Can you help with my 21 weeks olds feeding??? Its gone mad (sorry long and a bit rambly!)

[becaroo]

OK, heres a question I really hope you can help with....My ds2 is now 21 weeks and has been on 5 bottles per day 8/7oz per feed for a good while now. I was trying to dealy weaning, to the point of just giving him more milk, but he was unhappy with that and anyway the extra milk just made him sick. I introduced purees a couple of weeks ago and he now has 3 x lots per day - he is a very hungry baby!!! Am planning to introduce a water cup and finger foods at 6 months.

HOWEVER, prior to weaning, from about 3 weeks ago he has changed completey! he has stopped going down for his naps well, to the point of me having to rock him to sleep and then put him down but sometimes having to hold him for his whole nap! He is so not happy - struggling, arching his back, not wanting to be in any one position/place for more than 5 mins - its exhausting.

BUT His feeding has also gone completely haywire...(he as not had any nightfeeds since he was 9 weeks old) instead of feeding at say 7am, 11am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm, for the last two mornings he has been awake at 4am My dh had to feed him at 5am and he had 6oz. and he is not drinking some of his bottles - literally only taking 2oz and only that after a fight....what am I doing wrong??? I cant remember this with ds1.....

Really feel like I am missing something here...what am I not doing right? Why has a feeding gone mad the last 3 days?

Perhaps I should do a dreamfeed at about 9/10pm???

HELP!

Maybe the purees are filling him up, but he's not getting enough calories from them to see him through the night?

I started DS1 at about 20 weeks I think, with purees, and it really unsettled him. Just stopped for a week or two and started again later, and it went much better.

Go back to whatever diet he was on when he was sleeping/napping better and work from there?

sorry, meant to say that the early weaning lead to colic-like symptoms for my DS...

Milk has the highest calories of anything a 5 month old can eat. tastes of purees are one thing, but there's no point filling him up with them...

Sounds like he's got wind and is teething. Have a look in his mouth for signs of little eruptions or swelling. Apply Calpol/Neurofen/teething gel liberally. He could also be going through a growth spurt.

It will get better but then something else will crop up to frustrate and dement you!

BTW growth spurts last about five days IME but can be up to two weeks. Dreamfeed won't hurt!

This might sound really patronising because I'm sure you'll have thought of it, but maybe he's teething and therefore just miserable or waking up because he's miserable? The not wanting to go to sleep might be separation anxiety, around that age my DS didn't want to be alone for a second. And once you start weaning, milk feeding does go bonkers a bit. I'm sure he's fine but if you're worried take him to docs. Sounds like you're doing really well, I remember this stage as being very stressful! Stay strong soldier!

Sorry, completely missed the teething thing there... we had to coat DS's teeth with dentinox 5 mins before a milk feed or he'd have 1oz and then scream bloody murder.

Night feeds were fine however (too sleepy to protest? so why he might be waking in the night for milk.

Thanks!!

Cant see any teeth coming, but he has been a fist chewer/thumb sucker since birth, so not sure.

Definately very windy tonight...lots of smelly botty coughs

Will contact HV next week if he is no better...hope its not a growth spurt homicdalmatriarch - he is 21 weeks today and already 20lbs!!!!

Mine is 7 months and 24lbs - his sister is two and a half and 30lbs!

Growth spurt is v likely at this age but does not mean massive weight gain necessarily but change in height

The worst bit of teething always seems to be before you can see or feel them for, about three days your sweet little baby behaves like he's possessed by the devil - and lo and behold, three days later, a tiny little tooth is peeking through.