PLEASE please help me?

Question

Please help me, my 3 and a half month old son refuses his formula ALL THE TIME.
I have to force feed him constantly, he is drinking about 520 mls (18 oz) every 24 hour period only by persistence and force feeding, he has about 4- 5 wet nappies a day and sleeps a lot.
He NEVER cries in hunger and has gone 17 hours with only 100 mls ((3oz).
I've tried my health sister, doctor, pediatrician, paramedics and hospital, all they say is feed him constantly and im going insane because he screams and clenches his mouth.
I've tried different teats and different heat temperatures.
I know he is not getting enough because he should be drinking at least 100 mls (30z) to every kilo he weighs, so approx at least 600 a day just to stay hydrated. he should be on 800-1000 mls.
I dont know what else to do and im starting to get really depressed as im worried and cant find any answers.
Im begging anyone out there with tips or advice to please answer me . thanks heaps

Answer 1

Try playing around with different formula types. It could be that he is lactose intolerant which is very common these days. It also could be colic. He is at the age where it starts. I am sorry for you. I know how frustrating it can be. Just stay persistant and keep feeding him! Hugs!

Answer 2

Some of the reasons given here should be looked at by the doctor such as lactose intolerance (there is a simple swab test that can diagnose lactose intolerance but not all doctors stock them), acid reflux (examine throat for signs of acid burn) and while looking for that check to see if he has thrush in the back of his throat. The bottle/eating may be painful if the thrush is really bad. Is baby's tongue whitish or look like a whitish coating is on it? That is one of the signs of thrush. I'd insist on seeing an ear/nose/throat pediatric specialist and a pediatric gastroentologist? (tummy doctor) if your doctor doesn't find anything wrong. Especially if he is not gaining weight and be even more insistent if he starts losing weight!

Definitely try different formulas. You may (just to start getting him to eat) want to try adding some corn syrup or all natural brown sugar to his formula just to entice him to start eating and then keep adding less and less until he's eating just formula again.

Try a sippy cup, maybe he will eat easier if he doesn't have anything jammed into his mouth. Or a large size eye dropper, I think my 2 month old would be in heaven if I fed him from an eye dropper, whenever I give him gripe water or the meds for thrush he fusses when I take the eye dropper away.

If you are still having issues, try him out on first stage baby food watered down to start with. The goal here is to get him eating/drinking something. Hopefully you can find someway to entice his taste buds to stimulate his appetite. Once that starts then you may be able to get him back to formula, or even watered down cereals or start giving him balanced meals of baby food.

Then brace yourself for the fact that none of these methods or suggestions will work for you. You probably won't even want to try some of them, they are just suggestions. Some babies just don't need a lot of calories if they aren't very active. Try to keep baby awake and active, my guy loves his activity mat and we do exercise time. The more active he is the hungrier he is. During the day keep it really noisy and bright around him and keep waking him up. Give him fun stuff to look at, touch and be interested in. It will be hard but if he doesn't sleep as much, he will be more active and that will lead to an increase in his appetite so maybe he'll start wanting to eat.

HTH!!

Answer 3

Has he been tested for acid reflux? Some babies associate eating with pain if they have this condition, so it may be worth checking out.
If he hasn't been tested, shame on your doc! Insist on xrays [ barium swallow ] and meds if positive. If negative, go to a specialist. This is NOT normal, and needs to be taken care of right away!

Answer 4

Try a different formula and maybe start feeding him some rice cereal.

Answer 5

TAKE HIM TO THE ER ALOT OF THATS WHAT I HAVE DONE YOU MIGHT BE THERE A WHILE BUT THEY WILL CHECK OUT EVERYTHING AND TELL YOU WHATS GOING ON. MY PEDIATRICIAN BLOWS THINGS OFF SOME TIMES LIKE EVERYTHING IS JUST NORMAL THINGS THAT BABIES DO BUT THE ER CAN NOT BLOW YOU OFF THEY HAVE TO CHECK OUT WHAT OYU SAY IS GOING ON OR REFER YOU TO A SPECIALIST THAT CAN DIAGNOIS THE PROBLEM.

TAKE HIM TO THE ER

Answer 6

Have you considered relactating?

Adoptive Breastfeeding & Relactation
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/adopt/index.html

Answer 7

You might try slowly introducing things like very watery oatmeal or slightly solid foods. I think I started my son on the oatmeal and rice cereals at right around 3 mos. I made them very soupy though.

Answer 8

have you tried giving him a different formula, soy, lactose-free, or just a different brand?

Answer 9

perhaps the formula taste like crap
try a new brand.............
There is a difference, especially if it is soy, my kid never liked soy AT ALL.
buy a new brand