Feeding

Hi

I am having similiar issues with my 3 month old. Very fussy and now on soy. Did you recieve any responses with advice yet?

Hi Alison,

I would keep trying to give her the rice cereal. They say that you should try new foods 10 times and if they still don't take them, then wait a bit and try them again.

I wouldn't worry about her BM's they sound pretty normal.

Here not taking the formula is the thing I would keep my eye on. She may just not be hungry, or maybe she is coming down with a cold. I would however, keep an eye out for excessive fussiness, because she may be developing an allergy to the soy. It's not very likely, but a possibility. Most likely she is just not that hungry.

Good luck, it will all work out.

Stick with the feeding, and keep trying the cereal. It may take up to 20 tries before your baby starts to like any single item. After a 3 to 5 days, to rule out alergies, you can try something else. I did the fruit, and then I was able to mix it with the cereal or oatmeal.The BM is normal, a few times a day should be OK. As far as the bottle issue, ther could be a few things going on. Are you using the right niples? If you are still on stage 1, you may want to go up for faster flow. This could be frustrating your baby. Also, it may be the type of bottle you're using. I used the Avent bottles at first, and found them to be very gassy and the nipples very hard. I switched to Dr. Brown, which has very soft nipples and it really worked for us.

Hi Alison!

My daughter is 5 1/2 months old so I'm going through them same phases as you.

1)Does she not like it? Or is she having problems figuring out what to do with her tongue? It may take her a little time to figure it out. Are you mixing it with water or formula? I would mix it w formula....the taste will be more familiar AND if you're having problems getting her to take the alotted amt of formula per day that will help.

2)That's GREAT!!! Two-three times a day is ideal! Formula babies go less than breast fed babies so adding solids helps a lot of them. My daughter did the same thing and I was happy.

3) Ask you doc how many ounces she should be having a day for her age and weight. For my daughter it is 24-28 ounces (plus her solid meals). Your daughter is more of an average weight 9maybe slightly under) so she may not need as much as my daughter but ask your pediatrician what you should be aiming for and it you're not coming close to need to figure it out very soon. I KNOW she should be getting atleast 21 ounces a day and probably more but ask ped for a speicif number.I would start by switching to #2 nipples if you haved not already done so. Also,feed her a bit of formula before the solids, then the solids, then wash it down with the rest of the bottle. If she is still refusing the bottle after nipple switching and not getting her alotted amt. then I would consider switching it up again.

Was she "sick" from simialc because she spit up a lot? my daughter spit up A LOT and we thought it was the formula so we switched to the soy and she hated it, then we switched to the other non-dairy based stuff...which tasted truly disgusting. After all that we went back to similac because it turns out she was spitting up because that's what babies do AND she had such a strong sucking reflex that she kept sucking after she was full and would just spit up what she didn't need or what didn't fit. If "sick" was spitting up you may want to try going back to similac (of course ask your ped first). She's older now and spitting up is much less frequent.

hope this helps.

Best,
E.

Hi I have had some of the same reactions as you are having. My son sometimes loves something and other times won't eat it but we keep at it and try it another time. It takes sometimes 10 tries before they really like something. We even go days and don't feed him any food. He nurses and sometimes seems to not want to eat that as well but then makes up for it later in the day or a couple of days later. Just keep trying and if your not feeling good about the situation go back to the Doctor or get a second opinion. Good luck with everything. oh yeah my sons poop changed as well. He goes maybe once a day or every other day but the doctor said its alright. My friends little one poops three times a day I think its just different for every baby.

Alison,
I had the same problems with all of my kids and by the 4th one (I have 5) I took matters into my own hands and tried Carnation Good Start formula and it worked. I breastfed my last 2 for just over 3 months, pumping so that they could get used to the bottle and give me a break. Anyway the Good Start was the only formula they could tolerate and liked. The first time around my pediatricians were against it, they did not get it from the pharmaceutical companies and therefore knew nothing about it. When they saw the excellent results I was having they started recommending it to their other patients. Hope this helps.
T.

Hi Alison,
After starting cereal for the first time you need to wait 2-3 days to make sure there is no reaction and then begin to feed it only once a day in the morning. If she isn't sitting up by herself or in a high chair it make it difficult to feed her and she will become frustrated. Making the cereal with the formual and giving her less to drink, she will still be getting the full amt. Remember that 2 table spoons of cereal is more than enough to begin, small amts more often during the day so she will have a good nights sleep. 2-3 BM's depends on your baby and you'll know, I breast fed and did the formual so everytime I fed the baby pooped:) some babies digest food quicker than others, especially each time when you introduce new foods. If she is on a feeding schedule she will eat when she is hungry, remember the amount of formula is over a 24 hour period and if you use it to mix the cereal she is getting it. Also some babies are just thirsty and want some water.
Hope this helps.
Ana S.

Babies often are trying to "tell" you something and many times it's by process of elimination that you can figure out what is really the problem.
I think a lot of times just "change" is hard for a baby, they definitely need time to get use to eating cereal, or even a change in their routine. Don't force it, but make it a fun and relaxed time. Sometimes babies swallow more air during other times that others (with either cereal or a bottle) so an air bubble or gas may be contributing to the fussiness. Their digestive systems are changing so much in the first year, and then add into it the different foods. Cereal will add bulk, so it will change their bowel movements. I know changing formualas can also upset their systems sometimes, so giving it time to adjust may be all you need. If you feel you have tried all the "obvious" remedies, call your pediatrician and ask for more guidelines for feeding.

Try putting a little juice with it. Or adding a little applesauce to the cereal. Have you tried that stuff you wouldn't like it plain either. The poops are normal she should pooped alot of times a day. My son never took a bottle, I nursed for 1 year. He didn't want the bottle after 3 months. Try a sippy cup, not one that has the no spill because formula may not go through the top. Maybe try a couple different bottles. So buy single pack bottles and donate the ones that don't work. She may also just want more of the foods less of the formula. You are not alone I was there once too.

I read your request, I have a few questions. How much rice are you giving your daughter a day? Are you spoon-feeding her the rice, or are you putting it into her bottle? If you are putting it into the bottle, there may be a chance that the nipple to the bottle is getting clogged.
It also maybe that she's just full from the rice being added to her diet. How long was she on rice before she started leaving ounces.
My son had a problem with a few different formulas and would scream with gas pain. I switched to Good Start Soy and that worked for him.
Hope I was able to help

Your doing just fine. With the Rice cereal it will change their bowel movements for a bit as their body gets use to it. At 5 mths she is just testing things, I know my now 9 mth old still eats his cereal somedays and other days just wants his formula. So I would continue to give her the rice cereal. Babies are just learning so much at this age. She will eat when she is hungry, but maybe keep track of how many ounces she is eating and how many wet diapers you get. At 5 mths they really don't want to miss anything going on, so it is normal for them to either try to hurry up and eat or eat just enough. Also when she is eating if she really starts moving around she may have a burp stuck. My son would do that and I would sit him up and he would burp and still only finish the bottle sometimes. lol

It sounds like she is doing fine, but if your concerns get too bad, please just call her Dr. and ask.

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Since I was one of the first ones to respond I really have to add some more. There is no need to add anything to the rice cereal except for formula/ milk. Babies don't know how something is suppose to taste, so something that tastes bland to us does not taste that way to a baby. If she is eating the formula/milk then it is not the taste of the cereal that she doesn't like since it tastes similar to what she is already eating. So I stick by my first advice of just keep trying the cereal, they are just learning the different textures, maybe it was a little thicker or thinner then before, so to her it is again something with a new texture. Your doing great!!!

Hi Alison, I am a first time mom of a 6 month old boy. I am still breastfeeding and what I eat really affects him, so I've experienced a little bit of what you are going through. When he was 2 months old, his poop started getting very green and was very loose. My doctor was not too concerned because his weight gain was great, so she told me to try and figure out what I was eating that was causing it but not to make myself crazy. But, after this went on for another month and a half, at the next check up she told me that was too long and I should make more of an effort to figure out what bothered him and eliminate it from my diet as much as possible. Apparently, the green poop is normal but shouldn't be too frequent, because that's what happens when food is going through their digestive system too quickly. If its every day, that can be h*** o* them and can make them fussy (plus they might not be absorbing all of the nutrients they need.) It sounds like your daughter is not tolerating the soy formula very well. I assume you are using that because she is allergic to cow's milk formula? (If not, try that. Maybe one of the easily digestible formulations. Similac makes one.) And, even though her weight sounds fine (like my son's), make sure your doctor knows the color and consistency of her poop and how frequently she goes, because most formula-fed babies don't poop that frequently either, which is another sign she's not tolerating the formula that well. (My son, too, still poops multiple times a day.) None of these things should alarm you, but they are probably making her more uncomfortable than necessary.
Re the rice cereal, maybe wait a week, and try again, and when you do, introduce banana, pear or sweet potato (one at a time, waiting a few days between each). She'll probably love them and you can alternate bites between the cereal and the food. I waited until my son was 6 months to start him on food, wanting to delay the risk of allergies as much as possible because we have a lot of food allergies in our families and he has exhibited a lot of food intolerence. I think that, because I waited, he was more than ready for it and has been eating like a champ from the start. I actually have been worried about him drinking enough, because he is so much less interested in his bottles after eating, but I'm told this is natural and they only need 17-30 oz of formula or milk a day once they are eating solids regularly. Now we just wait an hour between the solids and the bottle and he is much more interested in the milk.

Also, in case you are curious, my doctor told me to introduce one new food every 4-5 days, starting with rice cereal, then yellow and orange fruits/veggies, and then green, and then around 7 months, to add in meat for one or two meals a day. Once they've tried everything, they should have 3 meals a day, with rice cereal at each, plus two servings of some combo of fruit, veggie and meat/egg yolk. She also suggested, due to my son's food intolerance, that I not use oatmeal, barley or cream of wheat for cereal, and just stick with rice for the first year, because they all have gluten, which is a commen allergen. Also, no egg white or baby yogurt until after a year for the same reason. He is doing much better now and his poop is no longer green, since I cut back on eggs and dairy in my diet, and introduced solids into his.
Best of luck. Sorry to be so long-winded!
D.
ps my cousin uses Enfamil good start, which is easily digestible. maybe try that before going back to a Similac formulation. And yes, if you can get the back to eat her rice cereal, you could make it with formula and a little fruit mixed in, so that will add a few ounces of formula a day to her diet.

try mashing banana into the cereal...just a little but enough to give that paste some taste.
Go off of her lead. If she is not cramping/in pain from the extra bowel mvmts, she is prob fine.
Just remember that the human body is a wonderful thing. Even tho they are small right now they still have the instinct to survive. They will eat when they are hungry, sleep when they are tired and drink when they are thirsty.
The first one is the hardest. You watch them thru a microscope!!
S.

We had (have) very similar issues. Our son, who is now 10 months, had a hard time eating bottles. He never took more tha 3-4 oz until the past month or two. Despite ending up in the 3 % of weight, he is crawling and developing with no issues so try not to get caught up in the "are they eating enough" worry. He would get fussy and would never stay still. At this age, I think it is because they are getting so interested in the world around them that stopping for a bottle is annoying. I tried to give my son a little toy to hold while taking the bottle. My experience with both my daughter and son is that rice cereal is just not appetizing. I went to oatmeal and they both loved it so maybe give that a try. My son has gotten better. I was stressing that he would not develop properly without eating more but I was wrong. The doctor's were concerned about his weight but realize that this is just his personality. We give him as much fatty food as you can to bulk him up.

Good luck and just enjoy your daughter as it goes too fast.

Hi Alison-
It is very normal to have 2-3 BM once you have introduced solids.
Try putting a little fruit with the cereal, also it takes time for them to adjust to change. My son is 14months, he was on the soy for a few months, then I noticed he was crying when he had a BM. He was not constipated though, I switched to Carnation Good Start. It breaks down easier, so they can digest comfortably. Just Remember if you switch,to do it gradually. My son loved the good start.
Good luck, N.

Your baby should have a BM after each meal - so it's a good thing that the cereal is passing through. Just make sure she's hydrated.
Now that she's older she might want to see more of what's going on in the worls and not want to sit/lie still for a bottle. Try holding the bottle for her while she's sitting upright in an exersaucer. She will feel more "independant" and probably drink more. (i had one baby who took every bottle this way for a few months).
And relax. Your baby can feel your stress.

My baby is 7 months old, and when I first started her on cereal, I was amazed at how many times a day she was making a BM. It definately increased from when she was just getting milk. Have you tried the other cereals (oats and barley)... Rice can be binding, and my doctors told me as long as she isn't allergic to it (which you would know by now) leave it, and then maybe reintroduce it a little later, or blend it with other cereals.

As for the bottle, some people have told me that the sucking action bothers teeth that are coming in. I know that my daughter had no appetite for about two weeks, then she cut two teeth and she is eating like a horse again. So it may be teeth or something else changing in her that is bothering her a little. If your doctors aren't worried than I wouldn't be either.

try mixing fruit with the cereal. i did that with my daughter and she took to it much better. Also, she is having more bowl movements bc she is eating solids now. also, their bodies and digestion are constantly changing. good luck and don't get frustrated, just do what comes naturally!!

My son, now 7 months, does the same thing with his bottles. He used to drink them so well and now he drinks 3 or 4 ounces and then he is done (daycare gets him to drink but i don't know how!) The doctor said that he needs the calcium that comes from formula so try to encourage 24 ounces per day. I will sometimes put it in his cereal, which he eats, unlike your little one. Try mixing some stage one fruit or even some shavings from fresh fruit or a couple of drops of apple juice.
As for the BM's, they will change as you introduce new foods. usually the rice cereal is binding so be happy that she is going as much as she is!

I agree and don't think she is eating enough. Try Carnation Good Start. My kids (2) loved it and they were never fussy once we switched to it. You could try the oatmeal instead of rice and see how she does, it's not as binding, mix with the formula.

Good Luck
Molly

Hi Alison,
I don't know if this is an option or not but I have a fantastic cookbook called "Nurishing Traditions". In it ias a recipe to make your own organic formula. I would try that since she isn't taking to the soy. HTH

try adding some sugar white or brown or some flavoring of another kind to it like applesause. i did this with my son and he liked it