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My baby wont drink her milk!

My little girl is nearly 4 months old, born in January was only 5lb 14oz (12 days early). I tried to breast feed but she just would not latch on so had to go to formula & bottles. She has fed ok, but has never seemed really hungry but has put weight on steadily. She now weighs 11lb 120z. In the last few days she just will not take much milk - only 3 or 4 ozs out of 7oz bottle. She is very easily distracted but just doesn't seem interested in feeding at all. I am going to try a bigger teat to see if that works, but at the moment I am getting very frustrated with her and I'm scared that she wont put weight on or even lose weight. I'm also worried about weaning & if she is going to be a fussy eater. Other than feeding problems she seems ok, is very vocal and likes to play and is sleeping for at least 8-10 hours at night. Has anyone had or is having the same trouble & what do you suggest before I get to the end of my tether altogether?:?

Replies

  • ccbmommy - thanks for you help on my embarrasing problem not sure how you reply to someone - do you know??? this is the only way i could reply.
    Will get some prune juice from shopping & give it try. I was never really regular before but seems to have got worse. Yes this is my first. Sorry I cant give advice on your problem but will see what i can find out.
  • Hi hun, could i suggest that she might be ready to be weaned? or perhaps she is teething and the teat is hurting her gums?
    I wouldnt worry too much as long as the weight is going on ok. My little girl was born at 5lb 13oz and also 12 days early, She is fine taking her milk but lately she isnt as bothered by it and i have to put my finger into her mouth so she will open it and then put the teat in. She is fine when its in but getting ti into her mouth seems to be the trouble with her. She is now 6 months. Also i would post this over in the abby forum if i were you then you could get a wider range of answers from differant mums. x
  • have a look on babyexpert.com
    It says on there ??????? As babies reach 4-5 months, they are very easily distracted during feeds. Even the TV or another child can be enough to take his attention away from food, so try to find a peaceful place to feed her.
    It says on there to try a different flow rate of teat or says may very what temperture they want there milk at.
    It says to avoid dehydration to give cooled boiled water. but if problems persist contact your health advisor.
    Hope this helps.
  • I do think she might be starting to teeth as she is chewing fingers & toys and dribbling.
    I'm also going to try some faster flow teats. I do try and feed her in a quiet room but she still gets distracted!! She smiles a lot and makes squealing noises which is very cute in itself but doesn't help with the feeding.
    She also moves her head around so maybe she's trying to tell me she's full..........? There's so may things to look for and and it's all trial & error, hard isn't it..??!!!!
  • Hi,

    My 4 month old daughter is doing the exact same thing, i was wondering were you able to resolve your daughters milk drinking problems as i'm at my wits end?

    We had problems at the start with breastfeeding due to lack of midwifery support. My DD was a large baby at birth 9lbs 1oz and lost weight after birth and has been slow to gain weight since, she now weighs 12lbs 7oz.
    3 days after birth and struggling to breast feed, phoning NHS direct and as a last resort our community midwife, i gave my DD formula and eventually was able to combine breast feeding and formula for a while (i was unable to produce enough milk to sustain a baby). Now at 4 months and one week DD only gets the breast morning and night, refusing it during the day and is starting to drink only a fraction of her formula.

    We originally had her drinking SMA gold but 6 weeks ago she flatly refused it, so after much trying i moved her on to Aptamil which she drank with gusto, having 6oz at each feed (drinking 6 feeds a day). Now for the past 10 days she is back to drinking 2 to 3 oz per feed and will cry and toss and turn her head if she sees the bottle nevermind holding it up to her.

    For the last 5 days i've given her baby rice and she loves that (which i mix with her formula) and will eat it all. She is madly chewing her hands and is dribbling constantly, also she's vey alert, squeaking and babbling, smiling and giggling, grabbing her toes, bearing weight on her legs and rolling over and sleeps well. To us she is a healthy happy baby.

    Our health Visitor has not been very helpful and DD has been refered to Paeds, having had lots of tests done (we go back for the results on Tuesday) and a dietician which she sees in a couple of weeks.

    I'm just worried that she'll start loosing weight because of the small amount she's drinking.

    Thanks for reading.

    Sonia xx
  • hi if your little girl is 4 months why not try solid foods. my friend had the same problem n solid food worked like a charm
  • My daughter used to be exactly the same and I used to get so stressed about it, she never took any more than 4 oz of milk or any fluid at any time, even when she was much older than 4 month. I started giving her baby rice at 4 months and it worked a treat, she only ever had a little bit, but it helped a lot with the colic. We used to have a nightmare trying to shove food into her, eventually we were advised to relax and let her eat how ever much she wants, just to give her the right things, like plenty of pureed veg and fruit, so we took a more relaxed approach and thought...well if she is putting on weight and eating the right things, there is no problem, she just has a really small tummy a,d cannt take a lot in one go. She is 2 1/2 now and is brilliant, still only eats a small meal, but is far from underweight. Please do not make the same mistakes as us, an anxious parent makes an anxious child, it has taken a lot of hard work to get her to enjoy food.
  • I know this message was posted some time ago, but for all those new mothers who are having problems with feeding suddenly and are searching the net for answers and think teething may be the problem, please try Mam bottles!! Couldn't believe they worked but the teats are free flowing and therefore your baby doesn't have to suck hard to get his milk and therefore it shouldn't hurt his gums.
  • MY LITTLE GIRL IS 3 MONTHS AND 3 WEEKS AND I HAD THIS PROBLEM OF HER NOT WANTING TO DRINK HER MILK LIKE SHE PREVIOUSLY DID ONLY WHEN SHE IS ASLEEP SHE COULD FINISH HER BOTTLE OTHERWISE NOT , I TRIED GIVING HER PURITY D AND NESTUM IT WORKS BUT I STILL WANT HER TO DRINK MORE AS HER AGE IS STILL YOUNG , SHE STILL NEEDS CULCIUM MORE THAN EVER TO GROW HER BONES

  • Sonia i am having problem with my 4month old boy. Anyone havr any advise as i am a little worried 

  • My baby girl is 8 weeks old she was 4 weeks early and shes not drinking her milk she will cry for a bottle and when I give it to her she won't drink it at all sometimes she will only drink an oz has anyone got any idear what I could do 

  • I was facing the same dilemma with my 4 years old. We tried a lot of things but none of them helped much. Every baby has a different personality. The first thing you need to do is not panic. My husband (The Genius) observed that the baby kept looking here and there and tried to feed him whilst softly covering his eyes. That worked like a charm for us. I would, however, like to add that every mum has to find her own way. A little observation and reading can take care of a lot of the issues. 

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