Advice for Bottle Feeding a Breastfed Baby

With breastfed babies - you do not change nipple sizes anywhere near as fast.... for the exact reason in which you just discovered. Go back to the prior nipple size.

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let him eat as much as he wants, but if he is spitting up a lot make sure to stop after every 2 ounces and burp him before feeding him more.

3 months old is a Growth-Spurt time.
Every 3 months is.
He is older now.
Intake, increases.

Maybe the nipple is too fast flowing.
I would think.
Too fast flowing.

Bottles, are just by gravity.
So, it just FLOWS.
A baby that young, cannot necessarily 'control' the flow.

Also, be sure he is Burped, during feedings.

Just because you pump a certain amount, does NOT mean that is the same amount that is coming out of your breasts, during direct nursing.
I nursed both my kids.

As always, feed baby on-demand.
Appetites, cannot be predicted NOR 'scheduled.'
My kids had GINORMOUS appetites.
And more so during growth-spurts.

One thing to add to some of the other posts is that he may have swallowed air while eating and it created a gas bubble which can also make him spit up. I would switch back as well to the other size nipple. I was told by my pediatrician that you can add 3-4oz to their age and that is the typical amout the baby will want in a bottle of milk. It was a great tip for me and seemed to work. The other thing is if he is spitting up more maybe your MIL can take a break in feeding your son for a few minutes to burp him at 1/2 way mark to get the gas up and that will help with him keeping it down. Trial and error. I wouldn't be too upset with your MIL, I know it's your baby and your Momma :) She was just trying to read his cries I am sure. Good luck, it's never easy having someone else watching your child everyday but, atleast you know it is family and I am sure he is getting plenty of love.

The rule of thumb I have heard for the number of ounces they need is their age plus two. In you baby's case 3 months plus two ounces, so 5 ounces total. Usually babies won't eat beyond their fullness level. Talk to your MIL again and ask her to try just 5 ounces per feeding because he seemed fussy and he spit up a lot. Don't be mad, it can be hard to decide what to do if a baby is crying and they can't tell you what they want. It is a blessing to have someone in the family watching him. Just talk it over with her and ask her to try it your way and to call you if she is concerned that he is hungry. I have seen both my babies suck down way more than I thought possible at a feeding and do fine so she probably really didn't think it would be a problem. Good luck!

I think I remember reading that they go through a growth spurt at about 3 months also. That could be what's happening. My little one had severe spit up for about 5 days and I thought the same thing, that he'd overeaten. Even when I tried to minimize the spit up with burping and keeping him upright after feedings, it didn't help. But then the problem went away on its own. I think he was increasing how much he ate and it just took his body awhile to sort it all out! I'm breastfeeding so I can only go off how long and vigorously he ate, not amounts. Good luck!

Just because you're only able to pump 4 oz. does not mean that that is all the baby normally is eating. One of my friends exclusively breastfed her babies, but could never produce more than an ounce or two by pumping, even after being away from an exclusively-nursed baby overnight! Either her pump was really bad, or she just couldn't "produce" for a machine rather than her own sweet baby.

I think you're right that the nipple size is too big, and agree with the advice of many below to go back to the low-flow nipples. Since he's spitting up a lot, it does sound like he was overly full, or too full too fast. No worries - just go back to the way it was, and everything will likely go back to normal.

Ditto to what others are saying-breastfed babies generally stay on the slowest flow nipples throughout. Do your nipples change flow as the baby ages? No-so no need to change the flow of the bottle just because of age.

As for amount-unlike their formula-fed counterparts, breastfed babies take about the same amount of milk from about 1 month of age to about 6 months of age. And typically when away from mom we are talking 3-4 ounces per feeding (there are many variables, of course). Don't rush to increase the amount.

If you continue to have trouble, contact a lactation consultant. Many in private practice have experience with older babies, including bottle feeding techniques and how much baby should be getting while away from you.

kellymom.com

I never went up to faster flow bottles. I always kept slow flow.

It is easy to overfeed a breastfed baby with a bottle. Kellymom.com has advice on that, too.

I think that their age plus two is too much. I was told the baby's weight in pounds x 2.6 / number of total feeds per day. I also heard 1 ounce per hour you are away. My DD at her most took 5.5 ounces and that was 6 mo. old.

Go back to the smaller nipples on the bottle. Tell her not to overfeed him he will be uncomfortable. You are very lucky to have someone who loves him to care for him while you are gone.
It always breaks my heart to see tiny babies in day care. I wish our country were like Norway where the mother gets 6 mos with her new baby with full pay and then the father can take the same amount of time with pay as well once her 6 mos. are over.

You can prepare the bottles ahead of time :)
Sometimes MIL 'think they know' what's best
Since they have been a mom longer or they assume b'cause a baby cries
Theyre hungry. Also write down a 'schedule' AND
Make another on your PC for example soya like a daycare

What time he woke

Times of diaper change
Wet or BM

Eat
Time & how much

Sleep
What time & for how long did he sleep

Also ask other moms if they get any 'communication'
About their Childs day at daycare.
This way you can tweak it if needed.

My oldest is 22 he went to daycare & my youngest is 8 & she never went to day care.

Hope this helps, hold your tongue it's not worth
Telling mil what you think right now. Just implement
Some new things. ;)

I would change the nipples back. My son used Dr Browns and I never changed the nipples. Dont be mad at MIL, if hes crying and hungry she did the right thing. They digest breast milk quickly, as you probably already know, and if he spit up a lot he was probably hungry again. Things dont always go as planned. Try not to beat your MIL up about things, Im sure shes doing her best. If not you could always stay at home with him if shes not good enough.

Very well could be a growth spurt. I would switch back to the level 1 nipples. Breast fed babies generally do better if you keep them on the slowest flow, because even that is faster than what they get when they nurse. My son had to be bottle fed beginning at 1 month (long story, but he had medical reasons), and I never switched him. They don't need a faster flow.

Pumping yield has no correlation to what your baby gets at the breast. Babies can trigger multiple let downs during a feeding whereas the pump usually only yields one unless you trigger the let down function again (which I learned to do to get more milk while pumping at work for baby #2.). The bottles will increase in size and decrease in number while you are away but not usually until solids are introduced....I would cut back to the slow flow nipples again. I don't think I changed to a medium flow one with my breastfed babies until they were 6 mos old. Oh- and I always prepared the bottles ahead of time with the amount my babies could have -- I would leave a few containers of frozen in the freezer at the daycare or at home as "JUST IN CASE" if baby got way fussy later in the afternoon and they absolutely NEEDED to give him another. Good luck!