Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

Newborn Ds not feeding enough , how can i get him to ?

29 replies

hodgepodgepanda · 30/03/2015 11:31

My 9 day old Ds is not feeding enough according to my midwife , he will only take 1 ounce every two hours despite my best efforts to get him to take more he just won't , he gags and spits out his bottle .

His weight has gone down from 7lb 6oz to 6lb 14oz and if his weight hasn't made any improvement by Wednesday then she says he will have to go back to hospital until he is at a decent weight .

How am I supposed to force feed him ?

I rouse him before every feed and make sure he is wide awake but after one ounce he is done, not necessarily tired as he will quite happily sit and stare round the room for hours .
I'm at a loss with what to do , I can't make him eat if he isn't hungry

OP posts:
00100001 · 30/03/2015 11:35

is he breastfed?

Bottle feed him :/

00100001 · 30/03/2015 11:36

sorry - ignore me, I misread your post.

espa · 30/03/2015 11:47

Was he prem? Can you feed him more but less often? My DD (now 15 weeks) has fed every 4 hours since she was born (after neonatal start her on that routine when she came off the drip). She's always had a good appetite though, at that stage she was probably taking 3-4oz which meant she could go longer.

espa · 30/03/2015 11:48

DD had an infection (hence neonatal stay) though only a week early. She was 8lb.

LittleBearPad · 30/03/2015 11:52

Maybe ask Mnhq to move this to infant feeding as you may get more replies.

How is he at night ?

Original poster
hodgepodgepanda · 30/03/2015 12:28

He was 8 Days early .

He feeds the same through the night as well .

I'll ask for it to be moved , didn't realise their was an infant feeding topic

OP posts:
Totality22 · 30/03/2015 12:40

That's 12oz in 24h?

They do say 18oz for newborns in 24h (I just looked on a bottle of Aptamil I have in cupboard and it says 3oz x6 in a 24h period but that is just an average!) but your DS is taking a bit below the average.

The MW was quick to worry you by pointing this out, how did she suggest you get baby to take more??

Some newborns don't feed well and I can imagine that is so scary.

Keep doing what you are doing and hopefully he'll start taking a but more and have a nice gain. What % of birthweight has he lost?

Izzy24 · 30/03/2015 12:46

Has he been losing weight since birth, or has he started to gain/ remain static?

How many wet/dirty nappies?

prettywhiteguitar · 30/03/2015 12:52

My 6 week old definitely doesn't feed as well as my previous two. It's worrying isn't it ! I found that he was falling asleep on the boob all the time so I'd take him off and put him back on to stimulate feeding. I also have to wake him up to feed him. He has also had terrible wind so won't feed then.

Would little but more often work ? Maybe try after an hour for another 1/2 oz, the more they feed the more they want it.

You might well find he's put more weight on just because you're more aware of it and by wed his weight has gone up. They only need a little more milk to put weight on.

HamAlive · 30/03/2015 12:56

Has he been checked for tongue tie?

LadyDeirdreWaggon · 30/03/2015 13:03

Would feeding every 3 hours let him build up more of an appetite? That's what we were told to do with (FF) DS and he was 4 weeks early.

callamia · 30/03/2015 13:10

Are you feeding on demand, or by schedule? I wonder whether there are times that he'll take more milk during the day? For example, does he seem to want to cluster-feed? Checking for tt also seems sensible.

Original poster
hodgepodgepanda · 30/03/2015 13:11

She had no suggestions of how I can get him to take more , which was really helpful

He weighed 7lb 6oz when he were born and when he was weighed on Friday he weighed 6lb 14oz - I'm not sure wether this is a big loss or not as he is my first .

Tried waking to feed more often but he just doesn't want it .
Not sure about tongue tie either

Feeling rather useless tbh

OP posts:
Original poster
hodgepodgepanda · 30/03/2015 13:12

Feeding on demand as he won't take anything if I try it any other way

OP posts:
scotchfreeescapegoat · 30/03/2015 13:15

does he burp well and easily after he feeds?

Sometimes babies, especially newborns with such immature guts, wont get the air up well which can make them unable to take any more, even though they could do with further feeding.

If you are not getting a burp at the end of a feed, try a few different positions to see if you can get any more air up and then try again with the bottle. Tiger in the Tree (laying baby lengthways down your forarm) is great for getting up air. I always found putting baby high up on my shoulder (so his tummy and your shoulder are parallel) and walking upstairs helped alot too.

I hope it helps.

Grantaire · 30/03/2015 13:16

What do you do when he stops feeding? Is he getting too windy and uncomfortable? Is he bringing up his wind? Do you then offer more?

What are his wees and poos like?

scotchfreeescapegoat · 30/03/2015 13:20

when you put your finger into his mouth, does he latch well to it? Do you feel his tongue and pallet grip it and feel his suction? If you can, look under his tongue and see if the frenulum is attached right to the end of the underside of the tongue. Will he take a dummy?

Were you formula feedings right from birth or have you recently switched from breast to formula. The reason i ask is that babies who are F/F right from birth often dont have a weight loss or at least not a significant one as they begin to take in nutrients right from the start, whereas a breastfed baby will have a bit of a wait for the milk to come in and will have a weight loss.

Original poster
hodgepodgepanda · 30/03/2015 13:27

Nappies are all fine .

Latches on to finger well & he has a dummy , winds really well too .

Formula fed since birth

OP posts:
scotchfreeescapegoat · 30/03/2015 13:38

Caveatted to say this is just my opinion and is a reflection of what i would do. You should totally feel free to ignore if you feel like it.

If it was me, I would offer him a feed every 3 hours. I suspect he is snacking - having a little bit, just enough to take the edge of his appetite so he never takes a full feed. You dont have to go by the minute. He may gets whingy or possibly even cry for a bit before the feed in which case, feed him but try to stretch it abit and push him beyond the 2 hours he is currently doing.

Babies, especially newborns have no sense of perspective. Everything is either black or white, on or off, hungry or not. When they are not hungry the last thing in the world they want to do is have a feed, when they are hungry they are full on, feed me now i am SOOOOOO hungry starving.

I know it is counter intuitive but i suspect he will take a bigger feed if he has time to build a proper appetite.

Congrats on your lovely baby by the way.

NCtotalkaboutsex · 30/03/2015 13:39

Is he actually hungry and crying for the feed? Or are you just waking and offering every 2 hours?

If you just waking and offering then I would leave and see how long it takes for him to get hungry!

I found if I fed my dc's to oftern they would do the same, quick ounce To tie them over!

I never fed any of mine every tie hours always 3 to 4! I'm wondering if he is just not hungry enough after 2 hours

Izzy24 · 30/03/2015 13:42

His weight loss seems to be just within normal limits.

My suggestion would be to hold off on the dummy for a few weeks as, at this age, usually if he is wanting to suck it means he needs to feed.

Original poster
hodgepodgepanda · 30/03/2015 13:46

It's Ds requesting to be fed every two hours like clockwork , only wants his Dummy every so often but will try and keep him off it a while

OP posts:
Artandco · 30/03/2015 13:47

I'm the opposite. I would def feed every 2 hrs as you want as many feeds eventually in the daytime and less at night.

I fed mine every 1hr -90mins in the day, then they slept a good 10hrs at night from weeks old.

I would try feeding him when he isn't so tired firstly. So if he's just napped, feed after rather than just before he naps. If he has fed and won't take anymore try winding and changing nappy ( should wake him a little) then trying again with another 1oz.

I don't think 1oz every 2 hrs is that bad really for a baby who's a week old and was almost 2 weeks early. He's probably still in shock about life!

Original poster
hodgepodgepanda · 30/03/2015 15:22

Just managed to get 2 & a half oz down him and he brought it straight back up .

I'm at a complete loss

OP posts:
AalyaSecura · 30/03/2015 15:47

Is he bringing up his feed a lot? That could be reflux. Is he unhappy or ok when he brings it back up? Some babies with reflux are happy chuckers, and some experience pain. For happy chuckers, gaviscon can really help. If it causes pain, you might need more help. I had big issues with ds's feeding as a newborn, and his reflux made it all worse.

Swipe left for the next trending thread