6mo - only takes 100ml of formula

[TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle]

my 6mo DD was a total bottle refuser until about a month ago, so she's now mixed fed.

she has gained weight very slowly, dropping from 91st percentile at birth to around the 25th now. I was advised to top her up with bottles months ago but she refused them.

She will now take a bottle and her 11am and 10pm feeds are just formula - or rather I would like them to be. She will only take 100-130ml of formula but will then take a breast if I offer it. If I don't offer a breast she will happily stop at 100ml but is then hungry again very quickly. Other feeds I offer breast first and she never wants a formula top up.

If I allow her to snack between feeds, she never takes very much and then refuses feeds later, this was a big problem for us a couple of months ago because she started reverse cycling and snacking during the day and then waking every 2 hours at night for massive feeds.

I need her to take proper feeds from a bottle as I'm returning to work soon but I just don't know how. I also need her to gain weight reliably so I'm not happy just giving her 100ml of formula and no breast.

Any tips I can try? Or do I just persevere offering the bottle? I guess when she's in childcare she won't have the option of breast but I'm worried about her weight gain.

we have just started weaning (literally yesterday). she's refusing a spoon but will suck happily on the finger foods I've offered.

sorry, massive post. I also don't want to go cold turkey on the breastfeeding as I'm hoping to still do morning and evening feeds when I'm back at work.

Am I asking too much?

bugger, am I allowed to bump my own thread??!

Ninja, it's a situation which a talkboard is limited to help with, I think. It's 'cos it's hard to see what the difficulty actually is...why are you worried she only takes 100-130 ml at a time? Plenty of babies even of six months don't take more than that in any one session (though others will take more...some take less). You say she stops at about 100 ml and is then hungry soon after - not seeing the problem here, sorry! Again, it is normal to have a break in the middle of a bottle.

Whoever is caring for your baby when you are back at work should be sensitive and responsive, and prepared to go with whatever preference your baby has.

Is her weight still a problem now? If she starts to falter once you are back at work, you can address that then, maybe by more calorie-dense solids.

Hope this helps a bit.

so am I worrying about nothing??

my first was formula fed from birth and just guzzled entire bottles without even pausing for breath so this is new to me!

I'm a bit sensitive about the breastfeeding because her weight gain has been so slow and I kept being told to top her up but she wouldn't take a bottle at all. now she is, but not very much. I guess I feel like I am failing her somehow.

she's still "underweight" according to the HV and not gaining as quickly as she should but I think everyone is a bit more relaxed about it as she's 6mo now and weaning. my gp isn't interested in seeing us anymore.

I guess I wanted to get her into a reliable routine with bottles before I go back to work and the side of the aptamil box says she should be having 210ml feeds

The side of the box will have some blurb about all babies being individuals and this is just a guide to help you blah blah blah.

If everyone else is chilled about your daughter's health, then don't let some words on a box make you worried!

How about talking to the nursery/childminder/carer your dd will have when you are at work, and getting some reassurance about how they will handle it?

How many breast feeds and bottles is she having?
How old will she be when you return to work?

In my limited experience babies who like breast will drink less from the bottle but more when offered breast, so overall it may look like they're not having enough because you can only measure the formula taken.

I think most babies will have a go at breast even if not hungry as it's a comfort thing too.

My dd went down to 3 feeds by 8 months, and when I go back to work in January when she is 10 months, 1 will be formula.

Hopefully it will only be 1 or 2 feeds that are formula by the time you are at work, and with weaning being underway, i would suggest a milk rich diet to compensate, so lots of cheese (mind salt content) and natural yoghurt etc.

My 9 month old takes about 120-150ml per feed. She now has 4 bottles a day that size.

thanks for the advice both. she'll be 8 or 9 months when I go back.

when she was purely breast fed she was having 6 feeds every 24 hours, about 4 hrs apart during the day and one at night.

now I'm trying to do 2 bottle feeds and 4 breast feeds but its more like she's having 6 or 7 breast feeds and 2 bottles!! but I've tried to relax a bit about it now and just feed her when she asks with a couple of those feeds as bottles.

I will be interested to see her weight gain in the next few weeks because she's loving the weaning.