Pediatrician Suggested I Am Overfeeding

The general rule is this: 2.5 oz multiplied by their wt. This is how much they should get per day (generally). So 11 lbs x 2.5 = 27.5 oz/day. So you can't make a judgement based on how much they eat PER FEED. You have to look at how much she eats PER DAY.

In the first couple of months, they tend to gain around 1 lb every two weeks. She seems healthy to me!

As long as she doesn't have a bad acid reflux and vomit problem, I wouldn't worry about it at all. My baby's doctor told me to limit her feedings to 10 minutes each breast because she was overeating and throwing up. She's now 5 months and while still having the reflux problem, looks adorable, fat rolls and all. :)

If you're anywhere near the South Jordan area, we go to Family First Pediatrics on the corner of 10400 south and 1300 west, and they are so great! We see Cami Goff, but I've heard all the doctors there are good.

How often does she eat? If she is eating about every two or three hours and drinking 4 oz at that time, NO she is not getting too much. Every child is different and this little girl started out bigger at birth. She should double her birth weight by 6 months. Are you feeding her every time she cries or is she on a schedule? Does she sleep through the night? These are all questions that you can answer and determine if she is getting more than necessary. All of my children were over above average in weight and height. Only you can decide is she is. Why would he say she is? Are you breastfeeding or formula? Do you give her cereal with her milk (at this age I hope not), but again only you can determine. I hope this helps. K

I will also concede I am not a pediatrician and I did not examine your daughter either. FWIW---My daughter was over 9 pounds at birth and 16 pounds at her 8 week visit and there was NO discussion by my pediatrician regarding her weight. She is breastfed however so I really can't say for certain how many ounces she gets per feeding. Perhaps you should get a second opinion and see if you have a better experience somewhere else.

Best wishes.

Although she is only 4 weeks old, she is the size of a 3 month old and needs to eat. Is she fat? Does she have rolls allover her body? Does she have a double chin?
She sounds heathy to me and don't worry unless she starts to look obese.
C. B

Hi,
For me I've been around babies who are small and have problems eatting, the when they state eatting its like its going out of style. We went through 3 doctors untill I found one who supported the eatting and just monitored it.Dont be afraid to let her eat. If she's not hungry she wo'nt eat. Good luck with your beautiful baby girl. Your a good mothter...C. S

If your child is not spitting up after each feeding, no you are not overfeeding her. My first sone was 9 1/2 pounds at birth and he had a big appetite. People need to remember a baby that weighs 11 pounds at 4 weeks is going to be taking more formula then a baby who weighs 7 pounds at 4 weeks. Trust your instincts. Sounds like you are a great job.

Dear K.:

I run a maternity home and have worked with a lot of women and new mothers, and it has been my experience that your maternal instincts are usually much better than those of the doctor. I would trust those instincts, and unless you feel that there is something wrong, or the baby is looking too much like a butterball, don't worry too much about it. My Neice was 7.7 at birth and by her first month check up she was 10.7. By 6 months old she was 16 pounds of very round little breast fed baby. By the time she had been walking for a month she was still 16 pounds, but not round. She is now 7 years old and has 6 pack abs and bounces over anything that she comes up against. So the point is, don't worry, be happy, enjoy your new motherhood.

R. T

no your not overfeeding. two pounds in four weeks? give me a break. my son is nearly 30pounds at 20 months and my youngest is 25 pounds at eight months. some children are just bigger than others. don't fret. as long as your little girl is not spitting up everything after any feeding, no worries. and bear in mind that you wouldn't still feed your daughter the same amount of formula at 8 months as what you fed her at two months. it's natural for their bodies to need more and thier diets are, HELLO, going to increase as they grow. tell your doc to go back to basics 101. and good luck.

Every baby is different, and I'm finding out, so is every doctor. Ours suggested 4oz per feeding by 4 months and 6 oz per feeding by 6 months. Our son was on the small scale, so we had to struggle to even reach those marks.

K.,

I am not aware of the current standards of feeding.

All I know is that when my little girl came to see the doctor at a young age I believed that the doctor was saying the same to me and so I cut down her food. The next visit the doctor asked me why I wasn't feeding her enough.

My understanding is a child will only eat until they are full.

With my whole heart,
C.

Follow your babys lead. My little girl was 6lbs 8.5oz at birth and was eating 3-4 oz every 4 hours at four weeks. If she is gaining about a 1/2 pound per week I would say you are doing just fine. Good luck!

hi K., Ya know that is a big baby but with my daughter I was told to feed her when she is hungry, and let her eat as much as she would, I had to pump and feed so I was filling a 4 oz. bottle for her to eat every time, & I had a very happy baby. It seemed like thats all she did was eat, I never thought you could over feed a newborn and I think it is better to have an over weight baby rather than an under weight baby. If she is a happy baby then something is being done right, maybe you should clarify the wieght with the doctor, I figure that she would grow into it when she starts moving around. USe your mom insticts to help you through this one, I always knew that if my baby was happy and growing I was doing something right.

You had a big baby and now your baby is hungry and it is ok for you to give the baby four ounces. My daughter was 7lb 2oz at birth and took four ounces on her first feeding. Yes the nursed were upset but she was fine. When babies are hungry feed them. At two months she was taking 8 ounces. So it is ok. She is now a 13 year old healthy girl.

are you forcing her or does she want that much? that's how i would tell if it's too much. you might just have a big girl

Back in the day, my mom's first ped told her to only feed my brother every 4 hours. He was *starving* by then and gulped down huge amts of milk only to throw most of it up 'cause he'd overeaten from being so hungry. Repeat every 4 hours. Can you imagine?

Doctors don't know everything. And she'll stop when she's full. Only in *extremely* rare cases would a baby not know when to stop eating. (I forget the name of the disorder but her little tummy can only hold so much, so I suspect she throw up if it were too much.)

If you're on the west side: Pediatrics West ###-###-####. There are several docs there... we like Dr. Susan, but I've seen other docs from there recommended on this board.

Enjoy your little one! :)

A tip the doctor told me is that to feed them 1oz per feeding for every month in age that the baby is. Also I would get a feeding chart (I know Gerber has them) which tells you how much of what that your baby should be eating relavent to what age. that may be normal for your baby, but a second opinion never hurts.

My second son was born over 9 lbs and was over 11 lbs by 4 weeks. Our doctor never said anything because he was also high on the charts for his height. He was proportionate and just a big baby. He's 5 now and tall and thin. Eventually they even out with other kids their age. If she'll eat, let her eat! Congrats on your baby girl!

Although there are a lot of things I like to be able to trust my pediatrician's advice about - mother's instinct is not one of them. You know when your baby is hungry and they know when they have had enough! You can not deny a 4 week old baby food if they are hungry! My children came out a little over six pounds a piece and they were taking about 3 oz. when I was successful enough to pump for a bottle! And that was when they were itty bitty. You are doing the right thing. Sometimes they eat more and sometimes they eat less. This is not something anyone can predict - even a Dr. Feed that baby....they'll let you know when they're done! ;)

My Dr did the same with mine, mine have always been big eaters early on, but the one good thing he did say was that so long as they aren't throwing it back up then it is most likely not an issue. Don't worry, if she is healthy then I would let her eat when she is hungry.

My baby was 9 pounds at birth also, by 2 weeks old she was on 4 oz bottles every 3 hours and by 4 weeks she was on 6 oz every 3-4 hours. She was just a hungry growing girl. I wasn't forcing her to eat that was just what she wanted. My pediatrician said to let her regulate herself and to feed her when she was hungry which I did. Now she is seven months old and 18 pounds (which is only at the 75th percentile) and is doing great. I wouldn't worry about it as long as you listen to her cues I think you will be fine. She knows if she is hungry so just trust her.

Is the child getting sick after the feeding. I was told that the child will tell us when there hungry at that age and as they get older thats when you would start monitoring the food intake.So I would say no you are not over feeding the child.

From what I heard it isn't about feeding too much at this point unless you forceit on your kid and your kid if she is getting too much will spit it out. I think that it is crazy to say such since a breastfed baby isn't monitered on amount and I can gauruntee my baby got more than 4 ounces at a feeding that first month. I would say moniter how your baby is doing with what you give her and as she gets older she will slim out. If she doesn't when she start moving around then I would worry about how much you feed her then.

How long does she go between feedings?? 4 hours?? I think that if she is taking longer time between feedings she will be fine. But she might be ready to start solids . I think that it is worth a shot. I started to feed all four of my children rice cereal in their bottles at three weeks. This might help to use ounces of formula. Of course if you tell the dr. That you are going to start to feed her he will also not like that.

My last daughter ate four ounces at each feeding from the start. The doctors were very amazed that she could eat so much being a newborn but now that she is moving around the weight seems to be droping off of her and I am glad that she had that extra weight to lose.
Good luck!

my son did ate the same way, and my doctor said it was ok, as long as he isn't uncomfortable. But that was breast milk, which is less filling than formula. Anyway, a bigger baby is going to need more food to fill it's tummy. Common sense, but some doctores are going to follow the "normal", go with your insticts.

She's hungry mama- let the girl eat! LOL I have sort of the opposite issue- my daughter was tiny (5.5 when we left the hospital) but she ate 4 oz every 3 hours- and she never put any weight on! Her docs make me feel like I don't feed her enough, even though she's 11 months and eating 14-16 oz bottles every 4 hours on top of solid food and snacks- and she only weighs 16 lbs.! I was also worried for a long time, but I finally found a peditrician who made me feel much better- she told me that the baby will eat when it's hungry, and stop when she's full... her little body knows what it needs, so follow her cues and you'll be fine. So I say, let her eat mom- she's trying to grow! ;-)

My pediatrician told me the same thing, only I am breast feeding so i dont have a way to measure how much my son was getting. But based on how quickly my son was gaining weight brought it up. He suggested I cut back on my feeding time. I tryed that for a day or two and my son let me know that he was not done eatting. So eventually I just let him eat how ever much he wanted. I rather have him be gaining weight vs not, even if it is faster than the national average. If your baby girl is eatting well and gaining weight I wouldnt be too concerned. Chunky babys are cuter anyway.

Well, I'm not a pediatrician or anything, but I hate it when doctors make parents feel bad about the size of their babies! I think your baby will eat as much as she wants and be done... if she seems happy then fine. I wouldn't worry about her gaining weight... it's if she wasn't gaining weigh the doctor should be worried. My son was big as well and gained weight rapidly.... he also spit up a ton! It was a wonder to me that he was so big. He gained almost a pound his first week of life. My doctor always made it sound like he was just healthy and getting what he needed! Now he is 2 1/2 and still a big boy, but not fat... he's tall and built. I loved having such a healthy baby, so I wouldn't let your doctor worry you since your daughter is so young. I think she's just getting what she needs!