anybody had a fussy feeder

[alfiesmummyxx]

hi all i recently posted a thread about my DS he is 12 weeks old and has silent reflux, he is on meds and we dont have as much of the crying arching back etc during his bottle, however we start his bottle with me holding him and he starts to take it well but still after an oz he rufuses the bottles but instead of crying he starts smiling and playing with the teat or just pushes it out and squirms untill i sit him up right! he then continues to squirm untill i lye him on the floor propped up with a pillow then he will continue the bottle take another 2-3oz then we have the same process! i am so happy the crying and pain has stopped but wish my lil one would enjoy a cuddle and take his bottle calmy, on the rare occasions he lets me hold him his head is still going side to side so have to follow him with the bottle and he never seems relaxed, even when hes not feeding hes constantly fidgeting and not a very cuddly baby! anybody else had this? any adivice to get him to take his bottle clamy. is routine is up at 8am bottle at 8.30 which takes anywhere from 20mins to an hour depending on fussing, nap at 9.30-10.15 awake and happy 10.15-11 nap at 11-12 next bottle between 12-1 taking again 20-60 mins nap 2-4 next bottle between 4-5 taking 20-60mins 45 min nap around 6ish awake 7 bottle at 8 then sleep for the night once bottle is finished. he takes 70z each feed.

my dd is 14wks and she can be a fussy feeder, like you say turning her head, wriggling around, sometimes crying, other times just playing with the bottle.

she only has 4-5oz at a feed, sometimes only 3! and she has 5 bottles over a 24hr period.

i find that sometimes when she is fussing it helps if i stand up and walk around, sway a little and then she will feed more calmly.

but tbh i dont have much advice, we have had a day or so when she was really good and then last nights feeds and this morning she has been fussy again, she seems happy and content tho and sleeps well etc, so i figure she this is just her 'thing' and am hoping she will grow out of it?

oh the other thing i have done once or twice is to put her in her bouncy chair, it has a vibrate button and then she will sometimes feed more calmly.

how big is your little boy?

and i am guessing you mean 7oz a bottle not 70

am i right in that your little one only has 4 feeds over 24hr period? would he feed better with smaller feeds more frequently?

and i tend to limit feed time to 30-40mins after that i give up, esp as she seems happy even when having less milk and she is still putting weight on etc.

does he tell you when he is hungry/ask for a feed? my dd doesnt really, she occasionally fusses a bit at feed time but generally never gets upset and asking for milk iykwim?#

oh the other thing i do if she is fussing is take the milk away and get her to suck on her dummy for a bit, to calm her and then quickly swap dummy for bottle, this works sometimes tbh some things work one feed and then not for another, so its just a case of trying different things but not forcing it.

hes 13 pounds exacly got him weighed yeserday! maybe it is just there way i try walking round with him, different positions.
i've started to let him play in the middle of his feed then normally 20 mins later he remembers hes hugry, i dunno about your little girl but they seem more interested in everything else not there milk lol!
he soesn't always take the full feed then he will squeeze an extra one in, don't know about you but ti makes it hard when going out as feeding take a lot of time and a lot of different positions!

Agree with 4mad, 4 feeds in 24 hours doesn't seem a lot. I would try giving smaller feeds more often.

Are you still watering down the formula?

yep my dd is like that, sometimes remember she is hungry 20mins later and its a PAIN yes, i have 4 other kids to get to school, clubs etc so fitting in feeds can be a pain anyway, let alone if she fusses and takes forever.

and yes its a pain going out at feed times, but as she fusses at home or when out i just get on with what i have to do and we generally get there witha bit of jiggling etc.

my little girl is 14lb ish, or she was a few weeks ago, my hv just said that some babies are fussy/want less milk etc and that as long as they sleep well are content and gaining weights its nothing to worry about. but it is hugely annoying esp when they do it in the night!

my dd feeds at 5am, then 9:30ish, then between 1-2 then 6pmish and then at 11:30 when i go to bed.

i tried seeing if she wanted more little feeds, fewer big feeds etc, no difference at all, she generally takes about 20-25oz at the most over the course of a day, less than she 'should' be having but she seems happy enough and is a very smiley little thing, so i am just trying to go with it, but it can be wearing!

oh and i make up a 5oz feed ie 5 scoops but with 5 and a half ounces of water, just to make sure she doesnt get constipated etc, we use hipp organic formula and the hv says the extra half ounce of water is ok.

she has 120-160ml each feed generally and occasionally will take it all in one go, but often only 2-3oz then a break and then a bit more etc etc

off to deal with my baby, so not ignoring btw, will try and look in later if there are any more tips!!

wow just had to ready through it all, i though 4 bottles a day wasnt much either so i tried 3 hourly with less milk each feed but the fussiness was even worse! and at one point was only taking 16oz of formula a day! he does have extra water in the bottle 6 and hal scoops to 7 oz of water then most feeds he takes 6oz of it sometimes only 4 then he will have an extra feed at about 11pm or have his feed 3 and half hourly instead of 4, i follow his cues but its mostly 4 bottles around 5-7oz, even when he wakes up in the morning he still doesn't act hungry but feed him and he gets into it eventually! if he naps well he does sometimes wake up hungry but normally wants a quick fix has a few oz then just wants to play! i do just get on with it but at the baby group i go to you see all the other mums snuggling and feeding there babies then theirs my lil terror squirming through his lol! atleast i know i'm not the only one with a wriggler!

jiltedjohnsjulie, i have tried doing feeds closer together but he really doesn't work well like that he ends up taking 2oz then can sometimes not be intrested again for up to 4 hours, when i tried doing them closer together to get more feeds in a day he only took about 16oz in a 24hour period. on a good take he will take 6oz each feed then take an extra one between 10-11pm and there is always extra half oz of water.

sounds like my dd, i tried smaller feeds more often and she wasnt interested either.

like your ds she doesnt even seem hungry after 6hrs without a feed!

the extra half an ounce of water is fine according to hv and i did it with my last ds as well :)

i aim to get 20oz into dd over 24hr period but some days she has less, some days she has more.

i found myself worrying a lot about this and she is my 5th baby! so i should know what i am doing, tho first three totally bfed and so no clue how much they would take at a feed and ds4 started off not taking much but quickly became a little guzzler with his milk!

i think as long as your ds is happy, content and sleeping well then he is obvviously getting enough :)

and maybe he still associates his feeds with feeling yucky with the reflux, so it may take him a while for that association to go away and then he may enjoy feeding more.

it is a shame, like you i want feeds to be a nice cuddly, relaxed experience for me and baby and we do get some feeds like that, and then we go back to fussing again, i cant see a pattern to it, i have looked to see if there is anything that seems to make her feeds more contented.

the only link i can see is that the days that she fusses are the days that she possets and burps more, but that could be because she is fussing she is taking in more air? or maybe her tummy is making her fuss? anybodies guess, lol!

and yes its good to know you are not the only one! and i have met a couple of mums with babies who were the same, they are now strapping toddlers and absolutely fine, they were just never big milk feeders, i think its just how some babies are :)

i find with my DS its fussier days on days when he's more windy or gets the hiccups alot which is due to the reflux. does she seem in pain when she possets? likes yours i see no pattern to the fuusiness he either takes his bottle nicely or its a fussy one!
i think the same he is happy smiley little thing sleeps all night and is gaining weight nicely. for wind i add a little bit of gripe water to it, or give it straight if hes got a bad gripey tummy and give him a massage which he loves! i think DS on averge takes about 25oz a day and thats a good day! i have just given him his bottle while walking round for a good 20 mins with him and now my arms ache lol! can't imagine what it would be like having another 4 children to look after DS is my first so atleast i can spend all my time with him and his long fussy feeds!

i dont think she seems in pain? she doesnt cry but she doesnt look happy either, i thought if she was refluxy she wouldnt be happy to sleep on her back? and she does quite happily, i get two 5-6hr stretches at night where she sleeps fine on her back.

and yes if he is sleeping well and gaining weight then he is getting enough milk.

25oz is a good day here as well, its normally more like 20-22oz. feeds today have been fussy, she is due to feed soon, will have to offer it to her soon as i have school run to do and need to be out by 2:40 to get to the school on time. she is asleep at the moment tho and waking her to feed her is not always a good idea as she is cross when she doesnt get enough sleep!

exacly the same as my son they sound the same lol with waking early for feeds!
well the docs said reflux and i have seen an improvement to his fussiness on the bottle with the meds, but he does and always has slept fine on his back for naps and at night, he goes a good 10 hour stretch on his back at night with no fussing thats why at first i didn't really want to give meds but as soon as i did the fussing wasn't as bad but is still there and i get smiles inbetween the bottle rather then crys!

just started to feed her, she has had about 2 and a half oz and now wont take anymore, so am going to change her nappy, have a break fora bit etc and then try again........such fun.

one of those days eh! just out of interest have you tried giving her the next stage teat i found that helped a little may be something simple thats the flows not fast enough? if not i think the best thing we can do is just except thats how they feed the little monkies!

well she has now had 4oz, she was doing really well, got into a good rhythm sucking and then someone came to the door and if you interupt her then you are buggered.

i tried the faster flow teats and she just choked and gagged, we have experimented with diff teats and she seems happiest with the 3mth plus avent ones. i have avent bottles, some have suggested buying different bottles etc.

BUT when she wants to she can guzzle down 5oz in 5mins so i dont think its the bottles/teats that are the problem, just her being a madame, she doesnt seem interested today, would rather be nosey and look around.

and i think the best we can do is just accept it, irritating as it is and fingers crossed they grow out of it!

same as my son smallest noise and he's more interested in that then his feed! but he also does suprise me on the odd feed a guzzles it all, hes dr brown 3 month + same thing as advent! well good luck with your LO hopefully they grow out of it i'll keep u posted if i find anything that helps!

she had 5oz in the end, tho she has sicked up a bit, lots of burps and a big fart as well

so 40 mins i have spent feeding her, tho i stopped to change ds4's nappy and get him ready for the school run etc.

she had some with me sat holding her, some walking about and some sat in her bouncy chair contrary little thing!