Posted by
Perthites
20 yrs ago
I EBF my baby 240mls and the last couple of days she has only wanted 1/2 of that, she has 4 feeds a day and 3 out of 4 she will leave half. She is hungry for her bottle every 4 hrs but just refuses to drink it all even when i try again some time later. (She is so far still sleeping thru the night) She is not unwell and her behaviour is normal. Does anyone have any ideas as to why she would be doing this, she is 20weeks.
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haha...think i mentioned before i am going through the same problem? we are seeing the doc tomorrow for his jabs and will ask about this...will tell you what her advice is!
at least for you, half of 240ml is not too bad. for the 1st feed in the morning at 7am (bearing in mind last feed was 8 hours ago), he fights the bottle and i really struggle to get him to drink even 120ml.
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teething? that's my first guess. Rub her bottom gums - see if you feel something hard there.
no runny nose? congestion?
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Well her teeth are coming thru but when she "feels" them she usually grizzles which she hasn't been doing. No, she hasn't got a runny nose or any congestion. Any other suggestions?
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is yours drooling alot and does she actually push out the teat? mine does these days so i do suspect the milk rejection could be due to teething, although i can't see anything yet and he is only 17 weeks!
but what i find puzzling is that it's the day feeds that are problematic. when i feed him a big bottle at 6pm and then a night feed at 10.30pm, he takes them well.
ah well, hopefully my doc can enlighten me later and i'll share with you!
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crj
20 yrs ago
Our baby is 6 months, and we are facing a similar thing.
He is eating great 6:30 am, 7pm and 10:30 pm.
But the daytime feeds are very short.
We don't feel any teeth yet, so we are thinking maybe the solids (we started oatmeal) are filling him up too much, or maybe teething. But when we add up the 'minutes' every day, it is still his usual amount because the morning and evening feeds have been so long.
Curious to hear what your doctor says.
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i have't started mine on solids yet so i know it's not b/c she isn't hungry. This morning she drank all her milk so maybe it was just the batch of my EBM that she didn't like? Could i have eaten/drunk something that could have effected the taste so such an extent?
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thanks for this thread, i was worried that i was the only mother in this world with a baby who didn't actually want more milk!
just to share: his first feed is 7am and we feed him at 11am next. it is such a struggle feeding at 7am, which makes me wonder if the night feed filled him up so much (possible or not, it was 8 hours ago!!) and you would think he would be starving by 11am but he is not. there are times when he sticks his tongue out after just 30ml! and then there are times when he drinks it all up and i think, maybe he needs more. so the next day i would make a slightly bigger feed and if he does finish it, it results in the smaller feed in the afternoon - i am confused! i have not prepared the milk any differently.
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crj
20 yrs ago
our baby has always been a 'bad' eater... this has been an ongoing issue for us. The difference is becasue we are breast feeding, we really have no idea how much he is actually getting.
So we thought he was just really efficient, as he eats fast (often 10 minutes) and has lots of wet nappies, also he is a super happy active baby.
But, he then fell a bit on the percentile chart, and had to start feeding him more. It has been really hard in some ways but we are getting him back up the chart slowly.
The odd thing is, not only is he a 'bad' eater he is super active (I think he has ADHD already!), so he burns a lot of calories.
The only way you can really tell is on the weight percentile chart, about every 2 weeks, to see a trend or not.
Maybe you are just having a few days where baby is not that hungry.
The way we are getting him to eat more:
lay down in bed feeds whenever we can - but it only seems to work morning and evening.
extra feed or two in the day - spontaneous, if it seems he will take it or if he is crying.
Now of course these both go 'against' our schedule, but baby's health is way more important than our schedule!
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yeah i tried a split feed but she just wasn't interested. I'll let you know in a few hours if she drinks the whole bottle at her 12.00 feed. as you said maybe it's just a couple of days where she's not hungry but she's a pretty good eater and is usually grizzling in time for her next feed. Unlike your bubs mine is not a worry when it comes to her weight so she can safely drink less and still be ok health wise...for now at least.
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Ok, so we went to the doc this afternoon. baby's weight gain is good but when I mentioned the average amount he drinks a day (less than 700ml a day), she remarked that he would need to drink more. After I shared that it is a daily struggle getting him to drink the 700ml, she suggested introducing semi-solids. By adding milk to the baby cereal, he would be able to fulfil the daily intake of milk suitable for his weight/age.
And no, she did not have an explanation for his milk rejection. She said some babies are just like that.
However, I must say I am very reluctant to introduce semi-solids so soon. I would prefer to wait 6 months as generally recommended. I am not sure what is best for my baby now. To be honest, as he is sleeping through the night besies the night feed and has gained weight, I am not too worried about milk intake. My bigger concern is hydration as I find his urine can be rather yellow at times and he doesn't like to drink water either. I am wondering if I should adopt a wait and see attitude about his milk intake and in the meantime, offer him some diluted juice and vitamin drops (as prescribed by the doc) to ensure he is well hydrated and getting enough nutrients.
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crj
20 yrs ago
I was very very reluctant and hesitant to introduce solids before 6 months. So reluctant I got a second opinion. But due to the baby not gaining enough, I had to at 5 months.
And you know what? He loves it... as per the other thread on starting solids.
Also, solid, is not solid at all at first! It is mostly breast milk (or formula) with a small amount of organic brown rice stuff disolved in it... it takes a week or so to get more in his mouth than all over his body... then it takes another week to get the consistency thicker... so the first 2 weeks are really more practice than actual feeding.
I am now happy we started when we did, as now at 6 months he is a good eater at 2 meals a day. Always mixed with breast milk (or in your case formula)
Don't worry too much, I did and it wasn't worth the stress :)
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that's the difference...your baby didn't gain enough weight so solids was the solution. mine is gaining ok weight...i am thinking of seeking a second opinion.
just spoke to my aunt...she said maybe the doc sensed my anxiety and that's why offered semi-solids as solution to assure me...the women in my family think 4 months is just too early for weaning!
i just want to do what's best for him....which is why i wonder if i should throw out the textbook recommended of weaning at 6 months and do what my doc says. i did ask her if i could wait and see but she said he needs to take in more milk....
yikes...
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crj
20 yrs ago
Hadn't realised that you were on 4 months, that does seem early.
Get a second opinion this week, and see what they say.
good luck, hope he drinks more today!
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yes, 4 months seems really too soon, huh?
but my husband is concerned that if we don't take the doctor's advice, even if baby continues to gain weight, other growth areas (such as the brain) might not develop well. not sure if his concern is valid?
i am definitely seeking a 2nd opinion. but this bit is tricky because my doc is part of a medical group of paediatricians - i like her so worry that if i seek a 2nd opinion within the clinic, it might not be so nice. there is a private well-baby clinic that i think i will go instead and speak to the midwives there.
my concern is also that semi-solids will not solve the problem - he could just be as difficult eating it!
perthites: sorry to hijack your thread, hope your bubs is drinking her milk well today! :)
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Well crj seems you were riight bubs just went off her milk for a couple of days. Today was a complete trun around she start to get a little grizzly 15mins before she was due to feed and then she couldn't get the bottle fast enough and grizzled some more when i wanted to stop to burp her. Oh well thats kids every day is different!
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Would you believe that only 3 years ago the recommended age for weaning was 4 months!!! In fact my paediatrician said baby was ready at 16 weeks, not even 4 calender months. My little boy never was and still isn't a foodie baby, never remember him crying for his milk and even now he can go a long time between meals (and not ask for snacks!) Don't get me wrong he has discovered snacks and will eat them (sometimes) when offered but hardly ever asks for them himself. I was also like you and constantly monitoring the growth chart - at about 2 months his weight dropped from 75% to 25% - he did suffer from reflux so that sort of explained it... but I digress. I weaned him at 4 months, and he is now enjoying a very varied diet - still picky at times but what 3 year old isn't! In fact he is probably a bit more adventurous then some of his peers. Don't worry too much what the text book says - as you can see they change information in a short space of time - go with mother's instincts, and there is no right or wrong way to raising your child. Good Luck.
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thanks katclarke,
my maternal instincts tell me to:
1) seek a 2nd opinion (tomorrow)
2) read up more on weaning (as i know v little about it)
3) hope the tide will change - that he will increase his intake but in the meantime supplement with maybe some diluted juice and the precribed vitamin drops
4) but if the situation doesn't improve by the time he is 5 months and esp. if the weight gain is poor, i will have to take my doc's advice.
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You don't need to wean your baby at 4 months - just introduce a solid meal and if it works - great - you can still give them milk - weaning as I understand it is not drinking milk from mum or the bottle. 4 months is still too early to do that completely.
Every baby is different and it really won't kill him/her.
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crj
20 yrs ago
Weaning actually means introducing solids - I always thought it meant reducing breast/bottle feeding until I started weaning :)
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MayC
20 yrs ago
Hi, my little girl has always been a poor drinker, ever since the day she was born. She's also extremely active. Before I introduced solids, she would only take 120ml 4 times a day. The books I had been reading recommended 800ml a day but there was NO WAY in the world she would drink it. It was real battle for me, even with just 120ml. I would feed her for over an hour, often tempting her with TV or toys. I was so worried. She was gaining weight and rather consistently too but she was slightly below average. I gave her EBM but switched to formulat when she was 10 months old. No improvement. Now I even add a pinch of horlicks to give her a bit of flavour. She's now 21 months and still only drinks 120mls three times a day and mind you, she doesn't finish it either... sometimes just half. She plays up with her eating too.... she'll leave the table half way to dance, to get a toy or anything. But after more than a year of worrying, I stopped. I think it's partly because she's getting older and she seems to know what she wants and I've figured that when she's hungry, she'll know how to ask for it. Now she just gives the bottle back to me and says, "No no". And when she wants it, she'll say, "Milk Milk" (which is still rare).
She did go through periods of wanting more milk - where 120ml wasn't enough.... but that only lasted for 3 weeks... and if I remember correctly, only happened twice in the first year. The first time she wanted more, I introduced solids (at 6-7 months). Second time was close to 11 months old when we increased her solids.
I think when I have my second, I won't do what I did with my first. I had no time to myself. I had to spend time pumping, washing the pumps, sterlising them, feed her for an hour (or more), wash her bottles, sterilise them, put her to sleep, then pump again.
Sorry, I'm not much help..... could only share my experience. Good luck!!!
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babe has not been drinking formula since this morning-70ml,and now is already 5pm.she dont ask for milk and refuses when been given.i tried many brands and teats-not much of a sucess.i switched formula brand every 2 months,and even if she does stick to one particular brand,it is only for a week.it seems so wasteful we throw away milk more often than we feed.im introducing solids soon.
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MayC: Thanks for your post and while it doesn't offer a solution, comforted to know my baby isn't alone in this. I went to visit my granny today and my aunt was there. She helped to feed baby 120ml and he burped many times during the feed. My aunt commented that he burped so many times for such a small feed so how can introducing solids solve the problem if his tummy just can't take too much food?
I am going to seek a 2nd opinion tomorrow but in my mind, I think I will keep track of this for another month and be very very patient and slowly increase his feeding amount by the week. If the situation doesn't improve in a month, the I have to think about solids seriously. I want to give him abit more time.
ellie55: oh dear, i can understand your distress. how old is he/she and have you checked with your doctor on this? how many times does she feed in a day? mine takes 700ml max a day.
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crj
20 yrs ago
Wheelymate, I know you are on a schedule, we are too, but our midwife suggested we have 2 'extra' feeds a day, at moments of 'opportunity' when baby seems like he might eat.
This has worked well for us. since baby only eats about 100-120 minutes per day total, an extra 10 minutes is 10% more food that day! If we do it twice, 20% more! So while it is not ideal schedule wise, it seems to be working very well for baby.
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hi crj,
you did mention that in your previous post. i have thought about it but worried it will affect his next scheduled feed and reduced the milk intake even further... when you did those extra feeds, did it affect his next scheduled feed?
today i forced myself to be very, very patient and gave him extra 30ml at his 11am feed. my aim now is to increase his intake by 30ml per week for the next 4 weeks and then evaluate the situation again. the feed was a struggle and then he took his next feed normally but the 6pm feed, he took 20ml less so really only 10ml more in total....this is driving me slightly insane. but i tell myself to press on - he did have his jabs yesterday and i usually expect him to be quite grumpy with a poor appetite for the next few days...
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just to add, at this point, i am prepared to adjust my schedule to help him drink more. but he is only awake from 7-7 everyday....how many extra feeds can i actually do in 12 hours? i have thought of increasing 1 more feed. ie do 3 hourly in the day and then a 10.30pm feed. problem is that he catnaps and asleep drowsy by 7pm so i can't possibly keep him awake to feed him...he will only become more grumpy and difficult to feed!
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crj
20 yrs ago
oooh, poor you and baby ... we need to do our (6 month) jabs soon too.
We feed every 3.5 hours, and had the same issue where even adjusting to every 3 hours wouldn't really help.
I manage to get in an extra 10 minutes by offering him extra before nap time (this is about half way between two feeds), but not let him feed to sleep. So a bit more food, but then change his nappy and put him to bed for the nap.
Sometimes he is interested, other times not, but I am generally getting at least one, and at most 2 more 'small feeds' a day by doing this.
Yes, it ruins the schedule a bit, but he is eating more. Maybe his metabolism is more set up for smaller more frequent meals, so these snacks are good for him.
(Oooh I can see Gina Ford just wanting to scream when she reads this)
The reality is, the schedule is for me and baby to be organised and happy. But eating the right amount is more important than the schedule.
One thing, I do vary which times every day, so it does not become a set part of the routine.
It hasn't really effected his next feed, but hard to say if he would have eaten more (if he didn't have the extra snack).
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maybe i can try this snacking idea. yes, schedule is definitely not as important as my baby's health. i think schedule is sometimes more meant to keep a parent's sanity - a happy, contented parent will have a happy, contented baby.
my friend just told me her kid was like that too but her doc told her not to worry as long as he has good weight gain...
my bub is only 4 months but he's already got a mind of his own...even if he downs more milk by mixing with baby rice, he won't be able to hit the recommended 1000ml per day....we're talking about extra 300ml a day, how can his little tummy take that???
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crj
20 yrs ago
It will be interesting to hear what your second opinion doctor or midwife says.
I am sure if we were bottle feeding we would be like you on small amounts.
What I can tell with the breast feeding, is that he eats the first 10 minutes really fast and with a strong suck. I am sure he gets a lot, as before feed I am full and after I am empty.
Then anything after that is 'dessert' with long pauses between lazy sucks. When he is calm and sleepy (usually the first and last feed of the day), he can feed for about 30 minutes, but I don't know exactly how much the 'extra' 20 minutes actually gives him. The midwife says even if it is small quantity it will be rich milk.
Maybe baby has small tummy, fast (or slow?) metabolism, who knows... as long as there is wee and poo and weight gain things are good.
We have the wee and poo, I am really looking forward to our next weighing to see where we are on that curve...
Good luck and let us know what second doctor/midwife says.
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Hi Wheelymate - just skimmed through your comments on here, I wonder have you tried changing your bottles? My baby used to get very windy on the Avent bottles, so we switched to Dr Browns which she was a lot more comfortable with...or could it be the teat size? Are you still on the number one size, maybe your baby gets bored of sucking and would prefer the next size up so it comes out more easily? Just a thought...worked for us :)
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hi dandelion,
thanks for you tips. i really doubt bottles or teat size...he's already on bigger teat size since quite awhile ago...the next size is for 6 months, i think that might be too much for him....
ah well, hope the midwife will have some advice...abit scared of that place though...they are v pro-breastfeeding to the extent that they are almost anti-formula so hope they don't give me a hard time about it before actually helping me....:(
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then again dandelion,
maybe your suggestion might be worth a go...he drinks his first bit very fast, sucks very hard and then it just gets slower and slower. but can a 4 month baby take a teat size meant for 6 months?
willing to give anything a go at this moment to hold off the solids for another month. i really think 4 months is too soon and would like him to just take milk like a 'normal' baby. the puzzling thing is that he has good weight gain, a totally different story if he didn't...
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I agree about waiting a bit longer for the solids.
I am not sure now. It could be a number of things, but surely the most important thing is that he is gaining weight as he should be?
Have you been to the well baby clinic at Matilda - Alana there is wonderful to talk to and that wouldn't get back to your paediatrician?
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haha,
i am based in singapore! :)
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aha!! well keep us posted anyway, I am sure his appetite will return, they go through these funny patches - as soon as you think you have them in some kind of routine they change it!!
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hi all,
we went to a well-baby clinic today and they checked out my bub - said his weight, length, head circumference and everything else appears fine and didn't think semi-solids are necessary at this stage. they said the earliest should be 20 weeks if not the general recommendation of 6 months.
but having said that, they said we will just have to continue tracking his weight. i will go back in 3-4 weeks again to see how much he has grown. in the meantime, i will just be very very patient - realised that if i give him a break (5 mins), he is happy to take more...it turns out to be a longer feed but at least it's taken at his own pace. and oh yes, i bought some bigger teats just to see if they will help!
so i am going to take the middle road....not going to introduce semi-solids just yet but will do if the weight gain drops in 4 weeks.
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that's great, must be a weight off your mind
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MayC
20 yrs ago
Wheely, I tried the extra feeds too. In fact, I woke her up in the middle of the night because she fed better half asleep!!! Okay, I was crazy but I was desperate. She went straight back to sleep. I stopped doing that when she got a bit older.
I also tried squeezing in extra feeds during the day... that didn't help because it meant she took less with the next feed. Tried to prolong her feeds and increasing the quantity. Still didn't work. She still wouldn't drink more.
My baby used to burp a lot during a feed too.
She's still giving me problems with her feeding - both solids and milk. Keeps getting distracted with anything and everything BUT a lot better in a sense that I could bribe her now... (okay, I admit I'm not a perfect mother with the bribing, but desperate).
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today i tried the bigger teats...the first feed was quite good. second feed he struggled but he did down more milk before starting to fuss. i gave him a break too...he would drink but take small sips.
MayC: i "bribe" him too...for the afternoon feeds, i carry him around the house..when he sees other stuff, he'll drink more. it's so bad because he is heavy and will get even more so bad for my back! but no choice, willing to try anything....
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MayC
20 yrs ago
Haha, I tried that too, carrying her around and succeeded in making her drink more. It didn't last long - maybe just over a week before she knew my trick and started drinking slowly again.
Teats, I've done exactly the same too. I've bought her lots of teats. Tried all the Avent teats including the multiflow. Then bought her pigeon, nuk, Dr Brown and begged for more of the hospital ones which she started with. I also bought a teat-puncher (the ones where you could manually poke the holes through the teats) and after our pokes, her milk were streaming out of the teats.
Sometimes I would twist and turn the teat to make her drink. My friend was telling me how she never force fed her son..... I almost bit my tongue.
Well Wheely, like I said, I'm not helping much but all I can say is that it does get easier as he grows.... not him, but you. You'll learn to ease up more with time.
It took me more than a year though.... maybe close to 14-15 months before I relaxed, not totally by the way.
I don't even know what's gonna happen when she goes to school. I doubt her teacher's going to sit beside her and say, "Please eat. Just two more spoons... I promise, I promise sweetie... please come back.... do you want to go out? Yes, then come back now... okay, maybe after you give Pappa his keys.... okay, maybe after you give him his wallet also....now come here you, I have your favourite pen" ;-)
I think Super Nanny has to visit me soon.
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oh MayC,
i don't know whether to laugh or cry at your latest post :)....i just struggled to make my son down 150ml of milk..we took 40 mins, i swear he is started to scream at the sight of the bottle!!
i am seriously contemplating a 5.5 hourly routine...see if that will starve him enough to teach him not to meddle with food...but that seems too harsh as well.....
the teats - not really working....
forcefeeding: i really don't want to but tell me, which mom won't worry if her kid only drinks 60ml every 3.5-4 hours????
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hi guys,
i had a terrible time with my son when he was born. he would take up to an hour to drink 4 ozs of milk and would cry and literally scream at the sight of a bottle. at first the doctor said it was behavioural because at 3am in the morning he would have no problem feeding. so i changed bottles, teats etc to see if there was a change during the day. there wasn't.
then the midwife said he probably had colic, which was probably true because after wk 10 it seemed to get better....but after a week we were back to 90minutes trying to feed him 6oz of milk. the general routine would be 3 oz ok, then cry for 40 mins and then about 2-3 more...
finally, i took him to yet another doctor who suspected that it was silent reflux - gave him some medicine (zantac) and true enough, my life has been a whole lot better since!
however, the silent reflux did develop into full blown vomiting reflux when we tried to up the solids and milk, so doc has advised that my 7mth old should not drink more than 20oz per day. My baby is happy - drinking and eating well now, although still on medication.
wheelymate - it could be silent reflux - you never know - i know what you're going through - no obvious signs. my baby never cried when he got hungry because it used to hurt him so much when he drank. he's only just started crying for food now.
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squiggles,
that's something i never thought of, silent reflux...
maybe should take him back to the doc for a check-up...can i ask if medication is always required for this condition or will they grow out of it eventually?
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wheelymate,
with something like reflux medication is generally required but doctors say that the babies generally grow out of it. reflux, and silent reflux (also called GERD), occurs when the valve at the top of the babies stomach doesn't keep the food/milk down properly and so comes back up the oesophagus. with silent reflux it doesn't actually cause the baby to vomit but merely causes a lot of pain and discomfort - hence the baby starts to drink but then has to stop for a long period - and so this condition is harder to diagnose. with reflux it is easy - the baby throws up often and generally quite violently (my experience too).
reflux is something that is probably more common that previously thought, and i myself know at least half a dozen mothers whose babies have / had it.
tests are generally invasive so if you can get your doctor to prescribe some medicine as a trial for about two weeks to see how it goes then that would be better for the baby. my doctor did that - zantac was what he gave and it took about a week for the effect to kick in properly - but what a difference!
look it up on the internet - there are loads of sites on the subject.
i hope your little one drinks more milk soon - there's nothing more upsetting than seeing your baby cry and scream at the sight of the bottle (which is what mine did too).
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thanks for your info squiggles. i will observe my LO further. i am giving it until he's 5 months old (he's now 18 weeks). we go back to his doc and well-baby clinic for a check-up then. if the battles have stopped and there's good weight gain, then ok. but if problems still persists, i will ask my doc about silent reflux.
yes...i have looked at a few old threads on this site...there are so many women who faced the same feeding problems!
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ladies,
we have made a slight breakthrough with pigeon peristaltic teats! so much softer than avent....either that or my bub's reflux has disappeared or his milk strike has come to an end.
fingers crossed that it'll stay that way, it is such a relief to have him down 150ml in 10 mins instead of 40-60 mins previously!!
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MayC
20 yrs ago
Well done, Wheelymate. Fingers crossed that he won't give you any more problems.
I forgot to mention as well that we are also using pigeon bottles and teats :-)
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haha,
yes i wonder when he'll suddenly decide hey! i am supposed to be on a milk strike still! i hope not!
do you use the normal pigeon bottles and teat? they have a special one which is peristaltic....it was a friend of mine who recommended it to me - her bub was super colicky from birth and would scream during feeds, etc..
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wheelymate,
glad your little one is now drinking her milk. we did the whole changing bottle thing (Avent, Nuk, Dr Browns etc) and it worked for a few days and then it was back to square one. Then we also found out that he didn't actually like the formula we gave him (he would drink water but not milk so it must have been a taste thing and not a pain thing at that point). so 6 types of milk later and we find out he likes lactose free milk only!! so beat that for a fussy baby!
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MayC
20 yrs ago
Wheeylymate, well, I'm not sure what peristaltic means but the ones we've got are not totally round, they look like they are stretched and folded on the left and right hand side of the teat if you know what I mean.
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ladies,
the milk strike resumed after a few days on the new bottles as some of you have experienced. really upset about that initially but we went to the doc last week for something else and he's gained weight. so you know what, i'm not going to sweat it anymore as long as he doesn't wake up at night looking for milk. i set myself a target - 120ml min each time and not more than 45 mins. last week was so bad i actually scolded him in frustration and shocked by my loud voice, he burst into tears, which made me feel like a monster. i have decided that he is normally such a happy baby and i will like to keep it that way. we start solids in a month's time anyway so with more food in his tummy, hopefully the problem will resolve itself (although dreading the possibility that he will be a fussy eater too). have also spoken to lots of moms and this milk strike is actually very common.
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Wheelymate,
So sorry to hear that your bubs is back to her non drinking self. I admire you for persevering with not getting too stressed out but what i couldn't deal with was the thought of knowing that my little one was hungry and wanted to feed but had to give up after drinking 75ml at a time...knowing that he was having a bad tummy ache every time he ate was hearbreaking, which is why i chose the medication route.
incidentally, tried to bring down his dosage last week (from 2 to 1 a day) - it didn't work. as the zantac takes about 1 wk to take effect, by sunday he was refusing his food and drink again. so needless to say, he's now back on two doses a day.
incidentally, does your little one get lots of hiccups? i read somewhere that hiccups were a sign of reflux and i recall mine having hiccups all the time.
mine also put on weight so that was why some doctors didn't think anything was wrong.
i tell you, once they start properly drinking it sooooo brings your stress levels down - i remember being so frustrated with my little one. had to keep saying to myself that it wasn't his fault! good luck.
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MayC
20 yrs ago
Wheelymate,
You really sound so much like me - I don't know whether this is good or bad.
I too had periods when she would drink heaps only to get disappointed a few days later when she'd refuse it. It was an on and off weekly battle for as long as I could remember. I remember losing my temper too where I raised my voice and said, "Just drink the bl**dy milk!!" I'm not the kind of person who swears so you can just imagine how frustrating it was for me back then too. Sometimes her feeding could take me 1.5 hours leaving me NO time for anything else before I was back pumping breastmilk again.
I think setting a tolerance level is good. If it goes beyond 45 minutes, I will stop....and he seems happy with 120ml so I won't force more. This will keep you sane. Hee hee.
During our checkups at the clinic, my baby's weight was growing steadily too.
She's older now and I have to say that she doesn't finish her milk now either... even with only 120ml in it. On the good days, she'll finish 100ml even after having loads for dinner.... and other days, she'll finish half or only 30ml giving all sorts of reasons like the bottle's hot (it never is) or she needs to poo (never does at that time). I'm not as worried anymore because she takes solids.... but I really wish I was a lot more relaxed when she was a baby. I probably stressed the whole world out.... from my mum to my helper.
Well, I have to be careful when I say, "I'm not as stressed" because sometimes I do bribe her. I'd say, "Do you want to see the trains? If you do, drink your milk, otherwise Mummy's gonna close the curtains". Sometimes I'd say, "Are you going to drink your milk? If you're not, mummy's gonna leave the room". I shouldn't do it, I know but it does work. When I do leave the room, she'll call for me and then she'll stroke the side of my cheek to say sorry, then she'll drink her milk. Doesn't finish either but I'm happy with half at least.
Do fussy drinkers become fussy eaters? I'm not sure... even with my bub. She gives me all sorts of problems with her milk drinking... yes.... but she isn't exactly saying "no" to food. We feed her anything and she's willing to try. From caviar to prawns to pigeon. She loves trying food.... only that she nibbles at her food rather than eating them properly. I think mine's the sort that when she has enough, she won't eat. When she wants her favourite food - biscuits, wild blueberries, ice-cream, she'll demand more.
Don't worry, Wheelymate, he's putting on weight. Don't be like how I was .... putting unnecessary stress on myself and my baby..... and getting so cranky and helpless because feeding and pumping took sooooooooooo long.
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there are good days and there are bad days. when it is a good day, i am more relaxed about his milk intake. on bad days when i am more stressed out, i get more impatient. i keep reminding myself that he is not doing this deliberately to irritate me.
today i had coffee with this lady from the playgym and her daughter was also having difficulty feeding (need breaks, drinking only half, etc). but this lady didn't sweat it, she just put the bottle away and didn't fight the issue. so i guess the attitude of the parent matters as well.....
another way i try to get around this problem is to feed him more during his bedtime feed and dream feed. because he is too drowsy to protest during these times!
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crj
20 yrs ago
our baby has never been a big 'drinker' (I hope that holds true in his teenage and adult years!)... but he is an amazing eater! He took to solids so well and eats 150-175 ml of avocado or sweet potato with no problem... but we could never get him to drink that much.
So in our experience fussy drinker did not mean fussy eater (although he still does not like bananas!)
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hey ladies,
guess what....maybe the answer to my bub's milk problems is solids after all. we started last monday (4 days rice, then 4 days pear puree...i adopt the 4 day wait and see rule before moving on). he still drinks the same amount of milk but it is much easier getting him to drink it. especially his usual 11am feed, i feed him at 10.45am some milk, then i feed him solids then i finish it off with the remaining milk - and he takes it! and then he drinks up all his 120ml milk at 2.30pm. i know the amount is still little but he seems happier taking the milk - maybe the food in his tummy (if indeed the problem was silent reflux) helped to settle his stomach and therefore enable him to his milk better?
we try sweet potatoes tomorrow....a great chance for me to sneak in more milk into him by mixing it up, hehehe!!
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