Author Topic: going back to work. he won't feed!  (Read 1492 times)

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Offline Eden's Mum

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going back to work. he won't feed!
« on: December 14, 2005, 21:11:57 pm »
I am actually breast feeding and have looked at the announcement tips for getting them to take a bottle. i have now tried all those ideas and none of it has worked. yesterday adn today he was in nursery where he seems really interested and content but won't take the bottle or in fact eat anything. he is an awful feeder at the best of times. Even on the breast he is disinterested and gives up very quickly. He doesn't really open his mouth for solids and doesn't really seem to want food. It is disrupting his sleep quite significantly.

today he fed at 4am, then refused breakfast on waking at 7.30am. i tred again at 8am but again he refused. we were due at nursery at 8.30am so i expressed all my milk, bottled it and sent 4 bottles to nursery even though he would only need 2. he wasn't intereseted until 11am when he took 2oz. (an improvement on any otherday when he will take nothing.) he then had nothing else, not even solids all day until i picked him up at 3pm. even then his breast feed was weak. I am so worried that he is going to starve himslef. i know people say that they don't, but he is! he went 11 hours on 2 oz of milk!. Of course the upshot will be that he will wake throughout the nght wanting food now as he hasn't had enough during the day. Has anyone else been through this and what did you do? is there anyone whose lo didn't take a bottle? what did you do in the end? I have tried all th suggestions on the board. i got the point though thtat it was sressing me out so much that  i had to stop trying as i was frightened of making things worse.
Clare
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Noah:

Jude:

Offline NKmommy

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going back to work. he won't feed!
« Reply #1 on: December 23, 2005, 18:06:02 pm »
Oh, hun, I have sooo been there.  It is terribly frustrating when your little one won't eat, and even more frustrating when people tell you that he will eat when he is hungry!  :roll:  My kiddo refused to drink for most of his first 8 mos, to the point of ER visits for dehydration.

First, what does doc say about it?  Food refusal often goes hand in hand with things like reflux.  Is weight gain an issue?   

Here are some things that (sort of) helped us.  I would feed him in a dark room with absolutely no distractions.  I would sometimes softly sing the same favorite song over and overt, and that worked at times.  Sometimes letting him eat in front of Baby Einstein helped.  Sometimes changing the type of bottle helped - at least for the first day after the change.  We used a Monoject syringe to feed him when we were worried about his intake.  We also sleep-fed him, which can develop a bad habit, but worked at the time.

I hope that things get better!  {{{HUGS}}}
Sheila
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Offline Shdef

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going back to work. he won't feed!
« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2005, 08:36:42 am »
In the new Junior magazine was a good article called "The great bottle strike!" The last suggestion there was to feed from NUK bottles as they are the closest shape to a nipple. It worked fine for me...

Offline shoesni

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going back to work. he won't feed!
« Reply #3 on: December 30, 2005, 15:15:47 pm »
Sounds just like my 16 week old son. On the breast at best only 5 minutes and will last up to 6 hours without taking anything substantial. Of course I'll be the one tearing my hair out and would qualify as a flasher at this stage for introducing the boobs to him every half an hour after the 3 hour mark, hoping that he'd take something! I'll be going back to work next week and it involves a night shift so am not looking forward to that at all. Trying to wean him on to the bottle which has taken me weeks! Had some success 2 days ago when he took 2 ozs after trying for agood hour screaming and crying. Today i tried something different, swaddled him in his cot, and gave him the bottle when he's half asleep, ebm and teat warmed. Took 2 ozs within half hour with no crying. Think he just doesn't like milk in general. Tried formula and that was worse. Didn't drink a single drop. Anyway, hope you're having some luck with your lo.
Hang in there!

Offline Eden's Mum

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going back to work. he won't feed!
« Reply #4 on: January 07, 2006, 13:29:00 pm »
Thanks guys. still awful. Back at work now and will only take 2.5 oz. a time wiht a 4 hour gap. am having him weighed on thursday and am expecting very little gain. xxx
Clare
Eden:

Noah:

Jude: