Started better naps...now not eating properly...help

[mom of malakai]

Hi. My 6 mo.old DS has recently started solids which is helping with his reflux and so his naps are now consistently 1.5 hours. He has been trying to have more A time b/w naps but this is messing with the times he is hungry at. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

He used to do well with a little different routine. SAE(short A)S etc. This used to work for his reflux, the fact that he wanted to eat in a quiet darkened room which always paved the way to a good quieting activity before sleep, and it also worked for the times of day when his body would naturally be hungry (I was always extra hungry at those times when I was pregnant - contrary to when I normally like to eat .)
Now, he is hungry at the same times, but he wants to sleep and play longer.

Here is what his day currently looks like:

up b/w 6:30 and 7 am (sometimes will have a 4 oz bottle when he gets up, but never more even with no night feed)
A
E - cereal 8:30
A - 8:40- 9
E  -bottle 9-9:10(6-8 oz)
S - sleep routine and nap 9:30 - 11

A - 11- 12:30
E - cereal 12:30-12:45
(I try a similar activity and bottle here like the AM, but he thinks he is to go to his sleep routine next, so he isn't very happy and will only take 4 oz at most...he'd prefer ~2 oz as a drink with his meal)
A - play until 1:30
E - finish a bottle 1:30-1:40 (previous feed and this one will usually total 8 oz., - ex. if he only takes 2 oz b/f he'll take 6 now,etc. - unless I give him more solids and then they will only total 4 -6 oz.)
S - sleep routine and nap 2 15-345

A - play until 5:30
E - cereal 5:30 - 5:45
A- bath and bed routine
E - final feed (8-9oz.) 6:30
S - bed at 7 pm (sometimes one night waking b/w 1 and 3 for a 4 oz bottle and back to sleep)

He is always hungry at 830am, 1230pm, (an afternoon snack to tide him over until 530 supper), 530 and 630. These were the times he always ate b/f and they worked. Now he is still hungry at these times, not before and can't push him later, but it doesn't work with his new schedule.

I don't want to skip the lunch feed b/c he's supposed to get at least 26 oz of formula a day. He would be very content to have only solids at that lunch feed and a small drink with his meal, and then later have his bottle as an afternoon snack (but with solids at lunch, I think he would take less bottle later as he'd be full...but it I am not sure it is a good idea to give less formula at such a young age.

Sorry this is so long. I wanted to be sure you had as much info. as possible.
Any ideas on how to get him to eat better at lunch time?

Julie

[mom of malakai]

Sorry, I wasn't sure whether to post here or in eating. I feel it involves his schedule as part of the problem which is why I finally decided to post in the EASY forum (even though we don't really follow EASY properly). PLease note that EASY never worked for us after trying it for 5 months, so we switched it around a little until we found something that worked...we follow a predictable pattern in the day and separate eating and sleep. We just don't know what to do about the lunch meal. Thanks.

Julie

[MJMom]

Actually, on all your feeds, I would flip the order.  Bottle first and then solids as Milk is the most important nutrition for the first year.  Is there something with the reflux that helps it doing it the other way?  (Sorry I'm a bit unknowledgeable on reflux)

Looks like he is a healthy eater.  And Bravo for paying attention to your LOs cues!  Even though it's not text book EASY, listening to your LO is the most important!!!

How much cereal are you feeding him?

[mom of malakai]

Thanks for the reply MJ's mom. It is nice to hear that it is OK that I am not following textbook EASY based on my LO's cues. He is taking an average of 1 Tbsp. of cereal for the first two meals and anywhere b/w 2-3 Tbsp. for supper. 

Having the cereal first helps to keep the formula in him a little better - at least that is what I have found so far. With the formula first, most of it will come back up...especially with burps...which burns his esophagus and then he doesn't want to eat at all - bottle or cereal - and he doesn't sleep well because of the pain. So far meds have not helped him and the only thing that seemed to help at all was the cereal. Unfortunatly, I am finding it filling him up (except when he is extra hungry in the evening) and this makes it hard to give him the nutrients he needs from the formula. I wonder if I should just be continuing to try other foods for a little longer and then give him a more "wholesome" and nutritious meal consisting of solids at lunch (since this is the only meal we are having difficulty with).

Perhaps the eating section is a more appropriate place to post this and someone there could help me out. Does anyone know how to post this there or link it so that I don't have to retype all this info.?
Thanks.

Julie

[MJMom]

Julie, I will move this over to the Eating Solids boards.  It probably is better suited over there as you mentioned.

My general feeling though is that he's probably doing OK, as the amount of intake ebbs & flows over a day/day week/week period every now and again.  And the food is a very moderate amount.

[Freya'sMum]

Hello Julie!

While I think it is great that you have listened to your lo rather than imposed EASY for the sake of it (dd2 never did it either), I think it can be helpful to think of solid foods as an Activity (wherever that is in your schedule) and milk as the Eat part - now for a standard EASY routine that means milk (E) before solid foods (A), but with your routine, might still mean that ds has some solid food before his milk (thus helping the reflux).

At 6 months, ds is still very young in terms of his solid foods experience, most common starter foods have very little nutritional value and so you want to keep them as a relatively small quantity and the milk as a much larger quantity, so that he still gets all of his nutrition - it might help if you perceive the pre-milk solid food as a medicine, perhaps just giving a small amount before his milk, enough to keep it down but not so much that he doesn't want all his milk, and then offer the rest of the solid foods after.

3 solid food meals per day would be a lot for a baby of 6 month, some los don't even start to explore solid foods until 7 months plus, nor start to actually swallow any until even later, so the fact that ds isn't having a solid food lunch doesn't really matter in terms of nutrition, bit it might affect his discomfort due to reflux - again perhaps you could just offer a little cereal or other solid food (like a medicine) to help keep the milk down?

Not sure if this helps or not?

Ax

[mom of malakai]

MJ - you said it is a very moderate amount. I thought lo's were supposed to take in at least 26 -32 oz. in addition to the solids? We usually hit b/w 20 and 25 oz. Is he still getting enough? I heard from a friend that they tried their lo on a sippy cup b/c of the bottle being associated with pain. Maybe I will try him on that and see if he takes it any better...maybe it is just a negative association that is the problem and now he realizes that he can have something other than a bottle of formula to fill his little tummy. Wow, they really are smarter than we give them credit for aren't they. 

Julie

[MJMom]

Sorry to confuse.  i meant he took in a moderate amount meaning for cereal.  Meaning, I didn't think it was enough to make him not want his bottles.

Alison is the food expert though.  Whatever she says trumps me!

[Freya'sMum]

Alissa,

Alison is the food expert though.  Whatever she says trumps me!

Lol! Thank you, but have to clarify that I am not a proper expert, just someone who has a real interest in foods and who has done a fair bit of reading around the subject with regards to babies, and who remembers the good advice of those who have posted before me !

To all who read this...

Please remember that most of us who post here are not nutritional professionals, and offer advice based on experience and literature searches rather than formal study and research, so if you have concerns about your los' health and development, rather than questions about the hows and whys of doing things, please consult with your real-life health advisors!

 

Ax

[mom of malakai]

Just to update: We have experiemented with a variety of different things and have resolved the lunch issue. Thanks for all of your advice and suggestions: a combination of them helped in the end. He still has hungry days and not so hungry days so I just watch what he does in the morning to know what to do at lunch. Thanks again!!

Julie