Won't drink his bottles

[Kade's Mummy]

Hi everyone

My DS is 4.5 months old and has had everything under the sun... reflux, cow's milk intolerance, soy milk intolerance, hydrocele, suspected hernia, UTI - you name it! It is absolutely exhausting :gloomy:

Anyway, the latest drama is he is refusing to drink his bottles. He's not on solids yet so I am quite concerned, he is only have every second bottle and even then I am completely forcing it upon him! He does not want that teat in his mouth, the only way I can get him to get started is to add a tiny bit of mylanta to the teat (he loves the taste) and once he's started he gulps it!! :no:

I have taken him to the GP and there is no sign of ear infection, flu etc - we are awaiting the results of another urine sample to check there's not another infection (...please no!). Last time he had that he refused to drink as well.

I thought it may be teething but there are no other signs to indicate that's what it is. Has anyone else had this before? What interests me is that he doesn't want the teat in his mouth, it seems to be more about the teat than the milk. Last time with the UTI I had to change all my bottle and teats from Avent to Nuk, I really can't afford to do another complete change! Is it necessary?

It wouldn't worry me if he was happy but he is soooo irritable. Any advice? By the way, I can't swap formula because he is on Pepti Jnr (prescription formula) for his intolerances.

Many thanks!

[babylover111]

:hugs: Im sorry to hear you're going through such a hard time
Does he use a dummy? A little trick I often use with babies with dummies is prepare their bottle sit down with them and their dummy for a while and once they've had the dummy in their mouth for a while quickly swap one for the other. This works because by the time they realise its not the dummy its the bottle they are getting milk so not bothered!
I hope this helps

[Kade's Mummy]

Thanks! He does use a dummy so I'll give it a whirl :thumbsup:

[babylover111]

Let me know how it goes :)

[Kade's Mummy]

No good I'm afraid - he's onto me! Smart little thing. His test results have all come back fine, so the question remains... why is he off his food?! The only way I can get him to eat is to put some Mylanta or honey on the teat - this is clearly not sustainable! I feel guilty for doing it already.

Has anyone experienced such a hunger strike before?!! It's day 4 now.

[Mrs Little]

Yes i have experinced MANY a hunger strike...it's not nice either!

:hugs: to you.

He could very well be teething. You could try storing the teats from the bottles in the freezer. Pull a teat out of the freezer right before a feed. That way he's drinking and feeling a NICE COLD teat on his sore gums. (You can always apply some bonjela and wait for a few mintues and then see if he takes the bottle then- sometimes this was the only way i'd be able to figure out if DS was teething).

Could it be the temperature of the bottle that he doesn't like?

Is the teat flow too slow? or too fast? Do you need to tighten the lid a little or loosen it a little?

I wouldn't be swapping teats again. As you said it gets VERY expensive and you don't want to be creating a fussy baby. My DS was drinking bottles straight from the fridge for a few weeks. They were so cold, but he would kick up a stink if i warmed them up.

Could you try feeding him in a different position? I sometimes lie DS on a boomerang pillow to feed him.

Try offering him the bottle 3 times. Then wait for 5 minutes- while waiting do something totally unrelated to feeding, like playing or going for a walk. Then come back and try again.

Maybe he doesn't like the taste of it....sounds like the mylanta and honey kill the yucky taste for him. I blame him...i've heard pepti jnr can be foul tasting! But what can you do?:(

I'll have a think about this today and see what else i can suggest for you.

Goodluck....

Mrs Little & Son.

[babytoo]

OMG Kade's Mum...our bubbas were seperated at birth!! lol I remember you replying to another thread of mine just recently and NOW my Ruby is doing exactly the same thing......ahhhh She is lucky to have her 400 ml in 24 hours...I am wasting soooo many bottles of formula...I make them and she puts them in her mouth, starts biting the teat and laughs at me:thumbsdown: She thinks it is sooooo funny! I rang QLD Health this morning as this is about 48 hours now, my prob is she is happy enough though...I think its the pepti junior, she hates the taste of it...if the smell is anything to go by :barf: its gross! I really don't know what to do either...she is on complete hunger strike!!!

[Kade's Mummy]

Mrs Little to my rescue again! God you are a gem :hugs:

I think you may be right about the teething, the mylanta is cold from the fridge and I think it's this that he likes. The cheeks went quite red today and the dribble... oh my goodness! He needs to wear a bib 24/7!! I felt his gums and they are certainly bumpy, but no sign of any about to break through.

I'll give the frozen teats a go. His tests from the GP came back fine so I think it must be that. I know the Pepti Jnr is quite unpalletable, but he has been drinking it now for almost 2 months so I wouldn't have thought it would be a problem.

Another reason I think it is teething is that he is doing the same thing at his night feed, and is waking and grizzling during the night more than usual. Oh the joys! Thank goodness he is so incredibly gorgeous and fun, or else it would drive you insane! One smile and you forget all the troubles... :yes:

Babytoo - thanks for your message too! At least she is giggling at you, Kade was getting quite grumpy. But the little man knows what he wants.. I think we have a strong personality on our hands. I would say he takes after his father but unfortunately DH is incredibly placid so he must get it from me :laughing:

[Mrs Little]

Hey Kade's Mum...

Just wondering how you're doing?

Have you tried the bonjela?

Sounds like the beginning of teething to me. Hang in there...it's not nice. But you will both be rewarded with a tooth soon. (Sometimes i didn't have any visual signs that DS was teething. I'd put bonjela on or give him a cold dummy or teat and he'd be fine for a while).

You're right on the mark with the formula. I was thinking the same thing about how all of a sudden your DS was refusing it. He would have refused it from the beginning if he wasn't going to eat it.

Could you also try feeding him the milk using a sippy cup? One that doesn't spill? Might be less painful for him to drink from. We gave our DS a sippy cup (for water) from when he was about 3.5 months old. He loves it now.

Hope to hear from you soon,

Mrs Little & Son.

[Kade's Mummy]

Hi Mrs Little and others!

Well, a week and a bit later and we are experiencing the same prob - we had a couple of days respite, but know we are being naughty again! :laughing:

It has to be teething - irritable, diarrhoea, dribble galore, wakefulness, refusing bottles etc... what else could it be? Knowing this I am no longer panicking, I guess he'll eat when he's hungry. We're seeing the MCHN on Friday too so I can check with her.

In other news, he rolled today! :yelclap: He has done it three times and is very proud of himself.

Thanks for all your support x :hugs:

[4mumnbub]

among the reasons why an infant might be drinking less baby formula like this include that: *he is going through a little slowdown in his growth, although this should only last a few days or so *the nipples of his bottles aren't letting enough formula out and he is getting frustrated. if this might be the case, you could consider upgrading to a medium or fast flow nipple for his bottles. *you are either waiting too long to feed him or are feeding him too early. either could cause problems and you might experiment with the timing of his feedings to see if it makes a difference. *that he is teething, although you should feel or see some teeth if this were the case. *it could also be that he just prefers solid food. he'd probably do better with his bottles if you first give him some cereal? if that is the case, you might completely separate the times that he eats baby food and formula, so that he doesn't expect them together. *or it could just be normal. some babies are drinking more and others are drinking less, and all can be healthy and growing well. :hugs: