9 week DD consistently taking up to 2.5hrs to take a feed. Pls pls pls help a first time Mother!!

[Switz]

Hi
DD 9 weeks old and takes up to 2.5 hours to complete a feed. I had problems post birth and as a consequence she is on breast and formula but 90% of feed is formula as I don?t produce much milk at all. She also has reflux for which she takes Gaviscon and Ranitidine; she doesn?t appear to be in much discomfort but does still bring up a lot of her feed over the 2/2.5 hours is takes to feed her which means constant wiping up and changing of clothes, muslins and bibs!
Her pattern is breast until she takes herself off, usually after 5 to 10 mins per side then she has the bottle. She gets half way through a bottle (approx. 2.5oz of a 5oz bottle) which takes about 20 mins to half an hour, is winded then refuses to take any more post winding until an hour or so has gone by. She does sometimes also take herself off before she?s been winded. By the time she?s taken the rest of the bottle we?re not that far away from the next feed as even though we demand feed she does have a natural 3hr cycle.
Sometimes she?ll miss the 2nd half of her feed if she naps after the first half.
3 times since birth she has taken down the full bottle in one go which she then promptly brings back up spectacularly.

The HV said she is grazing like she did in the womb and to just give her cooled boiled water after she?s taken herself off until the next feeding cycle but this means she?ll only be getting 3oz per feed and doesn?t really take away the time issue if she then spends the equivalent amount of time drinking water!

I haven?t tried the water method yet, I thought I would come here first and see if you ladies have any other ideas or experience in this area. It sounds idiotic but could her stomach be too small to contain the entire feed? I feel so frustrated when friends say their babies of the same age take AGES to feed at an hour. Would love for it to start and finish at an hour!

Sorry, this has been longer than I intended, thanks for reading if you made it this far.

Ideas v gratefully received.

TBH it sounds like she has a feed every 1 1/2 hours which is very normal and 2-3oz a feed is a very good amount. 5oz is actually a lot of milk considering she is still only little so it's no surprise she vomits if she actually takes all of the bottle.

A full feed is the amount of milk she wants to drink at that point - be it just one mouthful or the whole lot. Trust her to take what she needs and don't worry what the packet says she should be taking, it's only a guideline not a law.

Grazing is the normal human baby way to feed so there is nothing wrong there either! In some cultures where the babies are carried on the mums chest and have frequent access to her breasts they feed 4 times an hour!

If she has reflux feeding her responsively, letting her set the pace for when you offer feeds, give her breaks from the bottle during a feed to let her satiety cues kick in, letting her not finish a bottle and giving her time upright post feed (in a sling, bouncy chair or swing) should help reduce vomiting episodes.

As to giving a baby not yet on solids water, I can't stress how bad that advice was. Giving babies straight water can disrupt the normal electrolyte balance within their bodies, which can lead to hypernatraemia in extremis, and will do nothing to aid her growth or stop her vomiting. All the water she needs is in the BM of FM she drinks (BM is 88% water and FM must be similar).

As an aside, what happens if you don't give her a bottle post-bfeed? Some babies with reflux just want to eat/suckle to soothe their reflux pain rather than being hungry babies so I wondered what would happen if she went back to the first side?

Hi TruthSweet

Thank you for your reply. To be honest I couldn't see what the point of giving her water was when she wanted milk, it didn't make any sense when she told me that so I'm glad I ignored that piece of advice.

The problem with feeds every 1 and a half hours is that I have a very limited life and as much as I'm in love with my little girl it's starting to wear me down. I take your point though that she is still very young so I'll just have to grin and bear it for now.

I have tried putting her back on the first boob but she just frets and pulls herself off then starts avidly sucking her hand which is her language for 'milk NOW, mother'.

Thanks agains

Have you tried feeding her in a sling/carrier? When my baby fed almost constantly, I worked out how to do this in order to get more mobile/peace of mind. And are you sure her hand-sucking is her cue for milk? Babies learn to hand-suck to self-soothe. It might be that she's just trying to drop off to sleep (and will, like my baby, take the nipple as an alternative if offered).

Just a suggestion (and you are welcome to not try this) but have you tried breast compressions when you offer the '3rd' side? This can help release the milk in the breast with out baby putting in much effort (it's a bit like hand expressing but while you are feeding).

Are you in contact with a bfc/IBCLC/bfing support group as they offer support to mums who are mixed feeding as well as those who are ebf. It might help to get out of the house and meet some mums who have been there/are there now to chat with.

A sling might be a good idea too as reflux babies often like slings (upright, cuddles, milk and next to mum - what more could they want?) though some do hate them with a passion so perhaps try a sling meet, or again, a bfing group as they often have slings to try or another mum might let you borrow hers for a try.

It does get easier, but it can be very tough when you are in the thick of it so ((hugs))