Baby not feeding.

[TwinkleMerrick]

I have a 6 week old baby, formula fed (gave in on brf a few weeks ago) she had jaundice and was in hospital. Lost 15% of her body weight as a result. Put on a feeding plan which helped. That was 3 weeks ago.

She has been feeding really well and gained the weight plus some. Yesterday she had a hungry day, had 8 full feeds instead of her usual 6. But today she has hardly had anything. 1 full feed then 3 small feeds of 2oz each. She just keeps falling asleep on the bottle. I tried basically force feeding her but she just threw it up. She isn't presenting any other symptoms, happy and smiling. Just a bit sleepy.

Pretty born is in so terrified of her losing weight again. After all the hospital trips and jaundice it's made me worry whenever she doesn't have a proper feed. Anybody experience similar problems? Is it the heat? Any tips?

I'm a worried first time mum

[merlotmummy14]

Know it can be difficult but the way my midwife explained it to me was that sometimes you don't fancy a full 3 course dinner - sometimes you just want the soup. Some days you're a lot hungrier than others. They say to look at how much she is drinking over the course of a week rather than every 24 hours. Don't obsess too much over numbers - my wee one threw up after every feed until she got to about 8/9 weeks (bearing in mind she was 3 weeks early) and then her stomach seemed to just mature and she only pukes up a little every few feeds now at 13 weeks. Keep going, you're doing great and just keep winding her as that can make them less sicky - have you tried infacol? We used it nearly every feed and really helped. Doctor recommended Dr Brown bottles but she didn't really take them and the lids kept leaking (after forking out £16 for 2) but another mum friend swears by them so you never know. Also the heat makes them take less so keep that in mind, same way it does with adults. If she's happy, I wouldn't worry about it too much. She'll tell you if she's hungry.

[TwinkleMerrick]

Thanks for your advice, sometimes you just need someone to reassure you. I have some infacol so will try that if she keeps been by sick xx

[Drchinnery]

My 2 month old has been the same today, not finishing full feeds as the day has gone on I think it's just the heat as hes his usual self! Have just been offering him smaller feeds every now and then between so he doesn't dehydrate but if they don't want it its difficult! I used to be obsessed with feeds so i know how you feel and i used to write everything down as he had a difficult start but after a while i realised I couldn't force him so as long as he's gaining it's fine. I found around 6 weeks his feeds went all over the place and then suddenly he started sleeping from 11pm til 5am then 6 then 7 and he changed his pattern so I think they go through stages of adjusting themselves as well.