gf experts out there, please could you give new mum advice on small bottle feeds for 5mt ds

[alibo]

my ds is 5 months, but was 3.5 weeks early. has been sleeping from 10-11pm feed for ages, but will never take more than 4-5 oz at each feed. Have been waking him at 7.30am for ages now, and only takes small feed(breast and sometimes 2-3oz top up formula). Pretty on time for all other feeds, and am now on all bottles. (started to fefuse breast more and more). In last week or so has been taking 4oz at 10.15pm, will not take anymore, but now waking earlier today 6.40am, fed at 7am and took 4-5 oz. Trouble is even when he was waking at 7.30am, still was ready for short nap by 9ish. Last few days he is shattered by 8.15,8.30 am, and this is affecting rest of naps and getting very tired coming up to next feed. Has anyone got any advice for keeping feeds,and naps on track so as to avoid him needing nap around 3.30, and then completly overtired by 6.30pm? Have been advised to stay off solids yet as daily intake is still only around 20oz.

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basically, feeds at 7.30, (or 7 recently ),11.00, 2.30ish, 6ish, 10.15pm. naps are going wrong also, as he wakes not hungry, but is teething, some days this really bothers him. could be a bit constipated, can go 2 days with no poo. it is plasticine like when he does go, not hard. sorry to get onto poo,!! but i wonder if this is why he can only take so much in?

is he having water as well? will help with the poo!

also, is he sucking really hard on the teats?

on a number three teat and seems fine with the flow of this. tried water but refuses it, also addes bit of orange but still refused!!

Is he on a formula for hungrier babies as this could affect his appetite.

Is he on a formula for hungrier babies as this could affect his appetite.

i use the dr browns bottles. because there isnt the vacuum in them, ds2 (20 weeks) doesnt have to suck so hard, so he takes more milk, quicker IYSWIM

we have always used avent bottles, and he seems to take the milk quickly, within 5-10 mins, but then stops at 4-5 oz and will not take anymore even if left to have a play for half hour or so. doesn't ever then demand a feed sooner than the 3.5 hours.

oh, he has always been on farleys first milk from birth.

sometimes my ds will only have 4-5 oz. other times he will take 7.

main dilema at the minute is how best to keep roughly on track when wakes earlier than 7 as cannot keep him going till 9am for a sleep. also how best to deal with a shorter lunchtime nap of 1 hour. never seems to work giving him short nap after 2.30 feed and another short nap at 4.30 ish as suggested in book.??

Have you tried letting him have a cat-nap of fifteen to twenty minutes at 8.15/8.30am, then a further ten of twenty minutes a couple of hours later. That would mean he should last easily until 12noon for his lunch time nap. A top up just prior to him going down may help him sleep well at lunch time, and keep his naps on track. I would also try giving him a drink of brown sugared water just before his first morning nap for a couple of days to see if it would help with his poos. Doing a poo every second day would certainly affect his appetite.