4 Month old not interested in feeding

[mama30]

My ds has been feeding very little for a week or so.

He was fully bf until he was exactly 4 months old. He had gone from the 91st per centile at birth to the 50th thus the doctor adviced I gave him formula as well.

I started with a bottle before two of his feeds each day. Although not keen at firt (he is on hypoallergenic formula because of his ezcma - the taste is awful)he took it most days.

He now possets more than he used to. Also he will only feed 4 or so minutes at each breast and is very distracted and uninterested during the feed. Anything will make him stop.

I now give him the formula after the breast - he is as interested and needs lots of rocking & encouragement to have 2 oz. I have also tried toping him with expressed milk (in case he prefers it) and he is just as uninterested.

He seems fine & happy other than the increased possets. I am worried as am now producing less milk (have started expressing to help matters) and he is obviously not going to gain the weigh he needs. He used to be very interested in his feeds and would efficiently feed for 10-12 minutes at each breast and a lot longer for confort at times. Now he can't wait to let go and is not keener on the bottle.

Sorry for the long message - any help??

He's fussing because he's of an age to be distracted.

How long ago did you start giving formula?

I would say drop the bottles altogether and bfeed him as frequently as he'll let you.

As babies get older, they often get better at breastfeeding and can take large quantities of milk in a very short time. It may be that he's getting all he needs from you and doesn't need the bottles anyway.

How is he? Alert? Producing lots of wet nappies? Pooing regularly (although regularly can mean different things for babies this age)?

Babies can drop through centiles and it be perfectly normal - they can be "big" at birth for all sorts of reasons (was he late, did you have diabetes, etc, etc) - are you and his dad big people? He might just be finding his natural bodyweight. As long as he's in proportion and developing normally, I really wouldn't worry too much about his weight.

DD2 plummetted through the centiles at that age - she was just settling at her normal size (small).

I'd drop the formula too, actually, and just breastfeed lots.

Yes, DS1 went from 75th to between 9th and 25th - he was fine and the way I got round the HV frowning at me about it (while DS1 gurgled up at her, beaming) was to stop getting him weighed...

He's on about the 50th now - he's 2.8yo. He was just not meant to be a big baby - he fed loads and ate loads too (more than DS2 actually, who is bigger, despite weighing less when he was born).

Babies are weird - helps to remember that too.

Thank you for your messages (babies are weird is one I had not heard before!). I started the formula 10 days ago.

Yes, he is alert and nappies are wet and dirty.

I have just fed him and it was 4 minutes per breast again. I gave him 2 oz of expressed milk on top which he had with no fuss.

I will follow your advice and breastfeed him everytime.

any other ideas pls?

Agree with Hunkermunker - 4 min per breast sounds fine. My DD (5 months) only has 1 boob at a time and has never fed for more than 5 min since she stopped cluster feeding at about 10 weeks.
Keep offering the boob!
HTH

mama30 - I agree that a 4 month old may be very distracted for all kinds of reasons. Mine was and still is a nosey parker, any one, including DH walked into the room and he would let go of the breast. The way I sorted this was to feed him in his bedroom with soft lighting and no one coming in when I was feeding. It did the trick ! I know it's not very practical to only feed behind closed doors, but it may be a good temporary measure to see how you get on.

Also my son and I got thrush when he was around 3 months old. I am not suggesting you do, but he pretty much would scream after a few mins. at the breast. It may be worth checking for any signs of thrush in baby's mouth as they get very sore mouths and stop feeding.

Only other things I can think of is a feeding strike of sorts or possibly some sort of reflux (you say he possets, this may be worth checking with a GP too).

Please speak to an expert at LLL or some other org. if you can and read kellymom.com which gives reasons why babies may temporarily lose interest in feeding.

But if you wish to continue bf, a reduction in formula is highly recommended, otherwise your supply will just go down and baby will have even less interest in staying on the breast. If baby does have some sort of reflux and suffers with eczema too, I think most bf experts would tell you that breastmilk is mucher better for him than formula.

The worst thing is when they get distracted and DON'T let go of the breast - owww! Yep, babies are weird and illogical creatures. I agree that it sounds like he may not need the formula. On the 50th centile he's hardly starving. IME my DS is less distracted with the bottle as he can look around more easily, therefore if yours isn't keen it could well be that he doesn't need it.

Twinkle - lol yes my son has been doing all kinds of monkey tricks ever since he was a baby, incl. NOT letting go of my breast when turning his head, ooooouuuucccchhhh. Now at 2.5 years old he practcially stands on his head when bf ; )