DS won't take more than 4oz per feed .. starting to worry

[toria77]

i am mix feeding , bf at night anf v.early morning but bottle rest of day but i can't get ds to take more than 4oz and he is 21 weeks.. surely he should be taking more and how many mls should he be drinking per day?

how often is he taking feeds? And is he gaining weight/passing urine?

he is having about 5 bottle feeds and 4 bf in 24 hours, his weight is dropping slightly- going under 50th centile, he is passing urine as usual, which is v. frequent

it sounds like he is getting enough... 9 feeds is a lot.. he just wants little and often!
have you spoken to health visitor at all?
it COULD mean that he is getting ready for wanting to be weaned

yes my hv said to wean so started yesterday, he didnt eat much but i guess it is early days

So he is having 20oz plus 4 breast feeds? sounds absolutely fine to me.
I started my ds on a bottle as well as breast at 4 months and at the beginning he would take less than 2oz at the time (no wonder he seemed to need breastfeeding every half hour or so, little tike got used to having little but often). It took a while to get him to increase the amount and I still remember cheering when he finally drank a 6oz bottle!

thats good 2 know, how did you increase the volume he took? any tips?

It was just a case of perseverence, offering a little more each time and trying to lengthen the time between bottles a bit each day. It did take a while but we got there.

ok thanks it's difficult as ds gets to 40z and then refuses completely... and i have to wrap the bottle up so he cant see it so i fool him that i am bf!!! only way he will take bottle from me

4oz

maybe enjoying the comfort of breastfeeding. My son (7mths) was the same. Worked on only feeding at established times and gave him dummy to stop him wanting more breast - but I know giving dummies can be a bit of an issue. don't worry babie don't let themselves go hungry!

Bilbs

thanks, yes get the feeling he hangs on a bit until the eveningwhen he knows hwill be bf as then he feeds for 1/2 an hour at a time and wakes me throughout night for more think i am too soft!!

No not soft, just wanting to do your best. Iloved bfing second baby, as I found a way to make it work for both of us. I rember feeling trapped by ist baby with brest feeding and so gave up! Was detemined to make it work better next time around! as so will you!

bilbs