Suddenly not finishing bottles

[TDR'smom]

My son will be 4 months this week and has never had a problem finishing a bottle.  He normally guzzles the entire 7 oz within 10 minutes.  The past few days he drinks 2-3 ounces while playing with the nipple in his mouth and being distracted the entire time.  I can get him to finish about 5 ounces but it is not easy.  He moves around and uses his hands to push the bottle around.   Does anyone know why he is doing this?  I don't want him to wake up hungry in the middle of the night.   :?

[Noelle]

Hello!
Have you tried a faster nipple?  Or, they get distracted easier when they get older too.  You may try moving to a quiet area if you haven't already.  Also....both of my kiddos went through little phases where they suddenly took less ounces.  THankfully this never caused nightwakings.  They know when they are hungry/full though.. so as hard as it is, if nothing else seems to work (faster nipple, etc.), go with the flow and you should see them increase again.

 

[Tammy: Ethan & Kaden's Mom]

I agree with Noelle.  My ds did the same about 4 months.  He suddenly wouldn't eat as much.  We switched to the medium flow nipple, and the problem was solved... for about two weeks.  Then he went back to being distracted, pushing the bottle about, etc.  I finally just went with it, because I figured if he was hungry, he would eat the next full bottle.  It never caused nightwakings with us either.  I know it's hard not to try and force them to eat, and you're always worried about whether they're getting enough!  But try to relax about it, and see what happens.

HTH!

[TDR'smom]

Thanks guys.  I definitely think he is overall eating and growing enough.  He is 17 lbs at 4 months.  Yikes.
Wish I could attach a picture to show you guys.  Can't figure out how to do it.  I keep getting an error message!!