Spitting up after supp.: did my supply increse?

[SusanaLaLoca]

Hi all,

I have a 5mo DS that I have been supplementing with formula since day 1. He was a preemie, and in NICU for 3 weeks, which hurt establishing my supply (along with taking the advice of the nurses/docs/LC that I don't produce eough and HAVE TOsupplement... if only I'd known better then... but I digress).

Anyway, I always nurse him 1st, then give a bottle. For about the last month we've been giving him 5oz in addition to nursing, as he seemed the 4oz we've been giving for months wasn't enough. Well. He went through a growth spurt along with some crazy changes to his sched which caused him to want to nurse more. The increase in nursing slowed back to what it was (as far as amt of time nursing), but now he spits up constantly after his bottles. I heard that babies as they get older get more efficient at nursing and don't take as long (which might explain why he went back to short nursing sessions?)... could it be that my supply has increased and the bottle is overfeeding him now? Or, is it just wishful thinking on my part (I wish I could've EBF'd him since day 1) and I should have him checked out?

[Megan73]

It is quite possible to overfeed by bottle. A couple of questions:
How many five-ounce bottles is he getting a day?
And how is his weight gain?
Have you considered using an at-the-breast supplementer instead of bottles?

[SusanaLaLoca]

He gets about 6 5oz bottles a day, after nursing first (about every 3hrs during the day). He happily took 5oz for about a month now no problem, until the spitup after every feeding the last few days. We increased it because he was frantic, still hungry after feedings (screaming when you take the bottle away, but refusing to nurse more).

Weight gain is good. He was 15lbs at his last checkup at 4mos, but he's also very tall (90th percentile in length).

I thought about getting a lact-aid or whatever the medela one is called, but honestly I've had a lot going on in our lives lately, and I knew I didn't have the time/patience to deal with it. Things have calmed down now and I'd consider it, but my next question to that would be is it worth it? He's 5mos now and will probably be starting solids soon. I plan on nursing as much and how long as he'll let me, but if he starts with solids in the next few months, maybe I can wean out the formula instead of weaning off the breast?

[Megan73]

Breastmilk or formula should be the bulk of a baby's calories in the first year. Given that he's getting 30 oz of formula a day (average total intake for a BF baby of his age is 19 to 30 ounce, average formula intake is 24 to 32 ounces) it seems unlikely to me that you'll be able to phase out the formula when you start solids.
He could be fussier with feeding because he's going through a growth spurt, but from what you describe it might be a good idea to visit the doctor.
Your baby may be too old to learn to use the SNS (some older babies don't like the feeling of the tube) but given that he should be getting most of his calories from formula or BM throughout the first year it may be worth a try for you. That way he gets all his milk at the breast and maximizes the stimulation of your supply.
Good luck.

[Megan73]

I was thinking more about the spitting up and ways to manage it. Another advantage of the SNS is that it may lead your babe to eat more slowly, eat only to satiety instead of guzzling and swallow less air.
You could also check out the resource on kellymom.com about "paced" bottle-feeding for the breastfed babe.
HTH