Crazy feeding routine

[Lara310809]

I'm getting so bored of LO's crazy feeding routine. She's gone 17 weeks (4 months) and therefore the guidelines on the pack of formula say she "should" be eating 35oz per day (5 x 7oz bottles). She will normally have 15oz (3 x 5oz bottles).

The HVs weren't really bothered about it, because she's in the 50th centile and she seems fairly content, but now she's 4 months they want to weigh her every couple of weeks just in case she starts to "lag" in her weight gain. If she lags then they want to talk about introducing baby rice.

But the problem now is her ridiculous feeding pattern. Her feeding has been mad for a couple of months, in that she doesn't have much. Up until a few weeks ago I was only giving her 3oz bottles, because she would refuse to take any more than that in one sitting, but I would feed her more often.

Now she takes slightly more, but is really fussy about when she does it. I give her a 5oz bottle, but most of the time she will only take 3oz, and then an hour later scream the house down for another 2oz. But she will refuse to take the full 5oz when I make the bottle. I spend most of my time going to and from the fridge heating up partly drunk milk It will take me a full 2 hours to give her the 5oz, because she fidgets, cries, messes around, plays with the teat, pushes it away, or just splutters on it. I don't want to force feed her, so when she starts messing around I give her a few minutes' break, and then try again. If I give her a break, she will normally start sucking again when I offer it next, but again only for about 30 seconds, then she's bored of it again; yet she screams for it, so I don't understand why she's not drinking it. She's not gassy, she doesnt' seem tired, and she has a clean nappy.

If I feed her the 3oz and then eventually the 2oz an hour ot two later, I will get at most a 2 hour break before the next feed begins.

TBH it's doing my head in now. I don't know if this is part of the four month spurt or regression, but I hope she grows out of it. I know so many kids that take a bottle on a regular interval, and my LO used to be like that, so I don't get why she's changed. When she was newborn she would take more than this in one go

 

[moomin_troll]

zane was never a easy feeder and would never take more then 4oz at once and then started screaming for bottles every hour or two at one point so i did start on baby rice at 4 months and it suited him fine, but i also fed on demand and never put him on a routine.

this is just part and parcel of being a mum and gettin frustrated but she should grow out of it as this might be a growth spurt.
i dont see why the hv are saying if she lags (she seems to be doing good from sounds of it) to put her on baby rice as zane never lost weight but gained it slowly and no one ever seem bothered long as he was gaining something and well in himself.

also dont pay attention to the guidelines on the milk as every baby is different with how much milk they want.

 

[Lara310809]

I started feeding on demand when she began getting grouchy between feeds. That was about 2 months ago now. Did you give baby rice in the bottle? I was considering this, and actually people are trying to get me to put rusks in her bottle, but my only worry is that she will take even less formula than she already does because she will get fuller quicker? I've also considered putting an extra scoop of formula in the water to boost the calorie content, but I don't want to start messing around and risking constipation.

Yeah, I don't worry too much about the guidelines, but it worries me sometimes when I see her taking less than half of the "recommended" amount, especially when you hear about some babies taking almost double. What a way to worry yourself

 

[moomin_troll]

id make zanes baby rice with his milk(2oz) and hed eat that first and then hed have the rest of the bottle 4oz so id make a 6oz bottle up for him. i started off just giving him the baby rice at his dinner and then as weeks went on he was on 3 meals a day plus bottles with that and inbetween lol. i would never put anything in baby milk in a bottle

it took zane about a month to start dropping bottles and he eat more.
do what u feel is right, its never easy lol

 

[Eala]

The thing about giving baby rice etc, is that it doesn't actually have any more calories than the milk, but will make them feel fuller quicker. It's bulkier, so you may end up with her taking even less formula, but getting fewer calories. Definitely don't put anything other than milk in the bottle though, either it'll clog up the teat, or worst-case she could choke on it.

Can I ask what teats she is on? It could be she is finding the teat too slow, so is getting tired and bored with having to work so hard for the milk.

Until my LO was about 3 months old she was taking small amounts (1.5-3 oz) every 2 hours during the day, and she did grow out of it.

I'd also totally agree with discounting the "guidelines" on the box when it comes to formula amounts. When it came to age, my LO was never taking the amount the box said, and very rarely matched up on the weight either. They are purely suggestions, and I don't think I know anyone whose baby actually fitted in with them

Regarding the MW's wanting to weigh her every two weeks, my opinion is that this could just cause you more worry than is necessary. The WHO guidelines recommend not weighing babies of your LO's age more than once every 4 weeks. This gives them a reasonable amount of time to gain, and makes it easier to see a trend. I used to get my LO weighed every 2 weeks, and it caused me nothing but panic. One time she had gained about an oz, and the MW was all concerned and panicking me. I took her back 2 weeks later, and she had had a massive gain. If I'd left a 4 week gap to start with, I'd only have seen the huge gain, and wouldn't have spent 2 weeks stressing and worrying that I was doing something wrong.

 

[Lara310809]

The thing about giving baby rice etc, is that it doesn't actually have any more calories than the milk, but will make them feel fuller quicker. It's bulkier, so you may end up with her taking even less formula, but getting fewer calories. Definitely don't put anything other than milk in the bottle though, either it'll clog up the teat, or worst-case she could choke on it.

Can I ask what teats she is on? It could be she is finding the teat too slow, so is getting tired and bored with having to work so hard for the milk.

Until my LO was about 3 months old she was taking small amounts (1.5-3 oz) every 2 hours during the day, and she did grow out of it.

That's what I was wondering about the baby rice; I have heard of hungry babies being given it before 6 months because the formula isn't enough for them, so giving them rice bulks it out and keeps them satisfied. But my LO is the opposite, which is why I didn't really understand the HV wanting to put her onto rice; because then surely she would drop a feed

We have size 1 teats, but we were on Comfort milk for a while because of her colic, and so we pierced the teats to make the holes bigger. Now she's 4 months, and she's back on regular milk (Aptamil) the teats are still okay for her to use; on the rare occasion that she's gasping with hunger, she can finish 5oz in about 10 minutes, where as a newborn it would take her about 25 mins to finish 3oz. If you tip the bottle upside down, the milk will slowly drip out, so even if she doesn't suck I know she can get the milk.

 

[moomin_troll]

i thought zane might not take milk as the flow might be too slow but then changed to 2 and also tried 3 and he hated both of them, they were too fast for him lol i cudnt win.

hope u find whats best for her soon and i dont agree with ur hv about baby rice as i said before, sometimes they dont no what they are talking about

 

[mrsthomas623]

Your LO sounds just like mine! It usually takes us an hour to do 3, maybe 4 ozs. I tried a bigger nipple hole but then he gags on it. Nolan does have silent reflux and has Ranitidine to lessen the burn of the acid. We are lucky to get 20 ounces in him through out the day. I do try to feed him in his sleep before I go to bed just to get the extra bottle in. He is in the 95th percentile for length but less then 50th for weight, I wish he would chub up!

 

[Eala]

What about variflow teats? Where how much she gets depends on how hard she sucks (if that makes sense?). My LO didn't get on with them, but I know of many ladies on here who swore by variflow

 

[Lara310809]

can you get variflow for MAMs or Dr Browns? I thought they were only for the TT bottles

Now you mention reflux, perhaps that has something to do with it. How do you know if your baby has reflux? I'm not the type of person that thinks their baby has every condition under the sun, but she has some of the signs. trouble is, most babies probably do. Fussiness during eating, spitting up after feeds, waking during the night, umcomfortable when lying down...

 

[OmarsMum]

Dr. Browns teat flow is abit slow. Omar was on size 3 at 2.5 mnths (with anti reflux formula). he's also very difficult when it comes to taking bottles. Did u try giving her bottles at room temperature? Omar hated warm bottles & we found that he's taking more after 1 hr of preparing the feed as it's cooler.

 

[mrsthomas623]

With LO's reflux most of the symptoms are the same as colic symptoms... arching of the back, struggling taking bottles or eating constantly (soothes some babies), crying during or after a bottle. My LO's most obvious symptoms were looking like he had a bad taste in his mouth and very hot breath (not stinky, but just felt hot). The doctor has him on Zantac syrup and it does help dull the acid but unfortunately the best thing to do for a reflux baby is... smaller feeds more frequently. ha! So where most babies might do 7 or 8 oz bottle every 4 or so hours, reflux babies prefer 3 or 4 oz bottles every 2 hours.

LO has the same issue as your little girl, not taking ENOUGH formula... I feel like thats all I do all day is try to get him to eat. I wish I had that solution for us both!

 

[Lara310809]

nmwb78 - I normally give her bottles at room temperature, simply because I'm lazy and she will take them a thtat temp. She is happy with warm and also chilled bottles, but 95% of them are room temp, and it doesn't seem to change what she drinks.

mrsthomas623 - in that case I don't think it's reflux, but I know what you mean about willing them to eat. I got reallyt excited yesterday when she ate 23oz over the period of the whole day. I was so excited I posted it on Facebook, and everyone was thinking "yeah, and...?" - for them it's still considered undereating, but for me she's being a little piggy

 

[OmarsMum]

How's her weight gain? Omar has never been a big drinker. 23 oz seems fine. Omar was taking between 20-24 oz at 4 mnths (4 bottles only) & it started dropping more at 5 mnths. His Dr, was never concerned as his weight gain is steady. He's stil not a big eater or drinker.

 

[Lara310809]

She's bang on the 50th centile, so they're happy with her progress.

 

[OmarsMum]

She's bang on the 50th centile, so they're happy with her progress.

Sounds great hun. Try not to worry hun. They go through phases at this age. Until now we struggle with formula, but his Dr. was never concerned as it's not affecting his growth or develpment xx