Am I doing this wrong?!

[Angeliki159]

My 16 week old currently has 5oz, 4 times a day.
Today for example:
8am, 1.30pm, 5.30pm, 9.30pm
He will prob go through from 9.30pm to around 6am but if he wakes up we will give him a bottle.

He weighs around 11lbs - tried to get him weighed today but the session was cancelled

Am I failing at the feeding thing?? I feel like I'm doing it wrong.

All of mine were small, they gained weight but at a slow steady pace. They were happy and content, thats the biggest indicator. If your baby is gaining a steady weight, happy, healthy and content, then please do not worry. My eldest was said to have been on the small side he is now a strapping 20yo 5ft 8, muscular young man.
Its generally genetics growth wise, i was small, so were my children.

Also babies or children do not grow to charts, we are all different.

He was on cow & gate but was having really bad wind.
We switched him to HIPP organic instead 2 weeks ago and he seems much better on that.

Last night we decided to give him 4.5oz instead. 4oz didn't seem enough and 5oz seemed too much.
He was on infacol from 1 month which we are now stopping.
So far, he has not chucked up.....yet....
And he didn't have a bottle in the night. Slept through from 8.30pm to 7.45am with a bottle at midnight.

Glad that the Hipp Organic seems to be suiting him better

OH and let us know how you get on this Thursday but it sounds like you’re on the right track

Got LO weighed today and he is 11lb.
He has dropped from the 2nd centile to 0.4.
Was told to carry on doing what I am doing and bring him back in 2 weeks.
If his weight is still dropping I will need to see a gp.
She said it could be teething.

He had his 3rd jabs this afternoon so has been out of sorts for the rest of the day.

Worried about his weight now :(

Try not to be worried, keep on with the extra feeds and try to get the 27.5 floz into him each day. If he’s still being sick, think about swapping to a comfort formula.

Weight isn’t everything, he’s happy and meeting his milestones thats great. Try not to worry too much

OP, is he a wriggly/fidgety baby?

My LO bobbles between 2nd and 9th centile and he was a wriggly baby since birth and now fidgets relentlessly. I'm convinced that this is (along with him being EBF) is why his weight is rather low. He gets enough milk but must burn alot of calories from never being still.

Aside from his low weight, he is very alert and clever and is hitting his milestones like a champ, so I'm not worried.

I was just thinking.... maybe it's something to do with the formula being different? Different fat content or something?
Yea he's wriggly and active all the time

Do you mean it’s the different formula making him sick or it’s to blame for the slow weight gain?

The slow weight gain
He's not being sick on 4oz of the new formula.
We use a perfect prep machine so when we make a 5oz bottle, the water plus the powder is just over 5oz when made.
So we are tipping some out so he is having 4.5oz and he is fine.
If we tip some out so it's 5oz he spits up a bit.
If we give him the bottle straight out of the machine (5 And a bit) he is sick a lot.

So we are going with 4.5oz at the moment and increase it to 5oz gradually maybe?

Unless you are giving him hungry baby formula, the formula is unlikely to be to blame for the slow weight gain. What’s more likely is that he was getting roughly 20 floz of formula a day instead of 27.5 floz.

To be honest though, I wouldn’t keep worrying. Make sure he’s getting the 27.5 this weekend and go to the GP on Monday. Say you’re concerned about the spitting and poorcweight gain and you want referring to a Paeditrician. It seems a better way than having to wait another 2 weeks before you get him weighed again by the HV.

Make sure you take your red book to the GP appointment too

How are you both today @Angeliki159

Well.....
I have been giving him 5oz and he is still vomiting a lot but he is screaming for more after his bottle.
Been trying to burp him and give him a bit of a rest half way through the feed but he's having NONE of that.

Might see if I can get him in at the doctors.
I think he has caught a bug from me tho as he is really sweaty and coughing lots, and I feel crap at the moment. Hopefully when he is over that, he will be able to keep his bottle down. I don't know.

Bit reluctant to go to the docs as docs/HV/111 just seem to say "is he your first?" And dismiss me when I say yes

(Its not like i see them a lot, a handful of times for genuine reasons - Only seen the doc once - LO was projectile vomiting, was told I was massivly overfeeding him. HV- just asking questions when I get him weighed. 111- called once because I couldn't wake him up for his night feed. took 45 mins to get him to stir enough to feed him.)

If he’s vomiting and crying when he’s feeding, has anyone mention the possibility of Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy (CMPA)?

Bit reluctant to go to the docs as docs/HV/111 just seem to say "is he your first?" And dismiss me when I say yes. Unfortunately, some HVPs can be very patronising. Have you got someone who could gobthe the GPs with you? They might take things a bit more seriously if you take someone with you

Hope you feel better soon too

I spoke to my mum to see if she would come with me to the doctors.
She said I was being stupid and didn't need to take him. He's a baby. They throw up. It's fine.
After every feed I sit him up for at least 30 mins burping him.
He throws up about 1/4 to 1/2 a bottle. Everytime. Me, him and a whole muslin gets soaked. We both need a change of clothes.
He then throws up clear liquid until his next bottle (4hrs later)

I fed him at 9am and in the last 45 mins he has thrown up 5 times.

Should he go to the doctors?
Bèen trying to get an appointment all week.

Personally, I would go ahead and take him to the docs simply because he seems to be throwing up large quantities at a time coupled with his pretty low weight. If he takes seriously ill, he won't have any reserve weight to lose so something must be done about him throwing up.
As PP said, it sounds like a CMPA and he's bound to not be gaining well with that going on.

When you go to the docs just mention the reason that you're worried about his frequent throwing up is mostly because of his low weight. They can't argue with that as that is not just new mum neurotics, but logic and reason.

I haven't read past the post where you said you were topping out the milk from prep machine cause bottle was showing it to be 5oz but please stop this!!! Formula goes thicker when it's mixed that's why it looks like there is more in the bottle, with you making a 4oz bottle then tipping some out your son is probably only getting close to 3oz at a time which deffo isn't enough and would explain his weight dropping. As for him vomiting is it loads or just a bit?

Absolutely, take him and push for them to do something - e.g. tests, referral to paediatrician, medication, etc. - and not just send you home with nothing.

@DwangelaForever Its a lot. Prob between 1/4 and 1/2 a bottle coming up
We have stopped tipping some out now as he is screaming for more

@FTMF30 good idea. I'll try and get in tomorrow and say I'm concerned about his vomiting because of the low weight gain.

I hope they don't just say "babies spit up". It's way more than that.

Maybe i should try to time it so I feed him about 30 mins before the appt and doc can see the amount he is vomiting.
Me and lo are on our 3rd lot of clothes today so far. The others got covered!
(No I don't mean he spat up a little on my shoulder- went from my sleeve, across my chest and down to my belly. And on him it was all down his top and trousers soaked through to his bodysuit....both times)

I think you need to trust your own instincts on this one and maybe ignore your DM.

Try to get a GP appointment in the morning. If they say it’s emergencies only say yes, it’s an emergency. Your baby is at the bottom of the weight scale, not feeding and you need to see a Dr.

If you still can’t get an appointment call 111.

Did you read the article on Cow’s Milk Allergy? Did any of it sound like what’s happening?

I know some one bbaby that throwing up lots, turn out baby was lactose intolance, they change the fomula to lactose free one since then the baby done well and not thrown up.

As a PP has said, the prep machine isn't making the bottle bigger than what you've made, it's just that the formula is frothed from shaking the bottle and the way the water dispenses. If your tipping milk out of a 4oz bottle, he's probably only getting 3oz. The prep machine makes exactly what you tell it to, it just looks like more.

DD is 4 months old and doesn't drink enough at all, so I know how you feel. This week I've made a conscious effort to change that and have been feeding her every 3 hours - just offering her the bottle and seeing how much she takes - she'd go 5+ hours sometimes if I let her, however, we don't have problems with being sick. We've gone from her having 17oz on the first day to around 30oz a day - which is what she should be having for her age and weight. I've been writing everything down so I can review it and pass it onto the HV if I feel I need to.