10 week old only taking 17-20oz a day !

[Aries29]

Well my little one has has a rough start - born on due date at 8lb 3.5oz. Been in to hospital with breathing difficulties after getting a cold and getting all congested and turned blue , then a week later he was taken to alder hey and had to have surgery to repair a hernia at 7 weeks old . He also had a tongue tie and heart murmur at birth and both have now been resolved ( thank the lord )

My issue is that he only eats 17-20oz a day he is offered several bottle to try and push up his intake but he just refuses and pushes it out after a few ounces - today he has had 4 bottles - 730 am / 1030 am / 230pm and 430pm but only drinks between 2-4oz he's totalled up to 12oz so far today and it's 520pm!

But he sleeps from 9-10 till 7-8am the next day contently

Health visitor keeps going on about how I should be giving him another bottle but he won't take it !! He's only gained 2lb and 10oz since birth and is 11 weeks this week.

He was poorly and so had a few times where he hardly ate due to hernia etc

He's dropped from above 50percentile line to below the 9 percentile

I feel so defeated , he seems happy and is always smiling , he will root for food and I do feed him but he's only gaining small amounts if weight

I guess I'm just venting coz I'm so frustrated!!! I can't force feed him but I'm trying really hard to feed him up ....

 

[Aries29]

He was breast fed for 5 weeks then formula fed

 

[GF91]

My daughter is nearly 2 & eats very very little. She only weighs 24lb & is a small dainty thing. If he is well in himself, smiling, meeting milestones & everything else I really wouldn't worry. You can't force feed him. Give him what he wants. Have you intoduced water yet? Maybe he's thirsty instead of hungry?

 

[Aries29]

I'm reluctant to start him on water as I have trouble getting him to eat 18oz I don't want to fill his belt with water . He's not gaining as much as he should as he's not quite following his line but he's not losing weight just only gaining 4oz a week .

 

[scaredmummy]

If he seems happy don't worry too much. My daughter only took 20-21oz at 10 weeks over 5 bottles and she slept from 7pm to 7am (she has a dream feed at 11pm.) She did eventually get to 25-30oz but it took a while. She was 7lb 4oz when she was born and now at 39 weeks only weighs 16lb 10oz. I got her weighed last week and in a month and half she had only put on 8oz.

Honestly every baby is different. If you are worried make an appointment with your gp. Xx

 

[MrsS15]

Hi hun,

I got my sons record out to check what he weighed at 10 weeks as he was the same birth weight. He was just under 11lb so not far off your little man. I think it'll probably be the rough start he's had, it's made his advancement in feeding a bit slower. If he takes 17-20oz a day it's between 100-120mls per kg of weight. 100mls is on the lower side but 120 is actually fine. When I worked in health visiting the general rule was as long as there's a 4oz weight gain per week it's okay. Have you tried offering 3oz every 3 hours? If he feeds every 2 hours he most likely will only take 2oz. I'd try and stretch him to at least 3hrs between feeds and see if that helps.

If he is meeting milestones and seems content I wouldn't be massively worried. He's probably a bit behind with feeding which is normal after what he's been through, I'm sure he'll pick up!

Also my son was on the 75th centile at birth and by 11 weeks was between the 9th and 25th. Because I was breastfeeding the h/v made me feel I wasn't producing enough. He was small and slim but happy and healthy so I didn't worry! He's not still a skinny boy but he eats 3 course meals!! Xx

 

[Aries29]

Thanks ladies , I tried stretching to 3 hours but still he only takes 2-3oz. Phoned the health visitor as I'm desperate to feed him up and he seems to sleep all day too! Surely he should be active by now ! He has taken 4-5 oz in the past but the last 3-4 weeks have been pretty uneventful in the feeding and he's only taking 2-3oz

Health visitor is concerned that she feels he's meeting criteria to be classed as failing to thrive on his current milk. He has to see the gp for a physical exam and then the health visitor . She suspects a lactose intolerance as he's only taking 18 oz a day and should be on 24oz just for maintanence. He also poops 5 times a day large amounts - always within 20 minutes of feeding him and it is sometimes slimy . This has only recently developed in past few weeks . He was breastfed till 4 weeks and didn't have any issues.