4 month old feeding little and often

[Ellieczek]

I just wondered if anyone else has the same experience or any advice...
My 4 month old daughter won't take a decent feed during the daytime, she shows hungry signs so I feed her but she'll only take an ounce, or 2 max. I've tried making her wait to make her hungrier but still after 4 hrs will only take 2 ounces. I've resorted back to having a bottle ready all day for her to pick at as otherwise she only gets 10 ounces all day! I know she is able to take more because at night she'll down 4ounces then go straight back to sleep. She suffered with reflux at 3 months so I think this is where the snacking started but we don't seem to get away from it now. Everyone tells me I should space her feeds to avoid problems later on but as I said, this doesn't seem to work! Any advice would be gratefully received!!

Is it causing problems to feed little and often?

Hi Ellieczek, I'm not at all an expert but one of mine had severe reflux (along with other problems) and he only took either 2-3 mins at a time when breastfed or about 2 ozs when bottle fed. He also fed much more calmly at night. I would say, go with it, let her feed when she wants to (or when you can get it in her!) Is her weight gain ok? I think with refluxy babies, it's hard to follow the normal rules about spacing feeds etc. If her weight's ok, and she's settled, then I'd say you're doing the right things.

This is classic for a reflux baby I'm afraid. My DD1 had bad reflux and was mix fed for 3 months - she tended to have a BF then a break, then a formula top-up. When I moved to FF she would guzzle 3-4 oz then refuse the rest. She would then be hungry for another small feed an hour later. I used to get so frustrated but it was just the way she was. Her best feed was always a dream feed around 10.30 as she was almost asleep! It did improve when she was established on solids by about 7/8 months as I could just alternate smaller F feeds with solid meals. DD2 is 4 months, also a refluxer and BF as I couldn't be doing with all the small bottle feeds. She is still a little and often feeder though!

We were under the paediatrician for DD1s reflux and he suggested that the fussy bottle feeding was a CMPI. It turned out she was (and still is) intolerant to cow's milk. We had Neocate but she still only drank a small amount at a time (I don't know if she'd got in the habit of it by then, as she was almost 6 months) so it didn't help with the feeding, but did seem to make her less sicky. Rest assured, although frustrating for you now it will get better and so long as there is no problem with her health and weight gain you don't need to worry.

Hi SamSmalaidh,
It's not a problem as such, if it's just the way she is I'm more than happy to continue, i just didn't want to carry on letting her take small regular feeds if it's just a bad habit. She's my first so I'm feeling a little clueless about what the right thing is to do!

Her weight gain has been fine although slowed down a little recently. She was only 5lb 13 when she was born so piled it on at first as she had some catching up to do!
Thank you so much for your replies, it's a comfort to know she's showing 'classic' signs of something as everyone I've spoken to recently has told me I should be doing something different.
How did you implement any kind of routine with your refluxy babies? I've read various routines that suggest eat, sleep, play etc but as she feeds so regularly I don't see how this would work.
When did you start your babies on solids? I've been advised by the HV to wait until 6 months but if it helps her I'm considering starting her sooner,
Thanks again, was feeling very much like I'm doing something terribly wrong, you've put my mind at rest! X

Small, frequent feeds is natural/the biological norm though, rather than a bad habit - big feeds 4 hours apart is a fairly new idea!

Regarding routine, DD1 used to eat, play, eat, sleep (although I couldn't put her down to sleep straight after a feed). She was also happy to go for longer stretches awake and then have a longish nap. DD2 (4 months) doesn't really have a routine! I know she gets tired after 1.5 - 2 hours awake so I put her down for a nap then. The rest of the time she feeds (snacks) whenever she feels like it. I spent some time trying to get her into a routine then just gave up and decided to go with the flow.
I weaned DD1 at 18 weeks on HV advice to help with the reflux. I wouldn't say it made a great deal of difference and babies still need the same amount of milk at this age so it isn't necessarily the answer. Although eating cereal or other food mixed with formula was a way of getting formula into her without her throwing it up! Good luck and keep up with what you're doing.