Is this enough formula for 3month old?

[TearingMyHairOut]

My ds1 has had lots of issues affecting his feeding ranging from reflux, colic, constipation etc etc. Over the last couplde of weeks his intake of formula has decreased to approx 450ml in a 24 hour period and according to all recommendations, it should be more. He has a frequently indented soft spot on his head and has been waking up moe often in the night but still does not hardly eat anything. I am worried he will get dehydrated...any suggesstions/advice?

[lorna3586]

So he's having something along the lines of 3oz every 4hours?

[lorna3586]

What was he having before and how longs it been like this? Have you spoken to health visiter about it?

[asleep]

do you give him cooled boiled water to drink in addition to his feeds? is he gaining weight?

[TearingMyHairOut]

At around 8-10 weeks he was having 6 bottles of 5 oz each and finishing the majority. At 10-11 weeks he decreased to taking about 6 lots of 4oz and over the past few days he has been unable to finish even four oz at a time. Today he had:
01.00 = 3oz
05.30 = 3oz
09.30 = 2oz
12.00 = 3oz
16.00 = tried but wouldn't take
17.30 = 3oz
20.00 = 3oz
BED
He has been putting on weight although it has slowed from used to be 8oz a week to about 4-5oz and I am having him weighed tomorrow and have my b=doubts that he'll even put on this much this week.

Everyone says he looks healthy and as long as he's putting on weight it's fine. But this is slowly decreasing...how long will they let that go on? He won't drink water.

[lorna3586]

Will he wake tonight for a feed?I think as long as he's got plenty of wet nappys, and yellow poos not green then he's doing ok. It will proberbly pick up soon. There ment to have a growth spurt around 3 4 months i think so you might find he'l start to take more then. See what your hv says tomorrow and keep us posted.

[Olihan]

My friend's dd did this. She was also colicky/windy/constipated and by 3 months it was a good day if she took 10 fl oz in 24 hours. My poor friend was, as you obviously are, tearing her hair out. She tried different formuals, different bottles, different teats, different temperatures, different positions but nothing made a scrap of difference. I know her dd's weight gain slowed slightly but it wasn't anything drastic and in the end my friend and the HV came to the conclusion that she wasn't a big fan of milk and was taking all that she needed. I think she started weaning at 15 weeks on the HV advice but it didn't make much difference to her overall wellbeing. She was still a contented, happy baby who had wet nappies, thrived and didn't seem any the worse for having so little milk.

If your ds seems himself and doesn't appear to be more unsettled/grouchy/whingy than normal then he may just be adjusting his appetite a bit, especially as it's been happening for a while. If he had a tummy bug/cold/sore throat that was putting him off his food you'd have seen symptoms by now.

I know how hard my friend found it to cope with but her dd had absolutely no ill effects from it. She also eats like a horse now!!

[TearingMyHairOut]

That's the trouble though, he's not contented and happy! He is very grouchy and unsettled and appears to be hungry sometimes but has a few sips and then won't take any more.

I had him weighed today and he had put on 4oz since last Tuesday. He did not wake up in the night for a feed - which is unusual for him, but woke up at five this morning and drunk 4oz. He then had another 3oz at about 9.00.

MIL keeps telling me it's because I take him out too much, or I don't warm his milk enough, or I don't sit him correctly and when ever she feeds him he always has no problem! It's driving me mad. If he was peaceful and happy and content as well as gaining weight, I wouldn't be so bothered, but he's not!

[ledodgywizardrobespierre]

Have you changed his teats to a faster one? Sometimes when the teat is too slow they get frustrated with all the sucking they have to do to get any and give up.

[colditz]

That is precisely what ds2 was doing at that age. He is now 6 months, has taken to food like A duck to water, but still will not drink more than 6 oz in one go, and to take even that much is rare, and he is the size of an average 9 month old!

I did find he is a lot better on Cow and Gate than SMA, SMA seemed to be too rich.

[madmarchscare]

I think the negative comments from your MIL arent helping.

What did HV say?

[TearingMyHairOut]

Tried faster teats...drowned him...made him gag and all flow down his front.

HV said as long as he's putting on weight he's fine. Hasn't been toilet for 3 days now...that's the 4oz he probably put on!

[madmarchscare]

I would go with the HV then. I know they can get a bit of stick on here from time to time but mine was great and she often reassured me through all those little worries when DS was so small.

Only thing, re the constipation, have you tried changing his milk? I know of a few that have sWitched from SMA due to probs with digestion and constipation. Different brands suit different babies.

Keep offereing water too.

[TearingMyHairOut]

Have gone from SMA to omneo comfort (cow and gate) to aptamil. No change noticed with any

[NAB3]

I definitely wouldn't offer water. A 3 month old doesn't need it in this weather and if he his drinking water he won't be drinking milk. Watch the fontenelle for signs of dehydration and if you are really worried see a Doctor.