Baby feeding problems again

[Julied24]

I phoned the dietician Friday to tell her that since being on the hyperallergenic (sp?) milk he had started feeding alot less and wasn't gaining much weight so she said the Nutramigen formula she has given him wasn't agreeing with him so has prescribed Neocate formula which is more refined that nutramigen so she is hoping he will start to feed better soon.

I know its only been 3 days but he is no different, just wondered what you think of his feeding and if I should be worried. This is how he feeds in a day.

5am 4-5oz feed.
8am Bananna porridge with 2oz of formula mixed in.
9-10am a feed but this can vary, I make up 5oz bottles but some days he takes 2oz others the full lot.Today he only took 2oz.
2-3pm a feed, today he took 3oz at 1.30pm.
5pm 3 cubes of veg.
6pm again anything from 3-5oz of formula
8.30-9pm 3-5oz of formula
11.30pm he was taking a 5oz feed but is now only taking 2oz so we are dropping that one tonight.

Does that sound bad? In a day he is taking around 20oz max, today so far he has taken 11oz ish. Its a nightmare because he use to feed every 2 hours and take 5oz and that was on normal formula although he was bad afterwards because of his allergy but now sicne being put on this special milk for his allergy we are lucky if he ever takes a full feed adn he can go 6hours without a bottle which worries me. He was 14lbs 3oz and has dropped to the 25th centile, I know its a good weight but other babies his age (18 weeks) are about 2lbs heavier and he was 8lb 7oz at birth so a big lad.

Its upseting me him not feeding, ive had nothing but stress with his feeds since he was 4 weeks old and you would think now that things were better but they are not. He seems full of wind during feeds so takes 3oz max each time and stops but then won't take the rest after he has burped. At least he isn't in pain anymore during & after feeds but why has he gone like this? Anyone else experience this and was your baby ok? I keep thinking he won't gain weight and will get poorly from not feeding.

Sorry to ramble I just don't know what to do.

Julie xxx

[Pam]

Maybe when he was on cow's milk he was taking a full feed everytime but not actually properly digesting it so it didn't feel like he was full. Whereas now he is getting a full tummy and digesting all of a smaller amount. You might see more of an improvement as he gets more used to it.

Also, don't fill him up on fruit and veg, it isn't as high in calories as formula and whilst you are testing his sensitivity to new milks you should be careful about introducing other new foods so you are more clear when there is a reaction. (A lot of babies are intolerant to bananas and if porridge is made with oats there will be gluten which also can cause problems).

This must be so frustrating for you, you are doing everything you can and yet keep hitting brick walls. Keep battling on, you'll work it all out eventually, and don't take too much notice of the growth charts, they are based on "average" and we all know that not many people fit into the average bracket.

[Julied24]

HI Pam,

Thanks for your reply, you are right I feel like im banging my head against a brick wall. I feel so bad for him being like this, its so frustrating.

Sometimes I wonder did the dietcian diagnose him correctly beacuse his weight is so poor now and he feeds so little.

Yes I did think with the food I might lay off it abit and just give rice in the morning or the porridge (which is organic and gluten & milk free) and forget teatime feed for now. He is a windy baby so ive been trying to fill him up on food abit, also HV suggested weaning because of his poor weight gain and lack of formula intake.

Oh no idea what to do :(

Thanks

Julie xxx

[Pam]

I have no medical training and certainly wouldn't advise you to go against your professionals' recommendations but I find it very odd that they are suggesting weaning to boost your baby's weight, when it is the formula milk that is higher in calories and nutrients. This is not helping to get to the bottom of your problems.

Unfortunately so many people here have had to do all the work themselves and present their case to the professionals before they were listened to. I think you need to keep on pestering the dietician, doctor, consultant or whoever until you work out what is going wrong. Persevere with the formula though, it might just be a settling in period.

If you get no joy, try contacting Allergy UK, they have counsellors, advisors and lists of sympathetic professionals who might be able to put you on the right track.

We all want the best for our babies and it is heartbreaking to know that there is something wrong and you can't do anything about it.

Thinking about you.

[Julied24]

Thanks Pam, you are very helpful.

Julie x