To worry that baby is suddenly drinking less?

[CobaltRose96]

Hi all. Posting here for traffic really!

DD will be 12 weeks old tomorrow. She is exclusively formula fed. Normally she will drink 6oz every 3/4 hours, but for the past two days I’ve been lucky if she’ll drink 4oz! Her last feed she only drunk 3oz.

She seems quite happy and content in herself and is still having wet nappies. She was sleeping a LOT yesterday (most of the day, actually). Normally she won’t sleep for longer than 30-45 minutes at a time during the day (but sleeps quite well at night), but yesterday she had two 3 hour long naps. She’s not as sleepy today.

I’ve also noticed that she seems to get more ‘distracted’ during feeds too. She’s wanting to constantly look around and wriggles like a landed fish Yesterday I even had to take her into another, quieter room to feed her as she just wouldn’t keep her head still!

She rolled over for the first time yesterday, so I don’t know if perhaps she is simply having a growth spurt/developmental leap and as a result is wanting less food and more sleep?

I’m a FTM so everything is a worry!

Thanks

Pic just cuz she’s adorable ❤️

Oh, and I should add that she’s been drooling and eating her hands a lot, too. Teething? Or is she too young?

Bump

As every baby is different it could be anything e.g teething, just too interested in new things around her etc but when my daughter did this at exactly this age, she went off her milk for a few days (no temperature, fine in herself) then was violently sick and screaming for hours at which point we rang and were advised to take her to hospital to get checked. Doctor was happy it was just a 'bug' and over the next few days she slowly gained appetite (she wasn't sick anymore) but I was told as long as she was having wet nappies just try little and often.

I did find I could get a little more milk in her using a free flow sippy cup, but it wasn't a lot extra

Thanks @Owlbert, I certainly hope it’s not a bug but I’ll keep an eye on her.

I'm not medically qualified and as always you should seek medical advice if you are concerned.

That being said, if she seems happy and still having plenty of wet nappies with no fever, and her weight gain has been fine with no concerns then I wouldn't worry if she was one of mine.

Think about your own eating habits. Do you eat the same amount at each meal, always have your meals at the same time, feel equally as hungry with every meal? And does your appetite change when you are distracted or are busier than usual?

Babies are much the same. She's reaching the age when everything is a little more interesting, and sitting still for that feed is boring.

Babies also often sleep more/ sleep less/ feed more/ feed less when they're about to hit a growth spurt, learn a new skill ir have a minor illness (a cold or similar).

If it's only been a couple of days I'd give it a couple more, try feeding in a less distracting environment, and perhaps offer smaller bottles more frequently.

Oh she is a cutie!

I remember my LG used to go through stages of not drinking much, especially when she had learnt something new and was focused on doing that (looking round, finding her hands etc) obviously if you are worried its best to speak to your HV. But if she has no temp, wet nappies and in general is happy then i wouldn't go full on panic mode