My daughter is 7 weeks old she was born 5 weeks premature. With in the last couple weeks she has not been eating very well. It started out she was just very sloppy and would lose a good amount of her bottle on the burp rag. Then she started where she would take a couple sips and start screaming but she would still be moving head and tounge to get bottle so I would give it back and she would do it again and I would have to burp her after 1/8oz. We would do this and it took her almost 2 hours to eat. We went to doc and he said it was prob acid reflux and started her on meds. Did not help much so I went out and bought the Dr. Brown baby bottles and they help some at least she is not screaming when eating but she still is not eating well. Also very gassie and hard to burp alot of the times. We live on the gas drop to. She is on Neosure and breastmilk also.
You could try getting an eval from a lactation consultant and/or attend/call one or two La Leche groups (the leaders are very helpful). It could be a latch problem, which would affect bottle and breast latching. She could also have a difficulty with her palate formation, and you could learn more from a speech therapist on how to help her (they work with feeding issues, as well as do some occupational therapists).
good luck and hugs
my son was 5 weeks preemie and shortly after he came home from the hospital he had trouble eating also....i switched him to the alimentum or however you spell it and i also had to get special nipples for his bottles because the slow flow were too much and he was spitting up alot because he was taking in too much too fast....
I dont have any advice. I just know that this is scary for you, mama, and my heart reaches out to you. Youll figure it out and she will be better. Take care.
Talk to the pedi again. There are several reflux meds and some work better for some people than others. We needed to change acid meds once or twice for our baby too.
If that doesn't help, ask the pedi for a referral to see the pediatric gastroenterologist.
Hope your little one feels better soon!!! =o)
BTW- if she is on formula, a change to lactose-free or Nutramigen might help too.
It might be the nipples on the bottle you are using. Maybe it is too big and should try for a smaller one. She may not be able to adjust her mouth to eat properly if it is.
It can also be that it is a fast flow nipple and she may need a slower flow one. Check into that.
We always liked the Playtex Nurser bottles better.
Can always try to change the formula if you are giving her any.
Change your diet if you are giving her your milk.
Maybe its the temperature of the milk?
Gas drops are amazing aren't they? We love them over here.
I hope that your sweet new one feels better soon and you find out whats wrong. Best wishes!
My son was like this, he was a 33 weeker. It really sounds like the acid reflux. Just the act of sucking on a bottle can cause a vacuum in the throat and make the reflux much worse while trying to eat, poor little things. Keep on the medicine- it can take a little while to really get to full strength.
When you feed her, keep her head and shoulders really elevated, as close to sitting up as you can. Try not to bounce her on your shoulder or press into her soft tummy when you burp her, opt for rapid tapping on her back and smoothing the palm of your hand up her back. Don't lay her flat on her back for at least 20 min after eating, preferably more. You can get a wedge and elevate her shoulders and head when she sleeps so gravity can help her out a little.
Go for it with the gas drops so long as they are not giving her constipation (they are not absorbed into the bloodstream so you can't overdose, only constipate!) and ask your doc when you can start adding a teaspoon of cereal to her milk (be sure to ask first!) We tried Doc. Browns but found that the playtex nursers were the best thing to keep him from being so gassy and uncomfortable after eating.
Over time we just took to keeping him sitting up in our lap most of the time, back to chest and supporting his head by the bony parts of his jaw. The reflux calmed down as he got a few months older and his little system caught up. Good luck, momma, it gets better!
Is she on formula? Maybe you need to try a different kind.
Hi A.,
My twins were born over 9 weeks early and the nurses had me feed them my breastmilk in very small bottles with very small nipples. I was told to move the bottle around just a bit while in their mouths if they stopped drinking too soon. This would usually refocus them and they would begin to suck once again. Here's a link for the size I'm talking about:
http://www.diapers.com/products/Enfamil-Premature-Lipil-w...
I can't recommend the formula although it says it is specifically for premature babies. I am just pointing out the small bottle... and the nipple is really small, but not showing in this picture.
Sing to her and cuddle with her closely. The singing might turn out to over stimulate her... common in premature babies. But try and see. You can bring her very close to you like they do with the "Kangaroo Hold". (Skin to skin contact- you and her.) If she still isn't drinking, maybe try to turn the lights down and be quiet or play a sound machine such as a beating heart sound or noise of a fan while feeding her.
Good luck and congratulations!
-J.
Just another possible avenue to try: have you taken her to a chiropractor? It sounded crazy to me at first, but it worked wonders for my son when he started showing signs of reflux and colic. We had never heard of taking a baby to the chiropractor when my older child had colic, and I swear we're all still traumatized :) But, with my son, there was improvement after even the first visit, so much so that my MIL asked what was different because I wasn't looking so crazy anymore! The effects seemed to last longer after each visit, and we now only check in every few months or so. As someone else suggested, I also checked in with a lactation consultant as well.
Good luck, I know how hard it is to hear your child scream and not know what to do about it!
As long as she's peeing and pooping, she's probably fine. There are many suggestions for acid reflux including having them sleep in their carseat....... My 1st had horrible colic and the sound of the vacuum cleaner would make him comfortable. Litterally we would sleep with it on for hours then one day I decided to record it and that worked just as well and we could control the volume. For my other 2 we would turn on the hair dryer and that helped.
Now if she stops peeing and pooping, that's a BIG deal. A friend of mine just had a baby and he was treated for the acid reflux but then stopped peeing and pooping and had to have surgery because the muscle/flap at the opening of the stomach had closed which she said is the most common surgery performed on babies.
