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Bottle time bringing us both to tears

For the last couple of weeks ds (12 weeks tomorrow) has been irratic with his feeds and how much he'll take. His total daily intake has dropped from over 1000mls (when he was having ebm & ff) to now 700-800mls most days (just ffs). Today though he has been an absolute nightmare and had me in tears. He's been acting hungry and getting upset waiting for his bottle but then taking only a tiny bit 20-60mls before getting hysterical and refusing to have anymore. For the last few days we've been trying size 2 teats again and I don't think the flows too fast as he's not dribbling much and has been taking 6oz well with no problems probably twice everyday.

Please tell me this is the 12 Week growth spurt or that there's a
really obvious solution, I'm getting so worried about him not having enough (although he's still been sleeping through the night so can't be going hungry) and I want my happy boy back.

Sorry if I've rambled and it doesn't make much sense, having a low day in general today and need my smiley boy to make it all better x

Replies

  • My lo did this at 11 weeks... it turned out to be trapped wind. Try massaging his tummy in a clockwise direction and try to relax (I know it's hard) as if you are stressed it will make him more stressed.
  • or might be worth giving gripe water a go or trying variflow teats?

    hope things get easier x
  • When he gets upset for his bottle, does he initially take some then start arching his back and pulling away from the teat? Is it as if he's hungry and wants it but something is stopping him from taking the full feed? Does he cry hysterically at other times of the day when not due a feed?

    Sorry for all the questions, but my daughter did this when little, and she was eventually diagnosed with silent reflux. Unlike normal reflux where they are sick and start to lose weight, silent reflux is when the acid travels up but they are not sick so burns them on the way up and on the way back down again causing them lots of pain. We had numerous trips to doctors and appointments with consultants before she was given infant gavison and solved all her problems. She was a different baby.

    Sorry for the ramble and I hope you're son just has wind, but thought I would share my experience in case it helped.
  • Im with P and mini P here.... everything you says rings bells for silent reflux as my dd had it. It started a lot earlier on with my dd though at about 2 weeks.

    Infant Gaviscon also solved the problem for us but it was a hard few months as she wasn't diagnosed till 12 weeks :roll: xx
  • Yep, he definitely wants the feed he starts sucking then something upsets him and he starts pulling away then gets upset, properly upset.
    He has never been particularly windy and doesn't have trouble bringing his wind up, was thinking of giving the variflow teats a go so might just have to get some tomorrow.

    If it was silent reflux would it bit be more consistent? We had 4 perfect feeds today then at his last feed it all went horribly wrong and he was back to doing the same, he eventually calmed down so we did his bath etc then he was acting hungry again (hardly surprising after the small amount he had) so offered him again and a repeat performance. When he does it he'll only settle up over a shoulder and as soon as you bring him back down he starts over. Although I was watching him over oh's shoulder and he calmed down then all of a sudden something must've bothered him again as he lifted his head up, tensed his whole body up then started off again. We did try gripe water for the first time but no obvious effect (maybe because he spat most of it out).
    Somehigns definitely upsetting our poor bubba though
  • Yeah sweety that sounds exactly like reflux. I would expect it to be frequent but all cases are different I suppose. I remember my hv telling me that if your baby screams blue murder when you try and put them on their back it's a sure sign of reflux..that would obviously tie in with wanting to be held upright.

    Another thing though is that my ds would only ever settle on my chest when he was little...but now he hates this position lol so it may be a heartbeat thing - as in he feels your heartbeat and it soothes him? My ds will now cuddle into my left side and out his head in my chest as of he's listening to it and nods off pretty quickly...but won't on my right.

    Anywhoo all I'm saying is he might only be settling upright because of that or reflux. They do go through a growth spurt around 12 weeks too though, and don't they say that a baby will jot start to show signs of reflux or colic at around this time unless they were previously present? As in they don't just suddenly develop them 3 months down the line? Maybe his little teeth are moving around in his gums and causing him pain?

    I hope you get your smiley man back soon xx
  • I had the same issue with my son, he's just over 18 weeks. I was given gaviscon, and things seem to be better. I also found sitting him a lot more upright during feeds made things a lot easier. I used to dread the 7pm feed, but the last week he has been so much better.

    Hope it all sorts itself out soon
    xxx
  • It could be Silent Reflux. Although it does seem quite late for it to be kicking in. Plus Beth was like it for every feed except night feeds. Could be wind or teething? Or huge growth spurt and getting frustrated with feeling v hungry. If he was fine all day but then went mad in evening maybe he was really tired?

    Like you say, if he's still sleeping through he must be taking what he needs.

    Hope it improves for you hun. Beth was like this for every feed for 23 weeks as her SR wasn't diagnosed until I stopped BF and it was hell trying to feed her.

    x
    x

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