Fussy Eater

[DiniG]

Hi there - I'm very new to this forum.  My 5 month old (newly adopted) daughter seems to have lost her appetite in the last 2 days.  She came home 3 weeks ago and has been feeding fine up until now.  She was previously on 5 feeds of roughly 190mls each, although never actually had full bottles each time.  Now for the past 2 days she's only having about 700mls per day and for the last 2 feeds has been pushing the bottle out of her mouth, arching her back and screaming after only 100ml.  As you can imagine, its quite distressing as she has been fine up until now.  Having said all that, she did have her booster needles 5 days ago and has had a runny nose all week which has made it difficult for her to feed.  Also she's dribbling more than ever which makes me wonder whether she is teething.  Could she be pushing the bottle out because her gums are sore?
I haven't started any solids yet, I'm trying my best to wait until 6 months.  Her routine is not too bad (but could be better).  Goes something like this:

5.45 wake up and play in cot
6.30 feed
8.00 sleep for maybe 45 mins
9.00 play
10.30 feed
12.00 sleep maybe 1 hour (more if she's in the buggy and we're out)
2.15 feed
3.30 short nap
5.30 bath
6.00 feed
7.00 bed
10.30 I wake her for feed

Ideally I'd like her to sleep in a little longer - at least until 7am so I can get a better sleep myself.
Any top tips gratefully received.

[em_here]

Congrats on your baby girl

It could well be teething.  Have you tried some teething gel or baby paracetamol, twenty mins before a feed, to see if this helps?

Also another thing to consider is she may be bored of the teat flow, might be time to go up a size?

The runny nose and generally feeling irritable can occur from immunisations, so that is definately something to consider.

Maybe try the things above, and then we'll see what happens and then go from there ?

With the early waking, personally, I would try a 6:15 or 6:30 bedtime, earlier to bed doesnt mean earlier to rise, with lo's who wake earlier, it is normally due to being OT, so I would try an early bedtime   Also, the naps seem a little short, I would think you would be aiming for 2 naps of 1.5 hrs and a catnap, have you tried to extend them at all? Someone who is good at the routine side of things will have more advice to that affect I am sure

Hope all that helps, what do you think?

[* Paula *]

Congrats on your baby girl 

I agree with Emma, it can be teething, and would definitely give the teething gel a try a few minutes before a feed to see if it helps ease the discomfort.  Also would definitely suggest changing the flow of the teat if she is on a slower flow one.

If she is feeling grotty from the jabs and has a cold etc, it can defintiely be why she has had a drop in appetite.

With regards to your routine, I agee with Emma EW can definitely be a sign of your lo being OT.

At 5 months a lo can generally handle between 2 -2.25 hours of A time.  Some can  handle more and some need less.  How does your lo act when she wakes after 45 mins of sleep?  Does she seem happy (if so I would think probably needs more A time), if she wakes cranky, then I think that she is battling to get into the second phase of sleep, and may need some help getting back to sleep.