Baby rejecting bottle .. help!

M

Macaron

Registered User
I have 2 issues with my 4 month old who has always been a fairly good eater. He is getting breastmilk (pumped) via a bottle during the day, and a formula bottle before bedtime, and perhaps another formula bottle in the middle of the night if he wakes up hungry.

1. For the last few weeks he has started to reject his bottle (day and night). He starts off ok, and we would burp him after about 80-100ml. After his burp, instead of chomping away the rest of the bottle like he used to, he would play with the teat and then push the bottle away and wouldn't take it again no matter what we do. Sometimes he would end up really upset and scream so we would give up and try again after a while, and again, and again until he would take it. The rest of the bottle might take another hour to finish.

Just wondering if anyone else has this issue? How long does it last? Why is he doing this? The paediatrician reckons it's breastmilk boredom and suggested supplementing his fluid intake with diluted prune juice and pureed applesauce. She says the pendulum to starting semi-solids has swung back to 4 months.

2. He has also pooed less frequently now, to the point of having only 2 poops a week in the last 3 weeks. It is still soft, but I am worried. Paed says it's because he is not eating enough ( as a result of him rejecting the bottle, all his feed times are delayed), and the constipation decreases his appetite, thus it's a vicious cycle. Apparently 100-120ml of milk per kg in bodyweight is the goal, but I thought the calorie content of breast milk changes with time and so babies would not need as much in volume as they would if they were on formula as they grow. Is this the case?

Thanks heaps for any tips!
 
I really don't know much about bottles, I exclusively breastfed, but I read a book about eating that said that babies know best about how much food they need and if he is rejecting it, maybe he is full and doesn't need anymore. Sorry not to be of much help, but my son was really bad about starting solids and this book helped me relax and let me follow his lead. Like everybody on this website says, if he is not loosing weight and seems happy and content, there is no need to force him to eat. Good luck!
 
My son did the same... till I changed the number of the teat, from 2 to 3. He was just getting bored because the flow was not quick enough !
 
What they said, it may be that he feels he doesn't need that extra milk at the moment or maybe trying a different teat. There's no such thing as breastmilk boredom and no need to give him solids before six months if you don't want to, it's generally accepted that they don't need any other source of nutrition before six months http://www.who.int/features/qa/21/en/index.html
 
my baby was similar - what I did was to warm the milk after she stopped drinking the first time and then after about 10mins when the milk is warm she would drink the rest. also, you could try changing to a higher level teet if the warming of the milk doesn't work - the warming alone worked for me though...good luck!
 
I agree with Frenchy - I found that I was using the wrong teat size and my baby was getting tired of sucking and not getting enough. Especially with Aptamil you need a larger teat, I use number 3 or 4 now for my 9 month old. Test them yourself to make sure the flow is fast enough for him. Another possibility could be silent reflux, but doesn't seem that likely if he didn't have this problem to begin with. My daughter had silent reflux and once we started her on meds she fed much better. We also weaned her just before 5 months and she took to solids great and gained weight faster so you could definitely consider weaning early if he continues to be a difficult feeder.
 
I don't think you should stop in between feedings to burp him. I find that once babies lose their sucking momentum, they won't suck again. Sometimes if my son doesn't finish the bottle, I'll keep his bottle warmed, and play with him for half hour or so and then try again. Sometimes he'll clear the bottle, sometimes he'll have a bit more, sometimes he'll just don't want any. Once your baby starts solids, you can use the unfinished formula and mix it into your baby's cereal, that's what I do so that I can ensure that he gets the nutrients he needs to strive.

Upping the teat to the next level is something you should try too. Normally your baby will choke the first couple of tries, but they'll soon get use to the flow and the way they suck after a while.

In terms of poop, I keep my son regular by adding half a teaspoon of probiotics (http://www.florahealth.com/flora/home/usa/products/TGU9.htm#61966) into his night time bottle (the bottle he usually drinks the most out of). Probiotics is good for intestinal health. The most he has gone without poop would be 1 day, but it's on a rare occasion. (he is exclusively on formula)
 
You didn?t mention how your baby's weight gain is. This is very important information to understand how well your baby is growing. We expect the weight gain to slow down after the first three months and we?re looking for the baby to double his birth weight by 5 to 6 months.

A fully breastfed baby usually drinks about 750 mls a day. This is true of a one month old baby and a six month old baby. So a young baby often has lots of small meals say 11 lots of 70 mls and an older baby 6 lots of 125 mls. You didn?t mention how many feeds a day your baby is having now. A formula fed baby, however, tends to drink more as he grows.

The range of the number of stools a breastfeed baby has is very large, from five a day to one every two weeks! A baby having one stool every few days is very normal ? it is important to watch the baby and see if this stooling pattern is comfortable for him or not.

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
My babies both rejected their bottles - hated them, so I just had to figure out how to work my schedule around their feeds, even when I was working full-time while nursing one of them! While I loved knowing how much they were drinking from a bottle, it was also making me a little crazy keeping track of how much they were drinking. As Sarah mentioned above, you can yourself a baby scale to make sure the baby is gaining enough weight or you could go to your nearest Maternal and Child Health Clinic, where they'll weigh your baby for you. The one at Tang Chi Ngong where I was going until I got my own baby scale was very understanding and knew me and my baby by name as I was going so often! There's even a lactation nurse and nursing room that welcomed us to come in any time to nurse and watch me nurse as well. For a first time mom, they were a lifesaver!
 
Thanks all for your very helpful advice.

Things are a little bit better. I've worked out that he is absorbing and digesting most of my breast milk, as when I've gone away for a few days and he is drinking more formula, the poop happens.

I've put him on a teat with more holes and I agree the momentum thing plays a part. I now let him drink until he pushes the bottle away, and most of the time he manages about 150ml. We are starting solids soon so hopefully will make up for the decrease milk intake.

Apparently "milk boredom" is quite a well known phenomenon though, esp with the locals! They say it's a phase many babies go through, but will eventually bounce back from it.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top