Refusing to eat

Hi everyone.

Looking for more of your wisdom


My 5 month old has never been a big eater. The most she will take is about 10-15 mins BF. Nothing I do seems to encourage her to eat more. Feeding takes up to 1 hour just for her to take 10 mins.


However for the last week she has decided that she is only going to nurse for 5 mins and then arch her back, cry and generally fuss until I sit her up - were she is all smiles and happy again.


I am feeding every 4 hrs (at which time I initiate the feed - she never gives hunger signals). I do a 'dreamfeed' at 11pm were she takes about 15 mins(its her best feed of the day). I dont feed her if she wakes in the night. She normally wakes anytime between 6-7. That means around 7 or 8 hrs with no food. However, she is still not hungry and will only take 5 mins.


I really dont know what to do. She wont take a bottle either.


I have tried to express the remainder of milk left in my breast (there still feels weight in it). However I dont know whether its because I am so stressed but hardly anything will come out - about 25mls and I dont feel any letdown. Does this mean I dont have enough milk? I just cant believe that she is getting enough to eat in 5 mins.


BTW I am already expressing the 'quencher' milk off first (approx 20mls) so that she at least is getting to the richer milk. But I cant believe that she is getting to that in 5 mins.


I am trying baby rice to see if she will take my milk that way but since this is all new most of it comes right back out because she isnt really developmentally ready for solids yet.


Cara - I know youve been there...and am looking forward to meeting you.


But in the meantime ladies I desparately need your help. I am that depressed about it that I feel that I cant function as a mum effectively when all Im thinking about is the fact that shes not eating.

hi asking,


sorry to hear about your problem...i know exactly how you feel because my bub (5 months now) is on the bottle but goes through the same feeding difficulties.


we started solids last week and while he is still taking the same little amount of milk, the solids makes me feel that as he gradually eats more, he'll get adequate nutrients. have you spoken to your bub's PD about it (how is her weight gain)? when i told her my problem, she recommended that we could start solids. developmentally my bub is ready and he really loves the spoon. i try to mix his solids with milk so he takes more milk. check with your PD about iron drops too.


good luck, there are quite a few moms in this forum who faced the same problem, some were due to silent reflux, some just refused to drink, etc. it is very distressing (you cannot imagine how i used to cry over this milk rejection) but now i try not to think too much about it.

hi asking,

i'm one of the mums wheelymate is probably talking about.

my son who is nearly nine months old has something called silent reflux (and sometimes proper reflux). If you follow some of Wheelymate's post in the previous months you will see that many of us have similar problems.

My son used to take over an hour to drink 4-5ozs and in between he used to scream and cry non stop. His 5am feed was the best because he was too tired / hungry to care about the pain, and he never exhibited hunger signs either as he would associate hunger with pain. It really used to stress me out - and still does to an extent.

While Wheelymate is lucky in that her bubs is now happier eating solids, my son is still a very bad eater/drinker. He throws up regularly (sign of reflux) and won't drink more than 3 ozs in one go.

Incidentally, does your baby have a lot of hiccups? Apparently that's one sign of reflux - my son used to have the hiccups all the time, but when he was on the medication it stopped, but now he's getting them again (and his feeding is getting more erratic now ie he threw all is breakfast up this morning) so i'm thinking he needs a bigger dose.

take your son to a good paeditrician - then at least you'll get some help and advice.

Breastfed babies self regulate their own intake. An older baby is very efficient at drinking milk in a shorter period of time.



Older babies are also very easily distracted.You may want to try breastfeeding in a dark quiet room. As you have discovered babies feed better when drowsy or sleepy. Try feeding before naptime or when she is starting to wake from napping or sleeping.



However, if her weight is adequate, she is happy, content and meeting her developmental milestones, there is no problem. Have her weight checked and make sure the health professional is using the new WHO growth charts for exclusively breastfed babies to ensure a proper assessment.



Well Baby Clinic - 2849 1500

Matilda International Hospital

Hong Kong

http://www.matilda.org