Exclusively pumping for 4.5 month old -- growth spurt?

[AmeliaLove]

I have read that babies need no more than 30 oz. of breast milk per day.  My LO (almost 20 weeks) was eating around 25-30 oz.  Lately, she has wanted more.  Last night, she ate her normal 6 oz. and wanted more, but I put her to bed.  She went down easily for the most part.  At 9:00 p.m., she woke up SCREAMING.  We tried to calm her down, but nothing was working.  Finally, hubby fed her and she went to sleep easily.  We decided not to do the DF at 11:00 as normal because she ate so late.  She woke at 2:00 a.m. and ate again.  Normally, she eats around 7:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m., and 6-7 a.m.

Again, tonight, she finished her evening bottle (6 oz.) and cried after she was done.  I thought she was just tired.  So I put her to bed.  She kept trying to settle herself.  She would cry then stop and try to settle and fall asleep.  Then she would repeat this over and over (at least 15 times).  Finally, she started wailing again and I fed her more.  She ate 4.5 more oz. and went to sleep easily.

She has never been one to fall asleep with a bottle, so I don't think it's a prop.  I'm just concerned because she is in the 95th percentile for her height, but almost off the charts for weight.  She's a chunky monkey.   I am overweight and I don't want her to start her life out this way.  Obviously, I want to feed her if she's hungry, but I was under the impression babies need 19-30 oz. of EBM per day. (link: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html)

Could this just be a growth spurt?  She's almost 20 weeks.  Also, I got rid of her paci last week (night wakings).  What if she just wants to suck?  It didn't seem to be a problem initially, so I'm not so sure that's the case.  I just want to make sure she's okay.

Thanks,
Shannon

[Canwi]

Just because a child is in the 95th percentile for anything doesn't mean that they will be "larger" people in life.  My friend is overweight and so is her husband.  She fretted over every tiny morsel that went into her son's mouth from the minute he was born.  He was in the 95th percentile for weight for a long time.  But as he has gotten older he has leaned out and is now "regular sized" for his age.  As LO's start to become mobile, they begin to 'lean out' slowly.
Just feed your DD as much as she wants.  She won't overeat yet.  That starts later in life.  When you introduce solids, stay away from sugary treats, give her lots of fruit and veges, whole grained foods and you will have a healthy child with a healthy weight. 

Calculations and recommendations about how much a baby 'should' eat are just that.  Recommendations.  If your LO is hungry, then feed her.  She is probably hitting her "4 mth" growth spurt, and will want more milk.
Feed her a little more and see how much she wants.
Good luck!

[clh]

I agree with Canwi.  And everything else I was going to write, she already said (particularly about the overeating & averages).    I would think there would be more concern if she was short for age & off-the-chart-high for weight.  Has your gp/ped/hv said anything?

[AmeliaLove]

My ped said to wait until six months to start her on food, and when I do, start with veggies, then fruits.  He advised not to start with cereals or gluten containing grains.  He said she is a big girl, but nothing to worry about yet.  I wasn't really worried until she wanted a lot more milk.  At the last visit, she had gained 3 lbs, 10 oz. in two months, which he said was normal.  But she was eating only 25-30 oz. a day.  Now she wants to eat up to 36 oz.  I'm assuming it's a growth spurt and won't get too worried.

She is spirited, and I know in one of Tracy's descriptions of spirited babies, she said they sometimes overeat.  I just wanted to make sure it was okay to give her more.