Dr. recommends limiting breastfeeding????

[chihuahua]

My 9 1/2 month old DD has been spitting up way more than a 9 month old should. It's been going on for about a month and a half. Her pedi concluded that she's getting too much breastmilk and suggested that I pump in order to measure and limit her to 18-24oz per day. We can only GUESS how much she's getting straight from the breast, but the Dr. says that anything above 24oz is too much at this point and that we should focus more on solid food. We've been focusing on solid food. My little girl eats like a champ.....3 or 4 solid meals a day....... Please give me some feedback on this whole "limiting" of breastmilk. I was always under the impression that babies have the amazing ability to eat just the right amount that they need. It just doesn't sit quite well with me to limit. Not to mention that pumping and feeding from a bottle is not only a hassle, but cuts into our nursing/bonding relationship....

[alegna]

Bad idea. I'd dump the ped. At 9 months nearly all her nutrition should be breastmilk.

-Angela

[mama de dos]

:

Has the ped investigated or eliminated other possible reasons for spitting up too much? GERD, food allergies, intolerances, just a spitty baby, etc???

I would seek a 2nd opinion or ped before I would EVER think about limiting/measuring an otherwise healthy 9 mo old's breastmilk. That seems nuts.

[urchin_grey]

Originally Posted by alegna

Bad idea. I'd dump the ped. At 9 months nearly all her nutrition should be breastmilk.

-Angela

:

Solids before 12mo are really just for practice. I'm willing to bet that the spitting up with have more to do with excess of solids rather than excess breastmilk.

[Kathryn]

I'd find a new pedi and also ask for a GI referral. He sounds like he really is old school on the BF thing.

[chihuahua]

Thanks mommas! You guys reiterated everything my "mommy instincts" were telling me. We did (casually) rule out GERD and food allergies/intolerences. The time frame that the spitting up began coencides with when I began to feed exclusively from the breast. I had previously been pumping for 2 bottles a day before I quit my job to stay a home. So, I agree with the Pedi that my milk supply probably did increase. However, I feel as though solid foods should be limited (if and when needed) over breastfeeding. Thanks again for allowing me to be confident about the choice that I'm making in this situation.

[Bokonon]

Is it possible you have an overactive letdown from months of pumping? Does baby choke or gasp while nursing?

[Samanthavv]

Definitely dump the Pediatrician!

I don't really have any sound advice, but in my experience, with my own children, if I let them nurse too long, they would spit up. So I would time it (mostly just estimating) and then take them off for a little and play or something, then put them back if they want it a little later.

[rightkindofme]

My kid has gone through phases where she would nurse until she puked and then keep nursing. Thankfully she seems to have decided that it isn't the best thing ever and she stopped after a while. I really don't think it hurt her.

[AFWife]

Could it be that she's so excited about getting to nurse "straight from the tap" again that she's overdoing it? If so, it's something she'll probably stop doing...

But yeah, trust your gut!

[madeleines_mom]

How often is your baby spitting up? My DD was an extreemly spitty uppy baby up until 8 months when it suddenly got MUCH better. It's like her cardiac sphyncter (the one that allows food to stay in the tummy and not come back up) just started working properly one day. Has your baby always been this way or is it a new thing?

[caro113]

You said you eliminated the food allergies. Do you mean from her diet or yours? If there is some sort of allergy, it may be from the food you eat since she gets that from the breast milk. I know my baby always had terrible gas when I ate broccoli. But then again, she never liked broccoli. When I was pregnant, it always came right back up. Sad. I love broccoli.

Anyhow, definitely seek another opinion. Or two. Or three. Or even more. Maybe it's reflux. Can babies get heartburn? If so, maybe something you eat is giving her heart burn. When I get heartburn I usual have a little bit of spit up myself.

Definitely go with whatever feels right to you. And then you'll be fine

Congrats on keeping the nursing relationship going!!

[SeekingJoy]

Originally Posted by Bokonon

Is it possible you have an overactive letdown from months of pumping? Does baby choke or gasp while nursing?

I would look into this and consider block feeding during the feedings you previously pumped.

[KweenKrunch]

Sounds like a dietary intolerance/allergy or emotional block that needs to be addressed. A baby can never have too much breastmilk. And at 9 months, all of my kids were pretty much EBF.

[MamaPhD]

Agree with all posts here - seems nuts, dump pedi, watch your own diet for potential problems/allergens etc.

A separate thought - on a good scale (probably at a doctor's office), you can measure the baby before & after feeding to see how many ounces she ate. We did that with my DD when she was a newborn. You can measure even 1 oz difference. Maybe do this at the NEW doctor's office if you really need to measure how much BM she takes at a feeding.