18 wk old not finishing feeds should I be concerned?

[wurlywoo]

I'm after anyones views on my current situation with dd.

She is 18 wks very active and really showing her cheeky personality. So much so that I have found that on her 10.30-11 am feed and the 2.30-3 one she is only taking 5 oz. She happily guzzles then pushes the bottle away and proceeds to blow rasberries at me!! So that tells me she doesnt want anymore!

I am concerned though that she should really be having 7oz and the morning and night feed before bed she is but I cannot bear the thought of her waking in the night for food again. I am going back to work soon and with little help from dp I just cant go back to broken sleep!

I have tried to give her some baby rice against my better judgement and she doesnt like it anyway.

Just wondering if anyone else has this problem or had something similar. She is also showing signs of beginning stages of teething dribbling rosy cheeks off days and being grumpy.

Really appreciate any suggestions!

Is she waking during the night? If not I wouldnt be too concerned maybe she just dosent need it. If she is try offering it again 20 min or so later or will she up the last feed by an ounce or 2?

if she is satisfied and happy, then don;t worry... ! look at her consumtion over a week, rather than each day. babies will take what they want on the whole

will she take an extra feed or two during the day.. more bottles with a small amount in each? at 18 weeks, not waking up for a night feed is really good!

but be prepared, if she is teething, tehn she might well wake up anyway, for comforting..

baby rice is pointless in terms of filling her up . a milk feed is far more calorific and satisfying

I completly agree about the rice, she doesnt like it anyway, and I am aware that it is pretty useless in terms of filling them up!

At the moment no, she isnt waking but instinct is telling me that it is coming, I just get the feeling she is playing up a little as when my mum feeds her she will have it! grrr!
To answer your question lulumama - I doubt I could get in another small feed somewhere as i fear the routine will be disrupted and when she does have her feeds she wont take it anyway if you understand what i mean.

I expect her to wake soon re: teething but I am so scared of her waking at night for the fear that i wont know what to do, it's my first and as you can tell I dont have a clue what I am doing!!

Thank you!

i would try not to get too hung up on routine, and be led more by your baby's demands. she might take more, she might not.. but as she has growth spurts she will want more. if she does not eat much this week, she might guzzle a lot more next week...

if you were breastfeeding you would not know how many ounces she was taking each time.. you would just feed her when she was hungry. so you can do the same with a bottle fed baby and feed them as and when, not to a routine.

if she wakes in the night, offer a feed! babies need food, comfort or a combination of the two ! no point trying to ignore the night wakings , or give water etc.. milk and a cuddle will be what she needs

i was told that you should always hope that they leave some of their milk as if they're draining the bottle they're being 'told' by you what their appetite is. better that you get to know their rhythms and make up accordingly, always with an ounce or two more than you think they'll need.

Lulumama- i wish I wasn't so much of a routine queen but since she has been sleeping through I daren't not change anything.in any case I do feed her as and when she wants well most of the time unless she looks like she is sleeping through a feed time, I know its really bad but I see it as the only way to fill her up in the daytime. Yes, I am quite neurotic!

I do have this ridiculous fear of her waking in the night, sounds crazy I know I think I just have no faith in my mothering ability!

your advice though, is great thank you, milk and a cuddle if she wakes at night is spot on, just have to go with it I suppose eh?

Aitchtwociao- I would agree with what you said however I find it really strange that she has gone from having 6/7 oz's on all feeds so being picky on just two of them! so she is leaving 2oz suppose that isnt that bad but as you say it's a good indicator of her appetite and if she wanted more she would tell me, right?!?

totally right, wurly, and it's a good thing that you're responding to that by letting her blow raspberries.

babies do change a lot, especially in those first few months tbh. it's a bit nuts when you look at the photos, they're like different creatures altogether, so i've personally never understood why you'd expect them to behave the same during the night when they're doing all this new stuff during the day.

then again, dd was 'a good sleeper' who has decided since turning two that she'd like to join her parents on a nightly basis. there is NOTHING you can do about it short of ignore them, and that's a bit cruel, even for me.

Ah the joys of parenting, the most incredible accident I have had to experience.

Oh yes, she blows raspberries at me I try to not to laugh as it encourages her, I am sure she has copied it from me and DP doing it to her, things always backfire dont they!

lol at you with the 2 yr old.. bless her. Yep, sometimes ignorance IS bliss, she will get the message, at least I hope for your sake??

Amazing how they change though she is like real person now that sounds daft doesnt it, but it is true you have to treat them that way, I find it incredible that they show their personalities at this stage- cant moan as she does keep me entertained!
I like you btw - you seem on my wavelength

oh dear... it's a wavelength of under-achievement and general slackness in my case.

wurley, you dope! blow those raspberries back, are you mad? plenty of time for manners in the years to come, for now those rasps are great big 'i love you mum' s in dribble form.

i'm off to hide in the mother wall of shame they are sweet I just didnt know how to take them, god this parenting lark is hard work. Me being oh the serious one..

Underachievement and general slackness?! you don't come accross as a slacker, and underachievement is my my middle name as is tear myself apart but that's another story for another section (wont open THAT can of worms! lol

heh heh, oh i am slack. i am defined by my laziness, i assure you.

wrt the rasps, she's only new in your life, you'll get better at understanding her communication deffo. take it at face value, i say.

Wurlywoo - I really wouldn't worry about her finishing those feeds - both of mine had dropped those feeds by 12 weeks and were only having 4 8oz bottles during the day.
You really sound like you're mad about your DD and doing a great job!

yes it does seem to be her wqay of being cheeky and a minx!

I just worry that she isnt getting enough and fear that she will wake at night but guess there is nothing I can do about it, I just thought she would be taking 7 8oz each time but guess I was wrong.

Will let it go I think!!