Unhappy feeder

[millsy]

I have had loads of problems with Jake (now 12 wks) feeding since birth. Initially breast fed him but he would keep feeding for 5 mins every 30 mins, not gaining weight and whilst feeding appeared in pain, despite frequent winding. He ended up on bottle feeding and was no better - fighting during feeds and taking half the bottle. Eventually, after a visit to the GP, he was prescribed colief (lactase enxyme) to break down the lactase in the milk. This seemed to cure the problem and Jake fed really well for about 3 weeks - not fighting and nearly finishing the bottle. Just lately he has started playing up again and is taking omly 2/3 of the recommended daily amount (and only gaining 2oz per week). He just fights practically from the start of the feed, trying to push the bottle out of his mouth, kicking and crying and has been doing this for the last week now - I just feel we are back to square one. He is obviously uncomfortable but brings up wind during the feed. We have tried everything we can think of in the past - different teats, milk, strict 4 hourly regimes, feeding on demand but he is still the same. We even tried taking him to a cranial osteopath which had no effect either. The real confusing thing is, this seems to be an intermittent problem. Sometimes he will take a good 5oz and then play up, other times the moment the feed starts. I am desperate for answers, my HV has no ideas. Has anyone had a similar experience, if so please can you help? Many thanks in advance.

No idea, Millsy, but thought I'd bring it back to the top of the board in case someone else can help.

OH MY GOD! Your little man is exactly like mine, you could honestly be talking about him, the only difference is mine is 14 weeks and his name is James
I have also tried different teats (speeds and shapes) different temperatures of milk, demand feeds, routine etc, and am now onto a different milk, Farleys from SMA gold.
We only started on the new milk last night and so far it's been okay, better than usual. Maybe you could try changing, the HV I saw said "maybe he just doesn't like the milk" which to be honest I find hard to believe, how can a 3 month old not like something that he has only ever had?!?!?!?!?!?!?
I can't give any other advice but if you ask me again in a week or so maybe our battles will be over..........I doubt it though

That sounds really stressful, sorry you're going through this. The only slight idea I've had is have you seen Dr Brown's bottles ? This explains a bit about them. I'm using them for DS (15 weeks) as he seemed to start being colicky. These did seem to stop it, but I don't know whether it was because he had a cold and he would have stopped anyway, or because of the bottles. I hope things improve soon.

Well, I will quietly say (incase he hears me ) that things are actually very good since we changed formula.
He would normally drink about 4oz in the first go and then we'd start fighting trying to get him to drink the rest(I make 7oz bottles) but since changing he's been drinking 6oz and then pretty much straight away wanting the rest. He's not nearly as windy and is actually wanting the milk every time we start it.
It's a bloody miracle.

Thanks all of you for your replies and to scrooge for bumping the thread. Jake is still messing about with feeds but for the last three days have managed to get 25-28oz per day down him. But he has been sick after every feed so he's not had all of that. Emma - how is little James feeding now since you changed milk? Jake is on cow and gate premium. We tried soya milk a while back but that made no difference. My HV has also said that maybe Jake doesn't like the milk, I think there may be something in that as there are a lot of aversions to dairy products in our family, especially his dad who is sick if he eats anything dairy based.My HV has suggested starting Jake on a small amount of baby rice if he continues to feed poorly and not gain sufficient weight. I am trying to hold out on that one as I want him to be at least 16 wks and he is just 13 wks at the moment. However, he has dropped from the 91st centile at birth and is now just above the 25th centile and that worries me I guess I could try a different milk - have you noticed anything different in the ingredients between SMA gold and farleys as this seems to be helping?

Millsy x

Oh millsy it's been a like a dream!
Today he drank 7oz in one go and then finished off the last onces about 15 minutes later without any 'arguments'. We then didn't even get to 4 hours before he wanted the next one, it was about 3.15 and he only left 1oz of that.

I heard somewhere that SMA was quite thick and even by looking at the dry formula that seem to be true. When I made the bottles with SMA I had the tap the scoop to get it all out but with Farleys it just flows out, like sand running through your fingers (that's the only way I can describe it). He was obviously really sucking hard with SMA as his burps were revolting, he'd gagg sometimes they were so big but now they are just normal little puffs of his cheeks, you know the sort I'm sure.

He's much much happier between feed too and doesn't cry nearly as much. Bloody SMA, it's shite, DS2 was exactly like James but we just suffered it

Ive heard lots of bad things about SMA - lots of people seem to have trouble with sickiness etc

Millsy, Harvey has just been diagnosed with reflux, could this be the same for your little man? How often is he sick? Does he seem to be in any other discomfort? My HV also suggested early weaning but I really dont think that would help. If she is concerned about lack of weight gain weaning wont help as the solids have less calories in than milk and you could potentially spoil his appetite with solids so he takes even less milk.

Hi becca, I'm pretty sure it's not reflux. I have taken him to my GP who listened to his stomach whilst I breastfed him and she could find no abnormalities. He tends to have sickie days where he is sick at least once, sometimes up to 4 times, during and after each feed. Perhaps three days out of a week he won't be sick or only the once after one feed. This is why I feel he isn't keen on the taste of milk. He is very content between feeds and when rejecting a feed he just refuses to suck and grins at us. Only occasionally he will cry and try to wiggle away - this usually only happens when we persist in trying to get him to take more of the bottle! Generally, he is a very happy, alert baby who is reaching all the milestones for his age. I think I may try a change of milk, possibly to farleys as it seems to have worked for James, Emma. I'm really pleased your problems seem to be ceasing - it is a horrible worry when your child won't feed. How many oz is james' typically taking per day?

I make 4x7oz and 1x4oz......but once mixed that makes 36.5 oz(as we discussed on Becca's 'how many ounces' thread)

He drinks pretty much all of it, he might leave an ounce or two on one bottle but the rest all go.
I think he likes to take his time with it as most goes in the first shot then he'll finish the rest 20-30 minutes later. It's all done within a hour anyway which for him is excellent and before he could take 2.5 hours to finish the same amount of SMA.

millsy, I might be wrong and hope someone will correct me if I am but if he's happy and gaining weight, even if it is less than you'd expect, then might he just be a sicky baby? Especially if you're sure it's not reflux. My ds, who is now 6, was a very sicky baby and went through loads of clothes changes in a day (6 or 7 IIRC) but 5 week old dd seems less so although we're using the same type of bottles and formula (SMA Gold). We never did work out the reason for ds's sickiness. Maybe your ds really doesn't want the feeds or portions of feeds he's rejecting and that's why he brings them back up again? I know that if dd is crying and I eventually decide that maybe she's hungry even though I wouldn't expect her to be - i.e. she fed 5 minutes ago and had quite a lot - then if I force it down, well, not actually forcing her, but you know what I mean, persisting I suppose, then she will bring that last bit up which says to me that she really didn't want it (oops!) Also I've found that she's much less windy and less likely to be sick if she's at quite a high angle when feeding. Anyway, could be totally wrong but thought I'd add these thoughts anyway.