Has anyones LO been a poor feeder from the birth?

[Carrie76]

Ethan has always been poor at feeding, after he was born he would always fall asleep at the bottle and never take alot, then as he got older his reflux got really bad so we was screaming and arching his back at the bottle, then he was put on medication which has really helped and he started drinking more comfortably. Now at 17 weeks and after his injections hes starting fussing and refusing the last couple of oz's so will only take about 3-5oz at one go. I feel like I'm totally obsessed with his feeding, its actually really gets me down if he wont finish his bottle and Ive been in tears loads of times because of it. I HATE hubby feeding him because I can't control the situation, lol! Then I hear all the comments like "oh, isn't he tiny for his age" and that panics me even more. I read comments on here from Mums whos babies are draining 8oz bottles and I would give my right arm for Ethan to do that. It must just be a motherly instinct to want to feed him or something but I just wish I could chill out about the whole thing.

Has anyone else been through this? Did your LO's get better with their feeding as they got older?

 

[jen1604]

Hi honey :wave:

Lennon has always been pretty uninterested in eating and he's little for his age (he's 7 months nearly and just about in 3-6 months clothes)

To be honest,it hasn't been until he's started on solids thats hes started to properly put on any weight and he still isnt thats interested in milk,theres nothing wrong with him,just not that fussed on feeding.Try not to worry sweetie,I know its hard but its just how some babies are

 

[Carrie76]

Thank you!! That has put my mind at rest. I think I just automatically assumed that all babies just want to eat eat eat all the time. I'm relieved to hear that that's not the case with some babies!

 

[Shady_R]

I get obsessed like you at times, my lo is usually a really good feeder. Although if shes having a bad day, she can take an hour to take a feed, even then she wont take the whole bottle. I find myself getting all stressed out by this too. I have tried to relax about it but not been able to. I have changed her teats which has helped. We have gone from slow flow to vari flow, then from them to medium and fast flow, she has 1 vari flow feed, 2 fast and 2 medium flow feeds a day, which seems to be helping. Have you tried changing the teats, how often does you lo feed, are you waking lo to feed. I have also noticed, she will go roughly 3 hourly for 3 feeds, then on her 4th she goes over about 15 mins then her last bottle she goes a bit longer again.

 

[ellie27]

Anna has always taken way less milk than the tubs suggest!

Now Anna is 6 months - the most she has ever taken in a feed is 6oz and the most in a day is about 25oz maximum -the same since around 3 months !

She was born at 6 lb 14 oz and just on the 25th centile and now she is 17lbs and almost on the 75th line so she has been getting all she needs although she is taking a rather small amount of milk!

Try not worry, why not keep a note of how much Ethan has over 24hours - thats more important than the per feed amount

 

[Nic1107]

Carmen has always had a small appetite; she ate fairly often when she was smaller but not much at a time. At 3 months she was only taking 4-oz. bottles too, and even now she usually has several 4-ouncers throughout the day. Only for breakfast and before bed does she have a big bottle- the most she's ever eaten in one go was 7 oz. and she's 6 months old.

 

[mummytobe]

My Lo too ! I am a constant worrier over this. Even though she is putting on weight i still obsess over the ounzes. I really dont understand how sometimes. Espesh when she goes through phases of only having 3 ozs per feed. Even though she is on solids and now 8 months they 'say' she should still be having 18-21oz when the past few nights shes gone with only 11-15oz. Oh well i think i have to accept that my child isnt a big eater ! Try not to stress out about it, they pick up on that. (sometimes i should take my own advice) x

 

[Carrie76]

Aw thank you all so much! Your replies have made me feel so much better. Ellie, I totted up through the day and hes had 23oz, supossed to be 30oz but I'm trying not to worry too much, that makes me feel better that Ethan isn't the only baby who is not all that interested in his milk!

I don't know what I would do without this board sometimes, thanks again