My mother didn’t breastfeed, so breastfeeding is as new to her as to me (although I have definitely read up more than she has). In the early days when my daughter was a newborn, we had troubles feeding her in the afternoons when she was sleepy. Finally under the advice of the pediatrician, we pumped and bottlefed her in the afternoons. My mom has witnessed the struggles of the early days, when me and my husband were a cheering team trying to keep baby awake during her feeds. She kept her silence then, and finally broke it the first time we bottledfed: this is much better now that we know how much she is eating.
Fast forward 10 weeks. Baby has grown a lot since birth, going from 50th percentile to 95th at her 8 week check up. My brother-in-law, who is doing his internship in pediatrics, wonders how my breastfed baby managed to get so chubby. I’m leaving pumped milk in the fridge so that my mom can feed her while I’m gone at work. Grandma is strict: 2 oz every 1.5-2 hours. No more, no less. I think my baby is slightly underfeeding coz she wants to eat as soon as I am home, and every 1-1.5 hours till she falls asleep for the night. She has a touch of reflux, so she throws up sometimes after nursing.
“You’re overfeeding her because you can’t see how much she’s eating. She’s throwing up.” Said my mom. I still think my baby is underfeeding because she prefers the breast. I hold my tongue.