Hellobee Boards

Could be nothing to do with this...but my LO was and still is (at 16 months) a grazer when it comes to milk. She hardly ever drinks more than 2-3oz in one "go". I would just offer whenever she seemed a bit fussy or I thought she was hungry.

@Pumpkin Pie: hi! Please take this with a grain if salt because I can really only speak for my LO.

When he was 5 months old, I began to be a bit suspicious about how much he was taking it. I was/am breastfeeding and since he always refused bottles, I never knew exactly how much he drank. We went to a LC and did pre- and post-nursing weights and saw that he only took 3 ounces. I became obsessed with it, rented a scale from the LC, and would weigh before and after each nursing session. It would always be around 3 ounces. I started pumping like crazy to build up my supply, but he would still only take 3 ounces.

He takes Prevacid twice daily so his reflux is managed. He has probiotics daily. We had an upper GI study done, ultrasounds, x-rays, nothing seems wrong. My pediatrician is not concerned because he is consistently 75th percentile for weight.

I've just had to chill out about it and let baby regulate his intake. It took a long while for this to happen.

How's your LO's weight? If baby is staying on her growth curve, you might consider letting her self regulate. Forced feeding are stressful for you and I'm sure it can't be pleasant for baby!

I hope you get some answers at your appointment! Stay encouraged!!!

How is her weight? How often is she getting bottles? If she doesn't seem to be hungry, you could try spacing them out more, to every 3.5-4 hours.

@Pumpkin Pie: I had a very similar experience as @Leah: except that he gets bottles during the day while I'm at work and is (usually) EBF when I'm at home. My LO has silent reflux, it's managed well on Prilosec 2x day, we give him probiotics. We haven't had a GI workup or anything, but he's been consistently on his growth curve (around 60-65% for weight) since his 1-month appointment, so the ped wasn't concerned and I have finally let it go. The only bummer for me is that I can't see him dropping his night feeds anytime soon because of this, but I've accepted that too. I think my LO is just kind of a grazer and feels full easily and you know what? I am and always have been the same way - even as an adult!

I would offer more feeds and stop at 2oz if necessary. My lo rarely took over 2 ounces until closer to a year. So when he was little, we feed him just about every two hours.

If you push too hard, your lo will develop a feeding aversion which can carry over into solid foods. I know the pressure to push it, I always pushed right to the line with my lo, but tried not to cross it. (My LO did have reflux and was extremely low percentile. But he's two now and doing just fine.)

Also my lo rarely took over 20 ounces in a day, so we did fortify feeds to 24 calories (with a mix of BM and formula) so that what he did take was denser.

@Pumpkin Pie: I agree with @Mrs Green Grass: about not pushing it. My comfort level with pushing the feedings is when he pops off/pushes away the bottle, nudge the bottle back one more time, and if he does it again, set it down and try again gently 5-10 minutes later by brushing it on his lips. If it's still a no, then the feeding is over.