Anyone not demand feeding? 4 feeds only at 9 weeks?

[_Nell]

I don't feel demand feeding is working out for us, is it ok to engineer it a bit?!

LO started out on 7 feeds, then 6 and from around 4 weeks of age 5 a day. She usually finishes whatever is in the bottle tbh, at 2 weeks having 5 oz feeds, she has GERD we now know and so asides her night feed where she has 7oz i've tried to encourage a feed of just 5 or 6 oz ( obviously she'd just feed more often if she really wasn't full)

She's 9 weeks now and for a few weeks has settled on a nice feed routine of her demand - 9am, 1pm, 5pm, 9pm, 3am.
she moved onto prescription formula last week so the last couple of days i upped all her feeds to 7oz to let her truly demand feed....she finished them all and would have had more but basically dropped to 4 feeds a day.....that's not right is it?
So basically i'm thinking of capping her feeds at 6 oz to try keep to 5 feeds a day, is that ok?

 

[jd83]

Yes, I would try to feed more often at that age. I always tried to do every 3 hours, but never longer than 4 hours with my lo. If she is only feeding 4 times, and having to have such a large amount to accomodate that, it could be overfilling her and leaving her feeling bloated, kind of how you might feel if you overeat. That may be why she is not demanding to eat for sucha long time, too, if she has that feeling. Maybe try doing every 3-4 hours with smaller bottles, and see how that goes. I'm thinking if the bottles are smaller, she may show more demand.

 

[Sproglet]

More frequent, smaller feedings will help with GERD too. If her tummy's really full it puts extra pressure on the sphincter muscle and more acid will come back up.

 

[_Nell]

Thanks ladies that's is exactly my thoughts....so in our case not demand feeding is ok? If i could cut her bottles and get her back up to 6 feeds i think she'd be much better. I don't think she'd complain when i stop her at 5 oz tbh.

That said i'm going to have to start waking her, i capped her at 6oz at 9am and it's now 2pm and she's still fast asleep!

 

[jd83]

Thanks ladies that's is exactly my thoughts....so in our case not demand feeding is ok? If i could cut her bottles and get her back up to 6 feeds i think she'd be much better. I don't think she'd complain when i stop her at 5 oz tbh.

That said i'm going to have to start waking her, i capped her at 6oz at 9am and it's now 2pm and she's still fast asleep!

Its fine to wake her! I still wake mine to eat if its time for him to eat, and he's nearly 6 months A lot of the time he is pretty routined with wanting to eat at the same times, but sometimes if he is sleeping and has been sleeping awhile, i will wake him up to feed him.

 

[_Nell]

Thanks, there's so much conflicting advice - our hv said not to wake baby, she'd wake when hungry. It's not been an issue until now as she's generally been awake and crying. Now she's getting better she has monster naps!
I'll wake and feed her now as really i'm just sitting waiting, worrying what her nightfeeds will be like now she's all out of synch!

 

[jd83]

Thanks, there's so much conflicting advice - our hv said not to wake baby, she'd wake when hungry. It's not been an issue until now as she's generally been awake and crying. Now she's getting better she has monster naps!
I'll wake and feed her now as really i'm just sitting waiting, worrying what her nightfeeds will be like now she's all out of synch!

That's exactly why I am so adament about not letting him go longer than 4 hours during the day, lol! I am soooo afraid of it messing up the night time routine, and I need my sleep.

 

[aliss]

It's fine- she's a GERD baby, you do whatever works best for them. My first was severe GERD, and now comparing to my non-GERD baby, I can see feeding them is totally different. Go with your instinct

 

[_Nell]

Aliss- can i ask are there any tests or anything to confirm gerd? Or is it just a case of seeing if the meds work? We've been told gerd with cows milk as the likely trigger ( so is that cmpi?!). We've had meds and special formula for a week and she's a little better but not lots.....find myself wondering if this is more something she just needs to outgrow really.

 

[aliss]

Aliss- can i ask are there any tests or anything to confirm gerd? Or is it just a case of seeing if the meds work? We've been told gerd with cows milk as the likely trigger ( so is that cmpi?!). We've had meds and special formula for a week and she's a little better but not lots.....find myself wondering if this is more something she just needs to outgrow really.

They can actually do a procedure (I'm sorry I don't recall the name) where they can view the internal area of the throat and it can be clear there are acid flare ups.

Aside from the medications, it is something to mostly outgrow unless the reflux is so severe it requires surgery (which is quite rare). It took 14 months for mine, which is a moderately severe case but not requiring surgery.

I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with CMPI

 

[Noelle610]

Hi Nell. I agree with Aliss, you should feed a GERD baby with however your instincts guide you. I could never demand feed - Charlotte either wanted to eat all the time (mistaking reflux for hunger) or never (tummy troubles). I would feed every three hours at that age.

Here's a description of the test that can be run for reflux. Truthfully, it's not super accurate. Your baby must be experiencing the reflux at the time of the test. Many have reflux, but test negative for it.

https://www.medicalhealthtests.com/articles/249/medical-tests/barium-swallow-for-infants.html

 

[_Nell]

Thanks all and thanks noelle and aliss for the test info.

We're 10 days in to the meds and special formula and honestly i don't think it's helping enough to warrant taking them
I've got her back to 5 feeds and max 5 or 6 oz easy enough....but it's not been an easy couple of days becuase my mum is here and despite what i've told her everytime LO puts her hand near her mouth or cries out she insists she must be starving hungry - even though i said she does that with the gerd.