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Offline StephC

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5 months and not drinking enough formula
« on: February 24, 2006, 23:07:05 pm »
I am just wondering how I can encourage my 5 mth little girl to take a bigger bottle.  If I am lucky she will take 4 oz but that is rare, mostly she is content after 2oz, even if I wait till she is really hungry. She takess 5-6 bottles a day and I just know that although she is a big baby (16lbs) she should be drinking more milk.  I really want her to be eating more, less oftern!  She has never been a good eater in the sense that she never took  the amount that was recommended but now that she is 5 months next week I really want to try and encourage her somehow to start taking BIG bottles.  She is eating solids a couple of times a day but I have even tried cutting them back and even out for a day and it doesn't seem to make a difference, she is just tired of sucking and drinking after 2-3 oz. Do you think that maybe I should try changing the type of bottle I am using, or start putting her milk in a sippy cup?....I am desparate for help so any advise would be SOOO appreciated!

Thanks so much,
Steph
« Last Edit: February 24, 2006, 23:13:35 pm by StephC »
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Offline *Natasha*

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Re: 5 months and not drinking enough formula
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2006, 23:32:23 pm »
Unfortunatly their is nothing you can do to force them to drink more. My DD went through a phase where did the same thing and use to fuss at each bottle. I got so stressed about it i made myself sick. My DD is now down to 3 bottles even though alot of babies at her age are on 4 and she is doing great getting very chubby and is heathly. All i can recommend is keep offering her the amount she is suppose to and she will suprise you soon and start taking them all again. Also try waiting 15-30 minutes and try offering more of the bottle. Also my Dd is fussing at the bottle at the moment again on some days as she is teething, could it be that?
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Offline mrsrobbo

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Re: 5 months and not drinking enough formula
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2006, 23:35:15 pm »
If she is happy and content and sleeping well then Im sure she is getting enough milk, she would let you know otherwise. but I can see why you want bigger bottles less often. my 6mnth old only takes 3 bottles but they are 8oz. What kind of bottles are you using? Bradley will only drink out of the flat teats, otherwise he only take a couple of ounces then moans at me. a sippy cup could work also, but at 5 mnths she might take a while to get the hang of what to do with it. The cutting out solids thing doesnt work, i tried it, when my health visitor said he sould be taking at least 4 bottles, i dont force him to take it now, its not worth it, each baby is different.After giving her a few ounces give her a rest then try again, it may take longer to get a bottle down her but hopefully she will cut down the time in between....good luck!
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Offline *Natasha*

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Re: 5 months and not drinking enough formula
« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2006, 23:36:35 pm »
Another though perhaps she needs a fast flowing teat? I put DD onto the fast flow teat at this age.
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Offline tinytatsmom

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Re: 5 months and not drinking enough formula
« Reply #4 on: February 25, 2006, 19:18:47 pm »
Frustrating isn't it?!!
I did a couple of things that seemed to help us. 
1) I made sure she was eating on a 4 hour routine, Which is difficult the first day or two but once they get the hang of it they take better feeds because they are more hungry at bottle time and they aren't just snacking.
2) I also changed the flow on her nipples.  I went from using a slow flow to a fast and finally settled on a self adjusting nipple (also called a tri-cut) and I couldn't believe what a difference it made.  She went from 5 or 6 ozs at about 6 months old to 6 or 7 and now 8 lots of times.  For my lo it was like she wanted to eat but was frustrated with the flow.  Then a friend of mine told me that on the package it says to try a different flow rate.  My dh also suggested this but I wouldn't listen, silly me ::).  I found that the self adjusting were better than the fast because she seemed like she was droning with the fast flow.

Anyways good luck :)
Tinytats mom
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Offline kezzi78

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Re: 5 months and not drinking enough formula
« Reply #5 on: February 25, 2006, 19:42:18 pm »
I would totally agree with tinytatsmom, my LO was only taking 2-3 oz of milk per feed what i did was cut her bottles down she is now 5.5 month old and has one bottle at 7.00am, 11.30am, 5.00pm and a dreamfeed at 10.00pm and it worked she now takes between 7-8oz. I also upped her teat to a number three avent.... made a world of difference
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Offline StephC

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Re: 5 months and not drinking enough formula
« Reply #6 on: February 25, 2006, 22:31:40 pm »
How does the self adjusting flow nipple work?  I have seen then in wal-mart etc but was never sure how it works. Does it just adjust as to how hard she is sucking or something??   Right now she is on the playtex slow flow...I have some fast ones but she just seems to get more on her face and clothes than she does in her mouth.  If I do ever use the fast nipple I have to put a bib on her and sit with her or she gets milk everywhere.  I think I will start by trying to not feed her as often. Right now she takes  bottle about every 3 hours but sometimes has an ounce or so when I put her down for a nap too ( I know, my bad)...maybe I will have to try to use her soother more at naptimes so she is not snacking as much!

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Offline Sydney

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Re: 5 months and not drinking enough formula
« Reply #7 on: February 26, 2006, 00:39:43 am »
Hi all

I am curious about the self adusting nipple as well.  I also use the playtex bottles and have the same issue going from slow to fast.  The slow are too slow, the fast, well to fast!  I have to use a bib as well using the fast flow.

TIA!!
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Offline tinytatsmom

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Re: 5 months and not drinking enough formula
« Reply #8 on: February 26, 2006, 01:08:43 am »
I also use the playtex reusable nurser and the tri-cut or self adjusting nipple is a drippless nipple, so it works only when your lo sucks.  If she is really hungry and sucks fast she gets it more quickly.  If she is getting full and eating slower she gets less.  As a bonus you no longer have it dripping everywhere.  If your little one already knows how to take a bottle she should catch the hang of it pretty quickly.
My Tatiana just seemed like she was drowning with the fast flow but she did like it better than the slow, so I quickly tried the self adjusting nipples and we seem to be doing much better.
As for the time between feeds I believe Tracy's rule is 4/4, 4 months 4 hours.  Seemed to work for us once we got the hang of it.  Good luck,
Tinytatsmom
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Offline StephC

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Re: 5 months and not drinking enough formula
« Reply #9 on: February 26, 2006, 17:29:30 pm »
So this tri-cut nipple can be used with the playtex bottles? Hmm..I think I am going to have to look for that.  No more dripping would be fabulous!  Jaidyn has always taken a bottle as she never did latch on to breast feed but has always had the same nipple.  I think it'w worth giving it a try.  I tried using her slow nipple one day with water just to see how hard they have to suck and its a lot of work. I would be tired after a couple of oz too!

Thanks,
Steph
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Offline LŠuren

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Re: 5 months and not drinking enough formula
« Reply #10 on: February 28, 2006, 20:16:45 pm »
StephC let us know how you get on. I agree with others about getting her on a 4hr EASY. Poor you must spend all day feeding  :o
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Offline StephC

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Re: 5 months and not drinking enough formula
« Reply #11 on: March 01, 2006, 02:49:10 am »
yay, I think we may have solved the problem! 
I went out a couple of days ago and did 2 things, I bought the tri-cut nipple and I also switched to stage 2 Similac and bought it concentrate instead of the powder.  I don't know which one did the trick but for the past 2 days the smallest bottle she has taken is 4 oz and yesterday she had 28 oz and today with her dream feed which she now takes 4 oz at instead of 1, she will have eaten 32 oz PLUS 2 meals of veggies and fruits!

Thanks so much for all your help!  I hope this sticks and its not just a week long miracle. 

Oh and I have also switched her to a 4 hour Easy AND have been using a soother with naptime, except for the odd time and for now that seems to be working!

 :)
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