rebeccamum
09-03-2006, 14:16
My almost 6 month old daughter doesn't drink her formula. She has been drinking the same brand for pretty much since she was born. She has always been very difficult with feeding. First she had reflux so feeding was exhausting because she screamed and turned away from the bottles. Now that her reflux has pretty much gone, she still isn't a brilliant drinker. At this age she still has about 90ml per feed and it's a struggle for me and her to make this through. She's pretty good at night though, has about 90-120ml per feed (2-3 times a night) and goes back to sleep and doesn't need me to resettle at all. But during the day is a whole different story, she won't drink if she's awake so I have to creep in to her bed and put a bottle in her mouth trying not to wake her up. If she's up then the drinking stops and sometimes she'll get up after drinking only 20-30ml. I know she's hungry and that's why she cries a lot during the day but she still doesn't take her bottle. I feel that my days evolves around her feeding - she gets up, I feed, she protests, I persist, she cries, I pick her up, she stops,I put her down for a feed, she rolls over on her tummy and cries again. I have tried a lot of tricks to get her to sleep - taking her out in a pram and feed her outside...sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I put her in a sling and walk her to calm her down, she does calm down but if I try to feed her, she gets upset again. I put her in a swing and distract her with toys, she drinks but only for 30-40ml and then stops and gets upset.
I don't know what else I can do anymore...I can accept that she's not a big eater and never set my goal on the quantity she drinks but this is not OK. Besides I know she IS hungry but why doesn't she drink her milk? She has also become very clingy and I can't put her down for even a minute. She'll cry and start moving around in a circle and the crying gets more hysterical. I don't mind to pick her up and carry her but she squirms and moves around so much that I find it difficult to just carry her. My arms are sore and I'm afraid I'll drop her onto the floor one day if she won't stop squirming like a fish.
Sorry about my rant. I'm feeling very exhausted and frustrated - everything is very difficult at the moment and I start to feel a bit depressed. DH's having trouble at work and the possibility of losing his job is increasing. I find myself getting very stressed and I fear DD will pick up on my stress and gets even worse. Can anyone give me an advise please?
I don't know what else I can do anymore...I can accept that she's not a big eater and never set my goal on the quantity she drinks but this is not OK. Besides I know she IS hungry but why doesn't she drink her milk? She has also become very clingy and I can't put her down for even a minute. She'll cry and start moving around in a circle and the crying gets more hysterical. I don't mind to pick her up and carry her but she squirms and moves around so much that I find it difficult to just carry her. My arms are sore and I'm afraid I'll drop her onto the floor one day if she won't stop squirming like a fish.
Sorry about my rant. I'm feeling very exhausted and frustrated - everything is very difficult at the moment and I start to feel a bit depressed. DH's having trouble at work and the possibility of losing his job is increasing. I find myself getting very stressed and I fear DD will pick up on my stress and gets even worse. Can anyone give me an advise please?