HELP MY DS Doesnt' want to eat! (formula fed only)

This has been happening for about 1 month now but is getting worse... I used to think maybe he wasn't hungry so I waited a little longer..
I changed nippels, bottles, and today even tried different formula but he just doesn't want to eat. Eventually, ofcourse, he does since
I have patience and keep insiting until he is sleepy and then drinks it all, because he is hungry. Sometimes he falls totally asleep
and will only drink 1/2... then I assumed he would wake up hungry but the only thing he really wants is the paci.
I took him yesterday to the gastro... and his reflux is bad again.. arching his back big time.... but the not wanting to eat
starts as soon as he realizes it is the bottle or if I position him to eat. I feel so bad... he has gained weight but his ds has
caught up (they used to be 2 pounds apart, now she is even a little heavier than he is...she is an excellent eater.....gets mad if she doesn't get food, which
is how it should be at this age.

 

Have you told your pedi about this?

 

QUOTE(aimeethomp @ Jan 8 2009, 05:46 PM) [snapback]1138899[/snapback]
Have you told your pedi about this?

I was going to say the same thing as Aimee. I would definitely mention it to your pedi.

 

I did mention it to him at his 4 month check up (it started a few days before that) but it wasn't a constant thing, and right before
we went he was eating... and since he did gain weight they don't pay much attention to it.

The thing is...if I really didn't insit on him eating, he woul have lost more weight..he used to be in the chubby side so he still looks
healthy but you take a couple of ounces out of every bottle and he is eating far less than he should.

It is so hard to tell if it is due to reflux or he just doesn't like the formula. He had silent reflux but lately he has also
been spitting up. I feel so bad for him... he smiles and them spits. Oh if they could only talk sooner...

 

My babies were refusing bottles because of reflux. What did the GI doc say? Is he on any reflux medications? :hug:

 

Wow, sounds just like my James when he was an infant. I was at my wit's end with him. Funnily enough, liquid instead of powdered formula seemed to help (no idea why). He also had reflux. He'd just cry and cry at the sight of a bottle. I started him on solids earlier than 6 months so I could add formula to his cereal and fruit/veggies to get those extra calories in. He never did lose weight, which is why the doctor didn't take my concerns too seriously. For me, it was very hard to handle. He ate about 1/2 what his brother did. Funnily enough, he never did become a baby who loved his bottle. He just drank what he needed to survive, unlike his brother who enjoyed cuddling with a bottle. At 12 months we just gave up on bottles. He has no feeding issues now - he eats well and enjoys water, juice and milk from a sippy. He took to solids like a duck to water and was self feeding by 9 months.

It's worrying, I know. But try not to lose sleep over it if he's not losing weight.

 

QUOTE(CHJH @ Jan 8 2009, 07:46 PM) [snapback]1139024[/snapback]
Wow, sounds just like my James when he was an infant. I was at my wit's end with him. Funnily enough, liquid instead of powdered formula seemed to help (no idea why). He also had reflux. He'd just cry and cry at the sight of a bottle. I started him on solids earlier than 6 months so I could add formula to his cereal and fruit/veggies to get those extra calories in. He never did lose weight, which is why the doctor didn't take my concerns too seriously. For me, it was very hard to handle. He ate about 1/2 what his brother did. Funnily enough, he never did become a baby who loved his bottle. He just drank what he needed to survive, unlike his brother who enjoyed cuddling with a bottle. At 12 months we just gave up on bottles. He has no feeding issues now - he eats well and enjoys water, juice and milk from a sippy. He took to solids like a duck to water and was self feeding by 9 months.

It's worrying, I know. But try not to lose sleep over it if he's not losing weight.



I always feel so much better after I hear good stories Thank you ...I did go out and buy the liquid formula again..now I have every brand in my closet I was thinking of taking away his paci, but now I won't since that is how I get him to take his bottle..keep switiching on and off with paci to calm him.

He is taking prevacid and zantac. The dr. increased his med again, but said if that wasn't working he has going to switch the Zantac to something stronger, I can't remember the name.

My dd has reflux too, but fortunately hers has gotten a lot better...she used to projectile bomit and that was scary... yesterday the doctor took away
one fo the zantac doses

 

our guys have bad reflux and they refuse bottles when they have flare-ups. owen in particular refuses to eat and cries at the bottle.

we found that giving them 1 cc of regular strength cherry mylanta before the feeding helps. it knocks down the acid and coats their throat. during periods of break-through when the prevacid doesn't work as well (which happens occasionally) we give them a dose of mylanta before every feeding. after a couple of days the break-through passes and we can go back to normal feedings.

go to a pharmacy and talk to the pharmacist about dosage for their weight. and let your doctor know what you're doing so he/she is aware.

 

QUOTE(Gimena @ Jan 9 2009, 12:57 AM) [snapback]1139041[/snapback]
He is taking prevacid and zantac. The dr. increased his med again, but said if that wasn't working he has going to switch the Zantac to something stronger, I can't remember the name.


I think Zantac and Prevacid do the same thing. Are you giving both or just giving the Prevacid now? I am sorry that he is having such a tough time. Did the GI Doc rule out a milk protein allergy? Just throwing that out there. One of my boys had that and had to be on a special formula as well as the Prevacid. Once we got that all figured out, eating got alot better.