Is it possible to over breast feed a baby?

Right seriously doubting myself tonight. I have been told twice by two different hv I'm over breast feeding Isla. She currently bf on demand and blw and eats lots. So hv said only 2-3 breast feeds per 24 hours. One first thing, maybe a lunch time one and one before bed. Then only give her water all night when she wakes.

Please tell me I'm not crazy and even if I feed on demand until she self weans she will eventually sleep?

You are not crazy. Ignore the HVs, that's bad advice.

I fed on demand with both of mine. They started to self wean when I went back to work, but they also fed more at night to make up for not seeing me in the day.

And yes, they eventually slept all night. Ewan at 13 months and Lachlan at 14 months. Mostly. They both still get up occasionally at 18 months and 5 1/2 years. But not for Just to torment me and keep me on my toes

I might not be too much help as I was also told by hv to stop bf on demand now (although I've ignored it and carried on regardless ) But what I have heard from several bf sources is that your 'best' milk is produced at night, so if anything the night feeds are even more beneficial to our babies!?
It is very confusing though cos I find I'm constantly given conflicting advice

Personally once I'd established meals fully (about 8-9m) I fed on routine between meals, at bedtime and first thing in the morning. I always stopped bring at around 1yr as I went back to work and it felt right. Not feeding at night didn't stop them waking though. Imo it's just comfort they want in the night whether that's breast or cuddles!

I think that this is one of those things that really has to be led by you and bubba. I don't believe you can overfeed!

I've been on the peer support and hv training for breast feeding. I know I'm not crazy just wish they wouldn't put doubts in my head!

[clothmama]

Agree with all the others, do what you are happy and comfortable with! I got Josh into a routine much like Emily speaks of and he slept well and was happy with that. Louis was a totally different kettle of fish and fed constantly until about 16 months! I didnt' even get a night through until 9 months old! In hindsight I possibly did the 'demand' feeding to a bit of an extreme, I let him do what he wanted even if it meant falling asleep after 5 minutes and then being hungry again 1.5 hours later which then set us up for not great habits from NB on. This time I'll be feeding when baby demands but making sure they are decent feeds and possibly 'encouraging' feeds at certain times once he is a bit older but still going with his flow, so somewhere between the 2 others I guess!

I demand fed my DS, however he fed every 3 h, during the day and slept through from a few days old, i.e. did exactly what they would have advised me to do had I tried to 'Gina' him or similar :/
However, when I kept losing weight (which I had never gained in the first place...) and he had reached a 98th centile curve, they asked me to bottle feed him expressed milk to see how much he was taking; he was taking over 500ml in each feed!!! It was suggested that I was overfeeding, but how does one reduce the volume in a BF????
As this was around about the time that I dipped below 40kg, and suddenly started wanting to feed constantly, I was asked to wean him early (12-14w isn I think) and slowly because of his age.
BLW was not a thing at the time, but within a fortnight, he was stealing whatever was on my plate/the table etc, so essentially did this himself (in addition to rice/veggies/demand feeding).
While he was still demand fed, I did try to offer other food first, as advised, as I was seriously underweight by then...
He was clearly overfed (although how you can ignore or not feed a hungry baby is beyond me), and yet now at nearly 12 has clearly suffered no ill effects. He is still large, however carries no fat at all. He is large, muscly, active, well developed, and still eats like a horse.
In short, as everyone has said, do whatever you and baby are comfortable with; every child is different and none of them have read the books! x

Why are the health visitors involved ? It sounds like you would be best not seeing them unless you want to. Leon has 2_3 breast feeds a day now at 21 months. He doesn't eat or sleep well at all. Izzy was fed on demand which was every couple of hours until age 2 she slept and ate extremely well from five months old.

I have seen my health visitors only twice at my request , if there isn't anything to discuss like concerns ect then dint keep in touch xxx