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Revise My Dilemma

I would like to be more specific with the problems I'm having with my 3 month old. She has been a very colicky baby, and just when I think things are getting better they get worse. It seems she has trouble eating more than 10-15 minutes at a time and therefore needs to eat more regularly. Although at night she wants to nurse herself to sleep and continue to suckle. Last night she screamed most of the night. She would sleep for half and hour and then start screaming again. Her doctor says she has acid reflux and that she will outgrow it. She is also very gassy, every morning around 4 am she starts grunting and whimpering. I have to push her legs up to help her relieve gas. She has been sleeping with me since birth, which I thought I would NEVER do, ha! Also, at night she most often wakes up every 2 hours. Sometimes she'll go up to four and sometimes it's every hour.
I don't know, it's so hard to even pinpoint anything specific, because she's so inconsistent.
Thanks for your advice,
S.

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I would like to Thank everyone sooo much for their advice and support,I really appreciate it!!!!!!

Featured Answers

Hi S.,

I knew what you're going through. With my 3rd (& Last) child, I thought I'd lost my window of opportunity for introducing the bottle to her. I got so desparate to have that bit of freedom that I just let her cry and get hungry enough. Then she gobbled it down. Sounds mean maybe, but you have to decide if you want any breaks of are fine with not. Healthy babies won't starve themselves so even though you might feel like going crazy from her crying, she'll get it. Then keep giving it to her maybe one feeding a day. Others may disagree, but I think it's totally worth it and you won't start resenting her or feeling as overwhelmed. Hang in there! Blessings and peace,
E.

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No suggestions, unfortunately, but you are not alone if that helps. My oldest NEVER took a bottle, just keep trying maybe she will come back around, and GOOD LUCK!!!!

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Hi S.. I wish I had some advice for you. I'm writing to tell you that I was in the same situation and we tried everything! My little one never took a bottle or pacifier. We had "bottle wars" where we tried to get her to take the bottle. I'm afraid it didn't work. She went straight to the sippy cup around 9 months, but now won't take formula. At all. So best of luck to you and hang in there!!

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More Answers

It sounds to me that your little one might have some tummy issues going on. The colic, spitting up and being uncomfortable in the carseat may all be related. It may be reflux (my 3rd baby had it) which may cause burning in her chest/throat when she is in the carseat. I would see a midwife or holistic Dr. to see if they can help figure this all out. Your regular pediatrician most likely won't have the time or resources to help link all this together. Breast milk is always the best and you may need to alter your diet to help her out. It is normal for babies this age to not be on a consistant schedule and nurse ths often.
I know its tough being a new mom (I've just had my third) I encourage you to find a moms group that you can get together with and get support and know that you are not alone. Remember God chose you to be this little angels mommy and you are the best choice for her. Hang in there!

2 moms found this helpful

Hi S.. I wish I had some advice for you. I'm writing to tell you that I was in the same situation and we tried everything! My little one never took a bottle or pacifier. We had "bottle wars" where we tried to get her to take the bottle. I'm afraid it didn't work. She went straight to the sippy cup around 9 months, but now won't take formula. At all. So best of luck to you and hang in there!!

1 mom found this helpful

I had the same thing with my daughter. I put her on solid food at 3 months, which she gulped down. Seems breast milk wasn't satisfying her and she refused formula! I did keep nursing an entire year, and always seemed to have plenty of milk ... this girl was just ready for food. at 3 months, on her very first solid food feeing, she ate 2 jrs. She still does everything way earlier than "by the books". my son is strictly by the book. haha, enjoy!

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My daughter was the same way. Some days she would go 3 hours, some days it was as if she was nursing every hour. The good news is that it didn't last very long. I know the site of what they are spitting up looks like a lot but it's usually a lot less than you think it is. My daughter would only do this if I overfed her. Basically it was her little overflow tank. You figure their stomachs are about the size of their fists. If you try to force more than what they can hold in, it's got to go somewhere. Unlatching her between feedings and burping her more often will also make more room for more milk.
If you don't have to get her on a bottle for reasons like having to go back to work, I say be patient and stick it out.
It doesn't last forever and once she starts on solids you will be nursing her less. I chose to go with the safest starting age (allergy wise) of 6 months for solids. I still nurse at 17 months old but now it's primarily once in the morning, once after lunch (and before her nap) and just before bedtime but I do remember feeling as though I was only food to her, now I realize that she and I both need that special closeness that only we can share. I'm already going to miss it.
I can say my only experience with having to use the bottle is we supplemented a little in the second month until she perfected her latch. She took it well. Then at about 3-4 months, after not being on any bottle for a while, I decided I was going to go out with some friends and we drank. I expressed milk for my husband and we still had a little formula left over from supplementing. Her last nursing session was at 8pm. I came home at 3am to find my daughter upset beyond belief, my husband drenched in my precious expressed milk... a baby bottle with formula in it and the cap off. She had not and would not take it. I still had some alcohol in my system so I couldn't nurse her. I got her to take a little of the formula from a straw (holding the straw with my finger and putting the other end in her mouth) at about 5am I felt ok to nurse her and the ordeal was over. That was the last time we attempted to bottle feed her anything.
Most definitely by a year, she will likely be sleeping through the night and not nursing that often anymore. Probably just 3 times a day (maybe more while teething) with an extra one here and there and no more night feedings.
It really does go by faster than you think...

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It sounds like your are doing just fine. Babies that age sometimes eat that often. My daughter only ate for 10 minutes at a time also. That was all she needed. Your daughter has a little tummy right now so she may not be able to handle too much. Also, it's not so much about the amount of time as how much milk they are getting. Some people let the milk down faster than others and some babies just eat faster. Anyway, if she's gaining weight, and peeing and pooping, your doing just fine. Regarding the bottle issue, I had the same problem. My daughter stopped taking it right before I went back to work at 6 weeks. My doctor recommended giving her a bottle for one feeding a day and if she didn't take it, then she missed a meal. I had a really hard time doing that so I didn't. I ended up just offering it to her regularly, trying different nipples to see what she tolerated best, and eventually she started taking it again. There are aggressive approaches to this and less aggressive. It just depends on what you are comfortable with. Also, you could try mixing your breast milk with a little bit of formula and then gradually increase the amount of formula so she gets used to the taste.

Good luck to you on this. I know it can be hard to not get a break for more than an hour at a time. hang in there. It gets easier!

1 mom found this helpful

Hi, S.. I am a mom to 2 kids...the first is 3 yrs. old and the other, 5 months. Both of them do not like the bottle. My first one was so tiny when I gave birth to her that I needed to breastfeed her along with a bottle of formula which she takes in from a thin tube, something like the IV. I tried different bottles with her and she just didn't feed from them - whatever kind of nipple I used. My youngest is the same. She started out wanting to feed from the bottle, as I pumped my milk. But when she reached 3 months, till now, she refuses to take anything from the bottle - even if it is my own expressed milk. There was a time when I couldn't really stay with her for her to breastfeed and I left her with my husband. He tried giving the bottle, but she would just put it in her mouth and spit out the milk. I think this is just a phase the kids go through. Try making her really hungry and then ask someone to give her the bottle...it might work! I know how tiring it is to feed our babies, but just remember that this is the best time for bonding between us and our babies. I get exhausted so many days as well, but I just stop and think that this time will not last forever. This will go so fast that soon, I will miss a small mouth on my breasts, getting nourishment from me. Hope my experience helps you a little. Take care.

1 mom found this helpful

well my daughter was the same way when she was a baby the only bottles that she would take is the playtex ones that you put the bags in and they worked just fine and they are very simular to nursing her so as a suggestion you might want to try the playtex bottles. if you have anymore qusetions you can e-mail me at ____@____.com Thank you, R. Leitzen

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My sister-in-law had very similar problems with both of her children. DO NOT let your doctor give you the lame excuse of "she'll out grow it". There are several acid reflux medicines that are safe for babies as young as 6 weeks old & might very well make everything better. There is no reason why your baby should suffer & why you should suffer. Insist on seeing a specialist if your general doctor won't do anything for you.

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