Is it possible to overfeed a b/f baby?

I know I shouldn't worry & be grateful that my bf journey has been so easy especially compared to others who have really struggled but I am hoping someone get set me straight cause with this mother gig there are so much advice & so much of it is conflicting so here goes...

I have always been told you can't overfeed a bf baby, so this in turn means you can overfeed a ff baby. By this I would think that it means a baby can be a big baby but if it is bf then it doesn't matter. Then I was reading in another thread (& yes I may have misunderstood but because it was about a whole range of things not just this I have posted here for some clarification) that what can happen is a baby can feed so much that they make themselves sick, by this I assumed they meant a baby's tummy is only so big but they drink so much that they drink too much which can cause milk to come up the tummy tube (can't think of the scientific name) & cause reflux.

The reason I am concerned is my DS is now 7 mnths & weighs 11kgs, which is the size of most 1/2 year olds. He is over 75cm tall last time he was measured about a mnth ago & is definitely taller now. He is definitely chubby, double chin, lovely big cheeks, solid arms & legs to the point he has dimples on his hands, he is very, very healthy but he seems to be in proportion. As he has been fully bf until I started solids I am very proud (& he was always on this bigger side before starting solids so that isn't the cause) I suppose the whole mother guilt thing has me worried cause he has always seemed to have silent reflux, rarely sleeps more than 2 hrs at a time, he feeds only from one side now for only a few mins at a time cause he doesn't want anymore than that, when I express I get 100ml & I don't express that often so there is lots of milk. Even with solids he tends to feed every 2/3 hrs & he feeds fairly regularly overnight. I keep him asleep at night by feeding him as soon as he wakes so he goes straight back to sleep & sometimes that is only 30 mins since his last feed. Am I teaching him to be a comfort eater like I am, am I setting him up for obesity??

Does anyone really know?? can anyone help??

Don't worry, BF'ed babies have less chance of becoming overweight in childhood and adulthood than FF babies. Babies breastfeed for comfort because they're wired to, it's a survival mechanism - keep mama close at all times! If he feeds a lot, it's probably because, being a big boy, he needs to eat more than smaller bubs his age.

I don't know about silent reflux, I thought my DD had it but the Dr said she didn't because her throat wasn't red or puffy. Perhaps that's the silent part? I really have no idea. Can you ask a MCHN about it?

The point with Breastmilk is that your body KNOWS how much he is taking and it alters the calorie content accordingly - women who live in Africa have more watery milk than those who like in the Arctic circle because the African baby needs water to stay hydrated and thus drinks more, and the arctic baby needs the fat to keep warm... Formula is always the same.

Say for instance on a hot day your DS drinks an extra 600ml of breastmilk because he's thirsty - your body, in response to the heat, will be making more foremilk, and overall his calorie intake will be relatively unaffected by the extra milk. On formula he'll be taking in 600ml worth of extra calories.

Breastfeeding reduces the risk of obesity. Comfort eating is an inherant habit - EVERYONE gets an endorphin release when they eat. It's just that some people use that as a tool to control mood and others don't. At 7 months old the endorphin response to eating is still a machanism he needs to stay alive - if babies didn't eat when distressed most would die within 3 weeks of birth!

He is still a baby. He is eating as he needs to. You'll be amazed at how quickly chub turns to solid muscle once they start running about! He's also a very long baby, my DD is on the 96th %ile and she was 79cm at 14 months!

How were YOU set up for obesity? Do you remember when comfort eating became a real habit for you? My sister comfort eats and is very obese. She spent much of her early childhood off in a room on her own somewhere with a bar of chocolate or a packet of biscuits. My mum sent her off with food to keep her quiet and out of the way of her father's fists.

Bx

Hi, njd,

Be proud of your beautiful breastfed baby! What he is learning is that his mum is always there fro him, and he can eat according to his need. Artifical feeding increases the risk of obesity in children. His pattern seems completely normal. At my kids' school they now encourage kids to take fruit and vegetables and water to school and have them on their desks so they can snack frequently during the day - it enhances their ability to learn. I find it so ironic when s many of the mums and HPs I talk to want babies to feed only 4hrsly (while swigging from their own waterbottles at regular intervals)

sounds to me like you're doing a fantastic job. i fed my ds two-hourly at night til he was 2. he's now 4, and is a good, healthy weight, perfectly in proportion. keep up the good work and don't worry about overfeeding!

At 7 months your bub is probably at his absolute chubbiest - he's got the hang of eating and drinking, but not yet full on moving. As he gets more mobile he'll get less chubby.

I guess it has more to do with him being in proportion, as you said. It is possible to overfeed a bf baby, but very difficult. My cousin I suspect falls into the category of overfeeding her bf baby, that baby was put on the bb whenever she squeaked ("I can't let my baby ever cry" was my cousin's mantra) and she is far and away THE fattest baby I have ever seen (parents small and skinny too). BUT having said that, once she was able to move she lost the extra rolls (and rolls and rolls) of fat. Haven't seen her for a ltitle while, but she isn't the Michelin baby she used to be. So hopefully it was temporary overfeeding!

Ah Mother Guilt isnt it great

My DS is a bf baby and he now weighs in at 8.1kgs , he hasnt hit 4 months yet. He has the double chin and cheeks that are so full and loads of rolls.
I was concerned for a while till i thought back to my other DS , i was flicking through his books today and he weighed 9.5 kilos at his 6 month checkup. He is running around now a picture of health at 5 yrs old. He is in perfect proportion and is now actually thin and tall.

You're doing a great job...don't second guess yourself!

I agree with everything Bec and Barb said :clap: