3 month old feeding issues

[gabrielsmommy]

My 3 month old son has decided he doesn't want to follow the 4hr EASY routine anymore.  HELP!  The last 2 days he has kept me guessing as to when he is hungry.  I got really concerned yesterday because he went from 0130 to 1030 before he would eat and then only took 2oz.  I took him in to the doctor.  The pediatrician said he looked great and gave me a prescription for Zantac because I told her about his mild reflux symptoms.  I haven't started him on it because he decided yesterday afternoon to eat like a champ.  The biggest problem I am having is he won't eat when he gets up in the mornings and then the rest of the day becomes a guessing game.  His night is as follows:

7-8pm  bath, bottle and bed
1am  awake for bottle
5am  awake and more times than not he gets a bottle because I cannot console him with a pacifier
7am  up for the day.

I usually wait for about an hour in the morning to try and feed him in hopes he will be hungry before nap time again.  He just won't eat until after his morning nap though.  I was able to pacify him yesterday morning at his 5am awakening, but then he did not eat until 1030 as stated above.  Today he ate half of his normal 6oz bottle at 5am and still would not eat before his morning nap.  I have never done a DF and don't want to start now.  Any suggestions on how to get him back on a routine?  Should I start the Zantac?  My pediatrician is not concerned as long as he is taking 24oz a day and she is very happy with his steady weight gain.  He was 8lbs 4oz at birth and was 14lbs 6oz yesterday.  When he was on a routine he was taking 6oz 5 times a day.

[gabrielsmommy]

I am desperate for HELP!  My son has only woke up once the last 3 nights for a feeding which is GREAT, but he still doesn't want to eat during the day without a fight.  He takes his bedtime and middle of the night bottle without a fuss.  I try to feed him when he acts hungry and he just fights me.  I don't want feeding time to be this stressful for us.  Today is day 3 on Ranitidine for reflux.  Any suggestions as to what I can do?

[Lolly]

It can take a up to 2 weeks for the zantac to be working properly, what dose is he on and how much does he weigh? Which formula is he on - if it's a normal cow's milk formula have you though about thickening it or trying a reflux formula?

How are his nappies? Does he have any mucous or blood that could indicate a milk protien intolerance?

{{HUGS}} though, I know how difficult it is, both my kids are refluxers. They were both big babies at birth (8lb and 8lb 11oz) and grew really well on 20-25oz of milk a day. Keep offering him milk if he seems to want it, he may be wanting small feeds more often at the moment. Keep an eye on his nappies and if he seems to be deydrated at all take him back ot see the Dr.

Have you got his cot elevated? Try and keep him upright for as long as you can after feeds and rub rather than pat to wind him.

Laura

[gabrielsmommy]

Thanks for the reply Laura.  He was 14lbs 6oz last Wednesday.  The doctor put him on 1.5mg per pound or 22.5mg twice a day of Zantac.  He is having good wet diapers and nothing abnormal with his stools.  He has been gaining weight great since birth.  He is on Similac Sensitive for gas and fussiness.  It is not a reflux formula.  I have not elevated his crib, but I try to keep him upright after feeds except at night.  I am just frustrated because we don't have any kind of routine now it seems.  I just feed him when he acts hungry.  Sometimes he is hungry when he wakes up and other times he isn't.  My doctor told me as long as he takes 24oz a day she was not worried.  I guess I am just stressing over the amount too much instead of focusing on the obvious signs of being hydrated.  I am an ICU nurse, so I tend to worry more than what I should I guess.  I know he senses my stress and I need to relax, but I can't.   I just want this to all be ok!

[Lolly]

That is quite a low dose of zantac, for under 6 months most Drs will prescribe 1-3mg per kg (which you probably know ) so there is room to increase the dose. I would give it a few more days and if you are not seeing any improvement ask about increasing it. Both mine needed to be on the full dose (4mg per kg in their case) for it to work properly.

I would elevate his cot, it does make a difference. My two had wedges under their mattress and DD slept on another wedge. With both I put rolled up towels under their sheet to make a U shaped nest which started and stopped at armpit level to stop them sliding around (hope that makes sense!).

It is early days with treatment for you guys so you really will have to go with the flow until he starts feeling better, do what you have to do and we can help you sort things out later.

Laura

[gabrielsmommy]

Laura,

I calculated that Zantac wrong.  Silly me!  He is on 22.5mg of Zantac which is 3mg per kg because at 14.4lbs he is 6.5kg.  He has been taking his minimum formula of 24oz in a 24hr period but frankly just wants to eat when he wants to eat without a routine.  I don't think my doctor would have given me a prescription for Zantac but I mentioned he had mild reflux symptoms.  She checked him and couldn't find anything abnormal so she just wrote me a script to try.  He acts no different now on Zantac than he was before we started.  She said I should see a difference in 3 days and if not it may not be reflux that is bothering him.  He is very fussy and chews on his hands or whatever he can get in his mouth constantly!  Do you think he is teething?  I felt his gums and they feel ok.  I don't feel any swollen or raised areas.  I am just trying to stay as relaxed as I can because I know he senses my stress.

[*Kara*]

He could be having some teething distress for sure.  My DD would go through bouts of pain from 3 months on... she got her first tooth at 9.5 months   It was a long road!  Generally teething will go in cycles of 3 days though...

I would still place my bets on reflux and give it the 2 weeks before making any changes.

Don't worry too much about the timing of his feeds right now... if it is reflux, this would explain the small meals..

[gabrielsmommy]

Thanks Kara and Laura.  I called my pediatrician today because my son was so fussy all weekend and she wanted to take him off Zantac and switch him to Prilosec.  Today is only day 5 on Zantac.  I told them "no".  It is a much stonger reflux medication used for severe reflux.  His reflux is not severe in my opinion.  He is still gaining weight and eating his minimum formula intake a day.  He is just wanting less more often.  I think I made them mad for saying no, but I want to give the Zantac more of a chance.  Any suggestions on how to get him to take is without a fight?  He screams and tries to spit a lot of it out.  Should I mix it with an oz of his formula in another bottle?

[Lolly]

It's usually best given on an empty stomach, so I wouldn't mix it and if he doesn't drink it all you won't get the meds in him any way.

I used a 1ml syringe with my two and got it right in and as far to the side of their mouth as possible, then if you squirt tiny amounts at a time they can't spit it back out. He will get used to it pretty quickly and you will be able to squirt the whole dose after a few weeks.

Laura

[cecelia_at_home]

Hi,
I was going to post a very similar problem. My LO is 15 weeks and for the past week or so he's gone completely off his routine. He'll take a BT bottle and DF and will have at least one NF (usually around 2:30/3), but then he wakes a 7 and won't take more than 2-3 oz. And for those oz, it takes about an hour of him having a few swallows and then refusing any more. I've tried restricting his NF amount and not feeding if he wakes after 4, but it doesn't make a difference. He doesn't have any reflux symptoms so I don't think it's that.
Any advice? How is it going for you Gabriel's Mummy?

[*Kara*]

Cecelia - it might be time to move to a 4 hr EASY   I would try dropping the DF and just letting him wake on his own to eat... You might be surprised to find that you only have on NF without the DF

[gabrielsmommy]

My son doesn't seem to be irritable with feeds like he did at times, but isn't taking as much formula as he used to.  He did have a bad day yesterday.  He was not grumpy, but just wasn't hungry.  I guess babies have good and bad days like we do .  He goes to bed about 7:30pm and is becoming more consistent with only waking 1 time at night to eat.  I was suprised that he only woke once at 3am this morning after not eating well yesterday.  He would not eat this morning until 10am.  It is very frustrating because I never know when or if I can get him to eat in the mornings.  I just make sure I wait at least 4hrs between bottles to offer a bottle and hope he eats.  He is not gaining weigh as fast as he used to and will not double his birth weight by 4 months, but is still slowly gaining weight.  I am just trying to relax and go with his ques.  I am struggling with keeping an EASY routine because of the feeding problems, but I keep trying.

[gabrielsmommy]

Also, if I stop my son halfway through a bottle to burp, he will not finish the bottle.  This is a new thing!  However, he spits up after finishing when he doesn't burp half way through even after burping at the end.  I want him to eat, so I just deal with the spit up.  I am not sure if this is the best thing to do.  Any suggestions?

[*Kara*]

The double birth weight thing refers to 6 months, not 4   And then triple at a year

I would deal with the spit up personally, as long as it is only a bit... chances are he spits up far less than what he takes in when you don't stop...  The spitting up should subside soon anyways... as long as it isn't reflux, he should be much better when it comes to spit up by about 4-5 months.  Just keep him upright for at least 15 mins after eating and instead of patting his back, try just rubbing gently to get the bubbles out

[gabrielsmommy]

Kara, my son does have reflux and is on Zantac.  I am hopeful the spitting up will get better though.  This morning he took half his 6 oz bottle, pulled away, burped and spit up, then refused to take anymore.  The only time he takes a bottle without a fuss or spitting up is at BT and during the night.  It is a real challenge, but I am just going with him and feeding him when he acts hungry which is no sooner than every 4hrs.  I just don't understand why he won't take a full bottle during the day anymore.  My doctor wants to switch him to a different and stronger medication for reflux.  I am not sure these issues are related to his reflux though.