DS won't finish his bottles!!

[moodymare]

Hi I'm new to MN and would be grateful for any advice. My DS is 9wks old and never finishes his bottle. He was bf til 3 wks but is VERY colicky so is now on bottles of Aptamil ED, the box recommends 5 feeds of 6fl oz but he has 6 feeds of between 3 & 4 ounces any help would be appreciated!

[LyraSilvertongue]

If he seems happy, he's getting enough milk. Ignore what it says on the box. The recommendations will be for 'the average baby' and they're all different.

[moodymare]

Thanks he's my 3rd but had no feeding probs with the others. I've spoken to mums at my local clinic who have babies his age and some of them are already giving rusks/rice but I thought you were supposed to wait until they were 4 months? He is a big baby-9lb 5oz at birth and now 14lb 9oz!!

[LyraSilvertongue]

You shouldn't give him anything but milk till he's 6 months, that's the advice now. So many parents are in a rush to get their babies on solids too early.
If he's happy and gaining weight there's nothing to worry about at all. If he's not, best get the doc/health visitor to check him over.

[Tommy]

it's 6 months now for solids so I would just ignore the other mums at clinic. get all the advice you need from MN

If he was breastfed you wouldn't have any idea how much he was drinking in one go so try not to worry about it - he will take as much as he needs

[moodymare]

Six months?! I didn't know that, I have tried just to let him take what he needs and during the day it's not an issue but at night he's awake every 2 hours where he just takes a couple of ounces then passes out...til the next time!!

[lailasmum]

He might just have a small appetite but be very efficient at what he does with the milk he takes. If he is happy then don't worry. I was bottle feeding my daughter expressed breast milk when she was little and she only ever took half of my cousins baby who was only a week older. They are all different. My dd was very colicky and I found the best thing was a baby massage class to learn how to massage the tummy, it made a huge difference as I could efficiently bring up the wind for her.

[moodymare]

Thanks lailasmum, since he's been on the easy digest formula and colief (lifesaver!!) he's been a different boy! He dream feeds at night so he's not actually crying-just smacking his lips, having a quick feed and literally flaking out!!