Gasping/choking on bottle

[dbb02]

Hi

Our 6 week old little boy seems to be really struggling with a bottle. He takes the first 2-2.5ozs and then starts gasping at the bottle and spitting a lot of the milk out. He has been doing it for a while but it seems to be getting more frequent.

Anyone experienced this? Have tried various bottles and positions but nothing so far has made any real difference. He is quite a big baby, just weighed today and 13lb.....not sure if that's relevant!

Any advice would be great, am first time mum and getting a bit stressed!!

Thanks xx

Try not to get to stressed. I think babies do lots of weird things we never quite understand.
It might be the dreaded wind. Will he burp and then carry on?
Or perhaps he needs a slower teat?

What's his breathing like generally? Does he snore?

yes I was going to say slower teat

and if he seems to have had enough at 2-2.5 ozs then that's fine, no need to coax or persuade him to take more; his tummy is still quite tiny and that might be enough for that feed. You may find that once you stop coaxing/persuading he will cue for feeds in a shorter time, but that's fine, too

Try to avoid doing the twist, where the adult follows the baby's head as he turns away from the teat, twisting the bottle to get that extra oz or so into the baby's mouth despite the baby cueing to stop the feed

Thanks all -

Yes he is a snorer! He's quiet a loud breather too if you know what I mean.

I think he is on the slowest teat already - but will double check that.

Maybe i should take as sign he is done with the feed when he starts and stop. I'll try that.

It's just it seems to be getting more frequent and am a bit worried he is eating less than before - he never (touch wood!) does it during the night and always tends to finish that and his morning bottle - it's an afternoon and evening thing.

Does he seem settled after the 2.5oz and is that what he would normally take?
One of mine had something called a floppy larynx that really became noticeable between 6-8 weeks. It scared the hell out of me but the dr reassured me it was fairly common and that she would outgrow it (she did by 18 months).

But there are a lot of other reasons for struggling to feed (reflux being one). If you are worried speak to your hv/gp and see what they say.

It sounds like the problem is worse later in the day when perhaps he is more tired?

I am sure he is perfectly fine and clearly he is gaining weight nicely so I wouldn't worry too much

Thanks. I guess you are right, he is putting weight on so not to worry!

I've stopped feeding him today when he started and although he cried, once calm he didn't ask for more. I wonder if it was as simple as he was telling me he is full....now I feel stupid - in my defence though he is definitely eating less than last week. I'll keep an eye on it and mention to HV

Thanks for your help all - I love mums net! X