My Baby won't eat. Help!

[lynn07]

That's a little dramatic. He does eat some. This will probably be long and rambling. Sorry about that.

DS3 is 4.5 months. A few weeks ago, he went on a nursing strike that we still haven't recovered from (prior to this, we had no problems, and he ate every 2.5-3hrs during the day). He would flail, cry, clamp down, latch and unlatch, etc during nursing. It's to the point that, half of the time as soon as I turn him into a nursing position, he starts to fuss. He nurses fine/takes a bottle fine at night. He also started waking up an extra time at night (went from doing a 7-9 hour stretch, to now I'm lucky if he does a 5-6 hour one). I started pumping part of the day just to keep my supply up, and trying to give him a bottle. This would actually be a fine arrangement for me if he actually ate out of the bottle, but that is a struggle as well. He pushes it out of his mouth, moves his head around. He resists if I try to hold him in the crook of my arm to feed him, so I have to lay him on the boppy or changing table, or have him in his car seat. And even then, it probably takes 40 mins of stopping/starting to get him to eat 3-4oz. He doesn't seem particularly hungry, and even when he does, he doesn't nurse/eat from the bottle any better. He generally is easy going otherwise.

Things I've tried:
Two different bottles, different nipple sizes, DH feeding him (he actually has less success than I do), nursing in a dark room, nursing with him facing some action (TV, older DSs), different nursing positions. I mentioned some of this to the pedi at his 4 month appointment, but it was still new then, so since it wasn't concerning me much at the time (and he'd obviously been gaining weight prior to that because he was eating fine a few weeks ago), I didn't talk about it too much and the pedi didn't seem concerned.

Guys, I don't know what to do. It's disheartening enough that he won't nurse during the day, but when he resists the bottle, I just feel even more terrible. Like, I don't know how to feed my baby. And I'm always worried that I'm creating a negative association with eating. I never went through anything like this with DS1&2, and they both had reflux! And DS2 had MSPI. But he was grumpy when not eating because of the pain and constant spit up. DS3 doesn't seem like he's uncomfortable any other time of day. And like I said, he eats fine when he's sleeping. Has anyone gone through anything like this? Do you have any other ideas? I'll probably take him back to the pedi next week to at least get his weight checked again. Help me

[lynn07]

Jul 30, 2015 9:32:35 GMT -5 luckydog said:

Do you think it is reflux? That was my first thought. My second thought was maybe he's eating g a lot at night. And then, is your stored breastmilk frozen? Does it have excess lipase? Though that doesn't make a lot of sense with nursing.

Have you had his ears checked? DD would swallow from a sippy cup if she didn't have to suck when her ears really hurt.

I've thought about reflux, but I guess I was hesitant to think it was that just because he's happy other times besides during eating, and he eats fine at night. I know it's not out of the realm of possibility, though.

Most of the breastmilk he gets is fresh. I will see about getting his ears checked again. They were fine at his 4 month, but it's worth double checking. Thanks.

[Deleted]

Is it possible that he is less hungry? Does he nurse some during the day? He could be getting more out of a session and have less need to eat as frequently. As for waking up all of a sudden, around 4 months DD's sleep went to crap too. But if he isn't hungry, he could be getting angry because you keep trying to feed him. How are his wet/dirty diapers?

[heagen]

I'm a lurker, but I wanted to respond as I have been going through this the past 2+ weeks with my 3 month old.

I brought him to the pedi, no EI, he has reflux but was already on meds. She said maybe he just isn't hungry (of course LO ate fine while she was watching...grrr). He is gaining weight so they aren't concerned but of course I am. We upped his nipple size and no change.

So far today since 3 am he has had 2 ounces total. We offer it every 3.5 to 4 hours because he gets pissed if we try sooner. Luckily he will take around 6 ounces at bedtime and each night feed (while he is sleepy/sleeping), so we are getting pretty close to the recommended daily ounces some days.

So frustrating...

[lynn07]

Jul 30, 2015 9:55:12 GMT -5 @myblue said:

Is it possible that he is less hungry? Does he nurse some during the day? He could be getting more out of a session and have less need to eat as frequently. As for waking up all of a sudden, around 4 months DD's sleep went to crap too. But if he isn't hungry, he could be getting angry because you keep trying to feed him. How are his wet/dirty diapers?

I'm lucky if I can get him to stay latched for 3 mins right now, so I'm sure he gets a little, but I doubt it constitutes a real feeding (since at night, a session typically lasts 20 mins). Pooping about once a day the past week or two. It used to be 2-3 times a day, but I figured that was maybe an age thing. His diapers are still wet. I got used to them being super wet, now it feels like he pees maybe once in each diaper? Hard to gauge.

[lynn07]

Jul 30, 2015 9:59:39 GMT -5 heagen said:

I'm a lurker, but I wanted to respond as I have been going through this the past 2+ weeks with my 3 month old.

I brought him to the pedi, no EI, he has reflux but was already on meds. She said maybe he just isn't hungry (of course LO ate fine while she was watching...grrr). He is gaining weight so they aren't concerned but of course I am. We upped his nipple size and no change.

So far today since 3 am he has had 2 ounces total. We offer it every 3.5 to 4 hours because he gets pissed if we try sooner. Luckily he will take around 6 ounces at bedtime and each night feed (while he is sleepy/sleeping), so we are getting pretty close to the recommended daily ounces some days.

So frustrating...

I'm sorry you're going through this, too. It is so frustrating.