My baby eats too much, should I stop before he is full?
We must know the signs of hunger and satiety in the baby to feed him based on his demand, we must never force them to eat more or less.
There are many parents who worry because their children eat little or because they do not gain the weight they should and it is that the feeding of babies is very important to ensure that they grow healthy and strong. But there are also cases where the opposite is true, that is, the baby eats too much.
In these cases in which babies eat too much, parents worry that they will gain weight or vomit from eating more than they need and sometimes withdraw the baby’s food prematurely for fear of overeating . But doing this will only cause dissatisfaction and anxiety in the baby, so it is not appropriate.
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BABIES KNOW WHEN ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
Babies know when they are hungry and when they have had enough to eat and are full. It has nothing to do with the adults we eat even if we don’t feel like it just because we want to. Babies cry when they are hungry to show their desire to eat to the adult and to provide them with food and they themselves withdraw when they feel full and vomit what they have left over.
This is why on-demand feeding is so important in babies, because they know when to eat and when to stop. It is a mistake for parents to look at the clock when babies are eating and it is also a mistake to schedule a baby’s feeding times. A baby has a different stomach and feeding rhythm than an adult and must be respected and fed whenever he is hungry.
In this sense, if you are the father or mother of a baby who eats a lot, you should not stop before he is satiated since you would leave him unsatisfied. If you have doubts or think that your baby is too overweight, you should go to your pediatrician to assess the weight. But remember that a healthy baby should eat, sleep, and be happy. When you start to grow all that weight that you think you now have excess, it will begin to disappear.
ON-DEMAND FEEDING IN THE BABY
It is necessary to know the baby and to know when he is showing the signs that he is hungry to be able to feed him, you do not have to wait for the little one to cry to feed him. When a baby cries desperately because he is hungry, he will be entering a frame of hunger anxiety and will eat with great anxiety, this could cause stomach problems or gas.
If you try to feed your baby on a too rigid schedule you will surely end up giving him more milk less often and sometimes in this way, the baby may seem to eat more or even not eat enough. Your baby needs to feed often, normally every two or three hours.
If your baby drinks a lot of milk in one feeding, it is because perhaps you have waited too long to feed him and you need to give him less milk but more often. Although you must also keep in mind that each baby is a world and what your neighbor’s baby needs, it is not necessarily what your little one needs.
You will need to make sure that you have the correct amount of milk for your baby’s weight and that he eats what he needs during the 24 hours of a day. After the first week of life your baby will need approximately 150ml to 200ml of milk per kilo of body weight each day. This will vary from baby to baby, but it is a rough idea of how much milk your baby needs on a daily basis. This should be enough until your baby is about six months old and starts taking solids.
In order to know that he is well fed, it is best to take him to a pediatrician and know that he is gaining well in weight, if not, the pediatrician can indicate the best guidelines to feed your baby and that he can continue to grow strong and healthy.
THE SIGNS THAT YOU ARE HUNGRY
When your baby is hungry, you should look at the signs that he wants you to feed him, so you will quickly begin to recognize when your little one wants to eat. Newborns usually turn their heads in search of the mother’s nipple to feed, bite their fists or make movements with their mouth and tongue as a sign of sucking. When a baby starts crying from hunger, he is already very hungry and will feel too upset.
Sometimes it can be difficult to find the signs that the little one is hungry since sometimes instinctively he can do the movements that he is hungry but without actually being hungry. Sometimes a baby turns towards the mother, but not to feed but to smell the skin and listen to the voice of its mother.
SIGNS YOU HAVE ENOUGH
When you feed your baby you should make sure that he is really satiated since there are babies who, even if they are satiated, can continue to suckle (especially if it is the breast) because they feel comfortable and safe in that position.
One sign that your baby has had enough is that he or she begins to slow down the sucking movement or stops nursing or feeding. The breaks give your baby time to feel if he is really full or if he needs to keep eating. Never force your baby to keep eating if he doesn’t want to , and never take food away from him if he really wants to keep feeding.
You need to be aware that you should not feed him more to encourage him to sleep longer since you would only be making him eat more than he needs. Sometimes babies go through periods of growth and need to eat more and more often because they need extra food for a couple of days, this is normal and you should feed them according to their needs. Trust yourself and your baby and you will see how you will realize that better than you, no one knows your baby’s feeding needs.
Dr. Tabriella Perivolaris, Sara's mother and fan of fashion, beauty, motherhood, among others, about the female universe. Since 2018 she has been working as a copywriter, always bringing to her articles a little of her experience and experience as a mother and woman.