4 month old reverse cycling

[athenasmom]

Hi all,

DD is 4 months old and this issue started about over a week ago. She had double ear infections so she was in a lot of discomfort and up frequently at night. I think it coincided with her 4 month old GS. She has been STTN for about 4 weeks now but all of the sudden she would wake hourly from about 3 a.m. I resettled with paci for a few days until I realized that she was generally hungry. Now she takes the DF but then needs an NF around 4 a.m. She has not increased her intake during the day. At daycare she drinks 3 5.5 oz EBM bottles bout 3 or 3.5 hours apart. We tried increasing the amount but she would not take it. On the weekends she would eat even less and would not nurse longer than 5-6 minutes each time. Actually the past week she has gotten even worse as she would only drink about 4.5 oz at daycare per bottle and refuse to nurse before BT but then wake around 10:30-ish ravenous then again around 3 a.m. I definitely felt the dip in supply as a result of her not nursing over the weekend. So my questions are:
1) Last Monday and Tuesday I had to supplement for the first time with formula which I added to her bottles evenly. There was just 1 oz of formula in each bottle. On Monday she would be OK but Tuesday she would drink very little and spit up quite a bit. Ever since she has been in some tummy discomfort which might be due to the antibiotics she was taking. But it could be from the formula. If it is from the formula, can the discomfort last for a week? She has not gotten any formula since Tuesday. I used Enfamil Gentlease formula which should be easier to digest.

2) How do I go about to increase her intake and my supply if she just refuses to nurse? She latches on well and is hungry but after about 5-6 minutes she starts to look around bob on and off. I tried feeding her in a dark room alone but she does the same thing. And if I keep trying after a while she gets mad and screams like I am murdering her.  She clearly does not want to eat more. I have a fast letdown and I know that she can get about 4 oz probably in that time. But how can I get her to take more to eliminate the NF and move to a more age appropriate EASY?


Thanks

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Having a df and a nf and not going 4 hrs between feeds during the day is actually pretty normal for an ebf baby. Many can handle the higher A time of a 4 hr EASY but not the 4 hourly feeds as bm is more easily digested. We did top up feeds to get by during that time and it was also the time that the nursing got way more efficient so 5-10 min was a perfectly normal session.

[*Ali*]

I agree with Heidi 2 NFs at this age is not unusual. My DS1 and Ds2 were down to 8 and 6 minute feeds respectively at this age and on 4hrly feeds so they can definitely get enough in that time. I would you just go with it for now. You can only offer, if she refuses then she has probably had what she needs.