Author Topic: Fussy feeder - feeding less, pls help  (Read 1277 times)

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Offline Troi

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Fussy feeder - feeding less, pls help
« on: November 10, 2006, 19:36:18 pm »
Hi

My 6 week old son has recently started to be very fussy on the bottle.  He was taking 5oz a couple of weeks ago but now only wants to take 2.5/3 at the best of times.  He feeds very slowly and starts to fuss and push the bottle out of his mouth when he has taken approx 2.5.  He doesn't sleep well during the day and often goes into meltdown despite my best efforts.  I watch for the signs and then try to help him to sleep but he wont give in.  I am feeding him every 3 hours.  Our feed schedule is like this:  7.30, 10.30, 13.30, 16.30, 19.30.  approx 20.30 he goes to bed and then we dream feed at 11.  Unfortunately, he wont suckle in his sleep so we have to wake him up for this but he will then usually sleep through until 7.30am.

Am I doing everything wrong?

Offline Troi

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Re: Fussy feeder - feeding less, pls help
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2006, 19:49:29 pm »
Forgot to say that I wake him for feeds if he sleeps late or for too long.  Is this right?  I think I need to read the book again but right now I just don't have time for anything.  Sorry if I am being a pain in the rump.

Offline * Paula *

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Re: Fussy feeder - feeding less, pls help
« Reply #2 on: November 10, 2006, 19:54:45 pm »
Hi there,

What size teat are you using?  It could be that the flow is too slow for your DS and that a faster flow teat may be better as he won't get as bored and frustrated.

Yes, I agree I would definitely recomend waking your lo for feeds at this age, as you want to concentrate on getting more calories in them during the day to eliminate night wakings.

The fact that he is going from 11:00 till 7:30 is great - that is considered as sleeping through the night at this age  ;D

Another thought on getting more calories into your lo would be to clusterfeed - you could clusterfeed after the afternoon cat nap and before his bath, and then the rest of the feed at 7:30 before bed.

Hope this helps.

Paula x
Thomas Michael - 12 July 2005
Abigail Louise - 23 October 2007

Offline Troi

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Re: Fussy feeder - feeding less, pls help
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2006, 14:40:00 pm »
Paula

Thank you so much for your reply.  It is so nice to know that I am doing something right!

With regards to the cluster feed, could you please tell me how you would do it, as in, how much at what times?  I know I must sound stupid but I am so eager to get this right.

Many thanks

Troi

Offline Troi

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Re: Fussy feeder - feeding less, pls help
« Reply #4 on: November 11, 2006, 15:00:44 pm »
Forgot to say that I moved him to size 3 avent teats on the advice of my health visitor.  Seems like a fast flow for a 6 week old but he doesn't choke or gag so I guess its ok.

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Re: Fussy feeder - feeding less, pls help
« Reply #5 on: November 12, 2006, 20:27:32 pm »
That is great news about the size 3 avent.  We never followed the ages on the teats, as our DS seemed to love the fast flow.

I have found this info on our FAQS board, this should help you out with regards to cluster feeding.

Tanking Up

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One way of insuring that your baby eats enough is to increase his intake during the day, before 11 P.M. By “tanking up”, as I call this strategy, you get more food into his tummy, which, in turn, enables him to sleep through longer stretches at night. Tanking up is also great for growth spurts, those two— or three—day periods when your baby eats more than usual (see pages 115—119).

Tanking up consists of two parts: clusterfeeding, which is done at two-hour intervals in the early evening, at 5 and 7 or 6 and 8; and the dreamfeed, which is given somewhere between 10 and 11 (depending on how late you or your partner can stay up). With the dream feed, you liter-ally feed your baby in his sleep. You don’t talk to him, or put the lights on. It’s easier to do with a bottle, because you just wiggle the nipple into his mouth and that will activate the sucking reflex. It’s a little more challenging if you breast-feed. Before you give him your breast, stroke his bottom lip with your pinky or a dummy to get his sucking reflex started. Either way, at the end of the dream feed, your baby will be so relaxed you can put him down without burping.

I recommend tanking up as soon as your baby comes home from the hospital, but you can start using both strategies any time during the first eight weeks and the dream feed until seven or eight months (by which time your baby is drinking between 175 and 250 ml (six and eight ounces) per feed and getting a fair amount of solid food). Some infants are harder to tank up than others. They might take early evening feeds but not take a dream feed. If that describes your baby, and you have to choose one, concentrate on the dream feed only. Don’t bother clustering. For example, you feed your baby at 6, give her a bath and do the bedtime rou¬tine, and top her off at 7—she’ll probably only take a few ml/ounces. Then at 10 or 11 (if you’re normally up that late, or if your partner is) try to give her a dream feed—never later than 11. But don’t give up after one or two nights. It’s unrealistic to think you can change a baby’s habit in less than three days, and for some infants it takes as long as a week. There are no miracles here, but persistence usually pays off.


taken from Secrets of the Baby Whisperer p94

Hope this info helps.

Paula x
Thomas Michael - 12 July 2005
Abigail Louise - 23 October 2007

Offline Troi

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Re: Fussy feeder - feeding less, pls help
« Reply #6 on: November 12, 2006, 23:36:58 pm »
Thanks again Paula x