Baby will only eat if drowsy/asleep

[kerryt]

Leanne thats really good news! I hope it carries on like that! Keep us posted.

My boy ate 5oz at his dream feed then 5oz at 2am then another 5oz at 6am, but all obviously in his sleep thats why he was happy to do it:-/ His 10am feed I had to pace around the house but he managed most of it with a very wet burp at the end resulting in me having to change his and my clothes (once again)!! Im too scared to stop to burp him because he doesnt carry on eating, like Leanne's LO does.

The more I think about it the more I think there has to be a problem because Im sure if it was just my boys personality or tempermant that he liked to be walked around and fed to sleep then it wouldnt be so common with other babies all having the exact same reaction to eating. Squeezing the teat, pulling the bottle in and out etc.. it has to be SOMETHING thats bothering them???

[NetMouse]

Following along, as both my DDs have been very fussy feeders. DD1 would only bf in her sleep after about 3 months, and no health professionals I asked had ever heard of the problem. So very chuffed to find this thread! DD2 (now 15 weeks) has been getting increasingly fussy and I'm terribly worried she might be going the same way. I do wonder from time to time if she might have reflux, although she doesn't have many obvious symptoms. Unfortunately I don't know how I'd get reflux meds into her though, as she is bf and won't take a bottle. Hmm

[kerryt]

Welcome! I have really searched and searched to find the answer to this issue and as each day passes I am more convinced that it isnt reflux or teething or anything thats causing discomfort, its just him going through a fussy period (that hopefully doesnt last too much longer!!). Sometimes when hes due for a feed after a nap (Ive had to throw any of idea of a routine out the window because of his short naps and disinterest in feeding so sometime it works out that hes "hungry" after his nap), he seems very chilled and mellow and he seems to eat a lot better. I dont know if its just my imagination though, it will probably not be like that tomorrow as it seems to change from day to day lol

I try and feed him when hes due for a feed then keep the rest of his bottle for later when I can get the rest down him when he goes down for a nap.
The problem is because I try get as much milk in him in the early evening when he goes down for the night as I can, he seems more happy to accept his milk in the evening before bed, then he still has his df then wakes up at around 3am for another feed and by 4-5am hes starts squirming and at 6:30am has an ENORMOUS poo then goes back to bed for another hour. But this happens EVERY morning. So Im not getting much sleep at the moment and hes not either I assume, having a stomach issues every morning:(

Netmouse, your DD1, did the problem sort itself out, can you remember when she started eating properly again...or is she still fussy with her food;-) lol I really hope there is light at the end of this tunnel!

Any other ladies on this thread having any luck with their LO's yet?

[NetMouse]

The problem did eventually sort itself with DD1, but I can't remember exactly when. (The whole thing was such a nightmare!) I do know that she had definitely sorted it out by 13 months, when she was mad about boobs, did continual comfort feeding, and had hardly started on solids at all. I think her multiple allergies had contributed to her problem with solids, but I wonder whether there might have been another physical reason after reading this thread. Now, she is a good eater - finally now she's three!

I always assumed it was psycological, as she was a very touchy baby and I think very OS - I hadn't heard of BW at the time. However I have been so careful with DD2, and the problem seems to be sneaking in anyway. Having said which, she does feed better when she is VERY calm - preferably just waking up or going to sleep. I found the info about Dysphagia quite interesting, especially the bit about crying when they see the breast/bottle, and calming down again when it is taken away. She's definitely fussy during feeds, and not afterwards, so I think we may have to look into that.

[L76]

Hey

Well I had a bit of a breakthrough last night with him taking an amazing 8-9oz before bed!!! 
And that was after a 5oz bottle at 4pm!

No idea how or why but I have persevered with the stage 2 bottle teat the last few days. Feeding is much quicker so getting nearly an oz extra into him at each feed which is good. So most are now 3oz - sometimes 4oz.

The other thing we have done is stopped dream feeding him in an effort to give him less milk over night and therefore take more during the day. We only feed him when he wakes now. On the odd occasion it is twice but mostly one wake between 7pm and 7am.

We have had him weighed this week. 8oz in 17 days - slightly below where he should be but at least he's put on weight. Back to the doctors on Tues so will see what he says. The health visitor said to wait another 2-4 weeks to see if he settles down.

[kerryt]

13 months! YIKES!!  LOL I really hope our LO's sort themselves out before then. Let me know how you get on with your research Netmouse.

Leanne Im so glad to hear youve had a breakthrough:-) Let us know what the doc said yesterday when  you get a chance.

My boy is picking up so much every week, I cannot understand it, +/- 250g (round about 8-9oz) per week!! But the morning feed is now a complete right off, he refuses to have a bottle right up until after 11am!! I thought maybe I could drop the dreamfeed but hes awake for it unfortunately so thats a no go. I did what the BW book suggested and semi woke him up and hour before he usually wakes up for his 3am bottle to see if I could skip it and get him to drink in the morning but I attempted it lat night and although he woke up at 4am rather than 3am he had a full bottle and then this same story in the morning...just wont eat. I tried at 9:30am and he blatantly refused after having just a few sips and thats 5.5 hours gone by from his last feed, then again at 10, no joy and then I gave up and put him down for a nap. It does look like he wants to eat though but hes starts sucking and stops after just a few sips  and stats cooing and squeezing the bottle teat. Its so frustrating...but I guess as long as he is putting on the weight Ill just have to carry on with the night feeds. He still battles with his feed the rest of the day but its not as bad as it is in the mornings.

[L76]

Hey Kerry

So glad I have someone else going though this....although not to wish it on you forever but ykwim!

Our breakthrough didn't last long! 
Must have been the 12week growth spurt because we are back to 2oz feeds. All day yesterday until the 6oz bedtime bottle. He then woke at 1am and took another 6oz. Then again at 04:30 but only took 2oz. Slept til 7:30, but only took 2oz at that feed and so I waited nearly 4hrs til the next feed...hoping....but no, 1.5oz!

Like you though, he is putting on weight. So frustrating.
I get up in the morning and think "right, not going to get annoyed by his feeding or let his naps bother me at all"...doesn't last long though!

I got a prescription to try Losec for silent reflux from the GP...just not sure whether to give it a go or not - have a thread going on the CRC board to see what everyones opinions are. So confused right now 

[kerryt]

When my DS was 12 weeks he started his hunger strike and as if by magic he started wolfing down his food which lasted a few weeks then he decided to go back on diet! My friend (her son being 1 year old) told me her LO did the same at my boys age and I must just ride it out because it WILL get better. Although her assurance in the matter does bring me hope, I just feel as though I am desperate to know WHY he is doing it. It looks as though the teat itself is bothering him thats why I keep questioning whether he maybe is teething. I wish they had a swab test they could do to test whether our babies are teething so we could just rule it out if its not.

My mom has gone to the shops now and she said shes going to get some calgel and see whether that helps him if in fact his gums are the problem...

[L76]

Well I've just given him his first dose of Losec to see if it really is reflux bothering him. After a fight putting him down for a nap I sat outside his room in tears. Seriously losing the will to live today!

Oh and now as I type this, he's woken 30mins into his nap - again - third time today.

Hope the calgel makes some difference - let me know

[Rose.]

Hi,

My son seems to be eating a bit better. He has even dropped a night feed! His weight gain is getting better too. We have
1) doubled his dose of prevacid so he now gets 7.5 mg twice a day
2) taken him to a chiropractor who said he had a vertabrae out of alignment - we've had several adjustments
3) put him on 25% soy, 75% breastmilk
4) given biogaia drops

We don't know which of these four things is responsible but he definitely seems more calm etc. He is now 15 weeks.

[L76]

Hi Rose

Great news that he's eating better. By better, how much is he now taking. I am now going to be interested to see how DS reacts to the Losec treatment. I saw your post re: biogaia - will go back and have a read through. I took DS to see an osteopath when he was a few weeks old - never saw any change but to be honest, I really didn't take to the guy that we saw. A good friend of mine has a close friend who is an osteopath so maybe I should revisit that. Might wait to see how he does on the Losec first.

We've had a shocking day here. His feeds were as follows:

7:30 2.5oz
11:15 1.5oz
13:45 2oz
16:10 1oz (tried again at 17:00 and got him to take another 2oz)
18:45 3oz

So a grand total of about 12oz today!
Seriously, that is dreadful isn't it. If he takes a night feed of 6oz we still will be way off what he should be taking.
He was sooooooo unhappy today too. Especially this afternoon. Surely the Losec couldn't be the cause?

[Rose.]

Hi,

My son eats about 24-27 oz per day now, mostly ebm. I'm not sure what he was eating before. It's the behaviour at the feeds that I'm noticing. I just fed him a 5oz bottle, (which he did last night and he had not done that before awake!). He took 3 oz fairly well sitting on my lap but I 'walked' the last 2 oz into him. A week ago he was refusing food even if I walked around. I had resorted to feeding him during his naps, often disrupting them. Now I'm not doing that unless his nap cuts into a feed time. His nighttime feeds having greatly improved; he no longer arches and screams during those feeds. This has been important to observe since I had wondered if overtiredness was the problem. In the middle of the night he is not overtired and so I do believe there was pain due to reflux that has been greatly reduced. I just wish I knew exactly what reduced it!

The problem isn't completely gone though as we have had a few feeds where he'll only take 2 oz and then refuse to eat. I can often give him the rest of the food if I let him sleep for 20 min. These poorer feeds tend to happen closer to nap time so I do think OTness is part of the problem. Unfortunately my son rarely naps more than 40 min and gets worn out easily.

[Hunters Mum]

Hi Ladies, I am having the exact same problem and have posted about it also!
My DD is nearly 15 weeks and I have recently stopped BF due the the problems with feeding as I thought it may have something to do with it. However the bottle is no better and now I can tell how much she is drinking - which is no more than 90ml a feed every feed. She never indicates hunger and so feeds 3 hourly during the day.

The nightmare that I am having is that my DD is waking alot during the night. I have another DD and I am shattered every single day. This has been going on since brith and I just dont think I can carry on like this. I will try anything and everything.

From reading these posts I can relate; my DD is very restless all night and looks like she is in pain. She tosses and turns all night long. She wakes generally before her DF at 22:30 then wakes at 2:00 and then at 4:00 and 5:00 and gets up for the day at 6:30. Sometimes she wakes more. She also poops at 5:00 most mornings which is difficult to deal with as then she is wide awake.

I am wondering if this could be silent reflux as she never vomits. She is also very content otherwise its just at night when she is unsettled. WHen I take her to the doc they dont believe what I am saying as she just smiles up at them.....

I am at a loss......

[kerryt]

Oh dear Leanne I hope things have improved for you since your last post, I have been waiting for the website to be up and running again! My son ate pretty much the same at your LO when he was 12 weeks. I would get so concerned and persisted with the bottle until eventually he spat up most of it (the bit that I forced him to drink). Because of this I was convinced it was reflux but was told by th HV that he was full and thats why hes spitting it up. that still didnt explain why he ate so darn little! Yet he still picked up weight, absolutely baffled me. He was sleeping a 7 hour stretch between feeds at that stage but as time went on and he needed more food he decided rather than increasing each feed intake, he would start his 3am feed again and wake up for his dream feed to make sure he gets that too. And because hes eating at night, the amount he should be eating in the day, he struggles so much with his tummy at night until he has a poo in the morning. Its heartbreaking, and very exhausting for both of us. He just doesnt stop squirming after the 3am/4am feed *sigh*
However I do remember that there was a couple of weeks in between where he just started eating beautifully, but then he started turning away the bottle again. I dont know if its a recurring problem or two separate issues.

Anyway I figured if hes only going to drink the majority of his bottles at night then I started him on Aptamil comfort today in hopes that its gentler on his tummy. I still havent fully commited myself to trying the calgel yet, I am def going to try tomorrow. I tried bonjela and teething granules before but without any effect unfortunately:( I read somewhere bonjela is only effective if there is a piercing in the gum (where the tooth is emerging). So I guess calgel is a last resort to determine if its teething. The BW book said that somewhere between 4-6 months babies can loose their appetite because of teething so parents shouldnt be alarmed if they eat less because the bottle teat/nipple can hurt their gums. So fingers crossed it is just up until 6 months, all these NWings for food and squirming because of them are driving me a bit loony! On top of that Ive been battling to extending his naps lately, I thought things were getting better in that department but hes so restless when i try resettle him when he wakes up at the 45min mark, it takes me ages to get him back to sleep:(

Leanne does the Dr think it is def reflux? How is it going with the Losec?

Rose you are def on to something there, when my bub is OT or OS theres no way in hell I can get food into him! If I catch him when hes calm (like after an extended nap) he eats soooooo much better!
How are things going with you LO? Still well I hope:)

[L76]

Hi lovely ladies....

Update for you... after my rubbish day on Wed when I posted we'd had 12oz all day...we had a whopping 28oz today!
Co-incidence due to day three of Losec or is it working?

Our feeds were:

7.30am 5oz
10:30am 5oz
13:30pm 4oz
16:30 4oz
18:45 6oz
20:00 4oz

How different is that to what I posted before!

And none were too much of a struggle either. He willingly took the teat back in his mouth after burping too.

Will see what tomorrow brings. His naps as a result have been fantastic yesterday and today. No sshing to go to sleep, just laid him down and he went to sleep on his own, no resettling to be done and went to bed like a dream.  

Kerry - I see you've recently read the sticky thread re: my baby 3.5months wont eat - lots of people going through the same eh! DS used to sleep a good stretch too when he was younger - only does about 5 or 6 hours now. Sometimes a lot less. DS doesn't poo every day and 99% of the time does it during the day so we don't have that nighttime problem thankfully. Have you investigated reflux?

Hunters Mum - glad you came over to check out Kerry's thread. Have you tried going to 4hr easy yet seen as your LO is a few weeks older than mine? I am hoping when we do 4hr feeds things will improve a bit. My DS never is sick - reflux is silent. Does your LO gulp a lot - like they are gulping down the reluxing acid? Have you been over to the CRC board for advice...the mum's over there are fab. Helped me out a lot. Rose would no doubt say the same. Oh and I always have that trouble at the doctors...he coo-s and smiles at them like butter wouldn't melt!

Rose, i had to walk 4oz into DS this afternoon too! Have you looked into why he's only napping for 40mins? Might help you get to space the feeds out more?