eating every 5-6 hours

one of my girls is just not eating. she ate at 6 a.m. this morning and won't have anything to do with eating at all. she is just playing and happy as can be on her mat. her pee and poop diapers are fine. she was just at the doctors yesterday to get her flat head checked out and her weight was good at 13lbs 6 ounces. this is the first time that she is doing this and it is really freaking me out. she is about to go down for another nap and she will stay there until 1-2. she should eat again at 2 but that is WAY too long for her to go without eating. has anyone else experienced this? all dh says is that if she isn't hungry she isn't hungry but she has never done this before and is the little piggy of the two.

 

is this just since today at 6 AM? if so, i'd say don't worry yet. her weight is great! her diapers are good and a 'weird' day every now and then is nothing to be alarmed about. if she doesn't eat for the rest of the day i'd call the pedi just to check in... mine have odd days once in a while but make up for it in the next feeding or even the next day returns to normal...

 

QUOTE(lezlie72 @ May 12 2009, 11:22 AM) [snapback]1310211[/snapback]
is this just since today at 6 AM? if so, i'd say don't worry yet. her weight is great! her diapers are good and a 'weird' day every now and then is nothing to be alarmed about. if she doesn't eat for the rest of the day i'd call the pedi just to check in... mine have odd days once in a while but make up for it in the next feeding or even the next day returns to normal...


yes, she just started doing this today. i just put her down for a nap. maybe she will even her self out at the next feeding. thanks for the advice!

 

yeah, ditto lezlie. mine have off days sometimes too.

 

i've had off days but not with this big of a gap. the recently switched themselves from a 3 hour to a 4 hour schedule. i was thinking 4 hours was too long, but 5 or 6...geez! she is sleeping now so i'm thinking she will gobble down her next bottle but we shall see.

 

i'm wondering what to do if they continue to only want to eat every 5 hours. today they would not eat at the 2, 3, or 4 hour mark but happily ate their full 5 ounces at the 5 hour mark.

 

5 hours is a really long time at that age. How many oz's total are they getting per day? Are they sleeping through?

 

QUOTE(becky5 @ May 12 2009, 08:40 PM) [snapback]1311022[/snapback]
5 hours is a really long time at that age. How many oz's total are they getting per day? Are they sleeping through?



trust me i try to get them to eat sooner and they want nothing to do with it. if they were eating their full 5 oz everyday they would be getting 25 - 30 oz a day total depending on if they go on a 3 or 4 hour schedule. they pretty much sleep through. they go to bed at 7, they eat again at 1 a.m. and then sleep until 7. sometimes they won't eat their morning bottle, sometimes it's the afternoon one but they rarely finish a full bottle. I would say that 3 out of 5/6 bottles are eaten full.

we started putting cereal in their bottles a couple of weeks ago due to their bad reflux. this is when it pretty much started. as first it was them eating at 4 hours but today they wanted to wait at 5 hours.

they are gaining weight and doing great. aurielle is 12lbs 14 oz and isabelle is 13lbs 6 oz. they still have a lot of good pee and poo diapers so i really don't know what the problem is but i'm thinking it might be because the cereal is keeping them full longer? i have no clue. i'm really fed up with it though. it has me on edge because they pretty much were on a great schedule and then it just went haywire. i'm totally stressed out!! i tried a few times before to lower the dose of cereal but they just vomit if they don't have it really thick. the cereal is the only thing that has been helping with their reflux.

 

What kind of reflux meds are they on? I totally understand the frustration. :hug:

 

:hug: I hope she had a good night last night. Reflux is so frustrating. <_<

 

QUOTE(becky5 @ May 12 2009, 10:17 PM) [snapback]1311185[/snapback]
What kind of reflux meds are they on? I totally understand the frustration. :hug:


they both are on 1 ml of zantac a day.

 

QUOTE(DATJMom @ May 13 2009, 06:26 AM) [snapback]1311453[/snapback]
:hug: I hope she had a good night last night. Reflux is so frustrating. <_<


thanks but they both didn't sleep well. they were up at 12 to eat and again at 6. so the day is pretty much messed up again. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will actually eat within 3-4 hours today.

 

I noticed you mentioned you are putting cereal in their bottles? How long have you been doing this and how much cereal? The cereal does make them more full, I know with my dd she really struggled to eat every 3-4hrs for a while (like 3 months-heck she still struggles,lol!) once we started adding cereal.
You said they are happy though...not crying or arching while eating or anything?
Maybe you could offer them a little less formula...maybe 3-4oz instead of 5 and see if they get hungrier earlier?

 

Both of mine did that at 3 months and believe it or not, they were already teething!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Although the teeth didn't show up for awhile, the gums were painful, I gave tylenol or put on teething gel and within 5 min she was eating normally again

 

QUOTE(Hsuter @ May 13 2009, 12:28 PM) [snapback]1311961[/snapback]
I noticed you mentioned you are putting cereal in their bottles? How long have you been doing this and how much cereal? The cereal does make them more full, I know with my dd she really struggled to eat every 3-4hrs for a while (like 3 months-heck she still struggles,lol!) once we started adding cereal.
You said they are happy though...not crying or arching while eating or anything?
Maybe you could offer them a little less formula...maybe 3-4oz instead of 5 and see if they get hungrier earlier?


we have been doing the cereal for two weeks. for about a week there it evened itself out and they were drinking their full 5 oz. this past week i don' tknow what the H happened. i've tried putting less formula in their bottles but they do the same thing. they will eat a few ounces and still want to go 4-5 hours. it's absolutely crazy. so today i have been putting less and less cereal in each bottle. first i started off with four tablespoons for five ounces, then three, now two tablespoons of cereal and although they were hungry at the 3 hour mark (thank god) they still only ate a few ounces. they are not eating nearly enough throughout the day. yesterday they ate a total of 12 ounces in the day! today i don't think it's looking much better. i already cried about it today. i have talk to the ped and they can offer no advice besides "they have their moments". i do not trust my ped and they don't see the same doctor every time because they are on state aid. oh and we can't switch...this is the sucky news. i couldn't go to another office if i wanted to. so we are stuck. their next appointment is on june 1 and i know they aren't going to offer any advice because they are gaining weight (from the stupid cereal). i really don't know what to do anymore...i'm at my wits end!

 

I am so sorry you are having to go through this...I do understand how frustrating it is! My dd is 8 months today and she only averages about 12-16oz a day. There were months where I would cry daily-multiple times because she just would not eat. For her it was due to her reflux...although controled it became behavioral (she remembered bottle=pain). We struggled for months and months...went into see the pedi multiple times to make sure she was still hydrated, ect. Fortunately she was always hydrated and always gained weight (somehow!). So I guess I've just learned to live with it, I dont know. For her it seems to be ok.
I apologize but how old are the babies? Is offering solids an option? Spoon feeding did seem to help my dd. It sucks but I have to spoon feed her her bottles these days (formula is thick enough) due to reflux side effects (back of the mouth sensitivity and bottle issues).

 

QUOTE(Hsuter @ May 13 2009, 12:54 PM) [snapback]1312010[/snapback]
I am so sorry you are having to go through this...I do understand how frustrating it is! My dd is 8 months today and she only averages about 12-16oz a day. There were months where I would cry daily-multiple times because she just would not eat. For her it was due to her reflux...although controled it became behavioral (she remembered bottle=pain). We struggled for months and months...went into see the pedi multiple times to make sure she was still hydrated, ect. Fortunately she was always hydrated and always gained weight (somehow!). So I guess I've just learned to live with it, I dont know. For her it seems to be ok.
I apologize but how old are the babies? Is offering solids an option? Spoon feeding did seem to help my dd. It sucks but I have to spoon feed her her bottles these days (formula is thick enough) due to reflux side effects (back of the mouth sensitivity and bottle issues).



they are just a few days shy of four months. they love eating from a spoon so maybe that is an option. maybe i can start them off at 3 ounces. looks like we might have to go backwards before we can go forwards. grrrr

 

I would give the spoon a try-I spoon feed my dd 4oz 3x a day (6oz if she's doing really well!) and then try a dream feed before dh and I go to bed. Although she hasnt been taking that lately because she has a cold.

 

QUOTE(Hsuter @ May 13 2009, 12:59 PM) [snapback]1312026[/snapback]
I would give the spoon a try-I spoon feed my dd 4oz 3x a day (6oz if she's doing really well!) and then try a dream feed before dh and I go to bed. Although she hasnt been taking that lately because she has a cold.


i will try the spoon. we tried dream feeding but they don't want anything to do with it. they usually eat at 1 a.m but only a few ounces. i think they might be ready to drop that feeding. who knows. i'm so bad at this mothering thing.

sorry that your LO has a cold. sounds like it's going around.

 

12oz of fluid is not enough, I'm sorry your ped was not helpful. Are they soaking diapers? Or just barely wet?

My babies got down around that amount too and it was so scary to me. I would suggest calling your ped AGAIN(I was in there every few days until our reflux was sorted out), as it sounds like the meds are doing nothing, which seems pretty common with Zantac.

 

we all struggle with this mothering thing from time to time, dont be hard on yourself!

Although many will say, as Becky mentioned, that 12oz is not enough (which I'm sure is generally the case) as I mentioned before it was enough for my dd-always well hydrated and gaining weight. I do hope this is just a phase, but if it continues I would put in a few more calls the the pedi. Maybe they can switch the babies to a PPI like prevacid for their reflux and that might help.

 

QUOTE(becky5 @ May 13 2009, 01:16 PM) [snapback]1312056[/snapback]
12oz of fluid is not enough, I'm sorry your ped was not helpful. Are they soaking diapers? Or just barely wet?

My babies got down around that amount too and it was so scary to me. I would suggest calling your ped AGAIN(I was in there every few days until our reflux was sorted out), as it sounds like the meds are doing nothing, which seems pretty common with Zantac.

during the night they are soaked but during the day i change them too much to know whether or not they are soaked or just wet. they get diaper rash and yeast infections easily so i tend to change their diapers a lot. they aren't in any pain from the reflux so i do believe the meds are working. afterall, they don't eliminate the reflux just aid with the pain from the acid. they actually haven't been vomiting or spitting up today so i think it might be under control but i'm still worried about them not eating enough. maybe they are teething. i see a tiny white bud in izzi's mouth but it's real small. i didn't see any in auri's mouth but they are both drooling. i just thought that was a 3 -4 month thing not necessarily a teething thing.

 

Have you tried a little tylenol?

 

QUOTE(Hsuter @ May 13 2009, 01:33 PM) [snapback]1312095[/snapback]
Have you tried a little tylenol?


no. i have no clue how much to give a 4 month old. i thought it was for older children.

 

they make concentrated tylenol for infants...you can get it pretty much anywhere. I know at 2 months we were giving .6 (there is a dropper in the tylenol with marks for .4 and .8) and they were anywhere near your LO's weights so I'm sure thats a safe dose. DD now gets .8 and DS .12. You can call your pedi and ask for a dosage based on their weight.

 

QUOTE(orangeyaglad @ May 13 2009, 12:26 PM) [snapback]1312081[/snapback]
i see a tiny white bud in izzi's mouth but it's real small.

could that be thrush?

 

QUOTE(EmilyorMLE @ May 13 2009, 02:08 PM) [snapback]1312156[/snapback]
could that be thrush?


nah...no sign of thrush.

 

after inspecting isabelle's mouth i noticed she does have a little white bud. she is totally teething. she won't sleep or stop crying and she is definitely not eating. tonight will be a fun night. i'm pretty sure that auri is right behind her and will be getting a tooth any day now. thanks for all the help!

 

Darn teeth! Keep them dosed on Tylenol and also try Orajel before you give bottles. It might give them some relief.

 

ahh yes....teething really hindered ds eating-during those times he prefers solids instead of the bottle.

As Becky mentioned keep the tylenol flowing, orajel works for some it just freaked my LO's out-we used teething tablets and teething drops, but I think the tylenol/motrin worked best.

 

bought the tylenol late last night. neither of the girls slept last night. maybe an hour. i'm running on empty. ug

 

Aww feel for you and your little one's mine are teething and it is no fun!! Hope you find something that eases it for them. Ruby likes to suck on a frozen muslin square, might be worth ago if you get the chance.
Hope they start to deal with it abit better soon x

 

QUOTE(orangeyaglad @ May 14 2009, 07:35 AM) [snapback]1313018[/snapback]
bought the tylenol late last night. neither of the girls slept last night. maybe an hour. i'm running on empty. ug

:hug: I hope you are able to get a little rest today.

 

QUOTE(orangeyaglad @ May 14 2009, 07:35 AM) [snapback]1313018[/snapback]
bought the tylenol late last night. neither of the girls slept last night. maybe an hour. i'm running on empty. ug


:hug: Teething sucks!!

 

so far no rest today. the girls are laying in my bed but they aren't sleeping. they won't sleep and still haven't eaten anything. they hate the orajel. i seriously am so frazzled i poured iced tea in my cereal and ate it! oh my!