[JenC]

I'm struggling with knowing if I'm feeding Preston right. It's frustrating for me and I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions...or just to tell me it will get better.

First, I know P is small. At his 2 week appt, he weighed 6 1/2 lbs. He's not quite a month old now. He is gaining weight and filling out, he's just a tiny peanut. I know he will want/need to eat often. I thought I knew how to feed a baby, but maybe it's something I'm doing.

He was taking 3-3 1/2 oz pretty consistently at around 2 weeks of age, but he seems to be moving backwards. Now he gets hungry about every 2 hrs, sometimes every hour and a half, which I know is normal in a tiny new baby. But he's struggling to eat for some reason. He'll eat about 1/2 ounce, then he struggles to get a good latch on the bottle nipple. He'll just mess around with it in his mouth or fall asleep again and I can't get him interested in it again. If I manage to get 2 oz down him, it takes and hour. Is this a normal thing? I think he's doing ok tolerating the formula...

[jules17]

Sounds like my baby Jude. When he was first born, the nurses at the hospital (he was 5 lbs) showed me how to make him "uncomfortable" by tickling the bottoms of his feet, etc. to get him to feed. I felt strange, but she said the most important thing is getting the nutrition in him. They also said to uncover him, if he's all warm and snuggly and wants to sleep.

We just fed on demand. Have you thought about trying different nipples? Jude liked the tiniest ones.

It's really trial and error at this point. At least, it was for us. We just kept trying new things until we could get him to feed well. And it looks like we did our job because he is now 4 months and 16 pounds!!

Let me know if I can help. I've been there, and I was so nervous!

P.S. My husband just reminded me that they would have us kind of tickle under his lip, and help get him to open his mouth by pulling down very gently.

[dachshunds4you]

I would suggest a different nipple as well. The least expensive ones have always worked the best. Target used to have a brand of nipples called Circo, but I don't think they sell them anymore. The next best I've found is the munchkin. They seem very simple and all my babies have liked them.
I too would get him uncomfortable. Tickle his toes, sit upright more so he's not in a sleeping position, tap his cheek.

[Whirled_Peas]

Is he gaining weight appropriately? That's what matters. Frankly it sounds like he may have been overfed to start with and maybe he's just listening to his body now. Or not.

Go by his weight. Bottle fed babies are usually overfed, "Just another 1/2 ounce, dear," instead of being allowed to listen to their bodies. (part of the reason we have so many obese kids.)

Is there some place you can weigh him on a regular basis? Every couple days to start and once a week after that. With breastfed babies they should gain between 1/2 and 1 ounce a day. I don't see why it would be different for formula babies (other than they are almost always overfed.)

Regarding the struggling with the nipple. If a nipple change doesn't make a difference, I'd contact the pediatrician. It's possible he could have something going on that makes nippling hard for him.

Also, you can get donated breastmilk at Donation. You can feed either breastmilk or formula at your breast using a lactaid. Welcome to Lact-Aid International, Inc. Much better for oral health to do that. Naturally, breastmilk is superior to formula.

[yehudit]

Hi Jen,
Congratulations on your new baby! My oldest was like that -- we had to constantly wake him up to eat. We'd rub his ears or feet, but a cold wipe on his head, or remove blankets. But I'm concerned that this just started. have you asked your doctor? Could the baby have developed reflux or something like that?

Best,

[JenC]

I did try a different bottle at his last feeding, and I think it may have been better with regards to latch. I'll keep using it throughout the day and see if it makes a real difference or if it was just my imagination.

[sugarandspice697]

Although Firefly was breastfed, we experienced the same thing when she used a bottle. For the first month we fed her every two hours. When she was asleep, we woke her up to feed her. We kept her on a schedule and it worked for us.

We didn't force her to feed when she wasn't hungry and she was also small like P; she weighed in a 6 LBS and 7 ounces at delivery. During her checkup a few weeks ago, she was in the 45th percentile for height an weight so I wouldn't worry so much about his size just yet.

[Nevada Jen]

As a general rule of thumb he should be able to eat half his weight in ounces in a feeding. THere is not room in his stomach for more. So for him that would be a little more than 3 ounces. In addition to making him uncomfortable (which is good advice), you can stroke his cheek diagonally towards his mouth from where his jaw connects (by his ear) towards his lips. That encourages suck reflex. Lastly, if the timing you are describing is 2 hours and then he takes a bottle for an hour, that's really considered 3 hours between feedings. You count from the start of one to the start of the next (can you tell I have had this issue?).

I hope I don't scare you but what you are describing is a little bit worrisome to me. The fact that he was feeding fine and now isn't, doesn't sound right. Also the amount of time it is taking is too long for that amount of formula. I would make an appointment with the peditrician today for early next week for a weight check and to discuss your concerns. Tell them he is a month old and 6.5 pounds and you are really havign trouble feeding him if they tell you the ped can't get you in. You might even try to set up his schedule so that you can feed him in front of the doctor. He is so small that even a week of a problem can be dangerous.

And for the record, I am sure YOU are not doing anything wrong. This is your second kid. You know what you are doing. I think your mommy instinct is giving you a nudge.

Sorry to be a downer. I am sure everything will be just fine.

[Fatcat]

and just ask. Can't hurt to ask. They may want to see him or they may not be concerned, but you'll feel better having discussed it with his doctor.

[jules17]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, or is such common advice you are already doing it, but I kept a feeding journal, noting everything...how he fed, how much, nipple, how long, mood, etc. It helped me and the Dr. Best of luck - I know it's hard when they are so small, so best to be proactive, as you are.

[JenC]

Well, I have a call into his pedi nurse to call me back later after lunch. He does have some spit up issues, but more frequent burping and being kept upright a lot more is helping tremendously with that.

[Fran27]

You can try to change the nipple to the next level up, but really, it sounds normal to me honestly. Kids play with the nipple when they're not hungry... so you might think he's not latching but he's just really not hungry from eating so often. I'm thinking it's just a phase, he probably had a growth spurt before and now he's going back to a normal amount (my kids didn't drink 3oz in a feeding until 2 months or something). But yeah, the eating small amounts every 2 hours thing is really annoying, but it's pretty common.

[Amber76]

DS HATED the silicone nipples and would just play with them when he was about a month old even though he ate fine from them at first. Once we switched to the brown latex feel nipples instead of the clear silicone ones, he was happy to eat again.

[parenting-over-40]

I agree with Jules17, keep a feeding journal. That will help you and the doctor. Good luck!