What to do now??

[SR35]

So I posted here the other day about my lo refusing her formula. She isn't getting any better, in fact it's getting worse. She had 2 oz at 7am, 1.5 oz at 11am and 2oz at 3.30pm. She is almost five months. I took her to get weighed this afternoon and to get some advice. They said that at the moment her weight is still fine but obviously she has her fat reserves to keep her going and that because she isn't having very wet or dirty nappies I should take her to the gp to have her checked over. So I just went to the dr and he basically made me feel like I'm being overly anxious. He said as long as she has one wet nappy in 12 hours that's fine and never mind if she doesn't have a bowel movement. He said she has a slight temperature so probably has a viral infection and I should give her calpol and then she will probably start drinking more again. I just don't think that's right, she has been getting gradually worse and surely her weight is going to drastically go down if she continues to have such a small amount? I don't know what else to do now, I feel really stressed and upset. Every feed time is a battle. Has anyone been through anything similar?

 

[SR35]

And to add I took her temperature when we got home and it was normal! She was really hot in her snowsuit at the doctors so could this have caused a slightly high temperature?

 

[Mackmummy]

Oscar is the same at the moment, he seems to be eating less, I think they are gearing up for a growth spurt or something. I don't know about your lo but oscar has always had several cluster feeds so he is a chunk, my thinking is that this just events this out. If I were you I would keep getting her weighed every week, if that starts to drop then they will act but I suspect she will perk up again before it does.

 

[SR35]

Oh really, how much less is Oscar having? I'm not sure if maybe I should be spacing her feeds out a bit more now so she is more hungry. At the moment it's every four hours, does that sound about right for a five month old? it was so difficult getting her onto bottles and stopping breastfeeding but I finally got there and now this happens! Maybe she is protesting as she can't have the boob anymore!

 

[Mackmummy]

Oscar should have 7oz every 4/5 hours. He was eating 7oz (usually not the whole bottle about 6oz) every three hours! Today he has only had two full bottles! About 35oz a day is about right. Oscar is five months on the 10th feb. I think he's just taking a breather because he was drinking so much previously. If your lo was breastfed before maybe she doesn't like the formula? Maybe try a different brand? I found oscar preferred cow and gate, he's on lactose free now which is sma but his least favourite was aptamil.

 

[Kiagirl]

Lucie cut down about this age so I started her on water, yoghurt, fruit purée etc. she never really had a lot of milk after that, she would have weetabix etc so she was still getting milk just not from a bottle.

 

[littlemonkey]

I remember your post from the other day. As I said then my LO had reflux, I took him to the doctors and was met my a similar attitude to what you encountered lots. It took frequent visits back to get someone to take me seriously and listen!

I know you said you don't think she has reflux symptoms and if if she BF with no issues it's probably not likely. It could be something as simple as she doesn't like formula as much as breast milk. Something I did find helped lots with my LO was weaning him early. We started on fruit andbveg purees and he instantly took to it eating every thing he was given. We quickly moved him onto three meals a day. It didn't effect his milk consumption, but he was putting on weight. It helped me greatly as well, because I knew he was getting food and water and was happy to eat. I became so much more relaxed about feeding him and a much more relaxed mum in the process!

 

[SR35]

Thanks for the replies, I don't know if it's a taste thing as at first she happily had it and was used to it, but maybe I could just try another one to see if it makes any sort of difference. Tonight she actually had 4oz before her bath and then the other 3oz after. She seemed like she would have kept on going so I quickly poured in some ready to feed formula but by then the moment was gone and she refused any more! Am relieved she had what she did though, at least she shouldn't be dehydrated after that. Yes I have thought about early weaning and if she doesn't start to improve soon then I might try her with a bit of rice or something as that's mixed with formula I think so would be a good way of getting more into her. I just hope that next stage isn't as difficult, surely it has to get easier soon?!!

 

[SR35]

This morning she had 1oz at 7am after having a bottle at midnight which she drank. I decided to try her on another brand and just went and bought a cow and gate bottle. Tried her with it at 11am and she had 6oz! Not sure if it's a coincidence or if she did really prefer the taste but I might switch her to it to see if it helps. My question is can I just switch her straight onto it or do I need to do it gradually and wean her off the aptamil?

 

[Mackmummy]

Oscar did the same when I was trying different brands, it's as though they get bored of it, keep her on that until she gets bored then swap again to sma or something. Glad she's eaten more!

 

[Rooster30]

This might not be the case for yours, but my LO cut down on his milk at around 4 months because he was teething. He cut his first tooth at 5 months.

 

[SR35]

Yes I think she is teething a bit so I've tried the powder, gel and anbesol before feeding but didn't make a difference. Fingers crossed she will have a decent amount of c&g again at the next feed. They do like to keep us on our toes!!