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EAT => Bottle Feeding => Topic started by: zelda on August 13, 2005, 06:12:28 am

Title: why won't he eat?
Post by: zelda on August 13, 2005, 06:12:28 am
my baby is 4mo.  lately he has been refusing to eat more than 4oz at 7.30 when he gets up although he normally drinks 8oz per feed.  even stranger is that he eats the least in the morning after drinking nothing since his dreamfeed at 11.00pm the night before.

and then, when i try to put him down at 9.00, he cries because he is hungry.  i really want to avoid feeding him again because i don't want to get into the cluster feeding habit, but what else can i do?

what could be behind this?
Title: why won't he eat?
Post by: Deb_in_oz on August 13, 2005, 07:29:16 am
I hate to say it (believe me i have questioned this forever) but soemtimes they just don't want it.  My daughter has fought eating for a long time and we used to force her to take it.  now that we have relaxed and fololowed her she often takes 4-5 oz for most of her feeds.  she too is the least hungry at the first feed afetr 10:30pm DF (will occassionally wolf down 7 oz at 7:30am but usually takes 4 1/2 - 5 oz and no matter what will not take more)

my #1 recommendation is not to engage in battles as we ended up creating an oral aversion issue where she cried whenever she saw the bottle.  we are now trying to introduce solids and it is alrwady hard as she refuses to open her mouth for the spoon.
Title: why won't he eat?
Post by: Noelle on August 13, 2005, 18:23:24 pm
Zoe did this exact thing, it drove me bonkers.  Until I realized that she just wasn't as hungry as before.  She did this for a month, and now usually will drink up 4-7oz (before all bottles were 6-8oz).

Things you might try if you haven't already is faster nipples, avoid distractions, or wait 5-10 minutes and offer the bottle again...I've done that a few times with Zoe and she usually drank another 1-2 oz.

HTH  :D
Title: why won't he eat?
Post by: Peach on August 16, 2005, 12:21:38 pm
My daughter has some of the same issues.  She eats only 4 times a day (no dreamfeeding) and has usually 3-6 ounces per bottle, although 6 is rare.  About a month ago she was easily taking about 5 ounces per bottle, and instead of increasing, she's slowed down.  I had tried "forcing" her to take more as well, and all that got me was thrown up on!  :shock:   

For a while I really really worried and obsessed about her not getting enough to eat, especially when most books say that for her age/weight she should be eating much more.  (Granted, at 4 months she is only 10 pounds as she was 4 pounds at birth.)   But for now, she's still gaining weight and seems happy so I try not to worry and trust that she will eat whatever amount she needs to feel full.
Title: why won't he eat?
Post by: albertasweetpea on August 16, 2005, 12:51:44 pm
Hi Zelda. Have you tried waiting 45 minutes to an hour to feed your LO after she wakes up?
We have found with Molly that she would rather socialize with us when she first wakes up and once that is out of the way she will eat!
She will still take a smaller bottle (3-4 oz) at her first bottle of the day but then her later bottles are 5-6 oz. Don't worry too much if your LO doesn't eat what you think he should or what others say he should, he will eat if she is hungry!
Glad to hear there are others in the same boat though!   :lol:
Title: why won't he eat?
Post by: zelda on August 17, 2005, 08:39:02 am
thank you all for your comments.  it's good to know that i am not alone because it is really puzzling, especially when he drinks more during other feeds.

@albertasweetpea: yes, we are now waiting 45min-1h before feeding him in the morning.  it's the only thing that will work.  i gradually tried to move his feeds back when he got into the rhythm of having one solid feed rather than two smaller ones - but no luck.  even a difference of 15 minutes earlier meant feeding again before his nap.