my 4 1/2 month old is dropping formula intake

[luvmyboys2]

my 4 1/2 month old went from taking 26-30 oz to taking 22-24 oz. He will take in a quick 4 oz then he's done. I'm getting so worried about him. I've taken him to the dr and they said he is fine. His birth weight was 9.4 lbs. He only weighs 15 lbs now. He dropped his df about 2 1/2 months of age. I've tried to df him again to get extra formula in but he refuses. This has been going on for about 2 weeks. He's only gained 12 oz in the last 3 weeks. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

thank you

[LŠuren]

Was he taking 26-30oz consistenty or was this only during the 4 month growth spurt? Did he ever take 22 --24oz before?

4months is when they start to find their hands and become distracted, make sure you feed in an area with no distractions, offer a 5-10min break then try again, make sure he doesn't have wind, your using the correct teat flow...

.... see more possible reasons here.... https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=67403.0

HTH's
Lauren

[luvmyboys2]

yes, it was consistently. His 7 am feed he only took 3 1/2 oz and his 11 (actually it was more like 12:30 because he was refusing the bottle until than) he only took 4 oz.  I've tried feeding him in a quiet room w/ no sound or distractions but its not helping. I've tried changing the nipple also giving him gas drops.

Thanks for the advise.

[luvmyboys2]

thank you for the reply. He dropped his df at 2 1/2 months old. He's now 4 1/2 months old. He takes only 4 bottles a day. 7,11,3,7. he was taking in about 6-8 oz per feed.It was taking him about 15 min to finish his bottles. Now he's taking in between 3-6 oz a feed and its taking anywhere from 30min to an hour. Which is totally messing up his routine. I'm hoping this is just a fase and nothing more. I talked to my dr yesterday and she prescribe some Zantac because I herd the formula swishing around in his stomach an hour after I feed him. He never spits up though.  I have a question for you too.... about napping. I've been doing w2s for 2 weeks now. He still is waking up 45 min into his nap. How much longer should I do w2s? Just thought I'd ask.


Thanks

[jasmynesmum]

Hi,  maybe I can offer some reassurance...  my 71/2 month old went through a similar stage where she dropped about 8oz of formula during a 24 hr period...  She is now back to about 28-32 oz per day but some days she eats less than others....  I asked my DR how much she should have been taking in and she said anywhere between 24-32 Oz per day and she also stated that she will 'eat what she wants'....   I completely understand your concern, but I think as long as he does not completely refuse the bottle and continues to gain weight he is fine.  I also found that b/w 4 & 6 months I would feed her fruit at 7AM and then an hour or so later give first bottle of day and she took the formula a lot better than if I tried to give it to her first thing.    

I hope this helps a little bit!

[Mom2one]

We went through the same thing at about the same age.  I changed the flow of her nipple, but she was still only drinking 4oz at each feed and only drinking approx. 21-24 oz of formula per day.  This lasted about 2 weeks or so.  I find that if I feed her in a quiet place, which is usually on the sofa with the tv off, she'll drink because she's not distracted.

[Lana]

Mine did the same.  What I did was when I was holding him to feed, say his head is on my left arm, I would tuck his right arm so it was sort of behind me and then hold his left arm with my left hand.  That way he couldn't accidentally pull the bottle out or distract himself with flailing hands.  As hard as it is he will only eat what he wants.  Hopefully the meds will help.

[CJF]

my little guy is doing the same thing.  i bf first thing in the morning and/or any over night wake ups and bf for bedtime.  he gets bottles the rest of the day.   for example today he woke at 4:30 and bf went back to sleep until 6:30, i tried to top him off with a bottle at 7::30.  he  drank an ounce or 2 but then that screws his whole easy cycle up and then the feedings are sporadic and vary in ounces that he takes.

[samijoe]

I second the change of nipple.
My dd was doing that about 3 weeks ago...was taking ages to finish a bottle...up to 30minutes!  I thought that maybe she was just super bored!! 
Turns out she was....
Now the bottle feed time has decreased and dd also throws up less.  I think on the slower flow she was sucking back too much air and this would cause her to spit up.  She also seems satisfied now, instead of annoyed.