4mth Baby not feeding

[Proudmummy2014]

Hi,

Becoming Abit of a serial poster on here now :-) My 4mo baby used to drink 30oz a day however over the past month has reduced to 17oz- even that is a massive battle to get the milk down her. She takes a few gulps and then just screams and moves her head away. However there is just no way she can be full on 3/4oz. Also I feed her every 3.5/4 hours so she surely must be more hungry.

To top it off she has become extremely fussy the last few days and fighting her naps. I could always put her wide awake in her cot and she would fall asleep by herself (no crying) however now she screams the house down.

Can anyone please offer their thoughts on what you think is going on here? I am so confused and was in floods of tears earlier today.

You have my full sympathy. Would love to give advice but I'm afraid I didn't crack it. Ds2 was awful. Every feed a battle. Dropping centiles but started on 98th and dropped to 50th so no one minded.

On a plus every one was right. I should have just let him eat what he wants. I was getting stressed but he was fine. I was always worried about him snacking but it never happened. I wish I'd listened to him and not stressed. As soo as I weaned him he was ace. He just didn't like milk. Every one will tell you if weight is ok, you've had her checked by doc then she's fine. Believe them. I wish I did. It would have saved months of battle feeds.

Good luck x

She's on the 25th centile and they did say that the weight gain is fine. However that's because I'm force feeding her. If she had her way and only drank 2oz she would surely lose weight. When did you start weaning? Do you know if this feedig issue could be related to teething?

She is telling you something... Reflux ?

Constipation ?

Try giving her baby gaviscom
Or dose of cal pol. If due to pain it will help

I'd take her to the go and ask them to check her eats and throat. Is there anything in her mouth that you can see that would trouble her?

Have you thought about cows milk protein intolerance too?

She has a dirty nappy every 2/3 days- the HV said this was normal?!

I also suggested reflux to them and they said her weight is fine and if this was the case along with cows milk intolerance it would have shown a lot earlier. Not sure whether to settle with that as I don't know if they are taking me seriously just because her weight is fine.

Haven't had her throat or ears checked but I will def make an appointment today

The change in naps could just be the 4 month sleep regression, so try not to focus on that too much.

I'd have a read of the article I linked to and see if any of it sounds familiar. Could you also try an anti colic bottle? Do you wind her before, during and after feeds?

Does she give any hunger cues between feeds?

I think getting her ears and throat checked is worthwhile. Hope you go on ok at the docs

Just in case you or more likely your GP wasn't aware, your baby should be having roughly 2.5 floz of first stage formula for every pound of body weight in 24 hours. So, if she's 10lb that's 25floz in a day.

Sorry, pressed return to quickly. Please take your red book to the appointment and insist that they weigh her and measure her and record both in the book. If you get to see a Paed they'll want to see this.

And to answer your question on teething, yes, sore gums could be putting her off feeding. Try giving her ibruprofen roughly half an hour before a feed and see if that helps

Weaning won't help unfortunately. You would only be able to give her fruit or veg and that would fill her up so she'd take even less milk. It would effectively be like putting her on a diet.

Unfortunately no cues at all- not even crying for milk. She does put her fingers in her mouth but she's biting them rather than sucking. She should be havig 35oz according to the rule of thumb and she's only having 25oz on a good day otherwise maybe 17oz.

Have you tried offering feeds every 3 hours? Are you using first stage milk and not hungry baby milk?

Do you have a sling? Sometimes the close contact can I get them to feed. I'd try winding her, giving a couple of ounces, wind her again, offer another bit of milk, wind again, change her nappy, stick her in the sling and go out for a walk.

How is she overnight?

Have you been to the GP yet and what did you think of the CMPI link?

I read the link and she definitly is displaying the signs of the "delayed reaction". Ill point these out at the appointment. They didt have a doctor available today so seeing the nurse practitioner. If need be will book to see the doctor ASAP too.

Also I wind her lots throughout the feed and also after. I'm using Infacol and she definitly does pass wind throughout and after the feed. Also wen I hold her close in the cradle position to feed her she screams after about 3oz. I have to lie her flat on the bed to feed her the remaining milk. Also her stomach gurgles so she must be hungry but for whatever reason refuses the bottle. She's been on Aptamil stage 1 milk (normal milk not hungry milk) since birth

Also she used to only wake once in the night, feed and straight off to sleep. Now she will wake 2 or 3 times and take anything from 40mins-1 hour to settle.

So went to see the nurse and she said to start introducing food as she may be bored of milk and also that she's teething

So went to see the nurse and she said to start introducing food as she may be bored of milk and also that she's teething

That is truly shocking advise. The nhs recommend waiting until your baby shows the signs of readiness before your start to wean and all HCPs should follow this advice. Do please have a think about reporting her.

As the symptoms of CMPI seem familiar, I'd get to see the GP as so as possible and insist on a referral to a Paed. There's some good info in the allergy uk link on what to expect from the appointment

I know I've read myself to wait until 6 months. She said she starts her own children at 3 months. She said as long as there are no allergies in the family then it's fine to start a little amount like baby rice.

I asked her about CMPI and she said if that was the case she would see rashes on her skin and vomiting and weight loss- none of which are happening. So confused with this all

I know I've read myself to wait until 6 months. She said she starts her own children at 3 months. She said as long as there are no allergies in the family then it's fine to start a little amount like baby rice.. There is clear evidence that weaning before 17 months can be risky, not just the risk of choking. Baby rice will fill your baby up, making her take less milk so she will have even fewer calories and nutrition. She needs the milk to help her grow and develop.

I asked her about CMPI and she said if that was the case she would see rashes on her skin and vomiting and weight loss- none of which are happening. So confused with this all

This simply isn't the case. I'm CMPI and have never had a rash from cows milk in my life. I did however scream a lot on ff I'm told. I think she is confusing cows milk protein allergy with cows milk protein intolerance.

Please don't listen to her. Her advice does not comply with the nhs advice. At best she is ill informed but I think her advice is plain dangerous.

I really would think about reporting her. It doesn't have to be harsh, it could get along the lines of her advice doesn't seem to fit in with the nhs guidelines on weaning and you think her training could do with updating.

If you are tempted to follow her advice, I'd give her a call and ask her to give you the research that backs up her claims so that you can decide for yourself

Sorry weaning before 17 weeks, not months

Proud mummy she sounds exactly like my Ds. Also had to feed lying him on his back after the first ounce. The weaning did help, not with taking the milk but getting it down him in solid form, cheese etc . I did wait until 5 months though.
In the meantime I used to use premade milk ( i Was sceptical but definitely helped) with gaviscon and colief in.
First son was cmpi. Second Ds, with the feeding issues wasn't. As I said in my first post, I never cracked it. Had him checked for everything, the above combination was the best I managed. Not great and still took less than expected but definitely took more (4 to 6 oz)
I know it's easy to say but try not to worry, hopefully it will work out. I do remember how stressful I found feed time.

Agree with jilted, ds1 had stomach ache, silent reflux when I drank milk when Bf and loose stools when weaned. No rash at all. Also the advice is to wait until 6 months to wean. I mentioned I weaned at 5 as you asked. Didn't want you to feel I was saying this was the solution or the milk combination. Just sharing what worked for us. All babies are SO different :) I agree with the other posts and talking to your gp is the way forward. Good luck x

CMPI wouldn't necessarily involve vomiting and rash. Dd2 had it and it came out as silent reflux and eczema. She could well have silent reflux. at weaning advice.

Thanks ladies- what were the symptoms your babies displayed with silent reflux and CMPI?

Also my DD is 18 weeks now- still not ok to introduce some baby rice?!

Ps- when I asked nurse about both she said my dd weight gain is fine so she can't have these conditions- was that true for your LO's too?

Proudmummy if you're worried about milk intake you won't be doing yourself any favours introducing baby rice as there are very few calories and baby won't be hungry for milk. Your just filling up the tum on nothing.