DS refuses bottle, demands solids :|

Hi All!

I have 9 month old (born at 34 weeks so 7 and a half months old adjusted) boy/girl twins and am facing an issue I'd love some help with.

My boy was diagnosed with reflux at 4 weeks and was on Zantac until 3 months, after which I didn't notice the spit up and weird 'clearing the throat' noises he made in the beginning. He stopped drinking milk while being held, would only drink while sitting in a bouncy or swing, needed frequent burps and breaks, but he would drink everything (4 oz every 3 hours) and I didn't see any difference between the times he was off/on the Zantac, so we took him off it. Things went from bad to worse around 5 months: he stopped drinking well during the day, would yell at the bottle, play with the nipple but would wake up every two hours to down four ounce bottles in one go without a peep. Now, we're at the point where, if I'm lucky, I can get him to take in 10 oz of expressed BM/formula (Enfamil Gentlease) during the day (7 AM to 7 PM) and he drinks one ounce, maybe two at a time. BUT if I offer him solids he screams for me to keep shoveling the food in his mouth as if I hadn't just offered him a bottle twenty times. Do any of you know why he would act this way and if there is anything I can do to get him drink his meals instead of making me spoon feed it to him? Other than the bottle aversion he doesn't show any other signs of having reflux: He'll drink a four ounce bottle in five minutes while lying flat in his crib with no problems, and his pediatrician doesn't think he needs to be taking Zantac or any other reflux med. I try to add olive oil and formula powder to solids to up his calorie intake, I turn every bottle he refuses into an oatmeal-pureed fruit mixture, but its so hard to constantly spoon-feed him while there are two of them AND HE'S THE 'EASY ONE'! DD is a bit of a diva... She sleeps through the night though, for the most part and DS wakes up so often; thus he sleeps in the pack n play in the guest room. Is that bad? Is there any way I can work around his milk strike to get him to start sleeping better at night?

Thank you so much for reading. Any and all advice is GREATLY appreciated!

Mimi

 

I would revisit the acid reflux possibility. My DS rarely ever vomited. His only sign was drinking half his bottle, burping and then crying and refusing the rest.
He is still on Previcox. I try taking him off every couple of weeks and he starts waking at night... that is the ONLY indication of the problem. DD always vomited (still does occasionally) but never seemed to have any pain.

You're his mom, you know something is not right,, keep looking until you find the answer. Some doctors don't have 'real' life experience and if it isn't written in their text book they don't believe it. If it were me i would insist he give you the prescription or find a doctor who will work with you to figure it out.

NOTE: if you try Zantac again be aware it is VERY sensitive to weight increase. I switched because every few weeks it would stop working because he had gained wt... I wasn't fast enough with the adjustments in dose and then he would be in pain again.

Also, at 7 months you could start finger foods. I did a variation of BabyLeadWeaning.. gave them real food in sizes they could handle. You will be amazed at what they can eat! And 'doing it themselves' is a great way for them to learn and explore. Not to mention making it easier on mom. Everyone i know who has done BLW says their kids are great eaters and try lots of different things.

I hope you figure out what is going on. How frustrating for you and for him.

 

Have you tried a sippy cup with him yet? Maybe a different container would help?

 

If you do discount reflux as a possibility, you might try sippy cups. Sometimes offering the same ting in a different way can make a difference. But I would rule out medical possibilities first.

 

I'm going to agree that it's probably reflux. Drinking a bottle fills you up more than purees do, and it's much faster, probably causing his stomach to expel some of the acid. Alice was on Prevacid until she was a year, and she just started taking it again recently and she's five. Reflux is so weird and persistent.

 

I'll talk to the pediatrician today to tackle the reflux more aggressively. I've tried giving him the sippy cup a few times. He just wants to chew on the spout and pushes my hand away when i try to tip it so milk comes out. Ugh. To top everything off, both babies have had diarrhea for two weeks now. Its almost completely out of their systems now but keeping them, especially DS, hydrated has been so exhausting. I've even given him a whole bottle with a medicine syringe. He's lost so much weight because of the diarrhea and I want to help him put the lbs back on! Thanks for all your advice n suggestions, ladies!