Baby refusing bottle

abbiemk · 2023-08-20T19:27:49+00:00

Hi everyone, My baby is 16 weeks tomorrow and around the last week has been an absolute nightmare to feed. He keeps refusing his bottle, pushing it away, crying etc so takes a very long time to feed him. He's also a very sicky baby and vomits several times through his feeds. I mentioned the vomiting on a previous appointment as he's pretty much been like this since newborn and the dr advised it was common and something they grow out of. Question is should I try a size 4 teat (we use mam) even though they're from 4+ months or is this going to make him more sick? Tyia 😊

AgathaMiss · 20/08/2023 20:32

How is his weight tracking? How many feeds and oz are you offering him in eachof his feeds and what's the total over 24 hours?

it might be that yoire offering him too much milk in a feed and he needs to go back to smaller more frequent feeding. If my baby pushed the bottle away, I would not continue to feed. I would burp, offer the bottle and if they showed signs of pushing away, I would not continue to try.

It's concerning that he vomits mid feed, sounds like he is gulping and perhaps you need to slow the rate at which you're tipping the bottle and give him a chance to swallow before he takes the next gulp.

Original poster

abbiemk · 20/08/2023 20:51

AgathaMiss · 20/08/2023 20:32

How is his weight tracking? How many feeds and oz are you offering him in eachof his feeds and what's the total over 24 hours?

it might be that yoire offering him too much milk in a feed and he needs to go back to smaller more frequent feeding. If my baby pushed the bottle away, I would not continue to feed. I would burp, offer the bottle and if they showed signs of pushing away, I would not continue to try.

It's concerning that he vomits mid feed, sounds like he is gulping and perhaps you need to slow the rate at which you're tipping the bottle and give him a chance to swallow before he takes the next gulp.

Thank you for your advise 😊 he has not been weighed since his last and final check with the health visitor, 4th July but he's a perfect size and was on perfect percentile when weighed previously. He has 5oz Kendamil every 3-4 hours when he wants it. (This is the amount Kendamil advise on the tub) usually wakes around 6:30 so around 5-6 bottles per day? Do you think this is possibly too much? I don't force him to feed, I also try to burp if he refuses, sometimes he will burp sometimes not but as he's also very gassy I'll try to burp him several times through feeds. I'll also take breaks, change his nappy in the meantime etc but unfortunately there has to be some degree of getting him to feed otherwise he'll go hungry? From your comment I am guessing making the teat bigger will just cause more sickness due to guzzling more? Thank you x

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brievandecam · 20/08/2023 20:51

Is the teat possibly too fast for them? My 8 month old still can't cope with size 3 mam teats!

Original poster

abbiemk · 20/08/2023 20:55

brievandecam · 20/08/2023 20:51

Is the teat possibly too fast for them? My 8 month old still can't cope with size 3 mam teats!

He's on size 2 at the moment and has been for around a month I think. He was getting frustrated with the sucking of size 1 so I definitely won't go size 3 yet then. Thank you 😊 x

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AgathaMiss · 20/08/2023 21:16

That's good that his weight is tracking. What time is his last feed, does he wake at night for milk or sleep through?

I'd try offering feeds more frequently. Stop feeding him as soon as he shows signs that he's had enough and then offer a bottle 2.5 (max 3) hours later.

If he is hungry, he will let you know. I wouldn't worry about thinking he needs to finish each bottle. Let him decide when he's had enough- sometimes he will drink more, sometimes less. When my DC finished a bottle, I would start making an extra oz at that feed and not worry if I ended up throwing away some milk (at least they had the option to drink more if they wanted).

It's better to look at how much milk is being taken over a week than thinking he needs exactly what the formula box says for each day.

Original poster

abbiemk · 20/08/2023 21:29

AgathaMiss · 20/08/2023 21:16

That's good that his weight is tracking. What time is his last feed, does he wake at night for milk or sleep through?

I'd try offering feeds more frequently. Stop feeding him as soon as he shows signs that he's had enough and then offer a bottle 2.5 (max 3) hours later.

If he is hungry, he will let you know. I wouldn't worry about thinking he needs to finish each bottle. Let him decide when he's had enough- sometimes he will drink more, sometimes less. When my DC finished a bottle, I would start making an extra oz at that feed and not worry if I ended up throwing away some milk (at least they had the option to drink more if they wanted).

It's better to look at how much milk is being taken over a week than thinking he needs exactly what the formula box says for each day.

He sleeps through currently! Usually last feed is anytime between 9-11 depending on what times his feeds have been through the day. Thank you for the info I really appreciate it and it's good to have reassurance he doesn't need to finish each one! Will see how we get on doing that. 😊 thanks again

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AgathaMiss · 20/08/2023 21:34

He definitely doesn't need to finish each bottle. You just need to look out for his cues and signs that he's had enough, or actually wants more (when he's drained the bottle). Sounds like you're doing a good job, it'll be all change again in a few months when solids start anyway!

Original poster

abbiemk · 20/08/2023 22:09

AgathaMiss · 20/08/2023 21:34

He definitely doesn't need to finish each bottle. You just need to look out for his cues and signs that he's had enough, or actually wants more (when he's drained the bottle). Sounds like you're doing a good job, it'll be all change again in a few months when solids start anyway!

Ah thank you so much 😊

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