5 month old not interested in milk

[ZAB7592]

Just need some advice please, my 5 month old baby was premature, and has been gaining weight beautifully, but was diagnosed with a tongue tie at birth that was deemed minor and they gave us the option to cut it but we haven’t as it wasn’t effecting his feeding. He also has reflux, and is on medication for it, we’ve been told my his doctor to consider weaning early due to his reflux (6 months actual age as opposed to 6 months corrected age, but that’s still a month away).

While he has never been easy to feed, he was taking about 6 ounces every 4 hours. For the past 2 weeks or so, every bottle is a battle, he’s happy taking 1-2 ounces and then pushes it away, I’ve tried pretty much everything, changing the bottle, changing the teat flow, adjusting feeding times, feeding while asleep, I’m running out of ideas.

Could this be his reflux resurfacing? But he’s not uncomfortable generally, only when I’m trying to feed him! Or could it be the tongue tie now becoming a problem as he’s grown? Or could it just be a phase of not being too hungry?

Any suggestions welcome!

My LO was early too, tongue tie and reflux. Had an absolute nightmare settling on the right formula and bottles but got there eventually.

Around 4/5 months he went really funny on his bottles too, it actually turned out to be teething. Is this a possibility? The only way he would drink milk was if it was fridge cold for a while and it then passed.

Weaned at 6 months, he’s 8 months now and only has around 18oz a day. Since introducing food he’s not bothered about milk at all, not sure if it’s because it made him so uncomfortable with reflux or he’s just loving solids!

Ahh thank you so much for your response! I thought teething but then thought it would be too early? But honestly it’s a viable option, I’ll check his gums! :)

Definite possibility. My LO cut the two bottom teeth the day he turned 5 months. With being early too I thought it was a bit soon but he’s just turned 8 months and in the last week all 4 top front teeth have popped through too at the same time!! I don’t think they were due for a while either…

My LO wasn't early but between 3-4 months she had a period of about 2 weeks where she was not taking her bottles. I thought possible teething as her cheeks were going scarlet red and she was dribbling a lot. I gave her some of the Ashton & Parsons powder before a feed and that did seem to help. Calpol helped too when it got really bad but I didn't want to keep medicating her so the powder was a life saver. Her teeth still haven't cut through yet at 6 months but they have definitely been moving around under the gums.
If you don't want to try any products just yet, you can always try popping a couple of sterilised teething toys in a clean container in the fridge. The infatot silicone glove is really good too, easy for them to grab and keep hold of. Bottle teats in the fridge for a bit before feeding work well too.

Best of luck with it all x

How bad is the tounge tie? Is there still an option to have it cut. Did they explain all the issue this can cause, like it's possible it the cause of the reflux, depending on severity can be a problem weaning and with speech later on.

I wish they would tell parents this. Luckily DS was really thin and stretched at around 8 months. But I had a frineds who's little gril ended up having surgery as a toddler as it was causing speech issues.

I would get the reflux reviewed again. My daughter had feeding aversions from reflux and was awful around 5 months.
Teething also caused her reflux to get worse too so often it's more than one thing at play especially when you have a reflux baby as lots of things make the reflux get better/worse. Every time my daughter has had a growth spurt her reflux gets worse again even if she hasn't gained weight so it's not as simple as simple as out growing the dose

Good to know, I’ve checked his gums and they do seem a little sore and he’s drooling a lot!

Thank you so much, I’ve ordered the teething powder you mentioned and hope it makes a difference!

Yes, we can have it cut anytime but they didn’t really explain the implications of not having it cut. I’ve done some research since seeing your message and I will book an appointment to have it looked at and potentially cut. Thank you for your advice!

I’ve booked an appointment with his doctor to get it checked again but how can they know if it’s flared up again? Doctors don’t seem to know anything for sure, it’s all a guessing game 😭

Yep it's a guess game!

They will take a review of how he is now and his history and come up with their best guess.

Silent reflux is a tricky one as the symptoms are particularly obvious. We can hear my daughter reflux which does help work out what it was but there aren't many tests that are reliable. We are in this discussion with my daughters paediatrician as she hasn't outgrown her reflux. The tests they could do are invasive and can trigger reflux even in people without reflux. We know my daughter has reflux as we hear her bring up drinks and we know that the reflux medication can improve it and her symptoms and we know that if she is sat upright she does it less. It's like a jigsaw that comes together with a neon sign in the middle that says reflux for us. Things that trigger it are growth spurts, colds, teething before she got the full set and allergic reactions