LO never seems full - is it possible to overfeed?

[cameron09]

Ok, my LO is now 8 months.  DS has been periodically NW and EW in the last few days again.  At 6 months he was STTN, but has had spells of EW and NW since.  I weaned the DF about a week ago now and we are now on 4 bottles a day of 8oz.

Last night he woke at 12:30am.  I was able to resettle him.  He woke at 1am again crying.  He cried until 2:30am and I couldn't comfort him.  I gave him motrin as he has been teething.  Didn't help.  Finally broke down and fed him 4 oz (he probably would have taken more).  He immediately went back to sleep.  I believe he was really hungry and then I feel bad that he cried for so long.  He is very spirited and determined.

So I'm figuring I'm not feeding enough during the day to sustain him.  He polishes off an 8oz bottle no problem now.  So this morning I gave him more after 8 oz and he didn't stop.  Finally, I cut him off at 11oz.  I then increased his solids for bkft.

So, can you overfeed a baby?  I've always felt he never knows when he's full and I've fed him on the upper limit of what I've read is typical.  He weighs just over 21lbs.
What is an OK amount to feed???  I don't think he should have to eat during the night and I don't want to give mixed signals by feeding him sometimes in the night.

[deb]

He may be going thru a growth spurt, in which case it's a good idea to go ahead and feed him. Besides the "regularly-scheduled" GS's at 3 months and 6 months, others do occur from time to time as babies get more mobile and burn more calories during the daytime with crawling and cruising and walking and so on.

I'd say try to up his daytime calories a bit for the next day or so and see if that makes a difference, which it sounds like you're doing, but do be prepared for a couple nights to top him off at a NW if need be. Also, make sure he's getting some high-quality good fats during the day for part of his calories; avocado is a really good source of good fats, as is coconut milk and coconut oil. If he's eating meat, make sure it's dark meat if poultry. We've been known to just feed guacamole with some olive oil or flaxseed oil added to make sure the girls were getting enough, as they were both pretty darned active from the get-go.

[~*Nicole*~]

It was always my impression that babies tend to be good at regulating their intake. So long as they are not force fed, they usually take in what they need and not much more. That said. He could be going through a growth spurt or adjusting to the dropped DF or both. Your plan of offering more during the day is a great place to start. Is he firmly established on solids? Obviously the bottles are most important, but if he is taking in 8 oz four times a day or more....then you have no worries about him getting the right amount of nutrition. If he is still hungry you can certainly offer him some more solids. You can have 3 meals a day and also a snack or two. How does he do with finger foods? You can also offer, water or very diluted juice in a sippy during snacks etc. in between bottle feeds. If you offer juice, try to not exceed about 2 to 4 oz. a day I believe is what my doc. said.

Until he is totally used to having no DF he may wake and expect to be fed as his body is used to getting some calories overnight. That should subside as long as he takes in the calories his body needs during the day. If he is having a growth spurt, his large consumption should also subside within about a week give or take. If he continues eating this much I'd venture to say you have a hearty eater on your hands.

PS-You can read up on calorie rich/healthy fat foods as options for finger foods and solids meals so he isn't filling up on empty calories that don't provide good nutrition. I think there is info on the toddler feeding boards.

[cameron09]

I suspected a possible gs a few days ago as his bedtime bottle seems to finish quickly and want more so hence we've changed that one to 9oz.

I will continue to up the calories for the next few days and see what happens.  He took another 10oz bottle at lunch then 3oz of solids. 

I think I've been giving too many empty calories it seems - I kind of forgot about fats (besides the intro of yogurt lately), there hasn't been many.  I will do this more now.

Thanks for the tips - I'll check the other sites out on food.

Here's hoping for a better night!

[cameron09]

OK - just an update.  Since last week, we've had only one night without a NW for a feeding.  I have only gave him 4-5 oz at the NW and he goes right back to sleep.  It usually happens about 6-7 hours after he goes to bed.  Should I be concerned that this is now a habit?  Will he stop this NW feed on his own or should I start thinking about dropping it on him (which I dread the reaction)?

As for fullness in the day, I have definitely upped his caloric intake.  I now fiull the bottles top 9oz and sometimes he finishes them and sometimes he doesn't.  However, there has been more spitting up, which makes me think he is drinking too much at once.

[deb]

Hmmm, not sure what to tell you about the spitting up; might just be taking a bit for his tummy capacity to catch up with his caloric needs.

If you're pretty sure he could get thru the night without a feed, you can try Wake2Sleep, just stir him gently in his sleep but don't fully wake him, maybe a half-hour before he usually wakes; that can sometimes "re-set" the sleep cycles and help them get past that habitual waking.

[~*Nicole*~]

If after a few days of that he is still waking to eat, you can try to wean the feed, but since you dread his reaction it will probably be easier for both of you if you followed a gradual weaning plan. Maybe doing a little less every few nights until you were offering him nothing or something to that effect. But try the wake to sleep like deb suggested first. If that works that would be the easiest!

[Mom to M&M]

Totally agree with PPs. I'd try W2S first. If that doesn't work, I'd gradually dilute the night feed. And if the 9oz is making him spit up (many LOs never get to that much milk at once), I'd stick with 8 ounces but focus on upping his solids/fats. Good luck!