FF 4 month old not feeding...at all, Please help!

[JHelenA]

Hi all,

My DS has been ff from 8 weeks, after being fed ebm from 3 weeks because of major problems with b/f (I was distraught).

Anyway, he's been a star ever since but on Sat it all went pear shaped. Basically, he screams and screams every time I try and feed him, although he gives every sign of being hungry. Today he has only had about 8fl oz and so the hv advised me to make a GP appt. I was told he's not ill (I totally agree), and "I've never seen a baby suffer from going a bit hungry". Is this right?!! At what point should I worry?

This is bringing up all the emotions I had around failure to b/f and I'm starting to get really upset.

Please help.

xxx

I'm afraid I haven't got any great advice, but just wanted to say, that our dd1 seemed to not like milk (breastmilk or formula), and it was a constant struggle to get her to feed, we used to give her just a couple of oz's at a time, boy was it knackering! Things did get better when we changed bottles and formula, but that was when she was a bit younger than your ds. There were days where she barely touched a drop, but our GP said that as long as they produce wet nappies then things should be ok.
I hope someone comes along with some good advice, and that you don't beat yourself up too much. You sound like a lovely mum who has tried really hard to do the best for her little boy.

Was it the GP who told you he wasn't ill? Did he/she give any indication of what the problem was?

If he is showing signs of being hungry, but screaming when you try to feed him I think I would be concerned.

Agree with the bit about wet nappies. And also keeping an eye out for other symptoms.

But if he is the same tomorrow I would go back to the GP. 8fl oz in one day for a 4 month old is very little milk.

Thanks both. Dr gave no indication of what could be wrong.Got impression he thought i was over anxious. He also said ds not ill, as nno other apparent symptoms.

Any one know about reflux?

xx

Don't know much about reflux I'm afraid, but discomfort when feeding is a symptom I think. How has he been this evening - is he sleeping ok?

I don't think you sound over anxious, especially as HV advised you to go to the GP. As for "I've never seen a baby suffer from going a bit hungry" yes that's fine if a baby drops a feed or two, but not feeding properly for 4 days and screaming when you try to give a bottle is not normal.

Maybe you could call NHS direct see if they can give you some advice.

I hope he's ok, and try not to get too worried x

JHelenaA
replying to your post - I know you left a message on mine earlier.

Davidsmom left a great message on mine which you have probably seen which I found very helpful.

I know that at this age the baby being distracted was a potential issue. I tried all the suggestions to rule this out - feeding in quiet / darkened room etc. And I noticed the feeds that were distracted (morning, weekend etc.) when DS2 was around. So I got a feel for what that kind of feed was like....But there was still something different happening as well ...

Co-incidentally I was at an osteopath for him and happened to feed while I was there. She said that she thought having seen the feed that he might have reflux. (I guess you get a warped sense of what is a "normal" feed after weeks of struggling to get them to feed!)

He was stopping feeding after about 4-5 mins. He was arching his back and stretching back (arms above his head or scratching his head). Crying. Refusing to go back on (even though I knew he was hungry as he had no breakfast either and this was after 11.00). As soon as I tipped him back to try to bring him towards the breast he would howl.

He was also stuffing his hands in his mouth. This was not just a teething thing as it ONLY did it this way during / after a feed. And it was quite peculiar as it was stuffing all ten fingers in his mouth trying to get at the back of his throat rather than his gums if you know what I mean.

This behaviour had been going on for 3 weeks by this point (so I knew he wasn't just having a non hungry few days or something).

Although he is big (75th centile) he dropped back to 50th as he put on no weight in almost a month - so I knew the lack of milk intake wasn't my imagination. But at the same time, he wasn't skinny or not thriving or anything - which was kinda what was holding me back doing anything about it.

In the end after reading Davidsmom's post and after trying the distractable baby methods I went to see a doc to see what he thought because it seemed to have been going on for so long at this point and was starting to impact his weight.

In addition to the above symptoms he had actually been gagging / not breathing on a daily basis for the first 2 months and also had a chronic stuffed nose since birth (still has it).

So in the end, it turns out that those two symptoms plus what we are going through at the moment meant the doc didn't take any time before he said that he thought he had some kind of reflux issue.

We are probably at the mild end of things given how severe this condition can be, but i was really starting to find feeding very disheartening and worried that my milk was drying up as a result of his refusal.

We are starting on gaviscon but it has been pretty crap so far. But maybe I am not giving enough yet. But we may move onto Zantac or something.

What formular are you using?

I had very similar probs with my DS on SMA Gold until I swapped to Aptamil and BINGO.

I cna't say he has ever LOVED his milk but at least he drank it OK.

is it possible that is teething?

Hi,

Found your posting.

My LO is also refusing bottle (usually EBM) feeds at times and screams(much milder since starting Zantac) mid feed.

As I'm sure you read from Trimum's thread make sure your Gp has checked out his ears/throat incase of simple reason for pain. Although sure you have already done this.

A good tip would be to feed him in the surgery! The only way I got a paediatrician referal was because I tried to feed him in the waiting room and no-one could hear their names being called. This continued in the consult room and even though the appt was for me I got a referral for LO!

Gaviscon seems to work better in FF babies as easier to give-just add powder to big enough bottle of formula.

Why did you give up BF? Was it similar probs?

Hi all,

Thanks for replying on this post. We're using C & G formula, and reverted to this for exactly the same issues when b/f. He would latch wonderfully, take a few mins worth of sips and then scream and scream. No one could figure out what was wrong, I spoke to NCT and LLL as well as several midwives and HVs. In the end we reverted to EBM through a bottle at which point everything was great, although now on formula. He's been completely fine and without problems since then. All this as cropped up within the last week.

The HV has ruled out teething, but who knows. My own sense is that it's probably not.

The Dr looked at his ears and throat and said he looks alert etc, but didn't actually ask any Q re feeding. I did my typical thing when faced with a Dr, which is to turn mute. I have no idea why as a professional women (accompanied by professional husband) we turn into incomprehensible wrecks when faced with this sort of thing.
He's now absolutely starving having not eaten since 11 pm last night. He is trying desperately to feed, but every time he swallows he just starts screaming again. I'm totally lost now so have made another Dr's appt. aaaaaaah .

Will keep you posted, but thanks again for your replies.

xxx

Sorry to hear that things no better. Sounds so similar to my daughter, she had a string of things, making it hard for her to feed, thrush, tongue tie, and then colic (aaagh!!), but whatever we did we never really got to the bottom of it, and TBH she only really started to get better when we started weaning (which we did early, on our GP's advice).
I know exactly what you mean about Dr's, I turn into a simpering idiot, I try to go with my dh, and write a list beforehand of questions, otherwise I just sit there looking moronic! Good idea about trying to feed in front of them, I did that with my HV, and it was only when she saw how bad she was, did she start taking me seriously. Good luck today.

Thanks hazeyjane!

Been to Dr's and went much better. No real diagnosis, but have been given infant Gaviscon. Just trying to get DS to have bottle with some in it!!! Kinda self-defeating at the mo. As a matter of interest when did you start weaning?

At 20 weeks, but obviously they are all different (have only just started with dd2, who is 25 weeks). My HV was very cross with me (actually, she always seems cross with me, I think it must be part of her job description), and when I told her that my Dr ,a paediatrician, had advised me to start weaning, she said he must be an idiot!

JHelen - my DS had Gaviscon for reflux. A word of warning - it can make them VERY constipated so I didn't put it in evening/night bottles. I think it also recommends putting 2 sachets in - I put one in.

DS was SO constipated that he didn't go for 4 days and just howled.

I thought it was fantastic stuff though!

HTH

Oh and I also weaned at 15 weeks. He is a tremendous eater and dropped all but one of his bottles very quickly. The HV said some babies just struggle with milk and as long as I gave him plenty of dairy in his diet it would be fine.

I have to say he is thriving and I would do it again without hesitation.

(A lot of people will diagree with me but you have to do what YOU think is best)

Thanks hazeyjane & Wilkie,

We struggled giving him the first bottle, but managed to get it down him eventually. Since then he's had another 9 oz in 2 feeds, which is great in comparison. Hopefully it will start to settle down, but thanks for the tip re constipation...don't want to solve one problem only to start another!

On the weaning point, I've spoken to loads of people recently who have weaned between 15-20 weeks that have got into LOADS of trouble with their HVs. None of them regret it though. I guess that's a seperate thread.

Thanks again for your advice

Hi,

Glad to hear things have improved!

I had problems with constipation in my LO after trying Gaviscon. I gave up in the end due to this, because it didnt help and because I was BFg and had to give it in EBM as he wouldnt take it from a syringe/spoon/bottle. Can understand as tried it myself- just gooey.

Since I have spoken to other mums who have had constipation in their LO's w Gaviscon. They have tried 1 part orange juice (pure) to 10 parts boiled water or warm boiled water with good effect. i didnt try this so cant vouch for it personnally but let them continue using it.

If it is reflux weaning may not help- advice from Mummypig on a separate thread.

Fingers crossed all goes well.