Erratic feeding

[clarsair]

LO is 5 weeks and it's been a bit of a battle getting her to feed consistently. She will sometimes take 4oz but sometimes only as little as 1oz and is mostly 2.5 to 3 hours but again can often be less than that (never more though). She normally drinks the first 2oz at a reasonable rate, but seems to squirm a lot as if she's holding her breath or choking, then loses interest or gets tired. I've tried giving her a break, making sure she's winded, changing her nappy etc to get her going again but it rarely works. I switched her onto variflow teats last week but there's only a marginal improvement. I'm concerned that she's not taking enough in one go (she is gaining the right amount of weight though) and I'd like a bit more consistency for my own sanity if nothing else as it gets tiring feeding little and often. My health visitor hasn't been able to suggest anything - any help much appreciated!

 

[AlwaysPraying]

I'm in almost the exact boat! Bubs eats anywhere from 4oz to 1.5oz during the day, anytime between 2 hours and 4 hours between. Making it really hard to plan or know what's going on!

My mom did say that I was a snacker as a child as well though. I nibbled all day long, and that seems to be what my boy is doing too. What I do is try to get to as close as 3 hours as possible. If he's hungry earlier, I rock him, soothe him as much as I can. Also, if it's 3 hours and he's not hungry I do try to feed him to see what he'll take. I'm trying to trigger him being hungry at the three hour mark. It seems to be working.

I was told not to stress at all about how much he's eating or when just as long as he's gaining weight. My boy stops eating as well and it really stresses me out. I do the same, try to encourage as much as I can, but I think I'm doing it for my own good not his to be honest. They stop when they are full and will cry when they are hungry and we, as mothers, have to trust in that. I tell myself that everyday!

Fyi - bubs is 4 weeks 4 days old, so almost the same as yours.

 

[bbyno1]

My LO used to be the same and wsnt in no routine what so ever,just feeding on demand.sometimes even taking half an ounce! she is now 9 weeks old and its getting abit much for me so i decided no matter what id get her into some sort of routine.not just for me but for her also.
taking such small amounts meant she was never actually being full up so she would always wake up screaming for more bottle in as little as 15mins..

now i try my hardest to keep her occupied until the 3hours is up,i keep her awake by changing her nappy half way threw or whenever she stops.when she falls asleep again il put her on the changing mat just pretending to change her and she will wake straight up again and i just keep repeating this until she takes as much as she can..i dont force it down her because otherwise she will just sick it back up but she does usually take about 4oz's so i know by leaving her the 3hours she isnt exactly starving.also i give her a time limit of 30mins to drink what she can,if she is just playing around with the teat and not actually drinking i throw the milk away and its 3 hours until the next feed and she has got into a routine now only after doing this for about 4 days and shes also sleeping threw the night now!x

 

[clarsair]

Thanks, I do find that I can stretch her out to the three hours by taking her out in the pram as that calms her right down but isn't always practical unfortunately.

bbyno1 I think I'll try your approach of stopping after 30 minutes then waiting the three hours as I am guilty of hanging onto the bottle and continuing to offer it on and off for the next hour or so to try and get the 4oz into her, which probably isn't helping the snacking problem.

 

[bbyno1]

thats exactly what i was doing,constantly making up bottles and leaving them on the table because id constantly be feeding threw out the whole day but then when it came to going out i couldnt go out around her feeds coz she was always drinking.she would get 15mins down the road cry for the bottle,then id be on the bus and it was the same and it would be far too hard but do what i said..if they are hungry in 30mins they will drink it. my LO is starting to know now that bottles arnt just coming to her everytime she crys,so when she does finally get the bottle she appriciates it and drinks quite a bit.obviously for the 1st week its hard because they are used to the feeding on demand routine so it wouldnt be fair to change things dramatically but do it slowly as in make LO wait 2 1/2 hours say,then up it to 2 hours 45 till you reach three ..goodluck x

 

[mrsthomas623]

does she seem in pain when eating? my Lo was very similar and it ended up being silent reflux... he is much better now!