More than 40 oz and not interested in solids

[Joy-filled]

Hi,

My 6.5 month old is EBF, however I've never made enough milk for my DS so I supplement with donated breast milk.  I make 30-32 oz/day (estimating by how much I pump, as I tend to make 1.25 ounches/hour.  I have to supplement 10-12 ounces in addition to what he gets off of me which means he's taking in more than 40 ounces.  We never give more then 8 ounces in a bottle when he just gets the bottle but he almost always drains that.  I had wanted to exclusively do BLW however it seems clear he needs more calories so I've tried to do both BLW and spoon feed but he refuses all pureed foods I've tried.  He will happily put a piece of broccoli or sweet potato in his mouth but as soon as it's mashed, put on a spoon and given to him he just spits it out or opens his mouth, trying to cough it out and waits until he drools it out or successfully makes it fall out. 

Is okay to feed him more than 40 oz/day?  If not, why?  He spits up quite a bit (always has), especially in the first half of the day and when he's on his tummy (even if it's been an hour after he ate).  I just posted on the medical issues board to see if maybe there's something wrong but thought I'd also mention it here.  Any thoughts?

[CCCmom27]

Not sure about the ounces but I do know BM has more calories than the solids at this point.  How many feeds does he have a day?  We did a combo of BLW and purees with G and he was never fond of purees.  To this day he doesn't care for oatmeal, applesauce, or any other mushy food.  I'd continue with the BLW if that's what he prefers; at this point solids are just for fun and not nutrition.

[Joy-filled]

Our schedule is a bit irregular as we've been struggling with 30 minute naps for the past few months .  But one thing that's consistent is I'll do 4 feeds during the day and one night feed.  I know BLW is just for fun, not calories right now, (and it really is fun.... but since it's clear he needs the extra calories I'll at least keep attempting the purees along with the BLW.  Do you think it's okay for me to offer more than 8 oz at a time, though, if he'll take it?  It seems like I'm not supposed to but I just would like to understand why...Or maybe he's drinking more than he needs?

[*Ali*]

The only issue with LO drinking too much breast milk is the spitting up it can cause. But even then it is often a laundry problem rather than a medical problem. If LO isn't in pain because the milk is mixed with acid from the tummt then spitting up is not harmful. It is normally posseting and bringing up milk that hasn't yet made it into the tummy anyway. Or do you think he has reflux?
You don't need to worry about obesity which is only a concern with formula fed babies (i believe due to causing them to lay down extra fat cells).

I'm not sure what you are pureeing but fruit and veg and even cereal are so low in calories that they can actually fill LO up and mean they are not hungry for the more calorific breast milk. So you may actually be reducing calories by pushing the purees rather than what you are aiming for (increase calorie intake).   

Is there any reason you think he needs more calories other than him wanting the milk? If he is growing steadily and gaining weight then I'm sure what he I getting is just fine and you can relax about the solids. If he is spitting up a lot then he probably isn't actually getting all the calories he is consuming as many are coming back up. Do you think he would do better on more frequent but smaller feeds?

[Joy-filled]

As I mentioned, I also posted under the health/medical issues about this and someone suggested that he really doesn't need the 40 oz and perhaps he's being over fed.  I really think that she's on to something.  I didn't really know this could happen as I've heard over and over that babies will eat until they're full and tell you when they're done.  So, I just have kept offering milk and he'll drink it. 

However, the pieces are now falling into place and a bunch of things added together are making me realize he's eating more than he needs.  Would you agree.  Here's the situation:
- He's moved from the 12th percentile in weight when he was born to the 75th percentile.  This is odd as I am 5 feet and 95 pounds and my husband is also very slender.
- He burps a lot
- He constantly spits up when he's on his tummy, even if it's an hour after he ate.  So, I've always been super careful with his tummy time as I didn't want him spitting up the precious milk that I didn't think I had enough of
- His poops have always been very frequent (at least once a day, sometimes a few times) and fairly watery
- He has a fair bit of gas
- He has only slept past the 1st sleep cycle on his own a handful of times in the last few months.  I always have to try APOP, or HTTJ or shush/pat or various other techniques to try to get him to transition past 30 minutes or to resettle after waking up after 30 minutes.
- He usually isn't asking to be fed, I just feed him because it's that time in our routine for him to be fed so I offer it and he'll drink (breast first and then finish with bottle supplement)

Maybe he really doesn't need those extra calories??? (I'm not filling him up with extra pureed calories as he will not eat solids at all)

[CCCmom27]

A lot of what you describe is how both my boys were.  The only difference is they both had reflux and were obviously uncomfortable from the spitting up.  Have you tried just feeding from the breast recently?  Does he still act hungry if you don't offer the supplement after?  He may have needed that extra supplement at one time but not anymore?  If you're doing 4 feeds during the day I'm thinking it's a 3 hour EASY, right?  Have you tried pushing it out towards 3.5 or 4?

[Joy-filled]

I'm doing a 4 hour EASY of sorts....the short naps really throw things off but I aim for something around 4 hour EASY.  I end up doing a cluster feed of sorts in the late afternoon/evening, though in order to get the 4th feed in.  But maybe I don't need to.  I think it's quite possible that perhaps at one time he needed the extra milk but now he doesn't.  I've done a bit of research in the last day and apparently most babies eat 19-30 oz per day with an average of 25 oz.  He's way above that!  If he actually only needs 30 ounces (at most) then it turns out I actually would make enough milk for him.  If that's the case, I'd be thrilled!  I take medication, herbs, and pump during the day to try to get my milk up and it hasn't made an ounce of difference!  Maybe, I don't even need to do all of those things.....

I think I'm going to try to slowly reduce his supplement (maybe 1 oz less per feed) and see how he responds.

[RachelC]

Hi Char K!

{{hugs}}  It's so hard to figure these kids out sometimes!

I see you have two identical threads happening at the moment.  I am going to lock this one and ask everyone posting to pop over to your other one so we can keep the advice all on one page (and you're not repeating yourself ).

Eats 40 oz or more, spits up for tummy time....medical issue?.

Thanks!