On verge of starting mixed feeding

[EllieH]

My DD is 4.5 mo and suffers from reflux which isn't under control.  I've found these 4.5 months incredibly difficult - DD cries A LOT and sleeps little during the day.

I've been EBF so far but in recent weeks she has become a really fussy eater - she bobs off and on all the time (unless REALLY sleepy) and her poos have been quite greenish in the last couple of days.  We have had her having some baby rice at lunchtime for the last four days, mostly because we were advised it might help with the reflux.

As much as to give me a break when someone else is around as much as anything else, I am thinking of introducing a bottle of formula at lunchtime tomorrow.  There's part of me that hopes that might make her more settled but I think I know it won't and a lot of the reasoning is that I'm really not enjoying BF at the moment.

Any tips/advice/thoughts?

[shivi]

The green poops could most likely be foremilk imbalance especially if your DD is eating very short feeds - she could be getting too much lactose from your milk and not enough of the fatty hindmilk....

Two things spring to mind from experience with one very fussy, bobb-y feeder.
First you could try expressing off an ounce or so before feeding her to get her to take the fattier milk.
Second, and what worked best for me, was to feed at the end of naps when my DD didn't even know I was feeding her. They were her best feeds without a doubt.
When I'd go back to feeding on a rushed/stressed day when I didn't have the time to catch her at the end of naps, we'd go back to green poop again.

As for formula - do what you think is best - another option would be to pump and leave a bottle of ebm for someone else to feed your DD.

HTH and well done for getting this far - its not an easy road, especially with reflux and/or fussiness xxx

[EllieH]

I'm sure you're right re the foremilk imbalance but I really don't see how I can sort it out if I feed her for, say, 5 or 10 minutes on one side and then she refuses to take any more.  Am I making it worse if I then switch her to the other side?

The feeding after a nap wouldn't work.  She only takes 3 naps in a day and she is WIDE awake at the end of them - there's no residual sleepiness that I could take advantage of.  Similarly before a nap she doesn't really do sleepy - it's a real fight to get her to sleep - so I can't use that time either.

Maybe expressing some before a feed might work.  Will give that some thought.  I have a suspicion that she's lazy and doesn't want to put in the hard work for the hindmilk.  If I express the foremilk off, surely I then risk that she'll feed even less??

[Fiver]

If the reflux isn't controlled, it could be that the bobbing on and off is because she's associating the pain/discomfort of the reflux with feeding, so is reluctant to take in too much.  I'm sure the ladies over on the Colic, Reflux, & Crying board would be really happy to chat more about the reflux, but have you got a Dr who is willing to help out regarding the reflux by trialling any medications?

Also, what sort of position are you feeding her in?  She might be more comfortable in a more upright position (so sitting upright on your knee and latching on like that).

On the formula, obviously you have to make your own choice, but it is possible for LOs to overeat with formula from a bottle and it could actually mean her being sick more until the reflux is controlled.