19 w.o. refusing bottle ahhh!

[rayasunshine]

DS is 19 weeks old this weekend and in the past 2 weeks has started to refuse his BT and DF bottle. He was taking about 5oz at both those feeds about a month ago when the pediatrician told me I needed to supplement him. I should mention that he is BF during the day and is FF at BT and DF. My milk supply was really low the last few months so I'm sure he was very hungry. I think at this time my milk supply may be enough for him but it's hard to tell.

Regardless if he was hungry he would take the BT/DF feeds better. Could it be that he took the 5oz until he felt that he was getting enough breast milk during the day and now he doesn't need it. The last few nights just to make sure he's not hungry when he's refused the bottle I've offfered the breast and he's fed well. I'm confused because I want him to take these 2 bottles of formula but I don't know what to do with this kid when he's pushing the bottle out of his mouth.

This evening I offered him the bottle at BT and he took none. At the DF he started to suck and then pushed it out and refused it altogether. I didn't offer him the breast so we'll see what happens with him. Anyone dealt with this? Could it be that he's full at BT from his earlier feed which is usually at 530 and BT and 645...and could he still be full at DF from what he had at BT?  Any ideas on how I can keep the bottle going? I don't want to lose this freedom I've gained in the evenings...TIA!

[Erin M]

Have you seen this sticky?  There's some good advice there for keeping the bottle going.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=173309.0
With my dd1 I had to offer the bottle before every feed for about 2 weeks before she'd start taking it again.  Dd2 refused the bottle and I never could get her to take it again, though I do think that since he has been taking it, he'd take it again.  I wonder if he needs a faster nipple on the bottle now that he's older?

How is he sleeping at night?  Is he waking for feeds at all?  How often are you feeding during the day?  If weight gain was an issue in the past I would probably nurse if he's refusing feeds, just to get some calories in.

[rayasunshine]

Hi Erin,

Thanks for the sticky...I read it and will try some of the suggestions. Today he took 3oz from DH and when I tried at BT he was not interested. With regards to a faster flow nipple I am already using the fast flow for the playtex bottle.

Last night at the DF when he refused the bottle I did not BF him and he woke at 5am when he normally wakes between 545/6am. Otherwise he sleeps fine at night. I am feeding him every 3/3.5hrs. And yes weight gain was an issue and will see tomorrow if it is still an issue.

I swear if it's not one thing it's another with this crazy little guy...it kills me to waste so much formula. I just don't understand why he's refusing the bottle- maybe because he's just a boob boy lol! He's just so stubborn...

[Fiver]

Formula is a very different taste to breastmilk, so not unusual for there to be a preference.  Hope the weight is ok

[rayasunshine]

So he only gained 5oz in 13 days which the lactation consultant was not happy with and I'm sure neither will the pediatrician who we see tomorrow. Gosh this LC has a passive/aggressive way about her when dealing with my issues. She's totally wanting me to stop FF and just BF to get my milk supply up which I understand but since we've just got him somewhat sorted out in terms of sleep and is a much happier baby I don't want to mess with the system we've got going on. At the same time DS is mixing things up lol! 

I totally understand he prefers the breast over formula and at the end of the day it's not a bad thing. But I really want him to be able to take the bottle if I have to be out. I've gotten a taste of freedome this time around and I don't want to lose that. It's just so confusing that he was taking it fine for almost 2/2.5 weeks and now he's not interested...no reason for this that I can think of. And he took 3oz from DH yesterday in the afternoon but wouldn't take anything from DH at BT.

Is it naïve of me to not be so overly concerned about weight gain? My DD never really gained much weight either...how can I force feed an infant who's not interested in having any more?

[Erin M]

Honestly my (untrained) opinion is that if he seems healthy, happy, and is doing well in the diaper department, it's ok to not worry about weight gain (unless of course there's something they're seeing that I'm not). Will he take pumped milk from a bottle or have you not tried?  You might want to try smaller bottles too so you're not pouring out all that formula -- or could you save it for the next feed (I don't know anything about ff...)?  Hope you have some luck soon!

[Fiver]

Does that 5oz follow a centile curve now?  Could be that he was just settling on one (my DD went from 50th at birth down to either 2nd or 9th and then stuck there until she was well established on solids).

As for saving milk, with formula you do need to dump any that isn't used in a feed due to bacterial growth.  With EBM, if they don't finish it, it can be put back in the fridge for the next feed as there aren't the bacteria issues due to the anti-bacterial properties of it

[rayasunshine]

Hi Amanda,

I don't really know if he's settling but it would make sense because he's only eating what he wants nothing more nothing less. The pediatrician is concerned about weight gain and suggested changing the formual which to be honest I don't think will change anything but I'll try it anyways. He's currently in the 10th percentile for weight, height and head size...I guess I'll just offer him the bottle and see what happens. Can't really do EBM as I don't think I make any extra milk and honestly I can't bring myself to pump. The count down is on for month 6 to come so that he can start solids...

[Fiver]

If he's on the same centile for length, weight and head circ, he sounds about right to my completely untrained eye.  BF LOs seem to be pretty good at regulating what they eat and only eating what they need/want.