17 wk old won't take more than 4oz a go

[Nurse15]

I have a 17 week old (born 3 weeks early) who point blank refuses any more than 4oz per feed. Reading the milk tins etc she should be having much larger bottles less frequently but how can I encourage this? She just spits it out when I try and persuade her to take more! She's feeding every 2-2.5 hours during the day!

My dd was a fussy feeder too. I found that her stomach just couldn't process formula in the larger quantities that her big brother could.

How is her weight gain? I'd probably not worry if her health checks are positive.

If not , will you take her to see your hv?

As above - how is their weight gain? My son has never taken the formula or even NHS guide on formula amounts but has stayed consistent on his percentile weight so HV said he must be getting what he needs!

Mine was born at 36 weeks at 4 pounds. She NEVER ate much! I had stacks of those big dr brown bottles and she never used them, just the 4 oz ones.

4oz was the norm for about 6 months at which point she would have 5 at her last bedtime feed, never more.

She did gain weight slowly and is still tiny now at 4, she's 5th centile and the other kids loom over her, bless her.

I agonized over those bloody tins for ages and worried, I know how stressful it is. I used to look longingly at other babies guzzling massive bottles like magnums of champagne and then look at my dainty doll pushing away after 3 and wonder what I was doing wrong.

Not sure what weight your baby was at birth? If they are healthy and growing, then this might just be the way they are. They can't all be guzzlers

Oh my DD also fed every 2/2.5 hours in the day, it was near impossible to stretch her longer.

I think she just has a little tummy. Even now she eats like a bird, no wonder she had no interest in gallons of milk being foisted upon her.

It was exhausting though especially at night, I feel for you.

My daughter was the same. As long as she's gaining weight I wouldn't worry.

My daughter would only take 3 ounces at 6 months - she was quite tiny then and eventually the health visitor put me out of my misery and said if she wanted more she would have drunk if - I wasted a lot of formula until that point ! I should add that she is now nearly 13 and soon to be taller than me so it obviously didn't do her any harm.

Don't worry yourself if weight is gaining ok, I breastfed so I know it's a little different but I had no idea how much or how little she took so you just tend to assume it's ok as long as they are gaining weight. My daughter has always been small and didn't put on a lot of weight early on so don't stress to much they will take as much as they need 😊

Mine was a little and often feeder. Perhaps try small amounts more frequently.