Tummy trouble for bottle-fed baby?

[HopHopALady]

I am bottle feeding my 3-month old son and he's having issues. I was feeding him at 7am, 11am, 3pm, 6pm, 10pm and 4am and most of the feeds started with a lot of crying, back-arching and strange abdominal noises that resembled tummy-rumbling when hungry. I found that he would take the rest of the feed if I stood up and walked around.

Someone suggested he could be frustrated at the flow-rate of the teat. I changed it from a 2 to a 3. Same issues occurred.

Someone else suggested I should feed more frequently. I fed him so far today at 7.30am, 10.30am, 1.30pm, 4.30pm and 6.30pm. Same issues occurred.

We tried Infacol. The jury's out on that one.

The only feeds that seem to go OK (touch wood) are the night feeds at 10pm and 4am.

Any similar experiences? Any advice?

Was he BF before and have these issues only started recently since moving onto formula? If so, could it be cows' milk protein allergy from the formula? Can sometimes give symptoms similar to reflux. The back arching etc sounds a bit like reflux, but that usually starts before 3 months....but my DD had it and strangely she was OK at night feeds too.

Hope you get some answers soon!

Yes, he was BF initially until 6 weeks old. He seems to have always arched his back since birth but the last day or two have been a lot worse. Am trying Gaviscon again today (had previously been given this following his 6 week check when I discussed this issue with the doctor but stopped giving it to him as I wasn't sure it was doing anything). Let's see what happens...

ds was very similar when he was a baby, especially the back arching and wierd gassy exploding noises from his tummy.

have you tried gripe water before each feed? i found this worked better than gaviscon.

is he having EBM or formula?

My DD was exactly the same and it turned out to be silent reflux. Has he got a little cough as this is sometimes a clue?
Things that helped us were:

• Gaviscon (if this doesn't help there are other medicines)
• Sitting her as upright as possible to feed
• Propping her up slightly to sleep (got a Swedish baby pillow which was fab and anti SIDS)
• Tummy massage an hour after a feed. My HV showed me how to do colic massage which was great

The Infacol and gripe water made her a bit worse as seemed to aggravate it.
Hope you get it sorted soon!

That's very helpful, thanks bamboobutton and PCJ. To answer Bamboo's last question, DS is having formula. To answer PCJ's question, no cough noticed.

Will try your suggestions if current course of action proves fruitless!

Hope it helps. I must have walked miles round the house to get my DD to take her bottle until we got it sorted. Feed time became a really bad experience, but it does pass!