4 mth old won't feed - need advice!

[Annabokobza]

Hi ladies,
I'm a second time mum looking for help with my 4.5 month old DS2's feeding as I'm getting disheartened here...

He was EBF with no issues until 4 months. He's a super happy, relaxed and sociable little guy who naps v well in the day and sleeps OKish at night (wakes 2-3 times between 7am and 7pm, settling himself after feeds).
 
I substituted the early afternoon feed for a bottle of formula to enable others to feed him if I'm out, with no issues at all. 3 weeks ago (at 17 weeks) his regular weigh in showed he wasn't gaining as quickly as expected (he'd dropped from 75th to 25th percentile). I had only been feeding on one side each time until then due to an early oversupply issue, but was advised to now offer both sides to ensure he was getting enough. I did this successfully for a week, but then he became unbelievably distractible, to the point where he's more or less refusing to BF for more than a minute or two here and there throughout the day. He feeds slightly better at night in the darkness of our room, but it's not like before. I've resorted to pumping to maintain my supply (massive time suck!) and feeding it to him in a bottle just to be sure he's taking something, but even then he's not at all into it and I'm concerned he's getting too used to bottle feeding.

DH's opinion is that he's just less hungry as he's otherwise such a happy baby, but I can't believe he's NEVER hungry... I feel I've lost the ability to read his cues!!

His EASY is not v steady but aiming for this, always with me initiating the feeds:
Wake up - 6.30/6.45am
BF - 7am
A - 7.20am
S - 8.15am
BF - 10am
A - 10.20am
S - 12pm
FF - 2pm
A - 2.45pm
CN - 4pm
A - 4.30pm
BF - 5pm (he NEVER wants this one!)
A - 5.30pm
Bath - 6.30pm
BF - 7pm
Bed - 7.20pm

Any advice would be really appreciated! Don't want to give up BFing but finding this a real challenge.

Thanks!!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Is it possible he has just become more efficient at feeding? My oldest DD was a 5 min feeder and was able to get what she needed in that time. They do get way more distractable too, so we always fed in the dark bedroom even in the day as they were too busy being nosey otherwise! I tend to agree with your dh - if he is happy and content (& having enough wet diapers) then he is getting what he needs.

[Annabokobza]

I'm hoping that's the case!
Just can't believe that after 4 hours he still sometimes doesn't seem that hungry.
It's so hard to commit to feeding in a quiet dark room with a 2 year old in the house but I'm doing that when I can.

If anyone's got any feedback on our EASY, that would be great 

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

What about a busy box of toys for the toddler (stuff that is new and only for that time)?  I would suggest starting a post in the EASY section so you can get more eyes on that specifically! How much formula is he taking at the 2 pm feed? It takes a lot longer to digest so stands to reason he may not be as hungry by 5 pm feed.

[Annabokobza]

Busy box is a good idea, thank you.
He's taking about 4-5oz of formula I'd say but I can never get him to finish the full 6oz the pack says he should have at his age. 2oz go down easily and then I have to work hard for the rest!

[eva026]

You can also try put on a necklace that's not easy to break. Keeps LO busy and feeding a while longer.
We had similar issues to you but in our case it was a bottle preference we struggled with. Despite going through a few nursing strikes we managed to BF till 1yo, so it can be done:)

[Annabokobza]

How did you overcome the bottle preference?

[eva026]

A few things.
Had to drop the bottle for a week and feed her with syringe or spoon. Later we bought a bottle that you had to actively suck to get milk out so she wasn't mad at the breast when it was more difficult than a normal bottle. Even with that we still had to be careful with the bottle and stop at the first sign she was liking it too much.
Otherwise I had to pump just before every feed so the milk was flowing, before I put her on. We tried nursing in the bath and just as she was coming out of sleep.
SOme babies are ok with switching between bottle and breast but mine wasn't.

[Annabokobza]

Sounds like a huge effort to stick with BFing, really impressive. Thanks for sharing!

[*Ali*]

There are some great tips for coaxing baby back to the breast here Is my baby weaning or is it a nursing strike?