How can I get him to eat more, so he'll sleep thru the night

[GabrielleD]

If I understand this correctly, one of the ways to ensure that DS sleeps through the night is to feed him most/all of his calories during the daytime hours. This way he won't wake up hungry during the night. But he will only take about 3.5-4 ounces during a feed (he is on 3 hour EASY). He rejects the bottle if I try to give him more. So how do I get more calories in him?? Should I feed him in between the E times of the EASY routine - like during A times, as well? Any help would be appreciated.

[bayneddie]

No advice to offer i'm afraid but just wanted to tell you that you are not alone. My 12 week old DD will absolutely NOT eat any more than she is doing at present. She has between 90 and 150ml a sitting and is roughly on three hour easy (naps have gone all to hell, but that's another story). She takes the biggest amount at the dreamfeed and at 4am. I have no idea how I can reverse this situation. She just isn't interested in food during the day. She really doesn't seem hungry after three hours but i try to give her some to keep her roughly on schedule.
Hope someone has some bright ideas for you...

[Sarah O]

Me too!   Me too!  Tracy makes it sound so easy - just add an ounce to each daytime bottle, etc.... but what if they're already at their max?!?!  In the sleep interview she goes into a bit more detail to say that you should get the extra food into them any way you can (eg an ounce every hour between feeds) but she specifically says "as long as they're not snackers"...and doesn't go on to say what you do if they ARE snackers...

Anyway, just wanted to commiserate...I hope we get answers!

Sarah

[Mom2katiebug]

We've been trying for a week to increase the amount that my little snacker eats - just 1/2 ounce, so it's not like we're cramming it in her.  But she absolutely refuses once she's done with the bottle.  I either get her playing with the nipple (which would be funny if I weren't so dang tired!) or her lips are locked up tighter than Fort Knox! 

I agree that the book makes is sounds so easy - just offer them more and they'll take it but my LO tells me when she's had enough!

[CanadianMom]

My lo is a piggy, however, to get him to take more and to attempt to stop snacking with all of my  kids, I either took them down from 3 hours between to 2 1/2 and did that all day, waking them if I had to, and then extending them and trying to get more in each feed, or stretching them out and trying to get more in at each feed.  I have also been known to give water at night (no calories) when attempting to do this.  Liam has been doing BW since day 1, so we haven't really had to do this, but I did with the other 2.  Callum was a big time snacker - every hour and a half, just about killed me- and he is still a snacker at 4 and a half. 
Don't know if this is helpful.
Lisa

[crazycanuck]

i hear you!!!!!! I'm going through the same thing.....you can't feed them more, the only thing you can do is make feeding sooner(which they say you shouldn't) or further to see if they will take more when they are hungrier!!!!  so frustrating!!!!  I'm going to start trying the dream feed....just think.....wouldn;t you rather do it at 10:30 vs 3:30?   my ds sleopt 10.5hrs one night and every night since then he has gone down to 10 then 9.5, then 9, then 8, then 7 and last night he stirred after only 6 and he's eating less in the day but i"m feeding him the same as I was when he slept 10 hours......if he's growth spurting i can 't give him more cause he isn't taking it!!!!!!   :shock:  :?  :x so annoying!!!!!

I decided I'm not going to stress about it anymore.....I think he's doing well at 13 weeks....he certainly is healthy

[barbara romphf]

i have a semi similar problem so I'm gonna try eliminating her 2am feed (she doesn't always have one but wakes up like clockwork nonetheless). Last night I only gave her 3oz instead of the usual 4, she still got up at 5:15, but as usual wasn't hungry but at 7am, she did eat 5oz. Ya, I'm dealing with multiple issues too!

[barbara romphf]

oh and I forgot to mention, I AM doing a DF at 10 and she still wakes up at 2am, sometimes hungry, sometimes not.

[Nic and Jackson]

i don't know if this will help but it is worth a try.
my ds doesn't like his milk much either (never has) but i would feed him his milk, burp and try again.  If he fussed, i would lay him down to play and then about 15 minutes later reheat the bottle and try again.  sometimes it was easiest to give it to him while he was laying down distracted by his play gym.

also one thing i did notice about ds was that if the milk went cold he would just stop!  as soon as reheated he would be ok.  pain in the behind to reheat it but at least they eat a little bit more.

hope that helps.

[Jujuyanni]

My DD has been a pain to feed since about 2 months due to reflux.  It recently got worse when we went to a sleep clinic and they tried to get more in to her then.  So here are some of the things that are working for us and I hope it helps.  Bear in mind it doesnt always work and some times it is better than others. 

Oh she is 6 months old now, so as you can imagine is more determined than ever to voice her views.  First we start with a little song and gentle rocking, I keep this going as long as she will eat, she will often try to sit up and wriggle out of feeding but I try to keep her sitting on a lean against me and keep the teat in for as long as possible. (The song is a good distraction) Then when she gets really determined I sit her up burp her and give her a small break.  Then we usually start a story and that helps, slip the teat in mid story. (I dont know if your babies are old enough to do this with yet).  I can usually get more in to her doing this.  If all else fails, we use the baby bouncer (she seems to be more comfortable in it and associates it with fun) I have reverted to in desperation, but I am happy to say that lately that has not been necessary.  Fortunately as she is on solids I add more calories (formula) to her food and as she loves solids so that has really helped. 

I agree with the previous post that warming the bottle helps, also sometimes if they have done a nappy during feeding, changing can make a difference and a little break and then try again.  But I try not to make the breaks too long or else it becomes a snack feed. 

Hope this helps a bit, every day is a new challenge with our little darlings!