I need to increase oz and move to level two

[epting57]

DD has sometimes not finished bottles, but then gotten hungry sooner.  As well as kind of given up on bottle and sort of played with it.  She is 2 months old today and gets 4 oz every 3 hours.  The last couple of days she has wanted the bottle about 15-20 mins earlier than normal.

I use Dr Brown bottles. 

I tried her on 5oz last week and she seemed to spit up a lot. However she sometimes does that on 4 oz bottles.  I am not sure if the spit up is gas as it usually is after a burp or maybe a slight case of reflux.  We have a dr appt on Monday so going to ask what he thinks.

Anyway do y'all think she needs to increase oz and maybe go a little longer between feeds or increase oz and stay on 3 hour EASY

Even though she is 2 months she is already 13 pounds

Thanks

[Bex09]

Hi there, we have just gone through similar with my DS who is the same age and also a bigger baby (12lb 5) He was only taking 3 oz every 3 hrs but he was fussing after these 3oz and wriggling, shaking his head from side to side and kind of grunting. He then wouldn't take anymore milk after that and was hungry earlier.

So we changed to no 2 teats and it has worked a treat. He now always takes at least 4oz and often 5oz and he never fusses or squirms taking his bottles now. So maybe you could give the faster teat a try and see if DD will take more milk then. If not it could be a growth spurt so she is wanting to feed earlier.

[epting57]

Switched to level two and drank fine, no fighting the bottle.  Had to use a level one while we were out and she fought it so i think that was the problem.  Tried to give her 5 oz but only drank 4. So i guess it was mainly a level two problem.  I think i will try 5 again though just to se if she takes more.

[Bex09]

That's great. Yes I always offer five oz for now and DS usually takes at least 4oz and occassionally most of the five. When he starts draining the 5oz I will up each bottle to 6oz then.

[epting57]

I just hate wasting formula not o mention breast milk that I pump.  Oh well.

Tonight she only drank 2 oz then would drink anymore?  I had level two nipple on a big bottle so I thought it was big bottle.  I then put into smaller bottle but still no more.  Either she was tired, too full ( unlikely since it had been 3 hours since she last ate and didn't finish that one either, or some other problem.

She has Dr. vibist on Monday so I have a whole list of ?'s.

Am contemplating switching to the AR formula with rice reel I think she may have slight acid reflux.?

[Bex09]

Do you think that there could be another issue like wind or something? Does your DD burp easily or not? If she does burp will she then drink more milk. this often happens with my DS and then if he burps he will finish the bottle. Trapped wind can make LOs feel full. What signs make you suspect reflux hun?

I wouldn't change formula without speaking to your doctor first. Also adding cereals to milk in a bottle can be a real choking hazard and at such a young age I think you would risk tummy issues which could make things worse. See what your doctor says on Monday though as there are safe thickeners you can use if reflux is an issue. Have you checked out the 'Reflux, Colic and Crying' board? Think it is in the health and medical section.

[epting57]

Well she spits up a lot. multiple times after a bottle.  sometimes she cries when she is drinking bottle.  I thought it was gas, but may be another issue.  The AR formula already has the rice thickener so you wouldn't have to add any.  But I am going to talk to dr first.

[Bex09]

Sorry I thought that you meant you would add rice cereal to the bottle. My DD was on Enfamil AR and yes it is pre thickened, we also had Gaviscon powders to thicken her milk too.

The crying while feeding could be a sign of reflux but could also be wind. Have you tried gripe water or infacol for wind to see if that helps? How is DD's sleep and does she protest when you lay her down flat? These are usually signs of reflux too. Some babies do spit up more than others and often with reflux it can be more of a projectile vomit of a lot of milk. My DS gets quite windy and he will often spit up along with a big burp but it is only a small amount.

[epting57]

She does spit up with a burp, so that is why I thought it was gas.  We have tried gas drops and gripe water.  I guess both work okay, but hasn't stopped problem as it doesn't seem to be every bottle that she cries.  She does however spit up quite a bit every bottle.  The more I think about it the more I confuse myself.  I can't wait to talk to dr and see what he thinks.

Did your baby have any constipation on AR

[Bex09]

Oh I know hun it is so confusing when you don't know what the issue is. See what the doctor thinks tomorrow and hopefully they will give you some ideas. Have you seen all the reflux info on the boards? On my phone now so can't link sorry but there is 'Reflux 101" which is good and a lot of other stickies about symptoms, things to help etc.

DD did get a little bunged up yes but I think that was more from the Gaviscon than the Enfamil. Gaviscon is known for causing constipation. We had to get a prescription of lactulose to help in the end. Once DD was just on Enfamil and no Gaviscon then she was fine though.

[Lolly]

Here you go, the reflux link Reflux 101 - General reflux information

If the Dr does think it's reflux then I will move your post over to CRC, or start a new post and we will see if we can help.

My two are both refluxers and did will on the AR milk. They both suffered a bit with constipation, but that's common with refluxers anyway. We used infant gaviscon with standard formula, not with the AR. Our paed told us not to use it with the AR as you shouldn't use a thickener with a thickened formula. They were worse on ordinary formula with gaviscon than on the AR though.

Laura

[epting57]

Okay so Dr doesn't think that it is reflux bad enough to add meds but he said we could try different formula if we wanted.  HE gave me samples of AR.  She has had two bottles and it does seem to stay down better.

Only question is, she still gets a few bottles of breastmilk a day.  Can I thicken that somehow? I should have asked.
I was thinking of weening next month but wanted to still give it to her until 3 months old to help with immune system.

[Lolly]

Glad the AR seems better. You can thicken breastmilk with a non-food thickener, depending on where you are depends on what's available! Simply Thick, Thick it and carobel are some of the more common ones.

When you say weaning did you mean weaning off breastmilk? Just checking you don't mean adding solids

Laura