BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Bottle Feeding => FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions & Related Information - Bottle => Topic started by: lauri on July 17, 2007, 16:00:08 pm
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I've read the other posts on this topic, it seems that the 3 - 4 month mark seems to signal a change in eating habits, but I've changed nipples back and forth, checked gums for teeth, everything and it seems that everyday she eats less. I know they dont starve themselves, but still, you become so worried as before DD used to eat 180 cc (I think this is 6 OZ) 5 times a day, then from one day to the other just slowed down to 100 - 120 cc, so the doc suggested to change to 4 hour schedule, but even then, she just doesnt seem hungry...I used to not give her a DF becuase it disturbed her sleep and she woke earlier than if I didnt do a late night feed, but now Ive gone back to DF-ing just because otherwise its ridiculously little that she eats during the day. I dont want to start doing night-feedings again, and so far have managed to keep her asleep till 7am, but am worried if this continues, she will be hungry in the middle of the night.
Doe anyone else have experience with this and did it pass? She does look healthy and happy.
Thanks for any suggestions! Laura
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I don't have any advice, but can share in your problems, my LO is 18 weeks now and somedays he won't eat in 12 hours! this would be over the night and into the next day, i have to really struggle with him and eventually he'll take it if i am persistent, then he gobbles it down so fast he chokes so much. it is very frustrating as he has already doubled his birthweight and according to calculations should be taking approx 38oz of milk a day - well at the moment on EASY he is only taking a max of 25!
I hope someone on here will have some good advice.
Oh and my LO is definatley teething, but the gnawing on things and drooling can go on for several weeks if not months until the teeth finally pop up. i think it can affect their feeding habits too. hang in there. i find when i am feeding i make a very loud shshsh sound and it kind of distracts him from anything else and i rock in the rocking chair - normally then he will drink well.
good luck!
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Laura,
There may not be any signs of teeth actually popping through. It can be quite painful for a lo when their teeth start moving up in the gums. If you think that your lo is teething and is really fussy during feeds, I would consider rubbing a bit of teething gel on her gums a few minutes before a feed and see if that helps ease her discomfort.
Paula
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Thanks Paula and Mich,
She doesnt seem to be fussy during the feeding, just not hungry and bored actually, she will only want to smile.. Since 2 days she also has been waking up at around 3 am and will take a 100cc bottle...arghh, its like we're taking steps backwards...
How long does this last??
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ohh, I forgot to mention that since a week she has been making rolling-over attempts and last night, she actually roled over twice and was awake making lots of noise and wide awake untill I rolled her over into her sleep position again - could the decrease in appetite and sudden night wakings have to do with this new thing she discovered she can do??
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The night wakings can definitely be developmental. I guess the feeding could too. She has learnt a new trick, and wants to constantly practice it.
Does she not eat better on a faster flow teat?
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We're dealing with the same thing. Dd is 16 weeks, almost 17 weeks. The past week she hasn't been eating well at all. She'll take only 1-1.5 ounces at a time and then start pushing the bottle away. If you persist she'll scream and spit the formula out. I do wonder if it's something developmental since so many babies at this age seem to be refusing to eat.
I thought teething, so I tried Orajel, Tylenol, cold formula, warm formula, cold washclothes, changed the bottle nipples, etc
Then I thought she was bored, so I changed to the stage 2 nipple and she refused it. We switched to a 3.5 hour EASY and then a 4 hour EASY with no improvement
Finally I thought it was reflux so we went to the doctor and put her on Zantac and thickened her formula with cereal
Nothing has made any difference. Today she's only taken 17 ounces. She's 15.2 pounds, so it should be closer to 30.
She seems pretty happy though. I just wish she would eat!
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My daughter is 16 weeks today and has been doing exactly the same thing for just over a week now. She takes the first 60mls no problem, then refuses the rest and just isn't interested. If we try to give it to her she screams and pushes the bottle away, turns her head away or tries to push the bottle out with her tongue. We giver her a break, change her nappy and go back to it after about 20mins-30mins and she'll take another 30mls but cry a bit initially. Then try again in about 5-10mins and she'll take another 30mls. A health visitor I saw suggested feeding her every 2-2.5 hours to make sure she gets enough food in as that's an extra feed, but we feel like we're going backwards too. Last night she woke every two hours!!!! We managed to get her back to sleep each time and then my husband fed her at 5am. The BW does say that at around 4-6 months they can just become so interested in the world around that feeding is the last thing she wants to do and to ride it out for 1-2 weeks. I have my health visitor coming out this afternoon to talk about it and see what we can come up with. It is very worrying because she's not a big baby at all, she was 12lb 4oz on Wednesday, so we don't want this to affect her weight.
I have been thinking about going onto the Jan/Feb 07 board and asking if anyone has experienced the same thing and how long it took to pass etc.
I know exactly how you feel, it is highly frustrating and very upsetting. People have suggested giving her a bit of baby rice to see if the change will help if she's bored. Also teething, not sure it is though. Also teats, she's already on a medium flow, etc etc... We do wonder if it's digestive because she does pull her legs up when she cries too and then after a few minutes will vomit a bit and then settle down. SOOOOO frustrating!
Must go she's awake after 45mins on the dot!!!
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I saw the HV today and she says it's purely developmental and to just ride it out. She said there's no real evidence to prove this but anecdotally loads of parents complain at the 16 week mark that everything has changed and that it's really challenging, but that by week 20 they've generally gone back to normal. We're going to weigh her in two weeks and if I need them in the meantime they're there to talk. She also said that we'll keep an eye on her vomiting after every feed, as she could be developing reflux. Also that she was showing signs today of potentially teething. However, she said that you don't really know they're teething for sure until that first tooth comes through. She suggested trying a different type of formula which is more gentle on their tummies because of her wind. Also to give her a wee drink of water every now and again. I asked about starting to use a cup and she said it'll do no harm to try it. So she suggested one to try. She said that she really doesn't think there's anything wrong, but it's just one of those things that can happen and just to ride it out. Great!! She said that she's so alert and will become bored easily of her activities and need to do more. Which we're certainly noticing.
Don't know if this helps you.
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One thing I can suggest is trying to feed your lo in a quiet room where there are no distractions, this can help especially if they are at that stage where they want to know everything.
Lippy Chick - with regards to starting rice cereal, I would definitely hold off on this - The current guidelines suggest only starting solids at 6 months old. Rice cereal is really empty calories, so will not be giving her any nourishment. I would stick to the milk at this stage, especially if you are not getting as much in her as normal, as it is her main source of nutrician. Are you in the UK? Cow and Gate do a really good formula that is easy on the tummy, it is called Comfort - might be worth a try.
HTH's
Paula
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Thanks Pauline! It actually helps a lot. Let's all post if this just goes away on it's own. Actually, if it does this would make a good sticky. So good to know Meghan is "normal!" :)
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I'll make this a sticky now
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Glad I could be of some help.
Paula. I asked the HV about baby rice and she was very adamant about not doing it so soon. She suggested Omnio Comfort, (I am in the UK) is that what you're talking about? My husband is going out to try and find some tomorrow. Thanks for that.
Funnily enough (no frustratingly) she took 120mls in about 6 mins when the HV was here and then finished off a 180ml bottle within the hour. Made me out to be a right liar!!! The next feed was as normal, (for the time being anyway) first 60 and then a struggle. She is really tired at the moment too. I think she would go down to sleep as soon as the feed finished. Of it is developmental then she may be tired too, as whatever changes she's going through take effect.
Think I've resigned myself for this being her "normal" at the moment and just putting up with it. Not much fun but at least we get loads of wee smiles, which are just heart melting. Poor wee thing hasn't a clue what's happening to her.
Will definitely post if things seem to improve.
We've tried darkening the room and turning off TV, radio, made no difference. Tried distracting her, made no difference. Just one of those wee enigmas, we may never fully understand.
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Pauline,
Yes Omneo Comfort is the one I am talking about - They have dropped the Omneo now and just called it comfort. You can get it at ASDA, Tesco, and most pharmacies - mostly in the bigger stores. Helen (Ennypen) one of our global moderators swears by Comfort - she had many problems with William with regards to gas etc, and she said that it made the world of difference.
Hugs, I know it is frustrating, but things will improve I promise.
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Thanks. We got some Comfort today.
However, she slept 11 hours last night (needed to be woken) and has taken both her feeds so far, well. She has taken half her daily intake in just two feeds out of five. She has barely cried at all today and seems much like the happy wee baby we're used to. She took her last feed in 35 mins, rather than screaming because she doesn't want it and so taking an hour. So we're hoping that whatever it was is passing. The not wanting to feed started about a week and a half ago. We'll see. We're not going to change her feed at the moment, we'll see how things go.
Pauline
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This gives me a lot of hope. We've been dealing with this for about a week and a half. So, maybe it will start getting better soon!
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The beginning of the day has been much better and this last feed, she's not taken much, not wanted it and been quite grizzly. So we're hoping that tomorrow will be better and it might take a few days for her to be OK again. We think it might be linked to her sleep too and when she's really tired she just can't be bothered. So not quite out of the woods yet.
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Thanks all, it seems this is a phase...sorry I havent replied earlier, I am on holiday where the internet is slow as a snail, so have been avoiding having to logg on..
We are doing slightly better as well, but still not superb, guess we have to ride it out! Glad to read I am not alone, haha!
Laura
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Pauline,
I am pleased that she has done better today. Did you try the comfort or did you stick with your original formula?
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She didn't take a great deal as the day went on yesterday. She woke slightly earlier today and has taken an OK amount so far. We changed the formula today to Comfort. She doesn't seem to mind that it's a different flavour and smells disgusting. So we'll see how that goes. She does seem to be taking it slightly slower than the Farleys and she hardly makes any noise whilst eating it. Also it's interesting, but when I shake the bottle up to mix the formula there are barely any bubbles at the top, whereas with the Farleys the rest of the bottle was taken up with bubbles. Don't know if this make a difference. She has seemed calmer again today, but seems to become more grizzly as the day goes on. We'll see how it goes. We have also bought a training cup, called a Doidy cup. I think they're only registered in the UK. They are an open rimmed cup which is slanted so the baby can see inside. I guess if you google Doidy cup it'll show you what I mean. Apparently they're really good to use instead of spouts or teats because of tooth decay and mouth development etc. The Health Visitor suggested it. Haven't tried it yet. Don't want to introduce to many new things all at once. We're still trying to work out what type of baby she is. We've been convinced she's an angel, then touchy, but the fact she didn't mind the change in formula would suggest differently. So we think she is an angel but maybe spirited too.
Will let you know how we get on with the comfort formula.
Thanks for asking.
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Well, we seem to be doing better since 2 days, could also be that she's settled into the new environment (we are on holiday in the mountains, completely different environment than the city one she is used to), in any case, I have noticed an improvement since 2 days now, hopefully we are back on track! After reading some more postings on this subject, I have also turned the eating time into something she (I think...) recognizes: I tell her its time to eat and show her the bib which I then tie around her neck and then show her the bottle and slowly put it on her lips: when she doesnt want anymore, usually after the 80-100 mark, I take of the bib, put away the bottle, burp her and do a change of scenery - I now always feed her in her room, otherwise she's way to disctracted - then after about 10/ 15 minutes, I pick her up again, take her to her room and we repeat the bib/bottle ritual, and since 2 days she usually finishes the entire bottle...I'm keeping my fingers crossed, also, no more nigh-feeds. She still wakes up around 5 but I read in BW book that most babies wake between 4 and 6 am and then fall asleep again, so this is normal I guess. My pedeatrician also said I could give her 1 spoon of cereal in her 7PM bottle, which I tried the other day and was amazed when she finished the entire bottle in about 10 minutes, no stopping. I tasted it, and it does taste better than the regular milk. Ahh, this reminds me: I also changed formula as she seemed not to be interested in the one we had before, so I changed and she drinks more.
Strange little beings! It just seems how sometimes you need to take 1 step back to advance 2...or the opposite sometimes rings true as well.
Laura
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Pauline, you say she gets grizzly as the day goes on, do you think she may be starting to teeth? My DS's gums would always bother him more in the late afternoon, early evening than they did in the beginning of the day. If you think she is teething, may be worth trying some teething gel a few minutes before a feed to see how she goes.
Also let us know how you get on with the Doidy cup.
Laura I am pleased that you have found a routine that is working for you and your lo.
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You are not the first to suggest she might be teething. In fact quite a few people have. The Health Visitor said she thought she saw her doing a wee movement with her lips which can sometimes indicate teething. Do we have to go this every time a tooth comes through!!! ;-} I may well get some tomorrow. Today at one point she was lying on her changing mat, quite happy, then put her fist in her mouth and immediately starting crying hard. It's so unlike her. I guess only time will tell if she is teething.
If she is, I hope this tooth comes through soon, for all our sanity.
Thanks again.
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It definitely does sound like she is teething. It may not be that the tooth is ready to cut through, but it is still very painful for them when the teeth start moving up in the gums.
Unfortunatley teeth are not very nice, and some teeth will affect them worse than others. My DS seemed to be really bothered by most of his :'(
Give the teething gel a try if she seems fussy, then give it a few minutes and offer her the bottle and see how she does.
Keep us posted.
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Paula, I got the teething gel (dentinox, probably a UK equivalent to something else in the US) and as soon as I put my finger on her gums she started to cry. Then cried for about 5 mins afterwards. Let her settle down, tried to give her some milk, she just cried even as I lifted the bottle. So I figured that I'd put her to bed as she looked really tired and was falling alseep. She settled down, so I tried her again and she took 50mls and fell asleep. Put her to bed and she woke up, so I brought her back downstairs and fed her again and she seemed happier to take the bottle this time and in total took 120mls. I changed her nappy and put her straight to bed. I can't feel any wee lumps and her gums are a nice light pinky colour. So I just don't know. She's doing what she did last week and it is a struggle to get the food into her again. I think I'll try giving her the gel 15 mins before the feed next time and see if it makes a difference. Again, could be this ride it out developmental thing.
Thanks for your support, from half way across the world.
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Most of the teething gels are made with benzocaine, which works best when it's applied to broken skin (like once the tooth starts breaking through). So, if the teething gel doesn't work for her, you could try some Tylenol before a feed and see if that helps. Also, letting them chew on cold teethers and washcloths can help.
I thought Meghan was getting better but now it looks like we're still stuck in the same old pattern, just taking a few ounces. She seems happy though. But she hasn't started to wake more at night, unfortunately.
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I'm not sure we have tylenol in the UK. The last two feeds were better. I put the gel on her gums about 10 mins before 4th feed and she seemed happier to suck and chomp on my finger. Then she took 70 mls!! I waited about 5 mins, she took some more. Then I tried to give her some more about 25 mins into the feed and she cried. So I put more gel on her gums and she settled again. In total she took 170mls at that feed and was much calmer. Went straight to sleep with the dummy in (didn't cry when I put the dummy in her mouth either). Last feed. We bathed her first. Put gel on her gums. She took the first 60mls, then stopped. Put more gel on her gums and she ended up taking 130mls. She was grizzly, but she was tired too. So the last two feeds were 300mls in total, last night was 220 and the night before 180mls. So, don't know whether we have an answer, we'll see how tomorrow goes.
We want her to take more in so that she doesn't wake at night. We don't want her to get into that habit. So far, so good.
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I feel like we've gone backwards today. She's taken less today again and just screams every time the bottle comes anywhere near her mouth. Unfortunately my HV isn't working until Thursday, so will have to wait until then to speak to her. We'll see how she goes the next couple of days. Might end up taking her to the GP again, although I doubt he'll be able to help.
I gave her some water from the doidy cup yesterday. She took to it quite well, seemed to enjoy it even. Not sure how much she got, I guess that doesn't matter, she'll get the hang of it eventually.
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I'm glad the gel seems to be working Pauline! Is a doidy cup a training/sippy cup?
Meghan only took 23 ounces yesterday (I think that's somewhere in the 690ml range), which for a baby her size isn't too much I don't think. She's about 15.5 pounds. But she slept through the night! So, maybe she just doesn't need so much food. I am trying to just follow her lead, but it's hard to not obsess when her intake seems to be plummetting!
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We changed Alice's formula a couple of days ago, on the recommendation of the Health Visitor. She has started pooing later in the day now and they have got a bit darker (she did say there would be a change for a few days). I noticed when looking through my records, that she is taking less in the mornings now, but when she poos takes larger amounts afterwards. So not sure what to think about that. We have re-read the stuff in BW about reflux and think it could be that now too. She is sick with every feed and sometimes quite a while afterwards, which looks cottage-cheesey. Her vomit has started to smell quite a bit too, recently. The HV suggested it could be reflux, I have been suspecting it since she was born really and keep coming back to it. I just did a search on google and apparently although things seem to settle down for a while, it can flare up again as their wee tummies are immature. Might have a chat with the HV this week about it.
If you google doidy cup, I guess it'll show you what I mean. They're open rimmed and slanty, so the baby can see what's in it. She drank quite well from it again today, so might try putting a bit of formula in it tomorrow to see how we go. A lot of it does end up down her front, but I think she drank more than was on her bib. She is funny taking it, she lurches forward when it comes near her mouth and she kind of laps it than drinks it.
I know what you mean about her not taking as much in, Alice isn't either. I also understand your need to get good quantities in to her as she used to do. Alice is also sleeping through still. I think she might come out of this when her next growth spurt hits and she decides she wants to eat again.
Being a mum is hard, especially when something changes for what seems like no reason and is quite distressing.
Do keep me informed though about how Meghan is doing.
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Hi ladies.....just read your posts, and i feel for you as i am having some serious issues feeding my twins. didn't know if you had read the thread about dysphagia or not, but it can also be the cause of some feeding issues. i know my girls are showing symptoms of it, so i will be checking it out further with their dr......just wanted to offer that as some helpful advice, and maybe something you hadn't read about......good luck and hugs!!
-Robin-
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Hi Pauline,
Sorry I did not get a chance to get on line yesterday. I know the teething gel you are talking about , I used it for DS and it did seem to help at times.
If you do think that she is extra fussy and seems to be a bit uncomfortable, you could always give her a dose of Calpol (paracetamol), this may help ease the discomfort.
Also, you might want to pop ont our Colic and Reflux boards, and see if anyone can give you any advice there. I do know that when they suspected my DS with reflux that gave him gaviscon sachets to add to his milk.
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?board=13.0
Hugs, I am sorry to hear you are going through a rough time, I do hope things improve.
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Thanks Paula. A friend of mine used the playtex bottles and has just finished with them and has offered them to me. I don't want to change too many things all at once, but if it is reflux, do you think this type of bottle would help? I am encouraged though, because she took to the new formula, like there was no change and has taken to the cup too and seems to enjoy the change. So I think that weaning her onto solids might be OK and she may actually "enjoy" the process.
I think both my husband and I are becoming more convinced that it's reflux. I had terrible reflux for most of the pregnancy and had to cut out most root vegetables. I know, a very strange food to give reflux. It was the carrot soup I made that clinched it for me. Also that sometimes when I'm feeding her she just isn't hungry and doesn't want what I'm trying to give her. Who knows!!!!??
I'll have a look at that section of the site tomorrow. I've been trying to find that section and couldn't find it, so thanks for link.
Thanks, I hope things improve too.
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I have never heard of a doidy cup before, but it seems cool! I don't think we really have them for babies in the US. Is this the same thing? (I like the idea and want to make sure I'm getting the right thing!!!)
http://www.amazon.com/Doidy-Childrens-Nosey-Cup-reduces-drinking/dp/B000LTEG4G
Meghan has been on her reflux medicine, Zantac, for a week. She is a happy spitter. She is still spitting up a lot, but doesn't seem bothered by it. The feeding, however, hasn't improved much. It isn't like she's in pain, just full, I think.
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Yeah, that's it. They have a wide range of colours. I hadn't heard of them either until my Health Visitor mentioned it. Tried it with some formula today and she didn't want it. However, she didn't want her milk at all at that point. So will try again tomorrow.
Alice woke twice in the night last night. At 12am and I put her back to sleep and then again at 1.50am. So at that point my husband decided to feed her as she was probably hungry and she took a full feed. Took an hour to get it into her. If her feeds only went quicker she wouldn't be wasting so much energy on feeding and could have more play time. Trying to pay more attention to what she's doing, I've noticed that she fusses quite a lot when she's about to wind and then is fine afterwards.
I agree that Alice just doesn't want to be bothered with eating, it's like she's full too. Maybe it is this developmental thing that we just have to ride out. As mothers though, we want to fix the problem when one arises to get our happy wee babies back.
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Quick question.
If it turns out that she does have reflux, one of the ways to deal with it is to feed less more often. Does this not turn the baby into a snacker, something I have been working hard for her not to become? Then how do you transition to a 4 hour EASY? Is a 4 hour EASY out of the question and you just have to wait until they settle on a routine when they start solids?
Actually, there are quite a few questions in there.
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Pauline,
I personally would not consider introducing solids at this stage. The recomended age for introduction to solids is 6 months. Their tummies are very sensative and can end up causing digestion problems. I would definitely discuss this with your HV before any introduction to solids.
Some lo's that suffer with reflux are able to go onto a 4 hour easy once they are established on their meds. Your best bet is to probably scan through a few posts on the colic and reflux boards to see what other mums are doing.
Have you discussed the possibility of reflux with your GP / Health Visitor?
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I'm going to give the HV a ring tomorrow and have a chat about it with her.
I agree that it's too soon to put her onto solids, I don't think she's anywhere near ready for that yet.
I was hoping to be starting the whole transition to a 4 hour EASY already, but this not eating has really thrown her off course. I barely slept at all last night, it feels like when she was first born, really regressing.
The great thing is that she's going to be having her next set of jabs on Tuesday, which she hasn't taken well to so far and really throws her out for about a week afterwards. So we'll have that to contend with as well next week.
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Awww hugs hun. I would definitely chat with the HV about the possiblity of Reflux, and would not leave there without any answers.
Please let us know how you get on tomorrow.
Will be thinking of you.
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Oh, Pauline, I know how you're feeling. Meghan has her shots next week too. You know, I'm seriously considering postponing them until this other stuff is under control. I'm wondering how we'd know if she had a reaction to the shots if she's already having issues. We'd be off schedule, but I don't think a month delay would have too many health consequences.
I'm going to try the doidy. My bigger two kids don't drink well from regular cups yet, they're very messy, so I might just try it for all three of them!
We can't start a 4 hour EASY yet, but a lot of babies grow out of the reflux eventually anyway, so at some point we'll probably get there- who knows when, though. She is on more of a 3.5 hour schedule. Occasionally she'll push it to 4 hours. I've started to wait until she "tells" me she is hungry for most of the feeds, figuring she'll take a bit more if she is actually hungry. I still cluster feed her at night so that she'll get 6 feeds in a day.
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I've been considering postponing her jabs too. Figure that I might as well get it all out of the way though.
At the moment Alice is more like 2.5-3 hours, she was more like 3-3.5 before all this. She slept through again last night, but woke up about 20 mins after going to sleep initially and had to be put back to sleep. She woke this morning at 6.40am.
Anyway. Spoke to the HV today and she said to continue doing everything I'm doing and we'll see how she goes in the next week. She does seem a bit calmer, but still not taking her food well at all. The HV said that she can't reassure me enough that loads of parents go through this type of thing at this age and that it will pass and she will settle back down again soon. I asked about the reflux and she said to give the Comfort formula another week to go through her system and we'll see how she is next week. She said that if she is still showing signs of reflux I should then go to the GP and try some baby Gaviscon.
I thought about waiting a bit longer between feeds too, but she sleeps so little that by the time she is being fed she is so tired she can't feed and falls asleep. I do think that some of it is down to the fact that she rarely sleeps longer than 45 mins, however, yesterday she had two sleeps of an hour long each.
Paula, for some reason initially I thought you were in America, but now realise that you have a bit too much knowledge of UK based drugs and products and so must live over this side of the pond.
We really don't think she is teething now, because we haven't used the teething gel for a couple of days and it's made no difference.
Hugs gratefully received ;-}
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Awww hun, I really don't know what to say. I was hoping that you were going to come back from the HV with a few more answers. Sending you loads of hugs.
The only thing you can really do is give the new formula another week, and see how she goes.
If you find that your lo cannot handle the A time of a 3.5 hour easy or 4 hour easy, you could always try doing a bit E A S A E etc, and see how you get on that way.
It is not uncommon for the easy routine to look something like that until your lo can handle the extra A time. Might be worthwhile giving it a try.
Where abouts in the UK are you Pauline? I am in Cheshire - near Liverpool.
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I am so very glad that you have posted this as a sticky! I have been having similar problems with my almost 15 week old, however he is breastfed so I can't tell how much he is taking. All I know is it is quite a struggle sometimes to get him to stay latched on long enough to get a full feed. He just seems too interested in everything else around him. He will pop off after the first 5 or 10 minutes and start smiling, talking, sometimes whining and after that it is a struggle to get him to stay on for more than a minute or so. I do hope this is a phase. I have tried putting the burp cloth over his eyes and that helped a little although one time it made him fall asleep :) I will keep visiting this thread and hopefully this really is developement and will pass very soon!! I too do not want ds to start waking in the night for feeds again. He just recently started sleeping through until at least 6 am (I like 7 better but hey, I take what I can get) but last night he was awake at 4:30 and fed. ARG!! Hope you ladies are doing better!!
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Hi Anne Elizabeth. Welcome to our none feeding babies rant. Alice started doing this two weeks ago just before she was 15 weeks (she'll be 17 weeks tomorrow, Friday) and am hoping that she'll start to settle down soon.
She didn't sleep all that well today, so we'll see how we go tomorrow. I'm finding that because her feeds are taking so long at the moment, I'm not really getting out of the house, because then it's time for a bit of activity and then wind down and bed. I got out this evening while husband was feeding Alice and putting her to bed. Bless him, he's put her to bed every night since this started, to give me a break. We normally take it in turns.
I got those playtex bottles from my friend this evening. Might not use them for about another week or so just to give her that time on the new formula. Also we've started reducing her colief, in preparation for potentially using the gaviscon. Don't want to go "cold turkey" on the colief and then give her loads of chemicals etc. My mum is convinced she needs solids "you were all on the spoon by the time you were weeks old and it didn't do you any harm". I really do want to wait and not give her any just yet.
Paula, I live just outside Newcastle Upon Tyne on the coast. Thankfully, although loads of rain, no flooding!!
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Just as a quick update.
We've had a bit of a better day today. She's taken all of her feeds within 45 mins and has taken good amounts in each. Still not as much as she was taking, but we feel a bit happier today. Also she went down to sleep easier last night and tonight. Don't know if this is the start of her getting back on track, we'll see how tomorrow goes. It would be nice to feel like I could have friends round again.
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Yay for Alice! I do hope this is coming to an end for you. Sending you great sleep vibes!!
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Oh good! Meghan seems to be doing a little bit better today too. She will take about 3-4 ounces and then a little more after a bit of a break. It's taking about an hour per feed and she's taking about 5 ounces. Once feed today she took 7 full ounces over an hour with some active time in between!
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Good for Meghan! Hope this keeps up for you guys! It gives me hope :)
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Alice woke at 1.20am today and needed feeding. She took a full feed. However, today she's being difficult again. I wonder if it's related to how tired she is by the time she's eating. Given that she's a 45 minuter, max, it's very difficult. Here's a typical day:
6.30am Wake
6.45am feed until 7.45
8.15am Sleep
9.00am Wake
She's not due a feed then until 9.45am.
So if we feed her when she wakes she's only doing a 2.5hr EASY. So then how do we get her to transition to a 4 hour EASY.
We tend to keep her up until the feed is nearly due, but then sometimes she's been up an hour before the feed.
No matter when I put her down to sleep she'll only sleep 35-45 mins. She just seems so tired all the time. If only she realised that if her feeds took 30 mins then she could have about an hour of play time, rather than hardly any at all. Silly girl!!
Really glad Meghan is doing much better, hope you've had a better day than we have, so far.
A friend told me that no matter what happens, each day is a new day, you can start all over again tomorrow.
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Sorry to hear you are having a rough day :'( My day hasn't been very good either but it doesn't have much to do with the feeding. Ds has had a mild fever for a week so I finally called the doctor this morning since he wasn't really acting himself and his fever was 100 degrees (not alarming but I thought I should have him looked at). so of course the dr. wants to see him during his first nap. I had JUST put him down, so I had to get him up and bring him to the appointment. Well, needless to say he only slept for 30 minutes. It is now past noon and he has been hysterical trying to go down for his second nap. He's been at it for 45 minutes and cannot seem to settle. UGH!!! I am already dreading what the night may bring. Of course when we get him to the dr.s he no longer has a temperature. Doesn't that figure?? But that's a good thing. He has a bit of a cold and the dr. also noticed his gums are red so he is starting to teeth already. OH MY!! His feeds haven't been too bad today but I think that is because he is so tired he can't fuss too much. Hope your day goes better Pauline!
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That's a real pain when the appointments don't fit into the routine. Hopefully you'll have a good night. Tomorrow is a new day. Really hope his cold clears up soon. Did the Dr suggest anything to try for the teething? That could also explain why he doesn't want to feed, his poor wee gums are sore.
Strangely, although Alice isn't feeding great and we're struggling to get decent amounts into her, she seems really happy to go to sleep on her own at the moment. She starts to cry a bit downstairs, I take her up to her room, put her in the cot, swaddle her, give her the dummy, close the curtains and kiss her on the forehead and say "see you when you wake up" and leave the room. Within 5 minutes I can't hear anything at all on the monitor. She did it for the first time tonight at her bed time. So hopefully she's learning to put herself to sleep, she still wakes after 45 mins. Not sure if this training will eventually mean she'll go back to sleep if she wakes up during her naps. Anyway, it's progress indeed and hopefully we can do this with every nap and that it'll continue.
Today she was really fussy and screamed quite a lot during her feeds. The past couple of days she was much calmer and just turning her head away when she didn't want the feed, today she was screaming again. It's just not very pleasant. Hoping tomorrow will be better.
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That's great that Alice is doing much better going to sleep on her own. I know that is a huge battle sometimes and it just makes it all worth it when you put them down and walk away knowing they will go to sleep by themselves!! Hope that continues!
The doctor didn't suggest anything for the teething (surprisingly) but ds has been chewing on anything he can get his hands on. I purchased some Hyland's Teething Tablets as I have seen some moms recommend them. I also think I will get out some teethers and put them in the freezer. I also might try wetting the end of a washcloth and sticking that in the freezer as well to see which he likes better. I have a feeling he will like the washcloth better since he loves to chew on his burp cloth :)
It's funny, I didn't even think teething might be the cause of his feeding issues because I thought he was a bit too young, but I guess not! I think it is a combination of teething and him being more interested in things going on around him. He doesn't always scream during feedings....sometimes he just coos and smiles. I guess only time will tell!
Here's hoping for a good evening for both of us!!
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Pauline - I also wanted to add that my lo has been doing the 45 minute nap thing and for about a week ALL of his naps were 45 minutes. (I am afraid I will jinx myself if I say this here but I will do it anyway). Lately, at least ONE nap is at least 1.5 hours, sometimes 2. The last nap today was 1.5 hours, so I do think ds is starting to work out his 45 minute nap problem (although pretty slowly, but I'll take what I can get). Sometimes he will wake and cry for a few seconds at the 45 minute mark then go back to sleep, but that has only happened a handful of times. I think Alice will do better once she can consistently put herself to sleep. I do hope this gives you a bit of hope :)
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Pauline, I am pleased that you have not been involved in the floods. Thankfully, we have not had any near us eaither - it has just been awful though :'(
I know what you mean about your mum saying about lo's having solids so young etc and it did not do them any harm. My DS was a very big boy, and I felt very pressurised to put him onto solids before 6 months. In the end I caved - I was having the same problems as you all with not taking the bottle well etc, and eventually gave in when he was around 5 months. Although my DS took the solids well, they did not agree with him. They ended up giving him sever constipation as his tummy was just not ready for them. He ended up in hospital for a week due to constipation as he was not eating or drinking anything. :(
I am pleased that she started to take the bottle again - fingers crossed that it is a start.
Yay Megan ;D
Hugs Anne, I am sorry you had such a rough time with DS - I do hope that your night was not too bad.
Pauline, with regards to Alices naps - from what you say, with her waking between 30-45 minutes, it sounds like she is not able to get herself into that deeper stretch of sleep, and is waking at the jolt. Have a look at this link from the naps section.
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64161.msg476655#msg476655
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Thanks for all the encouragement.
Anne, I'm glad your son is working out how to go to sleep on his own. You might find that once the tooth/teeth are through, that the feeding issue solves too. I think we were hoping it would be that, because then at least there's a reason for her not feeding. She is an incredibly aware and alert baby and so we think that maybe she is just so interested in her surroundings and wanting to do other things (she is always eyeing up the baby gym) that she doesn't want to eat. Someone else on another post said that she thought Alice's sleep would sort out when she goes to a 4 hour routine. But it's chicken and egg, what comes first, the 4 hour routine or sorting out the sleep to get to a 4 hour routine.
Paula, I had a look at that link and it looks very interesting and helpful. I think I'll give it a go next weekend when my husband is here to take it in turns. Thanks for the link. Sorry to hear about your problems when starting to spoon feed, it must've been a fairly scary time for you. It's interesting because I don't know anyone with a child who has waited until 6 months. Most started around 5-5.5 months.
We are still wondering about the whole reflux issue, we'll see what the health visitor has to say on Thursday. However, probably in for a rough week anyway, due to jabs on Tuesday, they really disagree with her.
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Sorry to hear Alice has to go for jabs on Tuesday. Mine has to go a week from tuesday. NOT looking forward to it. DS took a huge step backwards when he had his 2 month shots so I am hoping things don't go that bad this time around!
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This sounds all tooo familiar, I have posted on here too about the same problem. My daughter is only 12 weeks but still, the only thing I found that works is distraction and this only works sometimes, I go in the kitchen turn on the fan above the stove cause it's a loud white noise and she will start to take the bottle. last week was really bad this week her thing is she will take a definite break half way in between the bottle I will burp her but usually thats not enough I will have to try burping her lots more , meanwhile she is wailing and I at this point go to the kitchen. My dd also started spitting up more and hiccuping more which is kind of ironic since we just started putting her on reflux meds (to rule out reflux, she had many symptoms). I feel for you all. I wish someone had a concrete answer for us.
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his sounds all tooo familiar, I have posted on here too about the same problem. My daughter is only 12 weeks but still, the only thing I found that works is distraction and this only works sometimes, I go in the kitchen turn on the fan above the stove cause it's a loud white noise and she will start to take the bottle. last week was really bad this week her thing is she will take a definite break half way in between the bottle I will burp her but usually thats not enough I will have to try burping her lots more , meanwhile she is wailing and I at this point go to the kitchen. My dd also started spitting up more and hiccuping more which is kind of ironic since we just started putting her on reflux meds (to rule out reflux, she had many symptoms). I feel for you all. I wish someone had a concrete answer for us.
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Having a very bad day. She took her normal 200ml nearly 7oz first thing, then the next feed 60mls, 2oz and then 80ml nearly 3oz. She just screams every time the bottle is brought anywhere near her mouth. She seems to calm down once she's winded might take a bit more, but then stops and cries lots again. Then falls asleep. So I changed my bottle from Tommee Tippee to Playtex and she took another 60mls out of that after having pooed. I do think there's something digestive going on. She then fell asleep again during last feed, so put her straight up to bed.
Really not sure what to do next. The problem seems to be getting worse not better.
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Pauline - sorry to hear you are having a bad day :( Yesterday wasn't so fun for me either. The worst was his bedtime feed. It took 30 minutes to get him to START eating!! ARG! I completely understand your frustration. This morning ds fed for only 15 minutes (usually feeds for 25) after that it was such a struggle i just gave up. And he was starting to sleep straight through without a night feed, but he has gone backwards again and I have been having to give him feeds at night. Does Alice sleep through or do you have to feed her at night? (I think you answered this before, so please forgive me)
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We had a better end to the day. I stuck with the playtex bottles given that she seemed to take the previous one well (even though she fell asleep). Her fourth feed she took 150ml (just over 5oz) then her last feed she polished off 180mls (6oz) for the first time in weeks. She also took them quicker, within 40 mins, rather than taking an hour. We are wondering whether it has been wind related all along and now that the bottles are different with a fast flow teat (she's always been quite lazy, we had to go to medium flow within her first week) maybe it's agreeing with her more. We'll see how tomorrow goes, then of course late afternoon she'll be stuck with needles and throw her out for about a week. Thank goodness there are no more inoculations for about 8 months.
I can't actually go in when she has her jabs, I just cry :'(. Pathetic, I know, so my husband has to come home early and take her. I go and wait outside to be good mummy afterwards. Anyone else have this problem?
Feeling a bit happier this evening after a stressful start. Yeah, she does sleep through (until this problem started; she has woken up a couple of nights needing fed), so hopefully she will again tonight. Really sorry to hear you had a bad day yesterday, it is so discouraging, especially when they have been doing so well and seem to regress for no reason.
I really appreciate being able to "talk" about this on this site and that there are others with similar problems who are prepared to "listen".
I guess we can say that we celebrated her 4 month birthday today with some new bottles and hopefully helping her through this trying time.
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Happy 4 month birthday Alice!! I am so glad she did better in the afternoon. Hopefully you have found a solution! you are very lucky that you don't have to have any more jabs for 8 months! Over here we have to go again when ds is 6 months, then 9 months, then 12 months, etc. FUN FUN!! I don't enjoy watching them stick ds with needles (I almost cried the first time) but I can still be there. It is very tough on some moms. The doc actually asked if I would be OK with it :) At least they realize it is very hard for us!!
Well, here's wishing you a restful night. DS has actually taken some good naps today so I too am hoping his night will be better.
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I am pleased that the Playtex bottles were better. You say you think it may be wind related - have you tried using Infacol to help your lo bring up her wind?
Hope the Jabs went ok :-* I sobbed when my DS had to have his - it is heartbreaking to watch.
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((Hugs)) to everyone still having a hard time.
Meghan had a hard day too.
One trick I've discovered with her that sometimes works is to stick a pacifier in her mouth when she starts fussing during a feed. I let her suck for a few minutes and then she will sometimes take the bottle and eat again. This makes me think it is the reflux and the sucking without food is soothing to her esophagus. But who knows, it's just speculation on my part.
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Hi all,
Hope you don't mind me butting in. But I came on here to post a new topic about this and then found all of you going through the same. My lo is 16 weeks and for about the last week she has just not seemed hungry she takes about 40 mins to drink 7oz on 2 teats and it's only because i'm pushing her that she takes it. Also she seems to only want to sleep for 40 mins max but then she falls asleep while eating. The plus side is I have gone cold turkey to 4 hour easy and she seems to be quite happy with that. How long do you think this part will last cause it worries me that she is not eating that much.
thanks Liz xx
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Welcome. Who knows how long it will last. My health visitor reckons that at around 16 weeks a lot of babies go through developmental changes and become very challenging and normally it all evens out by week 20. I do find it bizarre that so many of us are going through this at the same time. Alice is taking an hour to take 3-4oz. Today with the change of bottle it has been better. It is still taking her an hour to feed, but she has taken good quantities. She has been much calmer during the feeds and has taken 6oz, 7oz and 5oz today so far.
Liz, how did you go cold turkey on the 4hour EASY, we've been thinking about doing that? She seems to get hungry towards the end of the bottle around 3 3/4 hours rather than 3 hours. How did you cope with the fact she only sleeps 40mins at a time? How long did you keep her up in between feeds? I know exactly how you feel, it is a worry. My health visitor also suggested not forcing the food into her but kind of letting her guide me as to how much she wants and when. So we do sit the hour out with each bottle and hope that during that time she'll take a decent amount.
I've been doing the dummy thing too. She'll eat a bit, then stop, cry a bit, so I'll give her the dummy, try again about 10 mins later and sometimes she takes it and sometimes she doesn't. I know what you mean about speculating as to what the problem is, we've been doing the same thing.
We had her on Infacol when she was days old and it seemed to help for a couple of days and then her wind got worse again, so we changed to the colief. We're now trying to wean her off that.
You're right that it is terrible you have to go so often for inoculations, at least here they get a good break from it. Here it's: 2,3,4,12 and 13 months.
Not counting my chickens, just yet, but at least she has been eating a lot more today. The HV is coming on Thursday to weigh her, so that'll be interesting. We'll see how she goes after she has her jabs later though. Fun, fun, fun indeed.
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Hope the jabs went OK! Glad to hear that she is eating a bit more today :) BTW, Alice is absolutely beautiful!!
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Anne, thanks so much for you kind comment about Alice; loads of people say she looks like me!! ;) Of course Roman is a wee cutie.
She handled her jabs well. Of course she screamed the place down, but was happy-ish by the time we got home and has been OK this evening. She tends to be OK a couple of days after, but then up until about a week afterwards is really grumbly and off her food etc. GREAT!!
She fed much better today, although still taking an hour and still taking a bit, then refusing it, then taking it again, she was much calmer. We'll see how we go over the next week. She was also much happier today, more like the happy wee baby we know and love. She was smiling at different people today rather than crying every time someone came near her. I also had a half giggle out of her too, sooooooo cute. She also nearly got her foot into her mouth during the bath today, it was about an inch away aaaand she rolled over onto her side today, not fully onto her tummy... yet. She's been a busy girl.
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Wow she really seems to be going through a developmental phase Pauline.
I am pleased that the jabs went ok, and that she settled soon after.
Keep us posted :-*
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She seems to be doing better today...so far!!
She's taken her first two feeds within 30 mins and has taken 8oz and 6oz, so far. She has been asleep for over an hour and a half and went down herself without any intervention. She peeped at around 40 mins and I was all ready for going to the loo before getting her up and she went back to sleep. She may of course be tired from her jabs. We'll see how the rest of the day goes. Again don't want to count my chickens before they're hatched. Why are babies so strange?
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Wow! Sounds like Alice is doing better. Of course we all know that could change at the drop of a hat, but let's have hope! I can't wait until Roman lets out a giggle. He seems so close, but alas, nothing comes out :) Keep us posted (maybe Alice needed those jabs to get her back on track!)
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Pauline- that's great!!
Anne- Meghan did a lot of grunty type laughs, which were hilarious, before she ever did a "real" one and now it's just every once in awhile (no matter how big a fool I make of myself trying to get her to do it-LOL)
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Pauline that is fantastic news. I hope the rest of your day goes as great as the morning.
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Babies are strange. She polished off 7oz, then 5 oz and then only took 2 oz in her last feed and cried her way through it. We couldn't get any more into her at all, so we put her to bed. She has actually in 4 and a half feeds, taken as much as she did yesterday though. So we're hoping she'll sleep through. Of course this evening could've been a blip because of the jabs. She is normally off colour for about a week afterwards. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.
Alice hasn't fully giggled yet, but it sounds like she's trying to and makes a wee giggle type of noise, she did it a few weeks ago and then yesterday. I can't wait to hear her laughing properly.
We are wondering if Alice is going through a growth spurt. However, wondering where the co-incidence is, that when we start using the playtex bottles all her feeds subsequently (apart from the last one this evening) have improved. We actually got out today, because she'd finished her feed quicker, we went for a walk to the park.
Health Visitor coming tomorrow. I do hope her weight gain has remained steady.
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Pauline - glad to hear Alice has taken as much today as she did yesterday. I am sure she will sleep through for you ;)
She could very well be going through a growth spurt. And I am so happy to hear you finally got out for a walk. So refreshing isn't it?
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When I picked Meghan up this morning, I could tell she'd gained weight from last night! So, it could definitely be a growth spurt.
What kinds of bottles is everyone else using? We use the Soothie ones, stage one nipples. I tried the stage 2 nipples, Avent bottles and the Nuk orthodontic bottles, but the Soothies seems to be the best of the bunch. I am trying to decide whether to invest on any others to see if it helps, but it seems like such a waste when it doesn't help, KWIM?
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Hi ladies,
Pauline, With going cold turkey to 4 hours I did it on a day that we were at a garden party so lots of things to keep her busy, I also added an extra oz to each bottle as she would be loosing a feed. She was for about a week not really seeming hurgry at the 3 hour mark and just having the milk cause I was falsing her and then she would spit lots up afterwards. We are now on day 4 of changing and she has been fine and showing signs of hunger at 4 hours so taking bottle better. As for her 40mins naps it's a nightmare!!!!!! After her 11 feed yesterday I put her straight down and she had an hour then 2 A time then a 40 min nap at 2pm before her 3pm feed so she wouldn't fall asleep during her bottle. So not really an easy routine at the mo ;D
Liz xx
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Like a pp, I came on with a similar problem and it's so comforting to know that so many others are going through this! One thing DH and I discovered is that sometimes we can get them (we have twins) to finish a bottle if we put them in the bouncy seat. Suddenly they just want to wiggle and look around more and having them in the seat lets them do that, but isn't so hard for me to handle them. THat has really worked for us.
Now, as for the short naps, that's something we're still struggling with!
Good luck to all!
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Liz, it is not uncommon for a lo's routine to be all over the place when moving to a 4 hour feeding routine. The EASY can end up being EASAE etc.
Keep us posted on how you get on.
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This might be a dumb question?
Is there anything that you can add to a bottle to make the milk taste sweeter and encourage them to take a bit more?
Yesterday, in an effort to get Meghan to eat a little more from her bottle, I put a tiny drop of baby tylenol on the tip of the nipple and then let her lick that off. She happily ate another ounce or so.
If not, what is the sweetest/best tasting formula?
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Nothing that I can think of - you really do not want to be encouraging your lo to have a sweet tooth at such a young age.
I also would not suggest putting pain meds on the nipple. That way she would get used to having something sweet on the teat and want it all the time. Plus you don't want your lo to get used to the meds and when you really need them that she has built up an immunity to them and they don't work. I would stick to using meds when your lo really needs them and is in pain.
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Well Alice did indeed sleep through last night. She had to be woken this morning at 7am!!
The HV was here today to weigh Alice. She gained 12oz from 2 weeks ago, so that's great. She has remained just below the 25th centile and her weight gain has been steady. So I feel a bit happier about that. She's now 13lbs 1oz. We're weighing her again in 3 weeks (because the HV is on holiday). She has also suggested that I go to the GP and get some baby gavison, as she suspects that Alice may have reflux. She is still being sick with every feed, after every feed and generally before feeds too. She's just sick a lot really. So will hopefully get an appointment tomorrow.
Her feeds today have been good again. Her feed times were a bit erratic today because of the HV being here, so she had 4 full feeds and a top up before bed. She has taken 800mls (around 28oz) the last feed she only took 2-3oz. So, in the 4 feeds she had taken more than she was a few days ago in 5 and today she's taken more in 4.5 feeds than she was last week in 6 feeds. So we're wondering if she's kind of phasing out that 5th feed and to try her on a 4 hour EASY. She does seem to eat more when there's a bigger gap between feeds.
Lyn, have you tried changing the teats of your bottles? We're wondering if the teats on the old bottles were actually due for replacing. Also the health visitor today said that the playtex bottles mimic the breast more, because the teat is more pliable and the liner contracts as the milk is drank. Also that it is a different sucking action for them. Other bottles are sucking, but the playtex bottles are more of a chomping action. She said that it might suit her better to chomp on the bottle rather than suck. Do you have any friends that have used different types of bottles that they found effective and have finished with them? I got the playtex bottles from my friend who had just finished with them. Or maybe try EBay, might be a cheaper alternative.
Ejama, welcome to the discussion. I tried Alice in her bouncy seat and found that my arm hurt trying to feed the bottle to her and that she took the first 60mls as normal and wouldn't take the rest.
Liz, trying to work out how to do go to a 4 hour EASY with such little sleep. So are you doing more of EASASE?
Just re-read this and it's quite long, so will go to bed and "speak" tomorrow.
Really hoping that everyone has a better day tomorrow, after all, it is a new day.
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Ebay is a good idea! Most of the people I know with babies are still BF, but maybe I'll just go ahead and try the playtex bottles since Alice seems to be doing so well with them! Are you using the regular nipples or the orthodontic ones?
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This morning I noticed something that I thought was interesting. I think part of the problem is that Meghan is totally distracted by me. So, I put a blanket over her so she could not see me and she ate a 5 ounce bottle!! The only problem is then she spit up a lot afterwards, so that is another sign that she is self regulating her intake by stopping at 3 ounces.
I just thought that was interesting and might help someone else!
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Lyn - I have had to do the same thing with ds. I have been going into a dark room and putting his burp cloth over his eyes. He might still get a bit fussy, but it is not nearly as bad as it has been!!
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Today has been better again, so far in 3 feeds she has taken 580mls (about 20oz). She does seem to be doing better on the playtex bottles. We have also been extending her time between feeds and today has been more 3.5 hours and she does seem hungrier. I'm afraid whether we distract her or not that doesn't really make a difference for her.
The GP has given me baby gaviscon, which we're going to start tomorrow. So we'll see how that goes, whether it stops her from being so sick all the time.
Lyn, I just have the teats I was given, but I think they are Playtex naturalatch Silicone fast flow. It's difficult to know whether to splash out and buy a whole new system, but if it works it'll be worth it. With the playtex bottles, you only wash the bottles (which are hollow tubes) and sterilise the teats, rings and lids, you don't need to sterilise the bottles themselves.
Must go she is awake.
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Pauline - so happy to hear Alice is doing well 2 days in a row!! Roman seems to do better on a 3.5 hour EASY as well. We too use the playtex drop ins (for the dream feed). I love them!! So convenient! I do hope the gaviscon works for you!
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Anne, thanks. She did do well today over all. She had 830mls (about 29oz), she is taking more in the four feeds spread over 3.5 hours and then the fifth feed seems to be becoming a top up of a couple of ozs. She has been calmer again today. We won't be using the colief any more because of the gaviscon. Using colief is a pain, because you have to make up the bottles 4 hours in advance and have them in the fridge. Now we can just make up a bottle when we want it. So much more convenient when going out too.
Lyn, forgot to mention that the playtex bottles have plastic bags (liners) which fit into the bottles and they're disposable and already sterilised. Really handy.
Do you all dream feed? Alice never really took to it, she would only take an oz or so. After about a month we decided she probably didn't need it and stopped it.
Hope you all have great weekends. We're even thinking about going to a friend's tomorrow, as she is much calmer taking her feeds. Also the jabs don't seem to have effected her too much, she is quite happy and not grizzly, which is a bonus!!
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Pauline - I do a dreamfeed, but lately ds has only taken a couple of ounces (although last night he took 3.5 ounces). If he continues to only take a couple of ounces I will probably just stop. Hope you have fun at your friend's house! We are going to visit my grandmother today. Should be fun!!
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Interesting that Roman is starting to reduce his need for the Dream feed.
Unfortunately for us, we can't use the gaviscon. It has a thickening agent in it and it made the milk too thick this morning, she couldn't get anything out of the bottle. I think the Comfort formula we use is slightly thicker than other formulas and so you can use the gaviscon with milk that is already thickened. Oh well, back to the drawing board. She has been a bit more grumbly today, but she hasn't had any colief in her milk, so I've put some in for the next feed and we'll see how we go.
Didn't go to our friend's as she already had plans. Hope you had a fun time at your grandmother's.
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We've decided not to give Alice the gaviscon at all, because we're just not sure she needs it. Also as a result of preparing to give her the gaviscon she is now not taking the colief either. Today has been a bit more difficult, but then it's Sunday and we've been to church in the morning and that's always a challenge as it's very stimulating in the baby creche. Then we had a friend back (who is going to be her godmother) for lunch, then did a video conference with her grandparents. By the evening feeds she was just not coping with being awake. So fed her as much as we could get into her and put her to bed. So we'll see how she sleeps tonight. She has taken slightly less overall today. I think the lesson is that we can't do a great deal on a Sunday after church and keep things relatively calm for her.
We'll see how we get on tomorrow, hopefully things will be improved.
On a positive note, she is now going to sleep on her own without any help from us. I put her in her cot, swaddle her, give her the dummy (which she smiles at), close her curtains, kiss her forehead and say "see you when you wake up" and leave the room. She can go over first time, but I do have to go back a few minutes later, re-swaddle and put the dummy back and by the time I'm walking out the room she's nearly asleep. Not quite sure how that has happened. However, I do have my friend's words of wisdom ringing in my ears, that everything is a phase, good and bad.
Hoping you've all had better weekends.
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We DF but usually she doesn't take much. But everytime I plan to drop it the next day that night she'll take a full feed!
Right now it's turning into more of a chance to top her off before I go to bed, maybe 9 or 9:30 at night.
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We had an interesting day. I think yesterday was just because she was overstimulated. She seems to take less in her second and third feed if she hasn't pooed. Her second feed she took 125mls and then pooed in the middle of the next feed and took 185mls in about 30 mins. Unfortunately we have ordered the liners for the playtex bottles (you can't buy them in the shops in the UK only on the internet) and we have one left for tomorrow, the liners haven't arrived yet!!!!! So tomorrow we have to use the tommee tippee bottles again. Which will be interesting to see if it makes a difference to how she feeds. Apparently there's a postal strike going on in certain parts of the UK, so not sure when we'll see those liners.
Also bizarrely, today I thought I would try re-swaddling her and putting the dummy back in when she woke up after 45 mins. The first nap she slept for an extra 10 mins, the second nap I forgot (doh!!), the third nap, she went back to sleep and I had to wake her for her feed an hour later. She then fed nearly 4 hours after the previous feed. So I'm going to try it again tomorrow and see how we go. It would be really great if I didn't have to go in after 45 mins, but if she goes back to sleep with such minimal effort, then fabby.
Anyway, off to bed. How are the rest of you getting on with your feeding/non-feeding wee ones?
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We took Meghan to her 4 month appointment today. Her weight is down to the 75th%tile from the 90th, but she is still quite big (15 lb, 6.5 oz). The nurse practitioner said to start giving her cereal for breakfast and dinner and to mix it with formula to try to get her enough. She's taking about 24-26 oz a day now. They said 28-32 oz was "normal." But, she's taking about another ounce with the two cereal feedings, at least today she did. I did buy new bottles to try, but with the fast flow nipple and she refused it. So, I'm going to go get the slower flow nipple tomorrow and try that. I have spent so much money on bottles!!!
Fortunately, her sleeping is ok. She will do a long nap once a day and fill in the rest of the day with catnaps, probably because we're out and about so much with her siblings. All in all, she's happy and healthy, thank goodness!
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DS has been on and off with the feedings. He will be fussy for at least 2 of them, but seems to make up for it at other feeds (thankfully).
Pauline - sorry to hear your liners haven't arrived!! At least you have a back up and hopefully Alice won't have too much of a problem going back to the other bottles for a short time.
Lyn - I have ds's 4 month appointment today. Should be interesting to see how much he weighs!! At least you know Meghan is healthy :-)
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Lyn, glad the 4 monthly check went well. Interesting they're recommending you start her on solids. Interested to know how that goes for you. I wouldn't worry too much about Meghan going from the 90th to the 75th, my health visitor said that they can drop one centile range and it's nothing to be concerned about. Alice was born on the 50th and is now just below the 25th, but that seems to be where she is stabilising. At 4 months (18 weeks) Alice was 13lbs 1oz, so Meghan is going really well. Which bottles did you buy? That's interesting that she didn't like the fast flow, I was waiting for Alice to choke on them and she didn't at all. Glad she's doing well though.
Anne, hope the appointment went well today for you.
The liners arrived today!!! Hurrah!! We gave her first feed today with the tommee tippee, because she takes that one no problems, then the next was playtex, then the liners arrived, so have been able to make up the rest of the day's bottles with the playtex ones. We've managed to do a 4 hourly routine today and she actually seems hungry. The 2nd bottle she took 165 mls (6oz) before she pooed and she took it in about 30 mins!! So we'll see how she goes later. I've managed to get her back to sleep both sleeps today, first one took 50 mins, the second she went right back to sleep, all I did was put the dummy back in.
Must go and wake her for her feed.
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Well, we tried the playtex Ventaire bottles because that's what my other two liked (I hated these because of all the parts so that's why I didn't try them with Meghan). She took the first bottle wonderfully. I thought "ah hah, we've figured it out!" LOL But after that bottle, she will only take her usual couple of ounces. So, I'm going back to the ones she liked before. The store I was at didn't have the Playtex drop ins, but I think I"m not going to go searching for them because it jjust doesn't seem to be a bottle thing.
I did give her a sippy cup yesterday and she was totally excited about that!
She's taking a few little spoon of cereal in the morning and evening. She does pretty well with these. She's sleeping really well and still seems to be taking about 24-25 ounces of formula. So, I think she's doing ok. She is definitely stretching her feed times, though. I don't want her to drop a feed, but she seems to want to eat every four hours. So, that's what I'm doing, with the solids an hour after the first bottle and around dinnertime.
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Today was so weird. I've switched Meghan to a 4 hour EASY and she's doing beautifully waiting that long to eat and napping well. But she doesn't really seem hungry after 4 hours. I fed her at 7, did her solids at 8ish and then offered her a bottle when she woke up from her nap around 12. She took 1.5 ounces. I waited another hour and she took 1.5 ounces again. She wasn't in pain or anything, just didn't want it.
Oh well, at least she seems happy! The next bottle was around 3:30 and she took 6 ounces because she was in the carrier and drowsy and I was walking her around. The next two bottles, she took 3-4 ounces and then she wolfed down her cereal at dinner. She does seem to love her sippy cup and her solids, I wonder if she's holding out for them because she doesn't like the bottle as well.
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Hi Lyn,
Sorry haven't been on in a while, we've had visitors staying and well you know that it takes a few days to get sorted before they come too. That's interesting that Meghan seems to want anything other than the bottle. I guess if she's eating and drinking other stuff and is still taking formula and is sleeping through the night etc then it's probably OK. We can be very neurotic to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to at exactly the right time.
Alice is feeding fine now, is taking her four feeds a day at four hourly intervals and is still sleeping through the night. Still needs help sleeping longer than 45 mins during the day, I think we're going to try to get her through those jolts next weekend, as it's a bank holiday here in the UK next Monday, we can do it over three days and share it out. We'll see how that goes. We see the health visitor to be weighed on Friday, so we'll see if her gain has remained steady. I've also found that when Alice hasn't pooed, she tends to take less in those feeds and then takes more in the feeds post poo. Don't know if Meghan is the same.
By the by, what a gorgeous picture of your children.
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Hi all!
My LO is the same as everyone elses. Just doesn't seem to want to eat. Except for me it starts with his very first feed of the day. I don't know what to do. If I wait until he actually wants to eat he will be so off schedule for the rest of the day. I DF at 11 pm. He would usually sleep until 5 or 6 sometimes 7, now he's not sleeping as long, but if I feed him, he won't eat at 7 for sure. I set my alarm for 3 am yesterday to feed him. It seemed to help a bit, but how long do I keep doing that for? Should I even bother?
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lisel - how old is your lo?
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I'm so sorry- I thought I responded here a while ago. I know I typed the post, but I must not have actually posted it. Duh!
Pauline- I am so glad you posted about the Drop In bottles. I went to another store and found them and Meghan loves them. And she will take a fast flow nipple on it with no trouble! She hasn't increased the amount she's eating, but she is taking it faster. I tried weaning the Zantac and she's been fussy while eating again, so we're doing that again. Really, things are about the same, but I'm a lot less stressed about it all. :)
Lisel- Meghan is sometimes hard to feed at 7am too. It does kind of throw off the whole schedule. When will he want to eat if you just wait? Is it consistent? Some babies are just slow starters in the morning. How often are you feeding him?
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Well, my LO is 4 months old on the 29th. He'll eat maybe 2-3 ounces at 7. If I let him wait I'm not sure when he would want to eat. Maybe 9 am. I was trying to move him to a four hour schedule, but since he won't eat first thing in the morning I have to keep him on a 3 hour schedule otherwise he won't make it the 4 hours. And because he's not eating enough during the day, I think that it is affecting his night time sleep. He keeps waking up at around 4 instead of 5 or 6 like he used to. Plus he's a 45 min catnapper. So a 4 hour schedule makes the day even harder. I'm not sure what to do with him!!!
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I can't put Meghan on a "true" four hour schedule yet either. She doesn't want to eat first thing in the morning and she goes to bed too early at night. If it were me, I would try just waiting it out a bit in the morning, maybe 8 or so and see what he does. It's ok to have some activity time before the eating time, just try to feed him early enough that he doesn't fall asleep for his nap while feeding. You may have a hard time doing an acutual EASY like this because, like you said your schedule for the whole day will be off. But it's ok to do a AEASY schedule and as he gets closer and closer to the 4 hour routine, you start solids, and his naps start to lengthen it will probably correct itself. You can switch him to a 3.25 hour or 3.5 hour schedule first and see how that goes, you don't have to go straight to the 4 hour. I say cut yourself some slack and just follow his cues. Don't worry, this will all work itself out!
I leave a lot of flexibility in our schedule so that she can really be hungry when I feed her. Even with that, I do think she's pretty predictable. Our routine is something like this (on a good day ;D):
6:30 wake up
Between 7 and 7:30 bottle (usually the smallest bottle of the day)
7:30 cereal
9ish- nap (anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours)
11 or 11:30 bottle
1-3 nap
Between 3 and 4 bottle
4:30/5 cereal
6:30 bottle
6:45/7 bedtime
9:30 DF
HTH!
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It would be a little better if he would at least sleep for more than 45 minutes. Otherwise I will end up having to feed him to sleep at least once. But I just read the "obsessed" post and I know I need to just go with the flow a little more and not stress so much and just enjoy this time with him.
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Lisel, Would it help to start reducing the dream feed, as that may be aiding in your baby not wanting a feed in the morning? Not sure as Alice never really took it anyway. I wouldn't bother getting up at 3am to feed, it's better for you to get your sleep. If he wakes early for a feed, would you be able to get him back to sleep again for a bit longer?
Also, don't worry about not being able to go to 4 hours straight off, as Lyn said you could try a 3.5 hour routine. I have found though that Alice feeding every 4 hours has been better. We did transition for a bit though and didn't go straight into 4 hours.
She's got a cold at the moment and so her feeding is all over the shop and she's not taking as much.
Hope this helps.
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Sorry to hear that Alice has a cold :-(
Roman has still been fussing at some feeds, so if after 15 minutes, he is still fussy, I stop trying to feed him. He has done just fine like that. I think maybe he isn't that hungry. Who knows. I want to transition to 4 hour routine as I am on the 3.5 hour at the moment, but am nervous about dropping a feed. I guess it's worth a shot and if he wakes in the early morning for a feed I will know he still needs that extra feed. Hope all is well with the rest of you!
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Hi Anne,
Have been away on holiday and Alice is now cold free. Have you managed to transition to a 4 hour EASY? We're now going to start Alice on solids. My HV mentioned something called baby-led weaning. Have you heard of it? There's a section in the solid feeding area, it's the top link. I'm going to meet up with her this week and chat about to get started and have ordered Alice's high chair, so will wait for that to arrive before we start. Very exciting to see these babies become real people.
Pauline
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Pauline - I have been thinking about you since I haven't seen you on line in a while. Glad to hear you are back and Alice is cold free!! I have transitioned to a 4 hour EASY. He still is more interested in things around him then feeding, but it isn't as bad as before :) He is 21 weeks now, so shouldn't this phase pass?? :) Our birth thread has been talking about BLW and it does seem quite interesting. I will read up on it a bit more, but I don't know if I'll have the time to do so since I go back to work full time in October :( Will see!! I just put together ds's high chair last night. He disappears in it, but he looks so cute! Let me know what you think about the baby led weaning...
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Hi Anne,
I know what you mean about Roman being more interested in what's around him. Alice won't really feed as well if she's not at home. It takes loads longer and she doesn't take as much if we're out somewhere. She is feeding much better though, downing 7/8 ozs in around 25 mins for each feed. I asked the health visitor about Alice's feeding and she said she might do better once she starts weaning and then suggested the BLW. She has got much better the last couple of weeks, but not really uping her intake hugely. I think she's never going to be a big eater. I think what I like about the BLW idea is that she is less likely to become a fussy eater and refuse anything with lumpy bits. My mum reckons that's the problem with my niece and nephew (7 and 3) that they went onto solids too late and then didn't really want anything textured and still don't. So she's all for this way of weaning. I might try and get on to the birth thread, have looked at it at times. It's all about time though, isn't it?
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Timing is everything!!
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I noticed that no one has posted here in a while - are any of these babies eating any better now? I am coming up on the 3 month mark with my ds with the same eating problem for a few weeks. He takes a few ounces then starts fussing, plus we have 30 -45 min. naps, so the only thing "routine" about our day is that we force him to eat about every 4 hours now. He is a little over 12 lbs and takes around 20 oz. a day and one night feeding, most feedings with a fight. I am racking my brain, trying bottles, formula, feeding times, nipples, etc. We went to the ped several times and are close to seeing a specialist.
It seems like it might be developmental since these babes are all around the same age. I could relax a little if I thought he would grow out of it in a few months... please post back here if you had this problem and it has gotten better/gone away!!
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Sort of better. She takes about the same amount of formula as before, but we have started her on solids.
Her routine is:
6:30 am 6 ounces
7:30 Breakfast
11am 4 ounces
12 Lunch (yogurt)
3pm 4 ounces
4pm Dinner
6pm 6 ounces
DF 6 ounces (although I think she's starting to drop this because she's sometimes fussing during it and not taking as much as before)
For us, it was a combination of reflux (which has gotten better), developmental (which has gotten worse) and bottle/nipple type (we switched to the Drop ins with fast flow nipples). Most of it is developmental though and she's gotten busier and busier. I think it's best just to try to relax about it and ask yourself whether the crying is pain-like or annoyance. Will he eat well when he's asleep or drowsy? Have you tried any reflux meds?
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He does eat better at the middle of the night feeding. It doesn't seem to be annoyance. This morning it took an hour to get him to take 4 ounces. But I didn't think it could be reflux since he doesn't cry after eating. Once you take the bottle away, he stops.
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Also, what do you mean by the "developmental" getting worse? Is it a distraction thing? My daughter (now five) had colic, endless crying and seemed like pain, so it doesn't seem like that. It got better around 6 months, but the first year was still pretty rough. My son certainly is fussy at other times, but he is also a bad short napper and tired too so I attribute it to that.
We have not tried the meds, since he does not spit up and stops crying when you take the bottle away.
I feel pretty discouraged right now. Going through the colic with my daughter, was pretty traumatic and I was hoping for an angel baby. I know you have to love the child you are given (and boy, do I!), but I just don't feel equipped with the patience to handle all of this Does it have to be eating AND sleeping?
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Also, what do you mean by the "developmental" getting worse? Is it a distraction thing?
Exactly. She flips and flops all over the place when I'm feeding now. She'll take a few sips and then want to look around or play.
I've had two diagnosed with reflux. Elizabeth had silent reflux, almost no spit up at all. She slept terribly and pulled off alot and was fussy when feeding. She wasn't especially fussy other times, but definitely during sleeping times and feeding times. Meghan has a much more mild case of reflux and sleeps fine. She was really fussy when feeding, but stopped crying when we stopped feeding her. The Zantac helped some, but really she's just sort of grown out of it. I might take a peek at the reflux board and see if any of those threads sound familar.
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Well...it took me over an hour but i finished reading this whole post...all 8 pages...lol.
I am so having the same problem with my 16 week old.He has been doing this for a month or so now.We have had him to the Dr and ruled out any medical issues like reflux.We also tried a faster flow nipple and he ate faster but became very frustrated with drinking so fast and ended up drinking less then before so i went back to the med flow nipple.Then i tried teething gel because he does chew on his hands and drool like crazy...this worked for about 2 days and back to fussing again.He has had sleep issues but is pretty good now only waking for one feed around 4am.His best feed is at 4am when he takes 5-6oz always.The others are all over the place...could drink anywheres from 3 - 6 oz.I do find that he drinks better for dh which is not good since he is gone all day and latey is only occasionally getting home in time for the last feed of the day.Also if we go out shopping or visiting or for a walk etc he drinks even less maybe 2-3 oz.So i am thinking he is distracted so i was going to try feeding him in a darkened room and see what happens.Will try anything...lol
Glad to see i am not alone in this!
Christina
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This is how I feed Meghan (it's like the baby feeding Olympics!!! ;D)
Am feed- feed in rocking chair with lights off for a few ounces, flip her around so her head is on my knees and she's looking at me for a few ounces, take her downstairs and hold her upright on my lap while big kids/dh entertain her and she looks around and eats a little bit (total feed about 5 ounces)
Feed after first nap- repeat of above, then put the remaining milk in a sippy and let her play with that (total feed 4-5 ounces)
Feed after second nap- repeat as after first nap, then feed dinner, then try again (total feed 3-4 ounces)
Bedtime feed- Repeat as am feed then feed in rocking chair with lights off and sing to her until she seems drowsy then burp her so she'll wake a bit for bedtime (total feed usually about 5 ounces)
DF- 6 ounces because she's asleep (Her am feed is decreasing though, so I'm going to start weaning this soon)
Each of her feeds can take up to an hour. It's crazy, but I know there isn't anything wrong, she's just getting so interested in her surroundings.
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I feel your pain with the olympics....same thing going on here.We start in his room in the rocking chair then end up in the living room on the sofa and if its a real bad feed i put him in his swing or excersaucer and try that.Usually takes 30 to 45 mintues.I dont think there is anything wrong either...he has become more aware of his surroundings and more interested in moving around as well.You should see me try to change his diaper :P
Christina
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I have had EXACTLY the same problem with my little boy! I am new to this website so it's great to see that other people are experiencing the same thing...My lo is 13 weeks and for the last 10 days has been refusing his bottle after taking the first 60mls no problem. Have changed him to EASY every 4hrs. I also gave him breaks in between and managed to get 3 - 4ozs down him at most feeds. It'd good to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel though. Also read information on wonder weeks (google 'wonder weeks infant') which seems to suggest that this is a developmental thing.
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have you tried changing the teat to the faster flow one?
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Well...i have had some success since yesterday.I was using playtex ventair bottles and have not been happy with them for several reasons which i wont bore anyone with now.I wanted to change bottles but since i spent quite a bit of money on them i was reluctant to switch and have to buy new but i couldnt stand it any longer and yesterday at the grocery store i bought a playtex dropins bottle with a different type of nipple then the one i was using and all day yesterday i had no issues with Lucas and his bottle.He drank 6oz at each feed without the squirming and wiggling and so on.Dont know how long this will last but i am enjoying it while it does and if it keeps up i dont care how much it costs i will be purchasing a few more of these bottles with this new nipple!!!
Fingers crossed!!
Christina
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I keep meaning to look back at this and post.
It is a very frustrating time and quite upsetting too, when they're just screaming every time you bring the bottle anywhere near them.
To encourage you, it will pass and every baby has a different reason for going through this. Some babies will have medical problems, but it seems such a co-incidence that they seem to do this at around the same age. I'm guessing you have very alert babies.
My health visitor was great and told me it was developmental and that at around this stage they are becoming so interested in the world around them that feeding is the last thing they want.
However, to throw another issue into the discussion. We wondered if Alice was getting bored of feeding a couple of weeks ago and we wanted to move to follow-on formula. We are using the playtex drop-in system. Unfortunately the formula was too thick to go through the fast flow teat, so we decided to go back to our tommee tippee bottles with a fast flow teat (had been using medium flow). She screamed just like she did before we took her off them. She was much more windy too and would take an hour to feed again, with much squirming in between etc. So changed to a different follow-on formula and went back to the drop-in playtex bottles and she was fine again.
I agree with Christina, we had exactly the same positive reaction when we changed to the playtex bottles from the tommee tippee bottles initially and she's been fine ever since. She's not a great feeder, but she is taking 7-8 ozs in every feed now and takes it fairly quickly. The change was immediate and she is much less windy on these bottles now too. So I will definitely be recommending them to all who want to bottle feed and also those who don't want to bottle feed but end up doing it.
Just to reiterate, this time will pass, hang in there, it does get easier. Then we have potty training and the terrible twos to deal with. Hurrah ;) :D
Pauline
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Meghan had a much better time with the drop in system too. She still doesn't take very much at a feeding, but it is a lot quicker than it was. OT- Pauline, is there a cross cut nipple for the drop in system, like what you'd use for adding cereal to a bottle or a thicker formula?
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Yeah, it's called a Tri-cut teat. We bought two of those recently, to try them and she couldn't get anything out of them, so we've gone back to our normal fast flow teats. I did try them with a non-thick formula, so don't know what it would be like with a thicker formula or cereal.
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Well my fun didnt last.Lucas is back to squirming and wiggling during his feeding again.On the bright side he is drinking more...instead of 3-4 oz with the occasonal 5oz...he is more consistent and drinking 5-6oz every feed now.So i can live with the squirming as long as he gets more formula.Also i did go out today and get more dropins bottles and packed away the old ventair ones that i hated!!! Next week is his 4 months needles...so i am sure everything will go haywire after that...*sigh*
Christina
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Christina, do you think your lo could be teething? If so have you tried rubbing some teething gel on his gums a few minutes before a feed. My DS used to squirm when he was teething as the teat was rubbing on his gums, and was causing him some discomfort.
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About the whole teething scenario. Apparently Alice has been teething since she was 3 months. Because she dribbles (which is a normal developmental step) or puts her hands in her mouth (which is again a developmental step) everyone suggests she is teething. I'm fed up with people telling me she's teething, she's now 7 and a half months and there's still no sign of them. We did try a teething gel, just in case, it made no difference at all. Sorry to sound like I'm ranting, but I do get fed up with it being the answer to every problem. Of course, your baby will end up popping a tooth now, in the next few days. ;)
I think this is developmental, as so many babies seem to go through it at around the same age and come through it around the same age. It will pass, I promise.
Alice was the best with her 4 month jabs than with any other. Although all babies react differently, but I do hope it doesn't have too much impact on you both.
Pauline
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I completely understand what you are saying about teething Pauline, but when a baby is teething, it does not just bother them when the tooth cuts through but also when the teeth are actually moving in the gums. When DS cut his last 4 teeth, he showed so many signs of teething as was in pain with them, and they took nearly 6 months to come through.
Christina, just a thought, is your DS still on a 3 hour / 3.5 hour easy? Do you think that perhaps he is not hungry enough at that particular time, and could be ready to exted eating times?
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Sorry for not replying...my 13 yr old had a 5 day weeknd and a huge projest to work on so my few minutes of free time have been spent helping him out.
Anyway...Yes i did think teething a while ago and tried teething gel and it worked for about a day and a half....so i stopped giving it since it didnt help.Although he does drool a lot and chew on his hands all day long but no crying or any other signs hes in any pain.
Also he was on a 3 hour easy and we just switched to a 3.5 hour easy about a week ago and no change.I was wondering about going to a 4 hour but since i just switched i was waiting a while yet.But i have to say we switch to 3.5 with no,and i mean absolutely no change in anything.He is still napping and sleeping ok and doesnt cry before the 3.5 hours for a feed or anything....it was like i didnt change a thing.Weird.
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Two things I noticed about my guy. First, he absolutely will not eat before he is hungry, so I had to put him on a 4 hour schedule at 2.5 months. It has caused some problems getting onto an EASY routine, but I know we'll work it out as he gets older and has more A time. Second, if he doesn't have a BM daily, even if he isn't constipated, he will not eat much. He does the squirming thing and it takes forever to feed him. I guess if he is even a little backed up, he gets uncomfortable. I give him 3 oz of juice/water daily or every other day to help. Last week, I did not give him juice for two days (forgot that I had not done it the day before) and sure enough, it was back to the squirming this weekend. I don't know if that is helpful or not, but I just thought I would share my experience. I went through several weeks of stressing out over this issue too.
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My lo gets a drink of water everyday as well to keep the poop coming...lol.He does go on his own but its every second or third day and for a little one thats too long but the water really helps.
He is still doing better on these dropins bottles...usually drinks 6 oz each feed now....might take me a while to get it in him but its better then the 4 oz he was drinking.
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I know how aggravating it is. One night ds refused most of his evening bottle. I took a walk with the dog and just cried in frustration because I knew he would probably be restless at night without a full tummy. My first child drank the same amount every time on the 3 hour mark until she was six months old, like clockwork. It was so confusing to me that he could be so irregular. Finally, he is taking 6 oz bottles and an 8 oz in the evening. I am not sure if it will last, but I am glad to be on to the next issue lol.
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Well...now Lucas has his first cold.Not drinking well because he cant breathe and drink at the same time.Poor little guy :'(
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marking my place here,, DD is 4.5 mos and is also going through a hunger strike
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Just to encourage you, hopefully. Alice never seemed hungry and always took forever to feed and get anything into her. Now she is nearly 8 months, just in the last two weeks she is finally downing 8oz bottles within about 15 mins. It has really taken that long for her to be hungry enough to drink that amount. Stick with it, it will get easier. Really glad the drop-ins are helping. I think they're great.
Pauline
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Well its been a week or so since i posted here and i have to say....Lucas is still wiggly and squirmy when he feeds but not as bad and he has graduated from 6oz to 7oz each feed now and hes still doing good with the dropins bottles.I am sooooo glad i switched!
He also had his 4 month shots and check up and he has gained 2.5lbs and grown 3cm since his 2 month check.Doc says hes doing fine so i guess hes eating what he needs.But its good to hear it from the doc too.
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Sounds like he's gaining well. You're right, it is definitely helpful to hear it from the doctor!
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Christina, that does indeed sound encouraging and positive. Don't be too quick to wean onto solids, wait until you think he's ready, that way he will actually do it rather than not really wanting to. I started too early with Alice and she wasn't ready. She's really only been ready in the past couple of weeks. We're doing Baby-led weaning. Have a look at it on the solid feeding thread. I think it's fantastic and so does everyone doing it. It may be that this form of weaning will be good for Lucas, then he's in control of what he eats (well amounts anyway). It does take patience though, but they do get the hang of it eventually.
Pauline
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Well its funny you mention solids because his doc asked if i had started cereal yet and i said no.He said i could start anytime now...that he felt Lucas was ready with the good weight gain and all.I just nodded and let him continue onto another topic because Lucas still seems content with his milk so i see no need to start solids before he needs them.
For the last 4 nights Lucas hasnt woken to have a bottle through the night either and he has been drinking 8 oz a feed the last couple days as well.He jumped from 6oz to 7oz and now to 8oz in like 2 weeks.I figure hes having a growth spurt...extra formula and extra sleep just seems to good to be true lol.
I have been reading about the baby led weaning....Once i have read all i can i will discuss with hubby before we make that decision but it is worth considering.
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Wow, could be a growth spurt or getting into that routine. Here's hoping for the latter. Growth spurts only last a few days though, so not sure whether it is or not, but then time will tell.
The BLW is definitely worth considering, I think it so much more natural than feeding a baby a pile of purees that I've had to make (or get from a jar). I basically cut up some fruit (or whatever I'm giving her) and she bungs it in her mouth. I love eating with her, it is so much fun and she seems to enjoy the whole experience too. We have all our meals together and she feeds herself, which is just great. It does take a bit of courage (people worry about the whole choking thing) and a lot of patience, because it doesn't happen over night. It is radical, but you can do a mixture of purees and BLW if you want, it is totally up to you. People will think you're mad for doing it, but I can't encourage you enough to go for it. If you look on the solids board, loads of people are having issues trying to get their children to move from purees to solids, this cuts all that out.
Anyway, glad things seem like they're settling down for you.
Pauline
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Ok i am back again...lol.Had a great 2 weeks of Lucas drinking 8-8.5 oz without a fuss and sleping without his usual night feed between 3-5am.But it wasnt to last.He has gone back to squirming and wiggling when he drinks and now hes only drinking 6-7 oz max and hes waking at night again for that feed only now hes only drinnking 3-4oz instead of the 5-6 he was drinking before.I figured he was having a growth spurt but when it lasted more then a couple of days i got my hopes up...lol. Guess its going to be a while before we sleep all night again but the not drinking drives me crazy.I am just concerned that he isnt getting enough formula...i mean he went from 8-8.5 oz back to 6 or 7oz.He is happy and growing so i guess hes ok...just hard not to get frustrated and worried.
just had to vent that out
Thanks
Christina
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Mine is the same way. It has gone back and forth enough that I am actually starting to roll with it a little. I feel the same way about the sleeping through thing though. I feel like he'll never get enough during the day to get us there. I am hoping that 6 mos and some solids will do the trick.
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Christina, I am sorry to hear that you feel very frustrated about the feeding. It does go up and down, but will get better, he obviously is just not a big eater, like Alice. Is he gaining weight at the same rate? Alice gained at the same rate, so I decided to roll with it a bit. It is upsetting though.
Pauline
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Meghan is the same way too. Just not a big eater. She's a big baby, though, so I know she's getting what she needs. And if her metabolism is naturally slow I definitely want her to be able to know how to stop eating when she's full!
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Lyn, that is a good point actually. Certainly the Baby-led weaning helps in them knowing when they've had enough, rather than eating non-stop for 10 mins and then they're full. Alice eats and stops and eats and stops etc and I think she probably eats less than someone who is spoon-fed, but she is still gaining at the same rate.
Pauline
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Soooo glad I've found this post, am new to the forum but have just bought the baby whisperer book so am starting to read it tonight. I have just flicked through the post as I don't have time to read all ten pages but delighted to see I'm not alone with this problem. I went to the doctor today it has got so bad but my usual doc was away and locome standing in didn't have a clue >:( Anyway my little one Sophia is 12 weeks on Friday and feeding has become a nightmare the last two weeks. She just squirms around and flings her head from side to side and I'm lucky to get 3 ozs into her. As a result she's slight underweight, doc weighed her today and she's 12lb 7oz when she should apparently be well over 13lbs. I went to the chemest and got colief drops which I tried the last feed and again now for the last feed of the day. Squirming was slightly better but still only managed to get 3.5 ozs into her. Shes a really good baby otherwise and spends her whole time smiling up at me, its just so hard not to worry about them not eating properly.....
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My guy totally grew out of this. I was in tears at one point & so worried that he wouldn't get enough. Now he is distracted, but manages 6 oz most feedings and 8 oz before bed. I think this is a developmental thing and not one to worry too much about. Just keep an eye on it.
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I've read through these, and my dd seems to be the worst! She's 21 weeks, and she weighs only 10 lbs 14 oz (was 6 lb 12 oz at birth). I am so stressed out! I started out bf for about 3 months, but she wasn't gaining like she should. The health visitors and doctor wanted me to try supplementing, and gradually I was forced to stop nursing (which has been very depressing). They've put her on a high-calorie formula (Infantrini) and also Gaviscon because she was getting sick after every feed. She's had eating problems since she was born--sleeping long periods, nursing short periods, refusing to bf or take bottle. As of last week she was taking about 6 bottles a day--about 4 oz each time, maybe 5 or 6 oz one of those times. She also started on solids--rice cereal and carrots so far. I mix them with the Infantrini. All of these things were at the recommendation of pediatricians, dieticians, and health visitors (she's seen so many people, it makes my head spin). Last Friday, she had gained 6 1/2 oz, which was good for her. But it wasn't good enough for the health visitors who seem to expect her to leap onto the charts in one week. I get so depressed going to get her weighed, because they're so negative and give the impression that I'm not doing enough to make her eat more. I've tried everything they've suggested. Part of me is very worried, and part of me wonders if they can't accept the fact that some babies are small. She is healthy, alert and happy. She does everything a 5-month old should do. One pediatrician she saw said she was okay and would always gain weight slowly. She had blood tests, and they all checked out okay. But I know her eating habits aren't normal. I nursed my older 2 children until they were a year old, and they ate all the time and gained well. The health visitors told me she needs to be eating 36 oz a day--but she's barely eating 24 oz. The past 3 days she's had a cold, and it's been a struggle to get her to eat. She's had 2-3 oz each feeding and fusses the whole time. We've tried different bottles and nipples, a sippy cup and the bottle lid. So, I guess I have 2 questions really. First, is it possible that the higher-calories formula is satisfying her more quickly so that she doesn't want as much? Secondly, does anyone have any suggestions on how to get her to eat more? She has also been teething, and I've tried different ways to sooth her. I, too, feel like I'm about to go insane. I'm tired of going in for weekly weigh-in's, but I'm worried enough to keep doing it. I'd just like some answers about why she won't eat and what else I can try. Please help!!!
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I'm sorry you've had such a tough time. Especially the cold now, that is so frustrating when you're already worried about her eating. At 21 weeks, my dd was only eating about 25 ounces max too. She has never taken 36 oz in a day, ever. We switched to the Playtex drop in system and the fast flow nipples. I started putting oragel on her gums before she ate.
You say she's healthy, happy and alert. Is she well hydrated, enough wet diapers? How is her sleeping? She started out small, maybe she's just small. My sister's first baby was like that. She started out at 6lb 4oz, such a little peanut, was barely 18 pounds at a year. Her 4th is similar, he's nearly 10 months old and is under 16 pounds. Has she fallen off her growth curve or just never made it on the chart?
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She seems well hydrated. I'm not sure how many wet diapers she should have, but she does have them. Her sleeping is too good. From the day we brought her home from the hospital, she's tried to sleep all night. I was having to wake her to eat so I didn't get engorged. Then she went through a colic stage where she wouldn't go to sleep until after midnight--anywhere between 1-3 a.m. Then she'd eat once around 6 or 7 a.m. and then sleep the rest of the morning. Now she goes to bed around 10 pm and sleeps until 6 or 7 am. Right now, I'm waking her around 2 am just so she can get the extra ounces. She takes about 2 good naps a day--1-2 hrs long. The rest of the time, she's awake, alert, plays with toys, rolls over, smile and coos, etc. I've had lots of people tell me similar stories about their babies being really small--some even smaller than mine. It's always encouraging to hear, but then I have to deal with health visitors, dieticians and doctors. She started out on the growth chart at 6 lbs, 12 oz. She gained slowly and gradually went lower on the chart. She was off the chart by 12 weeks. That's when they wanted me to start supplementing. She's been under the chart ever since, but she is following the curve, though slightly lower each time. Last week she was taking about 5 4-oz bottles and 1 5-oz or 6-oz bottle. She was also eating cereal and carrots. This week, since she's had a cold, I'm having to fight to get 2 oz down her each feed. She didn't even want her cereal today, which she normally likes. When she's not feeding, she seems happy and strong. But when I try to feed her, we both end up in tears because she just won't eat, and she gets upset if I persist in trying to get her to take it. I suppose it could be the cold or teething--she seems to have no appetite. Hopefully she'll get over this cold quickly and begin eating more again.
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I would probably just do what you've been doing. Once she's over the cold, you'll likely see that things improve a lot. Don't force her to eat, look for ways to increase her calories as you have been (adding the formula to her solids, for example), but you don't want to make negative eating associations. Does she seem to be in pain at all when she's eating? 4-5 oz just isn't an abnormally small amount of milk per feeding for a baby this age/size. If you want to try to increase it, do it just by little bits. Say, I'd like her to eat 25 oz a day. And increase her bottles just a bit. If you think the goal is 30+ ounces and she's only doing 24 then you're going to have a much harder time emotionally getting her to eat because you're thinking she is so far below the "goal."
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I forgot, you said she was on 6 bottles a day and one of those is at 10p and one at 2a. So, during the day what is her feeding routine? Every 4 hours? If not, some people find that stretching the feeds out a bit can increase the baby's intake.
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Thanks for the good advice--it helps! Right now I have stopped trying to force-feed her. I'd read before that you shouldn't, but I didn't realize the reason was to prevent negative eating associations. This one particular health visitor implied (when I took baby to get weighed) that I should try to force-feed her. My dd had gained 7 oz that week, but the h.v. seemed unhappy with that gain. A friend told me today that her doctor said babies normally can't gain more than 7 oz in a week! So it helped to hear that. I guess I'm worried because we were just getting her to eating better before the cold, and now she won't eat much. I keep thinking she needs to drink her milk because she needs fluids--she has such a bad cough. It's starting to sound croupy. But it's like she has no appetite at all.
She never seems to be in pain while eating. She only gets mad if I try to get her to take more than she wants. Once I give up, she's happy. Also, she's not really on a good schedule. She goes 3-4 hours during the day and longer at night. I've been wondering about scheduling--wondering if she would eat better if I waiting longer between feeds. But when she only eats 2 oz, I hate to wait more than 4 hrs before trying again. Of course the 2-oz at a time thing is only right now when she has a cold. Hopefully she'll improve when she's over it. Do you have any suggestions on scheduling? Or is there a link on this website I could read? What is dream feeding and cluster feeding? I'm kind of new to this website and the ideas/terms. I have one Baby Whisperer book I found at a charity shop (can't remember title), but it doesn't address this.
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Cluster feeding is feeding more frequently in the evenings to tank them up before bed and dreamfeeding is feeding them in their sleep before you go to sleep so they can last longer into the night. People implement these ideas in all sorts of ways, but a typical df might be anytime between 9:30-11, depending on what works best for a particular family. As far as scheduling, are you basically on EASY yet (Eat-Activity-Sleep). If not, that's the first thing to do. Then you can work on gradually stretching the length between feeds.
Here is the link to the FAQ section on the EASY forum. That might be a good place to start!
www.index.php?board=82.0
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I have been reading these posts and it sounds like what my ds is going through. He is only 3 months, butI am lucky to get 1 to 2 oz in him every feed. He was a small baby too, but up until Saturday he ate 5 oz. every 3 hours. I am at loss at what to do too. It has affected his sleeping now too. He used to get up once a night and now last night was 6 times. He only ate at two of the times though. Because he is not eating well he has wanted to suck lots and even though we had him weaned from the paci, he now needs it all the time again. By the sounds of it this could be developmental right?
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JHugs, sorry you are going through a rough time.
What size teat are you using? Do you think your lo could be ready for a faster flow teat? Or do you think that perhaps your lo could be ready to stretch his feedings to 3.5 hours?
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We figured out what my ds's problem was. My dh and I assumed that all lactose free formula was the same and picked up the cheaper one of the two that are available. He went on a feeding strike until we went back to his original brand similac. Now he is eating just fine.
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Great news, I am pleased that things have improved.
It is amazing how different brands of formula can taste soo different.
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Hi,
My 15 week old daughter 'Lilia' started being fussy with her feeds about 3 weeks ago, going from a good 30oz a day to an average of 20oz, it may just be coincidental but it happened around the same time as we tried to establish a 3 hour EASY routine.
We have persisted with the EASY routine and have now established a 4 hour routine, very hard work, I made my partner take 3 afternoons off work to help out in the early days, as we also needed to wean her off her dummy, as she never slept more than 20 mins with it.
I also thought it could be teething, so have introduced a teething ring at Activity time. Lilia also suffered from colic but it cleared up at around the 12 week mark, I weaned her off Colief after 3 days, as I noticed she started to be sick alot after feeds, as soon as I got her off the Colief the sickness eased. I had noticed that Lilia seemed a bit more windy recently, even though I haven't changed her formual from Aptamil 1, so I have been trying Dentinox Colic relief, which you put in the bottle, she does seem less windy and this morning took a 7oz feed in 20 mins, Hooray!!! I'm hoping it's not just a coincidence and will take better feeds over the rest of the day.
Lilia also feeds better in the morning, she gets more tired as the day goes on, and by tea-time struggles with her feeds. I have started introducing very low key activity from 3pm, as not to over stimulate her, I usually just feed and change her, read her some stories and if the weather is dry take her out into the garden for 10 mins or ler her look out of the window, this also helps with her late afternoon catnap, as she seems to settle better.
It's so stressfull, I can completely see where you're coming from, it's all trial and error I'm afraid, personaly I would resist from weaning before 17 weeks, as you could make things worse, if your babay has an immature digestive system.
Hope some of the suggestions work for you, and if you find any answers yourself, please share them.
Best Regards
Tracey (Sheffield UK)
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Hi Tracy,
Sounds like things are working well for you. Please keep us posted on how you get on.
Paula
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Hi,
I did a post on my 6 mth old reducing her daily totals from c.30 oz to barely over 20oz but no replies as yet........ Her reduced intake could be teething and/or reflux rearing its head after we started solids at breakfast 3 weeks ago. Trouble is, she is sometimes waking for a feed at night now. No habitual time so it's hunger but a big step backwards nevertheless.
My deal is, can I do anything ? She's a whopping 18lbs (to be weighed by the doc. tmrw) so that's not the issue.
Help, I'm getting really tired of her 45 min. naps going on and on and now this. She is on the same formula (it's the least gassy one we found with her reflux) and still spitting up. She's on Pepcid which we had weaned but put her back on with the feeding issues. She pulls away when she's done at about 4-5oz and I don't persist.
It's pretty darn hard sticking to a 4hr feeding schedule with bad naps and hunger getting in the way.................
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Hugs, I have replied to your other post hun :-*
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This all sounds similar to what I've been going through. I have a 5.5 month old who has never been a good eater. His first 2 feeds of the day he will only take about 2-4oz. He'll take about 2oz easily and then I really have to push him to get another 1-2oz in. The last 2 feeds are a little better where he'll take about 4-5oz but he should be taking much more than this. I am still giving him a DF where he will only finish about 3-4oz and then he wakes 2x during the night to have bottles. I feel like I am constantly trying to feed him. I started solids right at 4 months thinking this would help and he really has little interest in this too. He never seems to be in pain while eating, he just seems to be bored. I don't mind that he won't eat overall because he is a decent size boy, but I think that is the reason he won't sleep well. It is all so frustrating!! My doctor is no help - he says he's growing so I shouldn't worry. He also says at this stage I should feed him whenever he's hungry so he has no solution how to help him eat more during the day and less at night.
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Does your DS have reflux?
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He did have reflux as a baby, but it seems to have gotten better over time.
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Is he on meds for his reflux?
Is he teething? Teething can cause reflux to flare up.
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He was on zantac but we weaned him off of that 2 months ago. He isn't spitting up much anymore, just not interested in eating.
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Could it be that the reflux is more silent? My DD suffered with reflux, but very rarely spit up.
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The amount he has been eating has been getting even worse. Yesterday he drank a total of 9oz during the day, and today he drank about 12oz. He also was up every single night the last two nights. I've been talking to the doctor and he says to watch his habits for a day or two, but I'm going to take him in tomorrow. I'm thinking it's reflux, but I didn't know they could have it without the spitting up. Even though my lo won't eat or sleep he is still such a happy little guy!
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Huge hugs hun. I hope you get some answers from the doctors.
Yes my DD had the silent reflux, what it is is that when they spit it up, they swallow it before it comes out. I did not think my DD had reflux, but after watching her when I burped her, I could hear it come up and could see her swallow it.
Keep an eye on your lo after a feed, and see if you can see him swallowing it. My DD would always scrunch her face up as I bet it tastes awful.
Please keep us posted on how things go :-*
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Our 4 month old baby girl won't take more than 18-22 oz per day. She eats every 3-5 hours taking from 1.5 to 4 oz at a time. She has reflux and is on prevacid. She drinks neocate because she is allergic to milk and soy. She is so very challenging to feed. She is gassy and constipated. She is over 14 lbs so she should be taking at least 28 oz a day. Any ideas on ways to get her to feed better would be appreciated as each day is a struggle for us. She does typically sleep for up to 5 hour stretches at night. I do a dream feeding with her at midnight. This is her best feeding of the day. She is relaxed and drinks a full 4 oz. for me. I wish she would do that during the day.
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I don't know much about Prevacid, but is this one of the reflux meds that needs to be upped as their weight increases?
The fact that she is constipated could be the reason why she is not wanting to take much milk. Is your lo on any medication to help with the constipation?
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I had same problem with my 2 children. I think itīs something between the 3 and 4 month stage where they go a bit loopy. I tried figuring it out and always came up blank. The good news is that they both pulled out of it by 4 months having 180ml every 4 hours ad nothing at night. I know itīs very frustrating when they donīt feed well, but if theyīre like mine, theyīll sort themselves out. Good Luck!
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Aside from our napping issues (posted in other board), this week has marked the start of our four-month old daughter stopping eating... She is already 18lbs (bottlefed) and literally one day last week, seemed to decide to go on a 'diet' or something. She had been steadily eating more and more, up to on 7oz bottle the week before last (on average 5.5oz per feed, every three hours) and now, she'll have one medium sized bottle (5oz) then a small one (3oz) followed by a large one (6oz). She's also been very hard to get to sleep (for the night) since this started - prior to, she'd been sleeping through and waking when we did, at 7:00am (ish). She's been 'whimpering' while falling asleep, sleeps for half an hour to forty minutes, then wakes again with a screech.
I finally lost my mind and burst into tears just half an hour ago when everything went pear-shaped. She just wouldn't eat any more, so I put her in her crib where she eventually fell asleep (with some slightly weepy shushing on my part).
I've read through these posts and wonder if this is 'just' a developmental thing, or if its sudden onset indicates something else?
Any advice will be most welcome - thank you :)
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Huge hugs, Im sorry you are going through such a rough time.
I am wondering do you think that your lo could be ready to move onto a 4 hour EASY? Not wanting to eat at the 3 hour mark can definitely be a sign.
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Hello there! i'm glad to see that I'm not the only one experiencing this. However, my son is 13 weeks (2 weeks early so more like 11 weeks) and has been cutting down his feeds for about 3 weeks now. We had to switch him to soy formula 5 weeks ago and at first he loved it and was taking about 4 to 5 ounces per feed. Now it's a struggle for him to take 3 or 4 per feed. He is on a 3 hour easy and never actually seems hungry when it's time to feed him. So I have been toying with the idea of switching him to a 4 hour easy. But is it too early for him? He has only gained a little over a pound in the last month (since middle of Feb)and is now 12lbs 2.5 ounces. But he gained 5 lbs in the first 2 months. So i'm worried that his weight gain is slowing down.
He is also still not sleeping through the night yet. He wakes up at about 3:30 or so for a feed but will only eat about 2 ounces or so. I've been thinking about trying to cut out that feed, but wonder if he still needs it. After I feed him, he will sleep til about 5, at which time usually his soother will help him sleep til about 6:30 or 7.
Any advice?
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robyn-h,
Your lo may be ready to go 3.5 hours between feeds. Might be worth a try and see if your lo takes any more per feed.
Also what size teat are you using? Do you think your lo could be bored with the flow and ready to move to the next stage up? Also might be worth a try.
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I think you may be right, I was thinking of trying to increase the time between feeds. I did change his nipple that he's using to the 3 month one, and so far so good! But I think I will try to increase the time between feeds too and see how that goes!
Thank you!
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Great I am pleased that the faster nippple is going better.
Good luck with increasing the time between feeds. Keep us posted on how you get on.
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My DD is now 16 weeks and has been having feeding issues since 14.5 weeks. She had been taking 6ozs every 4 hours so 5 bottles a day and sleeps through. Now she's all over the place. She will take 6ozs occasionally but most of the time takes between 2 to 4ozs. I took her to be weighed yesterday and she's still on track with her weight gain at the moment so I don't know whether I should be worried or not. I changed her teats but that doesn't seem to have made any difference. The other thing is that she had her 3rd lot of injections 2 days ago and seems to have been sick more the last couple of days (not after every feed though) has anyone else's LO reacted like this? as she was fine after her first 2 lots of injections.
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Can you post your routine including A and S so that we can have a look?
E
A - how long
S - how long including wind down routine.
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Ok well it's generally as follows:
she wakes usually at 7 or 7:30am so
E - 7/7:30
A - 7:20/7:50
S - 8:30/9:00
She's always ready for a nap once she's been up for an hour and a half. She tends to sleep for at least 45mins (not enough) but I can quite often get 1.5 - 2 hours out of her.
She will then have a bit more A time until her next feed.
E - 11/11:30
A - don't tend to stick to rigid A times but do look for tiredness signs and put her down straightaway
S - varies as some days she's more tired than others but approx 1:30/2pm this nap varies in length depending on if we're out or home as she sleeps in her cot at home so sleeps better.
E - 3pm
A - again until shows tiredness signs
S - she will quite often want another sleep of about 1 hour from about 4:30 - 5:30
E - 7pm then straight to bed
Dreamfeed 11pm then sleeps through. If she wakes she self soothes and sends herself off again.
Wind down generally just consists of watching her musical toy while getting ready for bed and then cuddles with daddy who then gives her the 7pm feed. We don't do a nightly bath yet as she still hates them so it gets her far too worked up.
I haven't been doing anything differently recently so I'm not sure why she would go from happily taking 6ozs to being fussy. My health visitor suggested feeding her every 3 hours instead but she's not hungry enough for that. Maybe she's decided she doesn't need that much! She actually hasn't been too bad today as she's had 20ozs so far and we have one feed left.
Any advice appreciated.
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Is your lo showing any signs of teething? It is not uncommon for them to be teething at this age.
Have you tried rubbing some teething gel on your lo's gums a few minutes before a feed to see if this helps ease the discomfort?
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She might be. I'll try the gel and see.
Thanks
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Keep us posted.
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I'm getting very concerned with my LO refusing to feed for the past 10 days. He is 16 weeks old now, and would normally have 5 oz bottles every 3.5 hours. Since the last 10 days, he will only take between 20z and 4oz. And that too is a struggle. He'll drink the first 2 oz quickly and then has to be distracted with toys, etc. Other times he'll just cry and I'll stop feeding him. I'm getting very worried, and I don't know what to do. I changed his teats to medium flow, but it doesn't seem to be making a difference. His total intake is now anywhere between 19oz to 22oz which is not enough for him. He weighs 13 pounds 8 ounces. I tried the teething gel, in case that might be the problem, but there's been no improvement. I've even waited to see if he'll gave more if he's hungrier. I hope its a developmental like mentioned on this thread. Any advice would be much appreciated.
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Hello wyrdweaver,
Welcome to the BW Website.
Have you tried feeding your lo every 4 hours to see if that helps?
At this age the move over to a 4 hourly routine.
Can you post what your day currently looks like so that we can take a look?
E - How much
A - How long
S - How long
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Thank you Paula, I was so distraught the other day I didn't even properly introduce myself. My name is Sharon and my LO is 3.5 months, Zach. Our day looks like this:
815am - wake up
E - 845am 5.5oz - 6oz (these days its more like 3-4oz)
A - 915am - 1015am
S - 1015 am - 1215pm
E - 1230pm 5oz (these days more like 3-4oz)
A - 1pm - 2pm
S - 2pm - 4pm
E - 415pm 5oz (again more like 3-4oz nowadays)
A - 445pm - 615pm
S - 615pm - 645pm (cat nap)
A - 715pm Bath/Massage/wind down
E - 730pm 6oz (again, less these days with a lot of fuss)
S - 830pm (down for the night)
DF - midnight around 4oz but these days not more than 3oz
4am wakes up for a feed but doesn't take more than 2oz, has it in his sleep and goes back down immediately.
He's been following this routine consistently for about a month and a half although over the last couple weeks his evening nap has become a cat nap. Earlier he used to take a longer nap then. Also, we've ruled out reflux and teething. He does drool and chew on his hands sometimes but the doctor said he doesnt really seem to be teething. Also DH and I both teethed very late.
I hope this is a developmental thing. He takes the first 2-3oz within 5 minutes, and then he gets so distracted. He doesnt really cry, just wants to do anything but eat. Sometimes I get someone to show him a magazine or something and he'll feed. Sometimes I give him a 10 minute break. I really don't know what to do. The last two days have been a little better though.
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Also, regarding feeding him every four hours, I can barely get four meals into him when he's awake on the 3.5 hour schedule, so I'm a worried about delaying to four hours. Also, I tried waiting until he was more hungry to see if it made a difference but it didn't really. In fact, when he's up in the morning and he's hardly had much milk in the night, he still makes a fuss. I would have thought he'd feed better considering but no such luck:(
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If he is getting distracted, have you tried feeding him in a dark quiet room, so that there is nothing else that can gt his attention, and has to concentrate on feeding?
As they get older, they get a lot more inquisitive, so they want to constantly see what is going on.
Also with regards to teething, your lo may not actually be teething, but his teeth could be moving up in his gums and this may cause him some discomfort.
Hugs I know how hard it can be when they are not feeding as much as normal. Things will get better soon, I promise.
Also at around the 4 month mark there is a big growth spurt, so he may start taking more soon.
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Thanks Paula, I tried feeding him in a darkened room and he did much better. I don't know if he's just getting over whatever it was that was causing him to not eat, or if blocking out distractions helped. I will continue doing it and see how it goes. This forum has so much information, its wonderful. He's also got sleep issues, so will be posting in the sleep forum soon.
Sharon
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Great news that the feed went better. They do get so nosey when they get older ;D
This website is fantastic , I joined when my DS was about 6months old and have become so addited.
Pop over to the Sleep boards, you will get some fantastic advice.
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Just wanted to say he's back to feeding well. Don't know if he's hit the 4 month growth spurt. His sleep pattern is all over the place though... Sigh, if its not one thing its the other...
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Fantastic news Sharon. Keep us posted.
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Hi, I've got a 3.5 month old and he's hardly eating either :( He wants to only drink small amounts about 2 oz at a time and as a result his naps are all over the place. He's been on Aptamil and i had to buy cow and gate the other day as the shop didn't have the usual stuff, wonder if that's what's caused it? I feel like tearing my hair out as his night sleep has him waking ever 2 hours as well just to drink about 1-2 ozs and go back to sleep. So I feel like a wreck! Any advice is most appreciated x
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Hello Caramel01,
Welcome to the BW website.
Can you post what your routine looks like at the moment so we can have a look at it?
E - how much
A - how long
S - how long.
What size teat are you using? Do you think your lo could be ready for the next size up?
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Hello Caramel01,
Welcome to the BW website.
Can you post what your routine looks like at the moment so we can have a look at it?
E - how much
A - how long
S - how long.
What size teat are you using? Do you think your lo could be ready for the next size up?
Hi Paula,
Thanks for getting back to me.
At the moment it's so erratic as he hardly drinks much formula which isn't great
E: 2-3 ounces (dragged out over the whole A time)
A: 1.5 hrs
S: 30-40 mins each time
By the time about 6.30 p.m rolls round I've found myself getting exhausted and he is too. We have a bath at about 6.30 and he falls asleep. Between then and 7 am he'll wake up about 3 times for a feed which again is a minimal amount each time.
I'm using the Avent size 2 teats for the last week as I thought he may need the upgrade and was getting bored with the size ones.
TIA x
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Can you keep track of what a particular day looks like and post it for us, so that we can get a better picture of what your day looks like.
Post it in the format like above, so that we can have a look and see where your routine needs tweaking
i.e
E - 7:00
A - 7:00 - 8:30
S - 8:30 - to etc.
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Hiya, apologies for the delayed reply I've been getting error messages for the last while when I've tried logging in!
So our day loosely looks like this based on today:
E:7 am-7.20 (about 2 oz)
A:7.20-8
E:8-8.15 (another 2 oz)
S:8.30-9/9.15
A: 9.15-9.45
E:9.45-10.15 (about 4 oz)
A:10.15-10.45
S:10.45-11.45
A:11.45-12
E:12-12.15 (about 3 oz)
A:12.15-12.45
E:12.45-1 (another 2 oz)
S:1-2
E:2-2.30 (4 oz)
A:2.30-3.15
S:3.15-4.15
A:4.15-4.30
E:4.30-4.45 (about 2 oz)
A:4.45-5.15
E:5.15-5.30(3 oz)
A:5.30-6
Bath and bedtime at about 6.30 with another 2 oz drunk just before bed.
E:11 or 11.30 p.m, 2 am, 5 am and the day starts again at 7
Sorry it's so long!
Thanks in advance again!
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Hiya,
The website has been down for a week or so, this is why you were getting the error message.
Looking at your routine, I would say that your lo could do with a bit more A time. I would try increasing by 15 mins and see how things go.
The 5am feed also seems to be interferring with your lo's intake, so would try and wean this feed, to ensure that your lo takes a full feed in the AM. This will probably off set the rest of the day for better feeds and eliminate the snacking.
I would also aim to have your feeds at least 3 - 3.5 hours apart, moving to 4 hourly feedings by 4 - 4.5 months. This way you an ensure that your lo is taking a full feeding.
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I dont mean to piggy back on someone else post. My son is doing the exact same thing as other mothers mention. Does this seem to last until they are close to 4 mos.? My son is sleeping alot. He takes 3.5 hours nap in the middle of the day. I dont want to wake him, specially if this is a growth spurt. But his feeding have been all over the place, he use to take close to 30 oz... now hes barley taking 20. He would take 5 bottles of 6 oz.
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Maggiegreen,
A 3.5 hour nap in the middle of the day seems like a lot of sleep for one nap. I would not let your lo sleep longer than 2 hours per nap, so that it does not end up robbing your lo's night time sleep-.
Can you post your routine so that we can see how it looks
E - how much
A - how long
S - how long
Also what size teat are you using? Do you think your lo could be ready for the next size up teat?
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I also have a 20 week baby who has not been interested in food for weeks. She fusses and screams and will happily play well past her feeding time. Its so bizarre. i thought all babies liked to eat. Apparently not. Hopefully this is just a phase although its been nearly two months now. Also in the last 3 weeks she has started waking every 2 hours in the night. Surely it is hunger so i breast feed her and she will only last a few minutes. Her weight gain is really slow so it feels like she is starving herself. My pediatrician said that some babies are like that (including his own) which made me feel better. I have started to wean her off as my milk supply is low thanks to her not feeding. Its a vicious cycle. She seems to enjoy the easy milk from the bottle so hopefully she will gain some weight.
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Hugs Nadia11, can you post your routine so that we can see what it looks like?
E
A - how long
S - how long
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You cannot believe how happy I now feel after reading the above posts. I have been crying several times today with frustration over my daughter just not wanting to take enough food. Same as you guys - she's 16 weeks, was eating between 180 and 200 at each feed and is now refusing after between 60 and 80 - pushing away, keeping her lips shut tight, crying, waving arms like crazy etc Now I know it's now just my child I feel much better and will not worry about it again for another while :) Thank you all!
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Hi Anka,
Welcome to the BW website.
What size teat are you using for your lo? Do you think you lo may be ready for a faster flow teat?
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Hi Paula,
I'm using medium flow on a tommy tipee bottle. I will check today to see if I can find a fast flow one to try. What's most annoying is that we used to have problems getting her to sleep and in the last two weeks her sleeping has been fantastic and now she's not eating instead. This is what her routine used to look like until last week:
8 - 8.30am: 180ml
8.30 - 10am: activity (baby gym, singing etc)
10-12am: sleep in her bed
12 - 12.30pm: 180ml
12.30 - 2.00pm: activity
2 - 4pm: sleep in her bed
4-4.30pm: 200ml
4.30-6pm: activity
6-6.30pm: sleep in sitting room (normally on me)
6.30-8pm: activity
8pm: 200ml before going to sleep in her bed
2am: 150-180ml feed
8am - start routine again
It was great for us and she was very happy too. Now it's all over with at least two feeds at night and messy sleep during the day. Fingers crossed that some teething gel and a new teat will help!
Annica
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Looks like you have a good routine going.
I would defintley give the faster flow teat a try and see how you do. My DD was on the fastest flow teat by the time she was 12 weeks. The age on the teat is just a guideline, some lo's move up quicker than others.
Keep us posted on how you get on.
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Just a quick update from me. We have been experimenting with her eating issues over the last week and the only thing which seems to be in any way successful at the moment is feeding her in the dark bedroom - preferably when she's very tired or half awake. This leads me to believe that the issue with our daughter - Maya - is that she is now so excited about everything around her that food simply isn't worth bothering with anymore :) Half of the time she will try to start "talking" with the bottle in her mouth. I'm hoping this passes soon as I'd like to be able to feed her outside somewhere again.
Anka
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I don't want to intrude but one of the signs of dysphagia is they will only eat while very sleepy or asleep. Did you see the thread about that?? It has a good list of questions to run through in the very first post to gauge if this is what your DS has.
Good luck!
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First tooth has come up I noticed last night. No wonder she's all over the place. Let's hope she returns to normal now - at least until it's time for the next one :)
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Hi there,
We are in the same boat!! My DD is nearly 17 weeks and is difficult to feed. Can anyone suggest a different formula (using SMA Gold at the moment, in Dr. Browns bottles) for easier digestion/comfort. She has mild reflux and is on gaviscon which seems to be ok for now. Will be getting her weighed next week so hoping for an increase!! I do feed her in a quiet room with her arm tucked behind and a bright coloured cloth over my shoulder. She starts off well but once she comes off the teet - thats it!! No more!! Somedays she eats more than others - she seems happy enough in general and sleeps well - I just wish she would eat more!!!
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Many Thanks,
Siobhan
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Hi Annica,
Thanks for the update. I am pleased that things are going better.
Be careful not to let her fall asleep on the bottle as this can turn into a prop.
Keep us posted on how things are going.
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Hi! I have reading the posts and have to say, I am relieved that I am not the only fretful mum.
My DS is 6 months old and he has not been consistently finishing his bottle for 1 month already. Its so frustrating. The times that he does finish his bottle, I feel so relieved and grateful. He usually takes between 6-7oz every 4 hours, but he does take over 2 hours to finish.
But now he takes only 2-3oz and absolutely refuses to take anymore, no matter what I do. He lets the milk dribble out of his mouth. He will attempt to roll over while feeding too.
I know we are supposed to offer the milk to baby and let him decide how much he wants to drink, but I am afraid that will affect his night time sleeping, if he is not drinking enough in the day time.
HELP! Any advise please????
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What size teat are you using? Do you think your lo could be ready for the next stage up?
Is your lo on solids? If so have you tried to decrease the amount of solids your lo takes to see if this helps at all?
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I am using the fast flowing teats and he has just started on solids. He is only have 1/2 tbs of rice cereal mixed with milk once a day at 11am.
Yesterday afternoon, he drank only 3oz out of his 6oz milk and absolutely refused to take anymore, no matter what I do. During bedtime he took 7oz and went to sleep. During DF, he took only 4oz. But at 6am he woke up HUNGRY! Refused to go back to sleep. What should I do? His not drinking enough milk during the day has caused his early wakings!
I really don't know what to do...
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1-2 tablespoons of solids is quite a lot at this age. They should only be having a tiny amount as a taster, at this age it is not meant to be a meal. I would defintley reduce the solids. At this age we were only doing 2-3 teaspoons of solids just to get DD used to the textures.
Do you know if your lo is teething at all? If you think he is, have you tried rubbing some teething gel on his gums a few minutes before a feed to see if that helps ease the discomfort?
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I think you misunderstood... I am feeding him half tablespoon of rice cereal (which equates to to 1.5 teaspoon), not 1-2 tablespoon.
I do think he is teething, because he is drooling, biting at everything. But his gums are not red nor swollen. I am living in Mongolia, so I do not get access to teething gels. What else can I do to reduce his discomfort?
Yesterday, his drinking was worse... he took only 17oz in total, instead of the normal 30oz. No matter what I do, he slaps the bottle away. How long will this last? When I do I start panicking?
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Are there any teething remedies available where you are? Have you tried freezing a clean new wash cloth, so that it is cold and letting your lo chew on that?
Does he seem in any discomfort at all?
Does your lo suffer from reflux at all?
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My LO has been fussing with the bottle since mid-Dec, when he was about 10 wks old. He's still at it now, 15 wks today, and today is the worst. He had a night feed last night at 3:50, took 5.5oz. This morning, instead taking his usual 3-3.5 oz, he had NOTHING. He usually doesn't eat much in the mornings, so I was fine with just 3-3.5oz. But today, nothing?? Then at his 2nd feed at 10:30, 2oz. I thought he would at least have 5 oz since he had nothing at the first feed, so much for hoping...
He's a happy baby otherwise, just cries at the sight of the bottle. I've also been trying to stretch the time in between his feeds, 3.5 hrs, but he still doesn't seem to be hungry. I've also tried 4 hours, but still, no change. He just doesn't seem hungry at all, even if his previous feed was only 2-3 oz.
I hope this is a developmental thing, and it will be over SOON....
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linussally, do you think your lo could have reflux? Have a look at these symptoms and see if your lo has any of them.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=654.msg3208#msg3208
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the doctor said he may have mild reflux, but it's common in a lot of babies. and he's not severe that it's hindering his weight gain. He's just not interested in eating, and like other babies on this thread, just keeps squirming and wiggles his nipple from side to side, talking. Sometimes once he's done that, he would start drinking again. Other times, he just squirms and arches his back, not wanting anymore. It seems like he has to do all the talking first, and feeds when he feels like it.
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so as of the last feed of the night (before tonight's DF), he's only had 14.5 oz. I just hope that he'll take more at the DF. I wonder if I should feed him tonight if he wakes up, or just leave him... so that he'll be hungrier in the morning and take a proper feed!
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It is quite common for a lot of lo's to have reflux, however some are affected by the pain a lot more than others.
I know that you said that the faster flow teat was too fast for him, have you tried making another hole in the teat that he is using now, to make it slightly faster, but not too fast. You can do this with a steralised sewing needle. Might be worth a try.
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I've just posted on the other thread about trying to put more milk in the bottle, so hopefully he can drink more from the bottle before the milk drains down to the plastic valve in the bottle. I'm trying different things and hopefully SOMETHING will work. I'll keep this extra hole in the teat in mind. Thanks.
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my 4 month old has been doing the same thing on and off since she was 3 months. I worried to start with as she was a bit grumpy and was clearly hungry. Our Dr says its most likely teething. I've been quite successful in getting her to take the bottle after she sucks a chilled teething ring for a few minutes. Sometimes she won't eat at all for hours, I offer her feed at her usual time and then try every 15 - 30 mins after her feed is due, eventually she will give in, its easier to do this than try and convince a willful one to eat on a schedule. Mostly she is just happy and cheerful and not hungry. I'm wondering if its a developmental stage if so many other babies are doing it at this age?
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I also have a 16 weeks old and has not been eating well. I changed his teat to level 2 on Dr. Brown's bottle and I switched him to 3.5 hours schedule but he didn't like how the last two feeds before bedtime were so close together and as a result, was refusing to take anything during DF. And he especially doesn't eat well at his first feeding in the morning.
His 3.5 hour schedule looks like this
E 7am
S 8:30am (1 hr nap)
E 10:30am
S 11:30am (2 hr nap)
E 2pm
S 3:30pm (catnap 0.5 hr)
E 5:15pm
S 5:30pm (catnap 0.5 hr)
E 7:30pm
S in bed by 8pm
DF at 10:30/11
I just moved him to 4 hours today. He was doing well for the first two naps and then it was all downhill from there.
He did a catnap from 4 - 4:30pm and then stayed up until his 7pm feed and went straight to bed after. I'm really worried about how he'll do for his DF today since he refused to take any for the past two nights. He was drinking 6 oz. per feed and total of about 30 oz a day.
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Hi all
Wow so many babies with the same issue, around the same age...
My LO is 20 weeks tomorrow and has been like this since around 2.5-3months. Some days are good, most days are bad but reading this thread has really given me hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel :)
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Hi, my 5 month LO has stopped feeding all of a sudden. He weighs 17lb and has been eating fantastically until two weeks ago. He was on a 4 hour EASY, drinking 8oz each feed. I'm feeding with a syringe now as he will not take even an ounce all day in the bottle. He was breastfed until 4 months when he decided he didn't want it anymore and prefered the bottle. It takes me an hour to get two ounces down him as he refuses to swallow. He was eating in his sleep, but won't even do that anymore. Doctors have told me to ride it out, but i am at my witts end now as i have two other children whom i am homeschooling. I feel maybe where i have tried forcing him a few times, he has associated negative response to the feeding. He sucks his thumb like anything. How can i make him unlearn this response to feeding time?
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This thread has become pretty inactive so I am going to lock it.
If you have any questions that relate please post a new topic on the board and we will try to help.
Liz :-* :-*