Instructed to wean a baby of 11 weeks as she is refusing milk

[theaevie]

Bit of a long one so bear with me. Dd2 was a poor feeder from the start, 3 ounces would take an hour but we perservered. However feeding became more and more difficult and eventually my little one would only take 12 ounces of formula a day. So at 10 weeks she was taken into hospital and tube fed where the doctors hoped they would discover what the problem was.... however 2 1/2 years later we still have no idea what the issue was. I had to wean dd2 at 12 weeks, which was incredibly difficult.

Anyway, dd3 is now doing the same thing. She fed perfectly up to eight weeks, gaining 9ozs a week and taking about 35ounces of milk a day, but now she had reduced her intake to about 16 ounces and dropping fast. GP has said that if weaning worked with dd2 then I should do the same for dd3. Has anyone else experienced this type of problem?? Currently she will take 2ozs from the bottle then pulls away and cries until she falls asleep or I give up.

no advice i'm afraid, but poor you, sounds rather stressful. hope someone will be along with some wisdom, but you might want to post this on the breast and bottle feeding board too, as then you'll get all the feeding experts to help?

have you tried different teats?

i have linked to your thread in b and bf

ask for a referral to a paed and/or a paediatric dietician
don't make this kind of decision based on GP's advice alone

I'm not sure that your GP is really the right person to give advice tbh - they don't have the specific training and expertise. Have you spoken to a health visitor (they get a bad press but there are as many good ones as bad)?

Sorry you are struggling, it sounds draining.

I can't see how such early weaning is the answer - but I fully admit to being no expert.

Did your dd2 lose weight or fail to gain with the lack of milk? Is your dd3 the same?

We've tried different teats, bottles , formula, holding her, putting her in bouncy chairs, car seat, distraction, nothing seems to work. Can babies dislike milk?? that was the suggestion from my HV.

Hi personaldilema,

DD2 didn't lose weight, just stayed the same for about 10 weeks or so. She is 2 1/2 and only weighs 23lbs now, the paeds decided it was purely genetics, as I am small and so is DH. DD3 has been gaining brilliantly, born 7lbs 1 currently weights 11 2oz, she was text book until 2 weeks ago. I was trying to find out whether there was some sort of physiological change in a baby once they turn eight weeks but have drawn a blank.

Thanks wilfsell

No advice I am afraid except to trust your instincts. When it is said moving on to food doesn't help a poor sleeper at night, how does it suddenly help a baby who can't take a bottle? When you say it was hard with your other child it does sound like it isn't what you want to do.

Good luck. for you.

Did I read somewhere that reflux peaks at about 12 weeks? Can't find any ref for it just now but have a read here

It might be useful. Sounds really hard.

I have no experience of this, but I seem to remember reading somewhere about "silent reflux". The baby does not throw up or show the classic signs of reflux. However, I seem to remember they are reluctant to feed as it is actually painful.

Perhaps google it and see if it fits?

Not something I have experienced but I remember reading about silent reflux in my baby bible 'The Baby Book' by Dr William Sears. Supposed to be a widespread problem often undiagnosed as these babies don't visibly reflux so no one realises what is wrong. I would recommend the book, but there is also a website askdrsears.com which discusses these things and answers a lot of questions.
Don't go on the say so of just your GP, they are usually not that knowledgeable about paediatrics, or at least in the less usual spheres of it - they can't be an expert in everything. I would ask for a specialist referral as no baby is designed to digest solid food at such a tender age.
Good luck!

not much help but my DS totally refused (no matter what we tried like you did)formula at 5.5 months. he can't get enough cows milk and so he now eats well and drinks cows milk at 7 months and is doing very well.