Help - i'm so confused. 12 wk old not eating / 45 minute naps

[lickertysplit]

Hello

This is my first time posting here and i'm also a first time mum.

My DD is 12 weeks old now and i can't seem to get her into any routine at all.  To make things worse, for the past 4-5 weeks she will only nap for 45 minutes at a time during the day and i practically have to force her to eat. She used to be such a good eater, now i really struggle with every feed, except the DF.

We usually manage to get her down at night around 6.30pm - 7.00pm, with a few sh-pats.  She will then sleep solidly until we give her the DF between 10pm - 11pm.  She will then sleep to anywhere between 3.30am - 4.30am.  I try to feed her as she is wide awake but will often only take about 20mls.  From settling her back to sleep she then has a very fitful, restless sleep until 06.30 - 7am when she wakes.

Today she didn't drink anything at the 0700am feed, its now 12.30pm and all she has had since her DF last night is 100mls - surely this can't be enough?

Our day then consists of trying to keep her awake for about 1.5 hours at a time.  She then goes to sleep (very easily) but only for 45 minutes.  I then play with her waiting to see any signs of hunger (i never do) so i attempt every 3 or 4 hours to feed her.  Sometimes i'm lucky other times not.

The only time we seem to get a decent amount of food in her is her feed after her bath and the DF.  We tend to then 'tank' her up as we are so worried that she hasn't eaten much during the day.  Is this wrong?  Is the DF messing up the rest of her cycle???

I'm so worried and so confused.  I guess the good thing is she is managing to sleep better at night, but the daytime is killing me. Can anyone please help me?

I guess the only other things to note are she is putting on weight - she was 3.8kg at birth and is now 5.8kg.  She is very alert, wants to be watching everything at all times and is generally pretty happy. When i try to feed her during the day she ends up getting very stressed, pushes the teat out with her tongue and arches her back.  I use Dr Brown's bottles and am now on L2 teats. She very rarely sicks up.

I'm probably over worrying but feel like i am doing something wrong.

Please help!

[*Kara*]

Think it could be silent reflux???

Have a look here for a list of typical symptoms and see what you think...
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=654.0

[lickertysplit]

Hi Kara

Thanks for your response.  I have copied the symptoms below and answered what i think she does / doesn't have.  One thing i forgot to mention about eating was she either really fights the bottle, or she just looks totally disinterested in it, like she's bored or just not hungry.  Sometimes 5 hours can go by and she still won't eat or not even look like she is hungry.

No - pain, irritability, constant or sudden crying, "colic"
No - frequent spitting-up or vomiting (large amounts or small amounts – or “silent reflux,” where baby does not spit up at all)
No - vomiting or spitting-up more than one hour after eating
No - not outgrowing the spitting-up stage
Yes (during the day only - seems to be every 45 minutes) poor sleep habits, frequent waking
Occasionally - pain while lying flat
Yes - "wet burp" or "wet hiccup" sounds
Yes - recurrent or persistent hiccoughs
No - chronic dry cough
Occasionally - gassiness: from gulping air while crying and eating too voraciously
No - apnea – voluntarily holding breath while eating or sleeping, air then comes rushing in with an audible wheeze (and if eating, choking and gagging following apnea)
No - constant eating and drinking (swallowing temporarily relieves the pain)
Yes - refusing to feed, arching back, crying on breast or bottle even though hungry
No - poor weight gain; weight loss; failure to thrive in extreme cases
Yes but i think it is because she is struggling and only happens once or twice during a feed - swallowing problems, gagging, choking
No - hoarse voice
Don't know - frequent red, sore throat
No - ear infections
No - constantly running nose; sinus infections
No - bad breath, tooth enamel erosion
Yes but only recently and i wondered if that was due to development - excessive salvation, drooling
No - peculiar neck arching, Sandifer's Syndrome
Not sure (she tends to sound like she has blocked nasal passages at night, but not during the day) respiratory problems; pneumonia, bronchitis, wheezing, asthma, nighttime cough, apnea, aspiration, noisy or labored breathing (extreme cases)
No - eating disorders (extreme cases) – baby forgets how to eat and needs to be re-taught

[Lolly]

Could well be silent reflux, it would be worth checking it with your Dr. What flow teat are you on? Have you tried a faster one? How much does she take at a decent feed?

The 45 min naps are probably developmental, you could try strtching her A time a bit to see if that helps.

Laura

[lickertysplit]

Hi Laura

We are using Dr Brown's Level 2 teats now.  I moved to these a couple of weeks ago thinking that it might be the problem.  I haven't seen any difference to be honest in her eating habits. Should she be on L3???

The best we can get out of her is 180ml but that is the DF.  She managed 110mls this morning at 0700 but that is the first time in a long time.  Its mostly been 50 - 70 mls at at  time.

We have an appointment at with the pead on Wednesday.