Weird feeding behavior; insights?

One of our twins, Will, sometimes has problems when he eats where he'll start off fine and then, usually after an ounce or two, he starts getting really fussy and squirmy and refusing the bottle. We'll burp him, try again and he seems really hungry but just gets upset and frustrated and won't eat, and gets more and more upset regardless of whether we offer him the bottle again or give him a break from eating. We try more burping, changing positions, squezing a little of the milk into his mouth to make sure he knows it is the bottle and not a paci (since we sometimes have to give him a paci mid-feed if we have to stop to burp Alex or get a refill, etc.), sometimes changing the nipple flow from fast back to slow or vice-versa, and sometimes one of those things helps but often he'll just end up with the fussing and acting upset/frustrated for a good 20-40 minutes, and then he might settle back down suddenly and start eating again, or sometimes not and we give up and he'll eat later. Occasionally it's because he's pooping but often we can't find a reason--he really does seem hungry but just stops eating and starts the fussing/frustrated behavior.

This doesn't happen all the time but it seems like it's been happening more in the past week or two. it's really frustrating, especially during the times (most of the time) when one of us is feeding both babies at once--it's really hard to keep feeding Alex when Will is acting like this. (And if we stop feeding Alex to try to figure out what's wrong with Will, we just end up with two upset babies.) Any insights? Other things to try?

 

it really sounds like reflux. I would take him to the pedi tomorrow and get started on some meds.

Hope you find relief soon!

 

QUOTE(Hsuter @ Mar 12 2009, 03:01 AM) [snapback]1224520[/snapback]
it really sounds like reflux.


ITA. What you are describing with the pain and refusing to eat are a couple of sign of reflux. I would call the Ped.

 

Interesting! Alex has reflux and has been on Zantac for about a month, but Will rarely spits up so we assumed he didn't have it.

 

My dd never spit up much either...she has what they call silent reflux. Basically she does spit up, but instead of letting it come out, she swallows it back down-double the burn.

 

I agree it sounds like reflux. One of my girls was a major spitter and had reflux and the other never spit up but instead would scream and arch her back in pain. I actually think the one that didn't spit up had worse reflux than the one that did (if that makes any sense). I'd call your pedi and talk to him/her about it. :hug:

 

I agree, sounds like reflux. My Little guy has had it since 6 wks old. After we finally got him on the right meds, he no longer cries while taking his bottle. Have you made an appt. with the Pedi?

 

Every child increases in fussiness and it peaks at 6 weeks from their DUE DATE (not their birthdate) often this is when mothers get concerned that "the baby doesn't like breastmilk," or "I ate something they didn't like" or "they are allergic to this formula" often this is when mothers will change formula thinking that is the cause and after a few weeks the baby has got over the PEAK of this 6 weeks post due date, and they are the downward slope of fussiness. Mark this date on your calendar.

It is their brain "waking up" and hormones which calm the gut are not yet produced in their body. This is where many say the baby has gas, stomach ache, etc.

Often you will find in the evenings during the "witching hour" (after supper) that the baby/babies will get more fussy and cry for hours despite anything you do. Just know all around town there are other babies doing the same thing at the same time. This is often when i would give the baby to my dh and take a bath just to get a bit of a break. Just know you are doing your best, they will get over this time.

Every baby has reflux since they don't have the same sphincter control, and some Pedis will not put a child on reflux meds unless they have had a swallow study done.

You could try putting the baby on your knees and patting their bottom, or a bath to soothe them during the rough times of the day. Swaddling the baby ??

Heather

 

It absolutely sounds like reflux to me. Call the ped.

 

Personally I think its gas. My babies would do that too and then I switched them to similac sensitive formula and got 1 more hour of sleep between feedings and less gas. try different formulas until you find the right one. it may make a huge difference.
btw love your name will!

 

Same happened with both my little ones. We were put on Zantac, but we changed their formula to the enfamil gentlease with the broken down milk proteins and haven't had an issue since. We even stopped the Zantac and they are fine. Good luck!

Jessie

 

If it is at every feed and has been going on for a while, then I would suspect reflux...sounds like my baby girl and she rarely spits up. She was extremely gassy too because reflux babies tend to suck a lot of air because they are so fussy when they eat and that results in gas which adds to the discomfort. Plus, she seemed like she was always hungry because she would only bf for a few minutes at a time because of her discomfort.

If it's just in the evenings and has recently begun, then you could be in fussiness/witching hour phase where babies sometimes are just not happy no matter what you do.

Call your ped...that never hurts.

Hope it all works out soon!