Do all baby's stop when they get full up?

[AJsMom]

Hi,

My lo has always been quite a hungry baby and at 13 weeks now has around 35 oz a days. ( 4 feeds of 6 ozs, 1 feed of 7 -8 oz split before and after bath and 4oz at around 4/5 am ). She also sicks up a lot of milk. I thought this may have settled down on its own now she is 3 months old however doesn't seem to be too much better. (we've switched formula and bottles etc). She pretty much finishes her bottle at every feed and always has done but i am usually reluctant to give her more in one go because she sicks up enough as it is. She feeds about every 3 1/2 hours or less so i'm not sure i can fit small more frequent feeds.  I think i need to start giving her 7oz as, from what i have read she should have milk left in the bottle when she is finished however I not convinced she'll stop when she's full - I've never seen her leave any food or refuse food (she must get that from her dad!). She is on the 50% percentile weight wise so is putting on weight well. Do you think I should start giving 7oz? It seems quite a lot for her age. I'm also concerned that if she is having that much now what will she need by the time she is 4 or 5 months?

Thx

[Lolly]

She's doing well!

Which formula are you using? How much is she actually bringing back up - is it when she winds or is it from one feed to the next? Is she bothered by it at all?

If she is bringing a lot back then increasing her bottles isn't going to help that. Have you thought about thickening her feeds or trying a reflux formula to keep things down?

Laura

[AJsMom]

We are now using Aptamil with Dr Browns bottles. We were originally using SMA.  She is mostly sick when burping or just after feeding although sometimes she is sick up to an hour or so later. It doesn't seem to bother her. I'm not sure how much she brings up, it looks a lot but I suspect its not more than an ounce in total after a feed. I mentioned it to the dr a few weeks ago and she said it may be reflux but just said she'd probably grow out of it.  How would we go about thickening her feed? I wonder if that would help her in general. Today I gave her 4oz before her bath at 5:40pm and then i gave her another bottle before bed at 6:40pm as we usually split this feed. I made up 6ozs to see how much she would take before bed. After she had around 4.5oz I took it away as she had already had nearly 8.5oz over an hour period which seems excessive - i think she would have taken it all.  Its hardly surprising she's sick!

Thx, Julie

[Lolly]

If she isn't puking up the whole feed and isn't bothered by it then really it's just a laundry issue She will grow out of it, when she's more upright for longer periods and on solids you will probably find it gets a lot better (around 6 months ish). Also as long as she is gaining weight well and sticking to her growth curve then she isn't loosing too much!

I'm assuming you are in the UK, so if you did want to try thickeneing her feeds your options are to buy a thickener called Carobel or try the reflux fomula. Both are only available from a pharmacy and would probably need to be ordered in. My two did really well on Enfamil AR which is a cow's milk based formula that has added rice starch, it thickens in the stomach so it's not refluxed back up. SMA do a reflux formula called Stay Down.

If you did want to try the Carobel or reflux formula make sure you speak to your HV or Dr first. Really though, if you can wait it out and it will improve!

Laura

[AJsMom]

Thanks for your advice. i'll have a look at the products you suggest and talk to the health visitor.