On 09/11/2003, at 22:33, Nancy Mohrbacher wrote:

> Here's the approach I eventually developed:  "You know how we as
> adults are told that it is healthier to eat slowly so that our
> 'appetite control' mechanism kicks in before we overeat?  This also
> applies to babies.  When babies breastfeed, they develop healthy
> eating habits.  They tend to take small amounts at feedings and feed
> more times per day.  Newborns breastfeed an average of 8-12 times per
> day.  Bottle-feeding, on the other hand, whether it is human milk or
> artificial milk in the bottle, sets up an 'overfeeding habit.'  Babies
> take more at a feeding and feed fewer times per day, usually 6-8 on
> the bottle as opposed to 8-12 on the breast.

I guess we're outliers. Luke's been fed EBM for nearly thirteen months
now. We always let him decide how much to drink instead of overfilling
or forcing a feed. He chose to drink small amounts (about 60 ml) every
two hours for the first three or four months of his life, with only a
slightly longer time stretch at night. Even now his EBM feeds are
usually around 120 ml, often less; he sometimes asks for more than that
just before bed; and he's never drunk more than 240 ml in a stretch
(and those occasions have been over an hour, not all at once). During
"eating binges" (growth spurts?) we noticed that he drank more often,
not larger volumes. He still has one or two night feeds. He started
life at 2.7 kg and at twelve months was sitting comfortably on the
tenth centile for weight.

Do people here notice a difference in baby's behaviour on the bottle
depending on the contents of the bottle? Or do you think that it's
mostly parental behaviour that determines feeding volumes?

The logical research study here would compare babies feeding from the
breast, with babies fed EBM, with babies fed formula - comparing only
formula fed babies to babies feeding from the breast, there is no way
to sort out the different variables of milk & method.

Lara Hopkins

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