Should feeding be this hard?

I am sooo worried the boys are going to lose more weight. They had lost 7 oz each at their circumcision appt. when they were five days old. The doctor said that was normal. Did that happen to everyone? unfortunately breast feeding was very hard and I was not producing enough milk at the hospital and their blood sugar was low so we went to bottles and I just stuck with them because they seemed to be working. We had the pre made enfamil with iron bottles that they gave us at the hospital, and they gave us bunch to take home. Things were going good with those, but we ran out yesterday and they are so expensive! So we got the same formula, but in powder form, which also means new bottles, I am using the Playtex drop ins with a slow nipple and it seems to have upset the whole feeding thing. We gave them the first one at like 8:00pm last night and it is now 8:00am the next morning and they still have not pooped..I am not sure exactly how often they were going before, but I still am a little worried. It should not make a difference if it is the same stuff right? Some times they want like 3 oz and others they just eat like 1 1/2oz should it be consistent. They also seem to be sleeping less now. DS woke up in the night 3 times and wanted nothing, they had never done that before, it was always change diaper eat and fall back to sleep. Doctor said to feed them every three hours, but if they are hungry to feed them sooner if they want it. I have been doing that, but it seems like right when they start wanting more at each feeding then all o0f a sudden they eat less than they did the second night home..Ahhh so confused sorry for all the questions! They are my first and I feel like I am going to hurt them cuz I have no idea what I am doing, and I am soooo worried they will lose more weight!
Thank you,
Melissa

 

I was a mess with my boys and their feeding. If they cried I gave them more and then that just made it difficult when the next bottle came along.

I dont think the liquid vs powder should make a difference.

I know you will get good suggestions here. I wish that from the beginning I was consistent with the amount and hours in between.

 

Just last night I was laughing with my Mom about how hard it use to be to get my girls to eat! I was constantly worried, thinking that they were not getting enough, etc. They are now 5.5 months old and take down an 8 oz bottle in 20 minutes! They are CHAMPION eaters now.

My girls also were very inconsistent with amounts at that age. I think they got more consistent around 2 months. But I will say this... the only thing that I have found that is consistent with babies is the inconsistency! My girls did initially lose weight. 5 oz each I think. Do not be worried about that- all babies initially lose weight.

The iron in formula can be constipating. But, babies poop at different rates. Some every day, some once a week (I wish!) so if you are concerned, I'd call your ped. There are some simple tricks that can help them go. (Karo in bottle, fruit juices, etc.) Poop was also very inconsistent for us at that age.

FWIW, the Target brand formula is the exact same as the Enfamil and about $10 cheaper per can. We had no problems switching from the Enfamil to the Target brand and (if anything) I think the Target formula stains clothing less than the Enfamil!

HTH!

 

you're doing just fine and so are they...
the majority of babies do loose weight at first (they want to see babies back up to their birth weight by their 2 week apt... if not.. then the ped. will probaably start to worry).
about the eating - do you have any leftover bottles that the premade stuff from the hospital was in? If so.. just clean it all out and reuse (if they're used to that -- that's what I did for the first couple of weeks - just made the powder Similac in the little bottles from the hospital).
At that age one baby would only eat 1.5.oz at every feeding and my other girl would eat more like 2 - 2.5 oz... and they stayed like this for several weeks (I was certain they weren't eating enough and did all sorts of research and found out they were *normal*) -- so I think yours are doing just fine.
and in regards to pooping - yes, all babies systems are different... mine were both formula fed from day 1 and they only poop about every 3-4 days (it's NICE! LOL)
good luck and just relax - both you and them are getting used to each other and I can tell (from you being concerned over them) that you're doing a terrific job!

 

I understand how you feel. I was given those same mini bottles in the hospital - but once those bottles were gone, I washed them and reused them with the powder formula. (dont think i was supposed to, but it didnt hurt) It was just easier since they were used to that kind of nipple and it was easy to see exactly how much they were eating using that little scale on the side of the bottle. (until the paper started peeling from washing) Maybe it is the nipples they are having a hard time with, have you noticed any difficulties?
Mine went back and forth a little too. Sometimes they would take the full two oz and sometimes they didnt want so much. Before we left the hospital it was like the nurses were forcing them to eat, and they were falling asleep. But if you are still having trouble you should contact their pediatrician. They usually take them in for a weight check after a week or two anyway, but weight loss is normal when they first leave the hospital. As long as its not too significant, and I dont think (based on my experiences) 7 oz is a whole lot. You might just want to schedule their 2 wk checkup and speak to a nurse if you still have concerns to address before the appt date. Good luck. Keep us posted!

 

It's the reason why I wish I could have breastfed instead sometimes... less worries about whether they are eating enough.

Mine still do that. They'll eat great then at the next feeding they won't eat anything. It's been driving me crazy but at the same time I tell myself that babies don't let themselves starve...

 

I had trouble at first with switching mine from the breat to the enfamil they got constipated for a while and just like you they gave us the pre made at the hospital and then going to powder somehow made things hard.....but I ended up having to switch my little ones around to all kinds of different formulas and still am with my son....my daughter finally ended up on the enfamil AR and right now my son is on the Gentlease but he's not doing good on that yet.....so yea it's a pain to feed and find the right bottle I started with the drop ins and then someone kept talking up the Dr Brown Bottles so I switched to those but I don't like them so I'm going back to the platex drop ins.....I had the same trouble with breast feeding I didn't have enough milk cause I didn't have time to eat and drink like I should....so after 2 weeks we went to formula.....

 

I don't know if this helps any, but my girls had a hard time eating from the Playtex drop in bottles because of the nipple. We were given lots of enfamil extras from the hospital as well and the girls just seem to like that type of nipple. So now we are using doctor browns, but unfortunately I have a box of Playtex bottles and drop ins that I cannot use. I was really looking forward to not washing bottles so much!

Summer

 

My boys were really erratic with their eating as well when they came home from the NICU. They were on and still are on Enfacare. I used all the premade formula bottles from the NICU and then we switched to the powder. I tried the Playtex drop-ins and they did not like them at all so we tried several other kinds of bottles but they did really well with the Avent Airflex which we still use today. We've moved on to the #2 nipple but we started with the #1. As for poop one of mine only went every three days and the other went 5x/day!!! All over the place! The pedi said this is totally normal, it isn't so much how often they go as it is the consistency of the poop! As long as it isn't constipated looking (dry/hard/pellet like) you should be fine! I do have to give one of mine 1/2-1oz of prune juice occasionally and then he's fine! Good Luck...it gets better!

 

Alright mom..take in a deep breath. You're doing fine. Mine lost weight too at first. They'll gain it back. But do keep an eye on it. Mine were also very inconsistent with feeds at first. They'll take what they need. Mine also got constipated. I tried Karo syrup and prune juice. We had to change formula though for reflux. I would talk to your ped about the constipation. Sometimes it takes the little ones time to adjust to the new nipples. I also use the playtex dropins. Mine do well with them. Personally, I thought the nipples on the bottles from the hospital were horrible. Remember, they are still learning the whole suckling thing. They will get the hang of it. Good Luck!

 

:hug: :hug: you sound like me when i first got my girls home, i was an absolute crying worrying mess til their 1 month pedi appt and i saw that they were gaining appropriately. i was so focused on their feeding because they taught me to be this way when they were in the nicu. i went to BRU and literally bought a pack of every different nipple they had and tried them all. some of them, i couldnt even get any formula to come out through the holes, lol, i still dont know how to use some. anyway, dd elena ended back up with the nipples they were using in the nicu, brown/white kind that are cross-hatched. we have just saved and rewashed those nipples the whole time. we too had pre-bought the whole playtex drop-ins system but had to buy cheap plastic bottles for those hospital nipples to fit on. good luck and try not to be so hard on yourself.

oh yeah- pedi said not to worry as long as they were having a wet diaper every 6 hours.

 

Yes, most lose weight when they are in the hospital and when they come home and then they gradually start to gain it back in the next couple of weeks. And then they should be consistently gaining. I dont think powder vs. premade makes a difference, but some babies like the ready to feed better than the powder so maybe that is an option. We did the RTF all the time in the first few months. It was just easier and it seemed to be a bit thicker and we had reflux issues. Their digestive systems are changing so much that pooping is such an issue. It will be erradic and it they start to show contipation signs like grunting and not producing anything to just crying and seeming uncomfortable call your Ped. They might suggest something to help them go. We had to use a water and pear juice mixture to help ours. I think the every 3 hour feeding sounds right and if they are hungry earlier just like the Ped said, "feed 'em." Ours were not consistent on the number of ounces for quite a few weeks. We wasted a ton of formula just because I didnt want to keep making an ounce here and an ounce there. I just made a bigger bottle and hoped they'd eat it. It sounds like you are doing a great job and they are doing what they should be doing. Also, they might not like the Playtex bottles so maybe try a couple of different kinds. We went through 2 kinds only to get to the Dr. Browns and they liked those so we used them.

 

:hug: Hugs to you. I was in the same place the first few weeks. WHERE OH WHERE did the Twin Instruction Manual go??? It's like they boot you out of the hospital and say "ok, your a parent, OF TWO" I had no idea how much they were supposed to eat, poop, sleep etc. I worried they weren't waking up to eat, I worried they didn't poop. Too bad I didn't know about this site until like a week ago. These mommas know it all!! And at least someone has been where you are. I don't have any advice that hasn't already been given.......just wanted to say btdt

 

Thank you so much to everyone your posts made me feel so much better I made DH come in and read them all We got some advent bottles and they seem to be doing well it just takes a lot longer for them to eat. It is so hard because they scare the crap out of me I don't wanna break em LOL Things are getting a little easier Sunday I am going to have them by myself for a few hours for the first time so say a prayer for me :lol: