difficult to feed?

Question

my daughter wont eat unless she is tired enough to be ready for a nap. she's six months old, and my doctor told me she should be feeding every three or four hours but she just won't do it. he then advised me to switch to formula for a while to see how she took to it, she took well to it at first, drinking regularly but then tapered off just as she did with nursing. now she hates nursing and bottle feeding both, i think she thinks she has to sleep whenever she eats. they only thing she likes to do is eat rice cereal. plane, no fruit. is this just strange? i try not to get frusterated, but she only averages three to five bottle/breast feedings a day of 8oz. when they keep telling me eight to ten! plus she eats cereal twice a day. i've tried not feeding her the cereal to get her to want the milk, or anything, to eat more but nothing. she'll go all day until nap time till she'll take the milk. any words of advice out there? my doctor isn't very helpful.

Answer 1

A general ballpark figure for babies in the 3-6 month age range is an ounce of formula for every 2 pounds of her weight at each feeding. 5 bottle feedings or breast feedings per day is perfectly average. 8-10 bottles or nursings a day is way too many. If she is eating cereal twice a day and bottle feeding or nursing 3-5 times a day, I think she is doing just fine. Is she growing? Is she healthy? Babies and toddlers will not starve themselves. Let your daughter eat as much as she wants at each feeding. Breast feeding and plain infant cereal are plenty for her for as long as she wants. There is no real reason to introduce solids quickly. Take your time and offer something different every 2-3 weeks. If she doesn't want it, re-offer it again later. Don't make food and meal times into a serious issue with her. If you do now, it will lead to a life time of eating problems. Offer healthy choices and let her eat what and how much she wants.

Answer 2

8-10 feedings at 6 months is WAY too much. I know you're supposed to trust your doctor, but if that's what he's telling you...he's NUTS. At 6 months my son was feeding 5-6 times a day, with cereal 1-2 times a day. As long as she's hydrated, has plenty of urine output and her stools aren't hard to pass, she's probably fine and eating what her tiny stomach needs to eat. At this young of an age she should be eating approx every 3-4 hrs yes, but closer to 4hrs. If she doesn't like nursing or bottle feeding, try giving her breast milk or formula in a sippy cup, it will be fun for her to learn the cup. You didn't say if you offer cereal before the bottle, if you are try reversing it, they recommend giving the "milk" before solids to make sure they are getting all their nutrients. All babies are so very different, so do what works for the baby, that's all she needs. Good Luck, and I'm sorry your doctor isn't helping you more.

Answer 3

If I'm reading your question correctly, your daughter is getting roughly 24-40 oz of formula a day, in addition to cereal. She's getting plenty! The "normal" range is 24-32 oz a day, occassionally more or less.
My daughter is six months old and has NEVER taken more than six ounces at a time, and that's very few and far between.
As long as your daughter is continuing to gain weight adequately, I wouldn't worry about it. Babies are generally very good at knowing how much food they need to grow properly.
It is, however, a good idea to continue offering the bottle before the solid food, as, at this age, breastmilk/formula should continue to be the main source of nutrition.

Answer 4

If your baby is gaining appropriately, go back to breastfeeding and find a doctor that isn't a complete moron.

If your daughter is gaining appropriately she is JUST FINE!

Seriously, get a new doctor.

A 6 month old doesn't have to eat every 3-4 hours, some do and some don't. The only way to see if your baby is getting enough to eat is to answer the following questions: 1) Is the baby heathy? 2) Is the baby alert, with clear eyes and good skin tone? Are the lips plump? 3) Are they gaining appropriately 4) Are they making enough wet diapers (which is really hard to judge without a scale, and who wants to do that?)

Answer 5

8 to 10 feedings is way too much to expect. Five feedings of 8 oz is more than enough. My pediatrician says 24-32 oz of formula per day plus cereal.
My 6 month old is already eating fruits and veggies. I add cereal as needed and he gets breastmilk as well as formula when he wants it (usually four meals a day of milk). This adds up to 6 feedings per day - one fruit, one veggie, 4 milk. 8-10 feedings is insane for a 6 month old - it is fine for a newborn through 3 month old though.

Answer 6

Honestly babies will eat when they're hungry. As long as she is healthy, having bowel movements every day, creating urine, has good coloring, there's probably nothing you can do.

Try feeding her more rice cereal. Or try feeding her baby food (sqash, bananas, sweet potatoes). She might be telling you she's ready to be off the formula and breast and to have "real" food. Buy a couple of jars and see what happens. Otherwise, all you can really do it wait it out, but I always prefer action to waiting - buy some baby food and see what happens.

Good luck!

Answer 7

my 8 month old stopped drinking her formula, she would only eat her food and drink juice. so a friend suggested flavoring the formula with strawberry or chocolate syrup (just a tsp) considering there is more sugar in the juice the baby would have been drinking in lieu of milk. Teh baby just needs the iron and vitamins from the formual or after a while they can become anemic. But at 6 months the baby should be eating baby food from a spoon in the high chair. So 3-5 bottles isnt that bad......its better than none. Your dr will eventually tell you to take all food away and juice away. and you'll have to start over again introducing foods. just flavor the milk.

Answer 8

Maybe she doesn't liek the fomrula.

Try adding a tsp of karo syrup to it, that way it becomes sweeter. Dont do this often for it could cause her to poo alot.

I mean have ou ever smelled or tasted the form...ewww.

I don't blame her.