Help please! 9 week old refusing to feed.

[NoahsArk2015]

Hi

My second child, a 9 week old dd is not feeding well at all!
Apart from the first week; she's always been on a bottle. First expressed and then from 6 weeks slowly changed over to formula. She was born on 50th percentile, but 6 weeks was on 25th percentile and had to go back this week where she has dropped further.

She will want to be fed roughly every 2-3 hrs. I try to make her wait 3 in hope she will drink more. The problem is she gags on bottle, cries half way through, spits what little she does drink back out, pushes it away with her tongue! Or simply falls asleep (have tried all the methods of keeping her awake). It is especially worse in evening/night/early morning feeds were she will drink on average 1oz, never more than 2oz. During the day we consider 3oz a success! She suffered with a lot of vomiting and was put on gaviscon at her 6 week check. This has really helped the sickness, but has made her poop thick but not constipated (goes every 2 days).

Doctor yesterday has put her on similac for a cow's milk protein intolerance - and wants us to go back next week for anothe check/weigh.
Whilst she has some symptoms of CMPI I'm not convinced that is the problem.

So after a good start on the new formula (she drank 3oz, 3oz, 4oz!) we were back to the same problem at night again. Waking crying for the bottle but then absolutely refusing it. Gagging, crying when bottle is put in her mouth, screwing face up, squirming etc and drinking only 1oz

So any ideas and help would be much appreciated! Also how long would the new formula take to work? Should it be an instant improvement or take a few days?

Thank you and sorry for the long winded message!

I'm sure it's been suggested but my only thought is to keep her upright for as long as possible after a feed, perhaps in a sling in case she has any painful burps which are waking her rather than hunger, but I wouldn't try to extend the time in between feeds, she has a little tummy and needs to feed often.

Thanks!
Do try and keep her as upright as possible.

It was the HV that suggested extending feeds to make sure she was hungry and not just using it as a dummy/pacifier substitute! Do you not think that's right?

Is it possible she could have reflux? My daughter is on nutramigen for a cows milk protein allergy but also has silent reflux. When born she was on the 50th percentile but dropped to the 9th as she was not taking a bottle. She would push it away, cry, only take an ounce at a time and gagged. Also, sometimes she would choke and have acid come out of her nose meaning she would struggle to catch her breath. Very unsettled after feeds and was diagnosed with silent reflux. Is now on ranitidine and doing so much better. Maybe she just needs something a little stronger than gaviscon

That sounds just like her! Thank you, I will mention ranitidine to the doctor. Strangely our son was diagnosed with silent reflux but never really had any of these symptoms except he used to arch his back andnot like lying flat, but we were under the hospital for him as he was premature and in the NICU at birth so we never questioned it!