fed up

[t_smith80]

Hello hope everybody and their babies are doing fine.

Ella has been having probs with her feeds lately-only taking 3-4oz when used to be 4-6oz, that all came to a head yesterday when she completely refused a feed and we took her to baby clinic to get her weight and mention it to hv (for the 3rd time), again we were told not to worry as she had put on 3lb in a week, (her usual weight gain is half a pound a week so straight away i became concerned) then when dressing her after weigh in i noticed a rash on her tummy and even worse on her back.

After being fobbed off again by hv i decieded to take her to hospital who assessed her and checked for urine infections but couldnt find anything wrong. The decieded to keep her in overnight for observation as they were also concerned about her food intake.

Today they did more test and could not find anything wrong and are at a complete loss they say rash is nothing to be concerned about as this has virtually gone now and she seems very alert and happy within herself , i was beginning to think it was me was i making feeds up wrong but in hospital the same thing happened and they could see how frustrated Ella becomes (after shes taken about 3oz i wind her then if i put the bottle anywhre near her she screams and goes bright red)

They have discharged us on a patient outreach basis where we will get phoncalls and visits from hospital until she starts taking more which is reassuring and they have also said as long as she takes 3oz every 3hrs she is getting what she needs.
I really dont know what to do i feel like crying, my baby is not taking much food and i am fed up.

Love
Tracy and poorly Ella x

 :cry:

[Mariek]

(((Hugss))) Tracey

Sorry your lo is poorly. It sucks, especially when they can't find any cause.  :cry:

Can you give us some more details about Ella and her schedule? The ladies here might have some ideas about what the problem is.

love

[frankiesmom]

How old is she?  could she have reflux?  Is she bf or bottle feeding?

Kim

[t_smith80]

Hi Kim and Maire,

Thanks for your replies.

Ella is bottle fed and 10wks old tomorrow. When she was about 5 weeks she was taking upto 6oz then she came out in a rash and we took her to docs who said nothing to worry about just a viral infection -i dont know if this is linked to her feeding.

In the last couple of weeks she has gradually started taking less, she went down to 5 then 4 and now 3.  It came to a head yesterday when she refused a feed and had rash on her belly/back. Again we were told not to worry about the rash and they really dont know why she isnt feeding as much (they dont know if rash is linked).

She is otherwise a very happy baby. The hospital were at a loss cause she was smiling away to docs. I think we are just going to have to carry on and see what happens-hopefully things will change for the better.

Love Tracy and Ella xxx

[cwolff]

Have you tried switching to a hypoallergenic formula?  It sounds suspiciously like she might be having an allergic reaction.  Also, she might need to eat a little less often, such as 3.5 hours, and see if she increases her intake.

[NKmommy]

Hi!  I agree with cwolff to maybe try a hypoallergenic formula.  The rash and refusal to eat sounds a lot like an allergy...  Hope she feels better soon.

[Mariek]

Tracey

What flow teats are you using? It could be that you need to move to a fast flow because the milks not coming quickly enough for her.

I agree with the others about trying a hypoallergenic formula.... maybe Soy milk (she could be lactose intolerant),

love

[deb]

Is it possible that she was taking so much then because she was having a growth spurt which has since passed? Even Natalie, who is 15.5 pounds at almost 4 months :shock: , rarely takes more than 4-5 ounces (I nurse, but she gets an occasional bottle of ebm). At bedtime, she's more likely to chug 6 ounces or more, but that's about it.

Depending on your baby's weight/size for her age, 3 ounces doesn't seem too unreasonable to me. If her weight gain is good & her disposition is OK, she may just have been taking more back then because at the time she needed it. You have another growth spurt coming up soon and perhaps you can see if she ups her intake again; after the 3-month one, she's more likely to gradually up her intake AND the space between feedings.

Just another thought.

[Deb_in_oz]

i agree with Deb. i cannot coment on the rash though.

olivia went through a similar thing around 3 -4  months onwards and we got so worried we were forcing her to take more food because we thought for sure she must still be hungry / need more than that.  all we got besides a huge baby (97% at 5  months, finally dropped back to 90% at 6 mo) was a very angry baby who developed a fear of her bottle - she started crying as soon as she saw it and woudl get happy as soon as it was put away.  we ended up having a speech pathologist work with us on getting rid of the oral aversion she deveoped as a result of all the battles.  we are now having to be very gentle with the spoon feeding and cups (she won't let me put a cup to her mouth and i cannot push her into it...). as long as we relax and don't force her she now takes anywhere from 3-8 oz per feed and it varies every single day and every feed - and she still sleeps thorugh the night and gains weight 

some days 3oz is all they want - even for weeks - and when they push away the bottle they are telling us I AM DONE and we need to understand that it is ok.  especially if she is still gaining weight! it is when they start losing weight that you have to worry and the nurses here told me that with all her extra fat... she could even miss a couple of feeds and not have anything to worry about (in all seriousness)

i am just pointing all this out as a word of caution - i woudl hate for anyone to go through what we went through - especially since we now know that we brought it upon ourselves by engaging in the battles - you would think her cries and screams would have told us something but we were so focused on a NUMBER that we thought she was "supposed to have".

good luck.  i would see if the rash is unrelated. there can be other causes besides the formula.

[t_smith80]

hi girls,

everybody seem really lovely on here and thanks again for taking the time to reply to my post.

I do agree it is easy to focus on a number when feeding, i am guilty of doing that. It doesnt help you are told what your baby 'should' be taking on the cartons and if your baby isnt taking these amounts its easy to become worried.

I know its not her teats cause thats what i thought at first and have ended up spending a fortune on teats lol. She likes mam number 2 the best.

She does seem to be taking more now last 2 feeds took 5oz and 6oz bottles no problem.

I did ask doctor if it could be an allergy as this had occured to me but he said its very unlikely and i didnt question him-maybe i should have at the time but i trusted his judgement.

It may have been a growth spurt last time and she may be having another now i dont really know but as long as she gets a minimum of 24oz in 24 hours i will be happy-any more is a bonus. Im not gonna get stressed out about it anymore cause its not fair on me or Ella.

Sometimes it feels like its one step forward and two back, but its all worth it when i see her beautifull gummy smile:-)

I look forward to getting to 'know' you all in the future.

Love Tracy and Ella
11 weeks today x