentarily. Having said that, I wouldn't worry about over feeding unless the doctor says something, which would be unlikely. Babies eat what they need and in my experience barf or turn away from what they don't. I would try an ounce more at a time, and let LO's response tell you whether it was hunger or not. After some trial and error the subtleties of the cues will become easier to read. GL! We're on reflux/colic baby number two and it's easier this time. :)
  • At his one month check he had gone from 7.8 (birth weight) to 10lbs.

    Ty snow for your feedback! No barfing thankfully! We've never been told anything about reflux but I'll ask if it's a possibility at his appt later today. He does sometimes make a sour face after eating every once in awhile but I never notice any gagging or spit up so I never really considered that.
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • If he's not spitting up he's not over eating. He would either refuse the bottle and continue to cry or he would eat and spit up.

    Fists in mouth, hungry cry, head going side to side and/or rooting = hungry and we feed the hungry baby. I wouldn't give a crap what kind of side eye you got, I'm not withholding food from a hungry baby.

    Also, don't FF babies take more volume? If you recently switched from
    BM to formula maybe you're not used to the volume your LO is taking now?

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  • 7.8 to 10 is totally reasonable - not sure why you got raised eyebrows. DS was born at 7 lbs, is EBF with no bottles yet by one month, and he went from 7 lbs to 9 lbs 8 oz by 4 weeks. All I got from nurses was excitement that he was gaining well.
    BFP #1 9/2010 (lost our baby at 21 weeks) BFP #2 8/2011 (ectopic pregnancy) BFP #3 10/2011 (chemical pregnancy) BFP #4 12/2011 (Abigail born 8/15/12) BFP #5 5/2013 (Griffin born 1/23/14 with heart defects, now repaired!)

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