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Original poster

Please read baby refusing formula suddenly

48 replies

davegrohll · 03/01/2023 14:12

She's nearly 14 weeks and has just stopped asking for milk, won't take it... or takes a small amount and doesn't want anymore?
Sometimes she will start crying when drinking it like she's frustrated I'm trying to give it her. I've gone up a teat size, used teething gel before hand as I'm thinking it could be that her gums are sore ?? She is knawing away at her hands but I know that's not purely indicative of teething in itself.

Just at my wits end and worrying she's not getting enough!
She's happy otherwise 🤷🏼‍♀️ does anyone know what can cause babies to refuse their feeds when they seem otherwise well?

OP posts:
Original poster
davegrohll · 03/01/2023 14:18

Just managed to give her 2oz it was like she wanted it but was kicking off bad while drinking it, pushing away and crying out so it does seem like it's painful ?

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Untitledsquatboulder · 03/01/2023 14:19

That sounds really stressful. How long has this been going on?

mintich · 03/01/2023 14:33

My baby was like this. Getting upset when drinking milk. It turned out to be colic so I was given gaviscon which worked a treat. It took a while to get him back drinking as he expected it to hurt. Colic can present in a few different ways, which is why I didn't realise it was colic!

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Original poster
davegrohll · 03/01/2023 14:37

It's only been happening the last few days, she usually loves her milk.
I should've mentioned in my original post she does have cmpa and is on special formula but she's been on this since 8 weeks so I don't think it's anything to do with that, she also has x1 sachet of gaviscon a day. So I'm stumped ! Just tried her with some more and she starts to drink it but after a few sucks is visibly cross and just doesn't want it !

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Original poster
davegrohll · 03/01/2023 14:38

All smiles though afterwards !

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upfucked · 03/01/2023 14:39

Try nurofen if you think it’s teething.

If she is on specialist formula and still has reflux then she may not been on the right one for her.

Original poster
davegrohll · 03/01/2023 14:46

upfucked · 03/01/2023 14:39

Try nurofen if you think it’s teething.

If she is on specialist formula and still has reflux then she may not been on the right one for her.

When are they allowed nurofen from ?

Regarding the formula she seems so much better in herself, she's actually happy instead of miserable and visibly in pain all the time, but she still has the odd mucusy poo, but again I don't know if it's her jabs causing this too maybe the rotavirus vaccine ?? It's hard to differentiate as she started her new formula a day before her 8 week jabs, the mucusy poos initially got better and then got worse and then better again, then she had her 12 weeks jabs and some mucus has shown back up!
Her reflux is alot better than it was but she still hiccups loads, maybe I could up her gaviscon ?

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salemsongbird · 03/01/2023 14:57

This sounds like a bottle aversion, something we went through and it was so traumatic.
I really recommend looking up Rowena Bennett's book/website. Our dd was refusing so badly by the end that we ended up paying for a consultation and it was honestly like magic. A lot of the problem was the pressure you don't realise you're putting on the baby with the bottle.
There's also a Facebook group if you search Rowena Bennett or feeding aversion. Best of luck.

Paddingtonsmarmlade · 03/01/2023 14:57

My dd did this at 8/10 weeks only eating enough to starve off hunger. I demanded a trial of formula for cmpa and she went back to eating fine. She had other signs, such as stringy/mucus nappies and older brother has cmpa too.

Original poster
davegrohll · 03/01/2023 15:01

We're already on aptimal pepti 1 and she is better on this than standard formula so I'm not convinced it's anything to do with her cmpa...

Not sure about a bottle aversion as why would that just suddenly start ? She's never forced fed and put under any pressure, if she doesn't want it she doesn't have it, but I will make sure to keep offering while the bottle still has it's two hours on it.

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salemsongbird · 03/01/2023 15:07

Our bottle aversion started out of the blue and I never thought I'd been pressuring dd either but when I looked into it it turned out I'd been missing her cues and encouraging her to drink too much. Just worth keeping in mind if other options don't fix it!

LapinR0se · 03/01/2023 15:09

You can try the milk much warmer than usual to see if that helps?

justcallmeJane · 03/01/2023 15:11

It's probably the Gaviscon, ask for omeprazole instead.

We made dds prescription milk up warmer than usual. Only way she would take it.

justcallmeJane · 03/01/2023 15:12

Watch some of the teething gels - some contain lactose as do the powders. Ashton and parsons teething gel was the best (lactose free) and had a wee brush on the end to brush on gums.

Gardenoverflow · 03/01/2023 15:14

Could she have a sore throat?

Original poster
davegrohll · 03/01/2023 15:16

We've got Nelson's teething gel, is this one okay ?

Also she has her formula pretty warm already, as I've said she has only started doing this the last few days, she's been on that milk a good 5 weeks now and has seemed much better...

She keeps getting the odd red cheek too so I'm thinking it is her gums hurting her.

Only other thing to mention is we went up to size 2 teats recently as thought sucking hard would be hurting her gums too but now I'm thinking is it coming out too fast for her, arghh so confusing

OP posts:
Original poster
davegrohll · 03/01/2023 15:16

Gardenoverflow · 03/01/2023 15:14

Could she have a sore throat?

My partner has said this but how would we know, no way of telling is there

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Triflenot · 03/01/2023 15:17

How much is she actually taking over 24 hours?

Gardenoverflow · 03/01/2023 15:18

You can check.if the back of her mouth is red, although not an easy task I know!

Original poster
davegrohll · 03/01/2023 15:29

I will try and check her mouth if she'll let me!

So over 24 hours she actually had 30oz yesterday.

So far today she's had 15oz

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Original poster
davegrohll · 03/01/2023 15:32

Do you think she needs to go longer between her feeds ?? Maybe I am over feeding her... she is having anything from 4-6oz (when she takes it)

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LapinR0se · 03/01/2023 15:32

30oz is plenty. I would try heating the milk a bit more just to see, also play around with teat sizes. What kind of bottles are they?

mackerelskymackerelsky · 03/01/2023 15:46

My youngest DC was like this when they had CMPA, they were on Neocate. Because the taste was so horrible I had to add Nesquik powder to it (on advice of Paed. diet specialist). Even then I had to persevere a long time until they were taking good amounts and it wasn't really until about 3/4 months later I started to see a proper improvement.
Could it be your DD is finding the taste unpleasant, or possibly they're still not quite agreeing with that formula? I did have to try a few until we settled on Neocate because we kept having problems.

Triflenot · 03/01/2023 19:07

30 oz seems enough to me OP

Triflenot · 03/01/2023 19:09

How often are you offering it? Is it possible she’s not actually hungry when you do?