Feeding DD is driving me nuts 😭

[confusedmummy]

DD is 8.5 months old and feeding both bottle and solids is just a nightmare. She has never been a big eater and never really taken more than 20oz in a 24hr period. This has now dropped to 14/15oz in bottles although I do mix her breakfast and evening meal with formula so that's another 2-6oz depending on how much she eats.

I have stopped NF and she seems fine with this, she sleeps through till 5am and when she wakes she is not crying or fussing for food, in fact this morning she woke at 5 then after an hour went back to sleep till 7 and didn't have her first bottle till 7.30 and she wasn't bothered all she drank was 3oz. She then had breakfast at 8am. After a long A time and her nap it was 5hrs since breakfast and 5.5 since bottle and again she wasn't showing any sign of hunger I have her a bottle and all she took was 3oz again. I have just given lunch and she wasn't interested in that or pudding (which is unusual). She has always struggled with feeds but a couple of weeks ago her solid intake got better (well the variety of what she would eat did) but now it's gone back to square one.

She has reflux but is on meds and there seems to be no flare ups right now. She's had TT snipped but I am getting her checked again in case it's fused back. The only other thing is the doctor says her tonsils are large so I'm wondering if that is causing it. All feeds except BT are extremely frustrating and I've honestly no idea how she is gaining weight, but she is, although I've not weighed her for a few weeks. She just never seems hungry. Her EASY is currently all over the place and I'm wondering if I'm trying to feed too close together or too often. I'm only really offering 3 bottles but she can sometimes take it over a couple of hours.

She is using a vari flow teat, do you think a fast flow would be better or is vari flow just as good?

What do you think would be a good routine to fit in solids and bottle without it being too close?

Sorry for so much waffling I just don't know what to do with her. I feel like all my day is spent either trying to get her to sleep, or worrying when she doesn't, or trying to get her to eat and worrying when she doesn't. I may have a nervous breakdown soon 😩

[Kellyshe]

OMG...I could have written your post!  My DD is also 8.5mo and we have the same issue. I just posted this morning asking about snacking.  My DD seems to take 3-4oz and then isn't interested but she's getting up every 4-5 hours at night to feed.  We also have reflux and that seems to be okay (no flares, arching, crying, etc). 

Today I decided to experiment at daycare and I'm having them hold off on feeding her until 5 hours with solids in between. I'm hoping holiding off a little longer is the issue (snacking).

I'll be watching this thread!  Feel free to jump onto mine as well.  If anything, you're not alone.   Maybe it's a developmental thing?

[Lolly]

I'm wondering if I'm trying to feed too close together or too often. I'm only really offering 3 bottles but she can sometimes take it over a couple of hours.

Can you be more specific with this please? If she starts a bottle are you offering the same bottle all through her A times until it's gone or mostly gone - how long is a bottle lasting?

A bottle feed should be done with in about 20 mins - any longer and you get into snacking territory so she never gets properly hungry for the next feed, solids or milk. If you are letting her graze all day the only way to stop is to be strickt about when you offer food/ milk and cut meals off when they are done. You need to offer her first milk feed and stop at 20 mins finished or not (you shouldn't be offering the same bottle for longer than an hour once it's been drunk for anyway) then wait until her next feed time.

At 8+ months a good 3 bottle routine is something like
Wake- up - bottle
1-1.5 hours after breakfast
Nap
Solids lunch (11.30/12 usually)
2/2.30 (ish) pre-nap bottle
Nap
Solids evening meal
Bed routine/ bottle/ Sleep

I would change to a fast flow teat too - which bottles are you using?

What meds is she on for the reflux now - and at what dose, have they been changed recently?

Laura

[Lindsay27]

My DS went to 3 bottles around 8.5 months.  He was never a huge eater, but this transition definitely helped.  I weaned NFs at 8 months.  His feeding routine on 3 bottles was:

WU 6:30am
7am - bottle
8am - breakfast
AM Nap
12pm - lunch
2:15pm - bottle (right before PM nap)
PM Nap
5pm - dinner
7pm - bottle

Just a suggestion!  It seems like a long time between the first and second bottle, but he had 2 meals in between then so I didn't find he was every really hungry for another bottle before 2pm.  I have no reflux experience though.

[Buttonbobs]

Hey confusedmummy, just coming onto backup what Laura has said really. I found that my DDs feeding intake actually increased after she'd dropped a feed, but that also I stuck to a twenty minutes and no more rule. It helped to stabilise the feeds and increase the amounts taken at each feed. What do you think?