Baby spits out the meal, change eight or more heavily soiled diapers each day of your baby, gaining weight more than that considered as average, belches a lot and has extreme flatulence, sleep is disturbed and irritated quite often are some of the signs you are overfeeding your baby.
Taking care and nurturing a baby is in itself a great task. It requires a great deal of patience, understanding and sometimes even you rocking your brain. The two important aspects for nurturing a baby is getting them adequate sleep and feeding them adequately and both these are quite a daunting task to manage.
You are always worried if you are under feeding or overfeeding your baby. Babies however have a great self – regulatory system which would make them eat when they’re hungry and not when they’re not.
Read More : 11 Ways to Prevent Spitting Up in Babies
7 Must Know Signs of Overfeeding the Baby
Babies give signs when they are full like turning away from the nipple or bottle but these however are not easily perceived. Here are seven signs that you can look for to check if you are over – feeding your baby:
Your baby spits out the meal
If you notice that your baby has turned away from the nipple or bottle quite a few times during feeding and then later spits out then it can be an indicator that you are over – feeding you’re baby.
Sometimes your baby may spit out as a reflux due to some other reason so care should be taken not to confuse this with overfeeding.
Read More: Hiccups in Babies and 11 Ways to Get Rid of Baby Hiccups Effectively
You have to change eight or more heavily soiled diapers each day of your baby
According to a good general guideline by Kelly Mom if you have to change four to five soiled diapers of your baby each day, then this is indicative that your baby is getting enough milk. This is applicable to babies older than six weeks.
If you are having to change eight or more soiled diapers each day then it is better to consult your pediatrician to know if this is normal for your baby or you are over – feeding your baby.
Read More: 7 Ways to Manage a Healthy Diet for Your Child
You are changing foul – smelling, runny diapers quite frequently a day
It is important to check for the appearance of your baby’s poop. Normally, the poop of formula – fed babies have a pasty, peanut butter like appearance. It can also be yellow or green brown. If the poop is foul – smelling and sloppy then it can be a sign that you are overfeeding your baby.
Your baby is gaining weight more than that considered as average
Similar to that of adults, if your baby is being fed more than what is needed than they will gain weight. You cannot however solely depend on your baby’s weight as an indication for over feeding as when your baby would be spitting out the meal they might actually be losing weight than gaining. Thus, other factors too have to be considered.
Keeping in minding your baby’s nutrition need is important as babies need to keep gaining a certain amount of weight regularly as they are growing.
Your baby belches a lot and has extreme flatulence
Signs of belching and flatulence at an extreme level are indicative that your baby has a lot of gas. If you are over feeding your baby then there will be a lot of milk and less enzymes comparatively. Thus, the baby’s stomach cannot digest it all efficiently. This doesn’t mean your baby is lactose intolerant but just that there’s a lactose overload that your baby is unable to digest the lot.
Your baby’s sleep is disturbed
If your baby has poor sleep habits then it can be a sign of overfeeding. Similar to us when we drink a lot of fluids before going to bed, we have a hard time falling asleep and wake up quite frequently to use the washroom. The same is true for babies too.
Your baby is irritated quite often
When your bay is over fed then they would be fussy and in discomfort because of their overfull stomach. Similar to us when we’ve overeaten, we feel bloated and our stomach aches. So, actually we are uncomfortable and this is the same for babies too.
Similar signs and symptoms can be seen in babies with lactose intolerance, colic or reflux. Babies who are however simply overfed have a healthy growth but it is not the same for babies with underlying gastro – intestinal tract conditions.
Conclusion
Keeping in check your baby’s eating habits is difficult, as one day you may feel you are under feeding them and the next day you feel you are over feeding them. You need not focus on the number of bottles you are feeding or the ounces, you need to focus on how your baby is acting. Babies give some signs when they are being overfed, which are not easily perceived.
Some of the signs indicative that you are overfeeding your baby are – your bay is spitting out the meal quite frequently, you are changing eight or more heavily soiled diapers each day, your baby’s poop is runny and foul – smelling, your baby is gaining weight more than that considered as average, your baby has a lot of gas, your baby has trouble sleeping and, your baby is quite fussy, often.
References
https://www.kidspot.com.au/baby/feeding/bottle-feeding/the-dangers-of-overfeeding-your-bottlefed-baby/news-story/52634fe00f5f185bab9dfbcb0d26e961
https://www.romper.com/p/7-signs-youre-overfeeding-your-baby-when-supplementing-18639
