Finicky Eater...

B.,

Could this be gas? All of my kids had gas problems. It wasn't really reflux as much as trapped gas. Since you are saying the first feeding of the day goes fine and then he starts giving you problems it kind of sounds like gas to me. Try giving him some Mylacon gas medicine before or after each feeding and see if this improves things. That is what worked for me but I know every child is different.

I would also like to suggest talking to your pediatrician about acid reflux. My son Jack would not take a full feeding the whole time he was in the NICU. He was diagnosed with severe reflux and eventually had to have surgery to help with the reflux. He also had to have a gastric feeding tube placed for him to get adequate amount of food. As someone else also stated, you might look into milk intolerance. Jack also had this and has done better on soy formula.

K.

My first thought is try a nipple that gives more than what you're using now. Maybe he's so hungry for that one that he does take it doesn't matter how little he gets with each suck, but for the next one he's irritated that he has to work harder than he wants to for the meal ...

Have you looked into relactating? http://pregnancy.about.com/od/relactating/

Also, if your son is circumcised it's important to know that the pain from the surgery can damage or destroy the breastfeeding relationship. From La Leche League: "Circumcision, in and of itself, is not directly related to breastfeeding. However, like other elective surgeries, this procedure can affect the early days of breastfeeding."

http://www.lalecheleague.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVOctNov00p94...

R.

I've had this problem with my second daughter and my son. I nursed all four of my children and when I switched my daughter she refused a bottle. I talked to my doctor and they actually told me to just stop nursing and give her solely bottles. So I did and believe me I had guilt. Knowing she was hungry but wouldn't eat. But like the doctor said once she got hungry she started taking it. She took four ounces the first day, like 16 the second, and went on to normal after that. With my son, he took a bottle just fine while i worked and nursed while I had him. When the business shut down, I stayed at home with the kids and nursed exclusively. When we were switching him, he refused a bottle so I quit nursing and did the same as before with him. I did notice changing my nursing pads at the beginning of feeding the bottles helped a lot. He couldn't smell the milk on me and took the bottle. It was a matter of he preferred the breastmilk to the formula. My third daughter, however, was a different story. With her it was a matter of the bottle itself. She had certain types of bottles she would only take. So it took using different kinds and nipples to figure out what worked for her. So just some ideas for you. If it's the bottle itself he doesn't prefer or if it's he's prefering the breastmilk.

B.,
Is the baby not getting enough from the bottle and that is why the screaming. Your baby might need formula and ceareal mixed to help weigh down the formula. Might be acid reflux. Could be a whole host of things I would go on the defensive and call and make an appointment for the ped. I am intrested is it just the 5 am feeding or is it all the bottles afterward as well he fusses. Please let us know.

S.

B.,

Did you change his formula or are you breast feeding? When my daughter was little she refused to breast feed but I still pumped and mixed that milk in with formula. Have you tried pumping? Is the milk not the right temperature? My daughter could not wait for the bottle to warm and liked her milk cold even though it was not good for her, that is what she liked.

Have you checked the nipple on the bottle? Is it plugged or not giving him enough milk? I did not realize that nipples came in different sizes until I bought one that was too big and the milk went all over. She was my first child, I did not know anything about that stuff.

One more thing, is it the way you are feeding him? My daugther was really picky about the way I held the bottle, how she sat, etc.

I hope I helped.

J.

My son was born with a double cleft lip but thankfully he was able to nurse and take a bottle without any difficulty. I nursed exclusivley until about three months (after surgery to repair his lip). At the time he became bottle only fed I know we tried all different types of nipples trying to find one he liked best. Before his surgery he like the plain old gerber nipples they give you at the hospital, we would get more disposable bottles from the dr. everytime we went, in fact. Anyway, my son ended up using the Avent, and Soothie bottles most. You might just have a very picky baby, like my son is proving to be now that he's almost a year old and startig to eat real food.

I have a 4 month old girl who has also decided to start fighting me when I try to give her a bottle. She has reflux, which has something to do with it, but my doctor also told me that sometimes babies just don't want to eat. You still have to make sure they get enough formula or breastmilk each day so they keep growing, but you may want to take your son to a GI specialist to make sure there's no obstruction or "silent reflux" happening. To feed my lil girl, I just have to hold her close to me and sing to her and rock until she calms down enough to take the bottle from me.

WHEN I HAD MY SON (3RD CHILD) I KINDA WENT THROUGH THE SAME. I TRIED DIFFRENT TYPES OF NIPPLES. THE ONE THAT WORKED WAS THE REGULAR SMALL NIPPLES. NOT THE BIG ONES THAT THEY TRY TO USE THAT MAY SEEM LIKE A REAL NIPPLE. MY SON SEEMED HUNGRY ALL THE TIME AS WELL AND IT WAS HARD TO FEED HIM EVERY 3HOURS CAUSE I HAD BROKE MY HIP AND DISLOCATED IT ON MY WAY HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL AFTER HAVING HIM. SO I STARTED PUTTING GERBER BABY RICE CEREAL IN HIS FORMULA. IT WORKED. JUST BE SURE IT IS GERBER AND NOT ANY OTHER NAME BRANDS CAUSE ALL OF THE OTHERS WON'T GO THROUGH THE NIPPLE LIKE GERBER. I THEN WAS WORRIED ABOUT FEEDING HIM SO SOON CAUSE I THOUGHT HE MIGHT BE CHUBBY BUT NOPE HE'S NOT. HE IS HEALTHY. JUST ADD ABOUT 1 OZ OF CEREAL TO 4 OZ OF FORMULA. HOPE IT WORKS FOR YOU.

Maybe talk to your Ped. about him possibly having a little acid reflux. On of my twins started getting fussy when I gave her a bottle and our Dr. said they could have reflux even if they're not spitting up a lot. It could be enough to where it burns their throat when they try to eat. She prescribed something for it and it seemed to help. She also said we could give her a teaspoon of Maalox before her bottle.

If its not that, maybe try a soy formula. He could be a little lactoce intolerant.

Just a couple things to try. Good luck. I hope you find something that works for him soon.

Hey B.,
It sounds like maybe your son could be having stomach problems, probibly due to the formula you are giving him. All of my children had problems with formula. I went through the same thing. They would cry like they were hungry but when offered the bottle would either suck a few times and start crying or just would not take it at all. I talked to their doctor and found out it was the formula. They were crying because they were hungry but their stomach hurt so they would not eat. My youngest child is now 9 y.o. so I am really not aware of what formulas are out their now. But you might want to call your childs ped. and ask what kind of formula you can give a 2mo old with problems adjusting to the regular formula. It could be any number of things. Too much iron, lactose intolerant, or their lil body just cannot adjust to the milk in the formula. In the meantime...try to be as patient as you can with him and remember that he is probibly crying because his lil stomach is hurting him. Hope this helps :)

hi B.,
well first I would make sure it's not a bottle issue. I had my now 4 month old little girl on the playtex w bags bottles she did ok but alot of formula went out the side of her mouth. so I switched to the playtex ventair standard ones and she is alot better with those.
If its a formula issue my daughter is on the gentlease (enfamil makes it) and she iS doing good. she vomits up the enfamil w/lipil, so you might try it. and if you do switch formulas of any kind it helps you and baby if you mix them for awhile such as if your son drinks a 6 oz bottle make 4 ozs of what he is on currently and then 2 ozs of what you want to change him to. do that all day and then the next go the other way to where you gradually get him changed over. this helps so he wont have an upset stomach or constipation.
also when my daughter is eating she may drink to fast or if she has been really upset she sometimes swallows alot of air. and then when i try to feed her she wants to eat but she keeps spitting out the nipple and all it is, is she has a burp and sometimes it takes a little bit to get it out of her tummy. I sometimes put her on my shoulder and pat her back or same way but rub her back in a circle for some reason it helps or I sit her on my lap and let her lean on my hand and then pat her back. I think the pressure on her tummy helps a little. hope it helps. W. mom of 4. p.s. I would try the bottles first and nipple flow (make sure its not to fast or to slow) and then move to the burping and those 2 things dont solve it I would try the formula. If all else fails go to your childs dr.