Baby Just Won't Eat!

[opeeny]

So...let's see if I can try to make this semi short. My little peanut is 3 months old and weighs 9lbs 10 ounces. She was born at 37 weeks at 5 lb 5 ounces. After going through a very rough time breast feeding (her losing weight..not latching, bloody nipples, etc.) i exclusively pumped...and eventually gave that up believing that maybe formula was the answer because she just seemed to have a ton of feeding issues. Eventually, we (the docs and I) thought maybe she has silent reflux and she is currently on a low dose of zantac. She seemed to do great on that and finally started eating more than 2 ounces every 2 hours.

So...the other day...she wasn't feeling too well and started eating bad again. I thought it was the reflux acting up. My doc is pretty modest with the meds and thought the dosage was enough. (so didn't want to increase the dosage) (.50 3X per day) and I brought her in and with blood tests saw that she has a little virus...which is now going away. she is feeling better but her feeding is down hill again!

She use to feed 2.5 -4 ounces every 3 or 4 hours. It took her an hour to finish those 4 ounces. She would basically drink 2 ounces and take a break and finish the rest within the hour. This was actually an improvement from feeding every 2 hours round the clock! But I was hoping that she would move beyond taking an hour to eat. She is actually a very happy baby and smiley...she pretty much is not uncomfortable with the feedings since being on the zantac...but she is also older now and all that business with gas etc. is better.

She just refuses to eat what a normal 3 and a half month old seems to normally eat. She is like a newnorn again, eating 2 ounces every 2 hours...although will sleep basically through the night with just one wake up for feeding. The docs say she should be eating btwn 20-24 ounces per day and it is pure hell trying to get her to do that. Everyone keeps saying wow she is so tiny...or wow my baby scarfs down 5-7 ounces in one sitting...She is on the 5th percentile. I am not really petite and neither is my hubby...we are just average in weight and height...

I am so exhausted focusing on all of this since she was born. I love her and just want to move on and have fun with her! She is really growing up and starting to be so lively and interesting...but we just can't get past the feeding issues. Our days revolve around the constant feeding and getting her to eat. Anyone else have this issue? I wish I could just say...okay eat what you will...you know your body...you will eat what you need...but it seems as if she doesn't! She barely ever cries for food. When she was a newborn, I didn't even know she wasn't feeding well until the doc said she lost weight and I had to start supplementing. (she always seemed content and still is this way!)

I feel like everyone around me has babies that feed well and jsut eat a ton and are gaining rapidly. I just want my peanut to thrive and move past all these issues! i'm not sure if it's more common than I think that she is eating like this. Maybe more babies are like this than I think? Anyone else experience feeding issues and have some advice to offer. I may have not described our situation perfectly...just trying to see anyone else struggles with feeding their baby and helping them put on some weight!

 

[Bunanie]

My LO started doing it around 3 months, I EBF and I think she's too easily distracted. she is also a small baby and I always worry she's not taking enough, and she doesn't really cry for hunger, except at nightn.

She won't take the full feed in one go, she's too busy looking around and esp when my flow slows down she will stop and refuse to go back on (it's a tugger war every feeding, she would cry when I'm just bringing her to the nipple!)

I try to offer again after 30-40min then she takes take a bit more, when I give her the bottle, she still only takes abt 100-120ml (3-4oz?). So it's impossible to put her on a routine......

Have you try feeding her in a quiet dark room? Or feed straight away when she's awake from her nap? It works sometimes for us, but depends on how alert she is..

 

[opeeny]

Thanks for the response! Yes I do try change of scenery and sometimes
She feeds better than other times... In general like you said... It is impossible to put her on a schedule so I just go with whatever her feeds and hunger cues are... If I don't do that I'm afraid she won't eat enough. I just woke her up to eat now and if I didn't she would not have gotten up herself. I had to though
Because she did not eat enough today! Thanks for your response! By the way your baby is so cute luv the profile pic I have to add one!

 

[NoodleSnack]

So...let's see if I can try to make this semi short. My little peanut is 3 months old and weighs 9lbs 10 ounces. She was born at 37 weeks at 5 lb 5 ounces. After going through a very rough time breast feeding (her losing weight..not latching, bloody nipples, etc.) i exclusively pumped...and eventually gave that up believing that maybe formula was the answer because she just seemed to have a ton of feeding issues. Eventually, we (the docs and I) thought maybe she has silent reflux and she is currently on a low dose of zantac. She seemed to do great on that and finally started eating more than 2 ounces every 2 hours.

So...the other day...she wasn't feeling too well and started eating bad again. I thought it was the reflux acting up. My doc is pretty modest with the meds and thought the dosage was enough. (so didn't want to increase the dosage) (.50 3X per day) and I brought her in and with blood tests saw that she has a little virus...which is now going away. she is feeling better but her feeding is down hill again!

She use to feed 2.5 -4 ounces every 3 or 4 hours. It took her an hour to finish those 4 ounces. She would basically drink 2 ounces and take a break and finish the rest within the hour. This was actually an improvement from feeding every 2 hours round the clock! But I was hoping that she would move beyond taking an hour to eat. She is actually a very happy baby and smiley...she pretty much is not uncomfortable with the feedings since being on the zantac...but she is also older now and all that business with gas etc. is better.

She just refuses to eat what a normal 3 and a half month old seems to normally eat. She is like a newnorn again, eating 2 ounces every 2 hours...although will sleep basically through the night with just one wake up for feeding. The docs say she should be eating btwn 20-24 ounces per day and it is pure hell trying to get her to do that. Everyone keeps saying wow she is so tiny...or wow my baby scarfs down 5-7 ounces in one sitting...She is on the 5th percentile. I am not really petite and neither is my hubby...we are just average in weight and height...

I am so exhausted focusing on all of this since she was born. I love her and just want to move on and have fun with her! She is really growing up and starting to be so lively and interesting...but we just can't get past the feeding issues. Our days revolve around the constant feeding and getting her to eat. Anyone else have this issue? I wish I could just say...okay eat what you will...you know your body...you will eat what you need...but it seems as if she doesn't! She barely ever cries for food. When she was a newborn, I didn't even know she wasn't feeding well until the doc said she lost weight and I had to start supplementing. (she always seemed content and still is this way!)

I feel like everyone around me has babies that feed well and jsut eat a ton and are gaining rapidly. I just want my peanut to thrive and move past all these issues! i'm not sure if it's more common than I think that she is eating like this. Maybe more babies are like this than I think? Anyone else experience feeding issues and have some advice to offer. I may have not described our situation perfectly...just trying to see anyone else struggles with feeding their baby and helping them put on some weight!

We're struggling with feeding as well, for the last week he's just not that interested. Before that, it was a struggle with my fast let down, I would have to leave him to cry for a while as I hand expressed then put him on, sometimes he just losses interest and will scream the house down if I keep putting him to the breast. When I was pregnant, "feeding on demand" seemed to make so much sense, but in reality, it's not so easy to tell when they are really hungry, is it? Sometimes they eat just because it's offered and puke it all back out, sometimes they won't eat even though they should be.

 

[Sproglet]

Hi, has she been checked for posterior tongue tie? There's info about it on the breastfeeding boards. Basically a posterior tongue tie restricts the up/down movement of the back of the tongue which can hinder latching and sucking and also feeding from a bottle. Tongue tie babies can take in a lot of air as they feed which can contribute to tummy troubles.

 

[rbourre]

My daughter is very hard to feed and always has been. She was tried on Zantac and it made it worse. She had a tongue tie that got clipped a few months ago.

She's 7.5 months now (5 adjusted) and has only just started taking 5-6oz at a time. It bothers me seeing my friends normal sized babies and how well they eat. I have to cuddle my daughter and get her half asleep and then switch her soother for her bottle to get her to eat.

She's also tiny. 12lbs 1.5oz, in the 4th percentile for weight.

 

[opeeny]

Hi, has she been checked for posterior tongue tie? There's info about it on the breastfeeding boards. Basically a posterior tongue tie restricts the up/down movement of the back of the tongue which can hinder latching and sucking and also feeding from a bottle. Tongue tie babies can take in a lot of air as they feed which can contribute to tummy troubles.

She has never been evaluated properly for this...just early on seen by a lactation specialist that said she had a high palette which could have contributed to her not latching properly,,, i will ask her pediatrician...

 

[opeeny]

My daughter is very hard to feed and always has been. She was tried on Zantac and it made it worse. She had a tongue tie that got clipped a few months ago.

She's 7.5 months now (5 adjusted) and has only just started taking 5-6oz at a time. It bothers me seeing my friends normal sized babies and how well they eat. I have to cuddle my daughter and get her half asleep and then switch her soother for her bottle to get her to eat.

She's also tiny. 12lbs 1.5oz, in the 4th percentile for weight.

so very frusrating...have you started her on solids?is she any better with that?i'm hoping that might help later on...thanks for sharing...

 

[rbourre]

My daughter is very hard to feed and always has been. She was tried on Zantac and it made it worse. She had a tongue tie that got clipped a few months ago.

She's 7.5 months now (5 adjusted) and has only just started taking 5-6oz at a time. It bothers me seeing my friends normal sized babies and how well they eat. I have to cuddle my daughter and get her half asleep and then switch her soother for her bottle to get her to eat.

She's also tiny. 12lbs 1.5oz, in the 4th percentile for weight.

so very frusrating...have you started her on solids?is she any better with that?i'm hoping that might help later on...thanks for sharing...

Yeah she eats some purees once a day. She eats them pretty well but so far doesn't seem to like fruit. She wouldn't even swallow a bite of peaches but peas, carrots and squash she loves.

 

[opeeny]

My daughter is very hard to feed and always has been. She was tried on Zantac and it made it worse. She had a tongue tie that got clipped a few months ago.

She's 7.5 months now (5 adjusted) and has only just started taking 5-6oz at a time. It bothers me seeing my friends normal sized babies and how well they eat. I have to cuddle my daughter and get her half asleep and then switch her soother for her bottle to get her to eat.

She's also tiny. 12lbs 1.5oz, in the 4th percentile for weight.

so very frusrating...have you started her on solids?is she any better with that?i'm hoping that might help later on...thanks for sharing...

Yeah she eats some purees once a day. She eats them pretty well but so far doesn't seem to like fruit. She wouldn't even swallow a bite of peaches but peas, carrots and squash she loves.

Well thats great! Actually for being 5 months adjusted I think she is a pretty descent weight! I hope my little girl is that weight at 5 months! I guess the hardest thing is not being able to really be on a schedule...I feel like I am all over the place. thank god we decided to use our savings and for me to stay home...I think it would have been me taking off alot if she was in daycare. The thing that bugs me is i feel she was doing better and is reverting. In fact, I could at least say she was sleeping well and this morning she woke up screaming for food at 6am (had her regular middle of the night feed) (hasn't done that in a while...usual wake up btwn 7 and 8) and then only ate 2 ounces. She did however, an hour later eat 2 more so maybe she is moving toward a positive direction...don't know...I guess that is why I am frustrated because I can't even begin focusing on a routine! It is awesome that your little girl is eating purees though!

 

[sbl]

Are you seeing a dietician with her or was she put on low birth weight formula to help her catch up? My lo was born early at 5lbs 1oz but had no problems thankfully with feeding and now weighs 15lbs 1oz at almost 5 months. She was on the prem/low birth weight formula and that helped her catch up no end.

 

[opeeny]

Are you seeing a dietician with her or was she put on low birth weight formula to help her catch up? My lo was born early at 5lbs 1oz but had no problems thankfully with feeding and now weighs 15lbs 1oz at almost 5 months. She was on the prem/low birth weight formula and that helped her catch up no end.

No...I have just been going to her pediatrician and they have been monitoring her. They say she has made progress and has slowly gone up in percentile from below 5 to 5% so they are satisfied in that way and I guess that is good but they are not home with her dealing with the inconsistent feeding! Poor thing...I'm sure she would like to be a great eater...just cannot and I cannot figure out why!

If she continues eating like a bird (every 2 hours) for the next few days I will contact them again. If she never ate differently I wouldn't even question it by I know she is capable of eating more and spreading out her feeds...she did it for the past 5 weeks. I would actually be really interested in seeing a dietician or nutritionist or food specialist or something...I may just push for it...

That is fantastic that your lo has caught up so well!!!! Yay!

 

[sbl]

Yeah I have to say the dietician's really know what they are talking about. Here in Ireland paediatrician's will refer you straight away to dietician if your low was prem/low birth weight/or has any issues with feeding. You should ask to see one and it may help. My lo doesn't need to see a dietician anymore now so I just her paed every 6 months.

 

[opeeny]

Yeah I have to say the dietician's really know what they are talking about. Here in Ireland paediatrician's will refer you straight away to dietician if your low was prem/low birth weight/or has any issues with feeding. You should ask to see one and it may help. My lo doesn't need to see a dietician anymore now so I just her paed every 6 months.

That's really interesting...You would think I would have been referred...My daughter was 5 lb 5 ounces when born and came home at 4 lb 13 ounces...gained a bit back and then went back down to 4lb 13 ounces in a week...this was her first week of life! I'm a first time mom and don't know what to expect but sounds like the Irish have it right with referring lo's to a dietician right away...

I will def ask mine about one if things do not improve...thanks for your advice!

 

[sbl]

Luckily my lo never lost any of her birth weight she was a great gainer but I believe some babies do lose a little. I hope your lo get's a little better with the feeding. I'm sure she will.

 

[rbourre]

My daughter is very hard to feed and always has been. She was tried on Zantac and it made it worse. She had a tongue tie that got clipped a few months ago.

She's 7.5 months now (5 adjusted) and has only just started taking 5-6oz at a time. It bothers me seeing my friends normal sized babies and how well they eat. I have to cuddle my daughter and get her half asleep and then switch her soother for her bottle to get her to eat.

She's also tiny. 12lbs 1.5oz, in the 4th percentile for weight.

so very frusrating...have you started her on solids?is she any better with that?i'm hoping that might help later on...thanks for sharing...

Yeah she eats some purees once a day. She eats them pretty well but so far doesn't seem to like fruit. She wouldn't even swallow a bite of peaches but peas, carrots and squash she loves.

Well thats great! Actually for being 5 months adjusted I think she is a pretty descent weight! I hope my little girl is that weight at 5 months! I guess the hardest thing is not being able to really be on a schedule...I feel like I am all over the place. thank god we decided to use our savings and for me to stay home...I think it would have been me taking off alot if she was in daycare. The thing that bugs me is i feel she was doing better and is reverting. In fact, I could at least say she was sleeping well and this morning she woke up screaming for food at 6am (had her regular middle of the night feed) (hasn't done that in a while...usual wake up btwn 7 and 8) and then only ate 2 ounces. She did however, an hour later eat 2 more so maybe she is moving toward a positive direction...don't know...I guess that is why I am frustrated because I can't even begin focusing on a routine! It is awesome that your little girl is eating purees though!

Her pediatrician says she's an ok weight considering she got a really slow start (born at 2lbs 2oz). She's just about gained 10 pounds since she was born. I like to think of it as if she was born at a normal weight (around 7lbs) and had gained 10 pounds then she would be 17 pounds and nobody would be saying she isn't gaining enough. If that makes sense....

My daughter normally (not always) sleeps through the night and eats more during the day. She ate at 2am, 7:30am and 10:30am already today. We aren't on a full routine yet, but starting to. If she hasn't woke up, I always feed her at 7:30am when my husband gets up for work. Then around 10:00, 1:00, 4:00, 7:00 and a smaller bottle at 8:30 before bed. Sometimes she wants to eat earlier though and I don't make her wait because she gets really cranky when she is hungry. Sometimes it takes her 45 minutes to eat those 4-6oz, but she eats it eventually.

 

[opeeny]

My daughter is very hard to feed and always has been. She was tried on Zantac and it made it worse. She had a tongue tie that got clipped a few months ago.

She's 7.5 months now (5 adjusted) and has only just started taking 5-6oz at a time. It bothers me seeing my friends normal sized babies and how well they eat. I have to cuddle my daughter and get her half asleep and then switch her soother for her bottle to get her to eat.

She's also tiny. 12lbs 1.5oz, in the 4th percentile for weight.

so very frusrating...have you started her on solids?is she any better with that?i'm hoping that might help later on...thanks for sharing...

Yeah she eats some purees once a day. She eats them pretty well but so far doesn't seem to like fruit. She wouldn't even swallow a bite of peaches but peas, carrots and squash she loves.

Well thats great! Actually for being 5 months adjusted I think she is a pretty descent weight! I hope my little girl is that weight at 5 months! I guess the hardest thing is not being able to really be on a schedule...I feel like I am all over the place. thank god we decided to use our savings and for me to stay home...I think it would have been me taking off alot if she was in daycare. The thing that bugs me is i feel she was doing better and is reverting. In fact, I could at least say she was sleeping well and this morning she woke up screaming for food at 6am (had her regular middle of the night feed) (hasn't done that in a while...usual wake up btwn 7 and 8) and then only ate 2 ounces. She did however, an hour later eat 2 more so maybe she is moving toward a positive direction...don't know...I guess that is why I am frustrated because I can't even begin focusing on a routine! It is awesome that your little girl is eating purees though!

Her pediatrician says she's an ok weight considering she got a really slow start (born at 2lbs 2oz). She's just about gained 10 pounds since she was born. I like to think of it as if she was born at a normal weight (around 7lbs) and had gained 10 pounds then she would be 17 pounds and nobody would be saying she isn't gaining enough. If that makes sense....

My daughter normally (not always) sleeps through the night and eats more during the day. She ate at 2am, 7:30am and 10:30am already today. We aren't on a full routine yet, but starting to. If she hasn't woke up, I always feed her at 7:30am when my husband gets up for work. Then around 10:00, 1:00, 4:00, 7:00 and a smaller bottle at 8:30 before bed. Sometimes she wants to eat earlier though and I don't make her wait because she gets really cranky when she is hungry. Sometimes it takes her 45 minutes to eat those 4-6oz, but she eats it eventually.

I think your LO sounds great! She has absolutely gained quite a bit of weight and I think it is impressive. It sounds like she is on the right track... I thank you for all your input. Today my little one has been doing tons of napping and actually ate a little better. I am hoping that this is all due to the little bug and she will go back on track. I think what it is is that this may have nothing to do with her previous eating issues...but because of so many issues in the past I automatically panick and think oh no she is going down that bad road again! But this could all be her just not feeling great.

 

[opeeny]

Luckily my lo never lost any of her birth weight she was a great gainer but I believe some babies do lose a little. I hope your lo get's a little better with the feeding. I'm sure she will.

Thank you so much! If you look at the post i just added to the other poster above I am hoping she will get passed this. I spoke to her doc today and she said that I can come in next week if she doesnt improve in a few days and we can weigh her and look at options. I am truly hoping I wont need to and that this is just a small hump that I misunderstood for feeding issues that she previously had!

 

[Monalissa]

Hi, has she been checked for posterior tongue tie? There's info about it on the breastfeeding boards. Basically a posterior tongue tie restricts the up/down movement of the back of the tongue which can hinder latching and sucking and also feeding from a bottle. Tongue tie babies can take in a lot of air as they feed which can contribute to tummy troubles.

She has never been evaluated properly for this...just early on seen by a lactation specialist that said she had a high palette which could have contributed to her not latching properly,,, i will ask her pediatrician...

High palates are very common with tongue tie. The tongue forms the palate in utero and if it's tied babies often end up with high palates from not being able to move it properly. My LO had hers clipped twice. It never really seemed to help much with BF (my nipple always came out creased regardless) but she did seem to have a much easier time with the bottle after the first clipping. Not getting as tired or taking an eternity to finishing a bottle. Another thought is what size nipples are you using? We just switched to medium flow and that seemed to help also.

 

[Sproglet]

Hi, has she been checked for posterior tongue tie? There's info about it on the breastfeeding boards. Basically a posterior tongue tie restricts the up/down movement of the back of the tongue which can hinder latching and sucking and also feeding from a bottle. Tongue tie babies can take in a lot of air as they feed which can contribute to tummy troubles.

She has never been evaluated properly for this...just early on seen by a lactation specialist that said she had a high palette which could have contributed to her not latching properly,,, i will ask her pediatrician...

High palate can be caused by tongue tie, the tongue can't lift to spread the palate in utero.

Edit: just seen above post (didn't realise there was a second page