Baby not drinking enough since I changed formula help!

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My baby has been put on sma althera due to suspected cows milk allergy she has only been drinking 2-3 ounces of it every 4hrs my baby usually drinks 4oz every 4 hours she is falling asleep during feeds which never use to happen when she was on cow and gate she’s 6 weeks old

Try and persevere with it and hopefully she will get used to it, if not there are things you can try such as mixing with old formula, personally I’m not a big fan of this with babies with CMPA. There are other milks my babies on Aptamil pepti one. The milks aren’t the best tasting so it’s not uncommon for babies. Also she may just be satisfied with the amount she’s drinking so try not to worry just offer more bottles. If she also suffers with reflux it would make sense. My boys 4 months and varies it oz I’v just given him a bottle and he fell asleep after 2oz. He will drink anything from 2-4oz every 2-3hours. Please try not to worry they really are quite good at regulating their milk. Just keep an eye on weight I’m sure she will be fine.

I found that the first 3-4 days having been put on pepti1 my little boy had very small feeds. He did then pick back up to bigger feeds again. Maybe getting used to the taste and thinner consistency. Give baby a couple of days and see how you go. My health visitor was very supportive while we got to grips with cmpa

She likes the milk now but it seems like she is satisfied with the smaller feed and sleeps peacefully she never slept peacefully on cow and gate but I’m just worried about the smaller amount on cow and gate she was a very hungry baby sometimes drinking up to 6oz but on this milk she doesn’t seem as hungry anymore and with the hot weather I just want her to be drinking enough

Ahhh I'm going through the exact same and been in tears panicking 😂 left a message for health visitor. I transferred to dairy free on Friday night! She's 3 months and doing the same 2oz sometimes 3 every 4 hours. She never slept and now she is, but she hasn't had a poo either since, she was having a poo 14 times a day 😬

@bumblebee2235 my baby is 6 weeks and over 10lb is says on Google a 10lb baby needs 25oz a day she’s not drinking 25oz a day and it’s making me so stressed out it’s hard because she’s so settled on this milk she never slept on cow and gate she was always so unsettled and not content at all but ever since being on this milk she sleeps so peacefully she a happier baby overall, the only time she cries now is when her reflux flares up just have to keep up with her lansoprazole it’s just the amount she’s drinking that’s the problem do u think hydrolysed milk must be more filling?

I would say that my little one is now taking roughly the recommended amount for his weight now but as I said it took a few days of smaller feeds before he did this so it might just be a matter of time. Do you have weight reviews booked in? I was very reassured by a couple of extra weigh ins. He was definitely much more settled and his sleep improved so that sounds the same as us.

Can you feed her 2 hourly rather than 4 until she is used to the switch ?

Please don't stress as long as she is drinking has dirty/wet nappies a few days unsettled is nothing to worry about.

But if you are concerned contact your Health visitor.

@Mrsjayy i did try that but she’s not hungry enough after 2hours to drink she just lets the bottle sit in her mouth and the milk pools at the back of her throat and she then starts choking on it

What about going up a teat size? They have to work hard on the first sized teat, but it gets easier as you go up a size. Could have that being on the first teat is wearing her out.

Oh yes teat size.she might be working harder the formula might have a different consistency for her or even taste so she Is reacting to that.

Just spoken to a health visitor and they are emailing me all feeding and information. She said in my babies case they would expect 90ml 3oz but that each baby will be different and to just go on weight gains. To offer the bottle and if she doesn't want it leave it and wait for cues.. (she's emailing me what to look for) she said you don't know exactly how feeds were going previously (i breastfed) and she may be used to a small amount. That over time it should naturally increase, as long as baby seems happy it might be all she needs at the moment.. she said as long as plenty wet nappies. I said my baby isn't having a poo but she said this will be common and when she does go it will be different now. Also told me for the time being to wake her up at 4 hours to offer a bottle.

So basically go with my baby and keep an eye on weight and nappies 😅 my problem is I don't trust my baby to feed what she needs judging from the past 3 months.

But I'm guessing as our babies are now sleeping and seem calmer it's a positive start.

Maybe she’s more settled on the Althera because she’s not in pain ? My son was feeding all the time until we switched to Neocate and he settled right down and started sleeping through.

Id go with her especially if she’s been used to BF . Obviously keep an eye on how much and when she is feeding. I bet she will settle into her own pace . The better tasting of the hydrolysed milks is Pepti1 but to be honest they all smell bad! It does get easier !

You need to trust your baby will drink as much as she needs. I became obsessed with how much my baby drank that I nearly gave him a bottle aversion.
research shows that hydrolysed/amino acid formulas make a baby register they’re fuller faster than standard formula and more in line with breastfed babies so they may not need to drink as much.
my cmpa baby never went above 5 ounces at a time. At 6 weeks he was around 2-3 ounces a feed at most. Always put on weight and tracked his centile even though he was nowhere close to the “recommended” daily amounts. As long as your baby is having regular wet and dirty nappies, that’s enough.
Also if your baby suffers from reflux (a symptom of cmpa) chances are she was drinking more than needed to counteract the pain and discomfort from the reflux and soothe her throat.

If she wasn't sleeping due to pain and discomfort maybe once her stomach is full enough for her not to be hungry hungry she's just conking out! Hopefully as she catches up on sleep and is happier not in pain she will increase her feeds. Just keep an eye on her weight. As long as she is gaining she is likely fine.

Maybe she's just more comfy and not in pain any more and shes just adjusting to that x

My dgd was just moved onto this and refused to drink it although she's older so they've changed her to another one and she's drinking again

@Mrsjayy @BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz so the althera is very thin a lot thinner than the cow and gate she was previously on, at first she was on dr browns size 1 teat which is the same as when she was on cow and gate, but because the milk is so thin it was flowing out too quickly and she couldn’t keep up with it she’d cry and get filled with painful wind, so I had to switch to dr browns size P (preemie) teat and the flow is about the same as the size 1 teat when she was on cow and gate

I know its exactly a year since this was posted but how did your little one get on?

I literally could have written this post myself. Our girl is 6 weeks old and has CMPA. The hydrolysed formula has resolved her symptoms but she has now gone from drinking 3 to 4 oz to barely having 2oz.

I'm worried she isn't getting enough and her weight gain will suffer. She's already on the lower end of the chart.

@RMB1243
hey how did your little girl get on with the feeds, has she improved over time?
my 6 week old little boy has been moved to amptamil hydrolysed milk a few days ago and I’m having the same issue with him only drinking 2-3 oz every 4 hours in broken up feeds, when he was having 4-5 at once on the cow and gate and really worried about him having enough feed I’m not sure if he likes the taste.

Sorry I've only just seen this! She's doing fab now and it didn't take her that long to improve. I do think its the change in taste they dont like. She loves her milk again now thoigh and is regularly clearing 6oz bottles of it now!

Stick with it, he'll definitely improve and it won't take him long!

Hi,
was just reading your post. Having the same issue with my 11week old. Been having aptamil pepti for 3 days and have seen a massive improvement in his sleep but he has 2-3oz and falls asleep on the bottle. How many days did it take to see an improvement in the amount he is feeding?
had to drop a teat size since it’s thinner but im concerned it becomes hard work for him and thats why he falls asleep while feeding