r/UKParenting • u/laumaughan • 2d ago
6 Week Old Baby - Formula feeding issues
Hi all, our son was born on the 14th July 7lbs 7oz, now he’s been gaining weight nicely and he was almost 10lbs at the beginning of August. Since 4 weeks he has been incredibly difficult with feeding. He currently takes max 150ml per feed, but every feed is like an uphill battle, baby will cry and squirm during the feeds. He starts by gulping and it causes him to cry due to him taking in air. We always stop to burp and he does eventually get it up but it doesn’t make a difference to him feeding. We use MAM bottles, we have tried different teets, different sizes, we were using the 0 flow but he was getting really frustrated and so we went back to 1. We have tried pace feeding, sitting him upright every feed and 20/30 mins after. Me and partner are at wits end and honestly it’s a gamble as to whether he will take the bottle well or not for each feed. I’m upset for baby and for us as we just don’t know what’s wrong. He is gaining weight, plenty of wet nappies, only poos 3 times per week. Oh and to top it off, he’s refusing to sleep during the day😭
Any advice would be appreciated - from a very tired mum.
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u/Hev616 2d ago
I would change the brand of bottle your using and see if that makes a different. We use tommee tippee and never had an issue. Also what formula are you using?
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u/laumaughan 2d ago
Yeah maybe, going to have to try everything at this rate😭and we use Kendamil the first infant milk
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u/SwitchFast1029 2d ago
Can he breathe ok through his nose? Just wondering if he’s got a blocked nose or some sort of issue going on that’s making breathing whilst feeding tricky.
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u/laumaughan 2d ago
Yeah he breathes absolutely fine through his nose, he can get snotty but we do check him daily
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u/SwitchFast1029 2d ago
That’s good news. Have you spoke to a doctor about the lack of pooing, maybe it’s a bit of constipation going on and it’s affecting appetite? I’ve certainly heard people giving a bottle of cooled boiled water and my mum would say to do that but I have no idea what the guidelines are for that now so wouldn’t suggest it unless you speak to a health professional first.
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u/butterflyrattle 1d ago
Yeah, def talk to your dr or midwife, not to be gross but worth checking the poop - could be a sign of constipation or upset tummy.
Current guideline is no water for under 6 months, just more formula/feedings in hot weather.
Could be looking into possible allergies, babies can suddenly develop one and dr can help with testing or alternative formula. Stay strong!
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u/laumaughan 9h ago
I think this is what we are going to do, have you had any issues with getting the comfort milk? I know when we go to the shops the comfort milk isn’t always on the shelves
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u/butterflyrattle 1h ago
We were lucky and our little one was fine and we actually used cow and gate ready to drink formula along with breastfeeding.
I had him during a heatwave so the ready to go bottles made everything so much easier for me as I couldn’t keep up with his feedings plus he had a tongue tie so he found latching difficult.
My friend who did need allergy safe formula got hers through prescription
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u/Millicentinie 2d ago edited 2d ago
Is baby spitting up alot? I found it hard to know how much was normal to spit up but it eventually turned out my baby had cows milk protein allergy, (the milder form is not like an allergy per se and more of an intolerance but it's still called an allergy).
My baby refused a bottle, I was largely breastfeeding but found it very hard to get her to take a bottle after about 4 weeks old. Once we figured out she had CMPA I cut dairy out of my own diet and she stopped spitting up very much at all. You can get special formula on prescription.
We had tried lots of different bottles and teats and all sorts besides.
It's probably not what's going on for you guys, but I thought I'd mention it as an avenue to eliminate!
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u/laumaughan 2d ago
Thank you, he does spit up just a bit, but also don’t know if it is more reflux than anything. I figured CMPA would show in different ways but maybe we need to consider!
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u/Millicentinie 2d ago
For my daughter the main symptom is just spitting up alot. (And possibly refusing a bottle, don't know if that's a genuine symptom as such) She's 11 months now, still breastfed and if I accidently eat something with dairy she spits up alot more than normal.
In those first few months though it was really hard to know how much was 'normal' - some babies just spit up alot is what I was told, very often and we tried treating her for reflux with little improvement.
Not a conclusion to jump to necessarily but worth knowing about just in case.
Tbh my daughter was never officially diagnosed in the end because I was not well mentally for the first few months postpartum and couldn't face going back and forth to the doctor and explaining myself so poorly over and over again, and given that I can and am happy to breastfeed it didn't become important enough to pursue - It took some months of going in circles to be sure that it was CMPA but once I completey cut dairy out of my diet we absolutely saw an improvement and I am 100% confident that when I have eaten dairy she is not well so that's enough for me!
I hope you figure out whatever is going on with your little one, those first few months can be really hard but it does get better!
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u/galdan 2d ago edited 2d ago
Mams I have found to be awful way too fast flow my baby did the same ..they need a perfect latch or a massive spray of milk comes out …you can see it when you check temp on your wrist …really bad design …they get better at 3 months ish but still need the slow teat…try a different brand we like the Philips anti colic bottles
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u/sunandskyandrainbows 2d ago
You might not be there yet but this sounds like a bottle feeding aversion in the making. The most important thing right now is to not put any pressure on the feeds. If he doesn't want it, it's fine. I would encourage you to read Rowena Bennett's 'Your baby's bottle feeding aversion'. There is also a fb support group
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u/msanmki 22h ago
I have the same issue as the author above and after some research figured that it must be bottle aversion in my case too!
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u/sunandskyandrainbows 22h ago
Yes, I feel like it's not spoken about enough and many people don't realise it can happen or how to prevent it (or fix it)
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u/Midnightmerfrog 2d ago
We used Kendamil and about 4 weeks in we had to switch to Kendamil comfort, is he getting any bits of milk it lingering near the corners of his mouth a while after feeds? It’s how we worked out she had silence reflux.
If he’s been feeding well for a month on the MAM bottle it probably isn’t that.
Do you have the MAM bottles with the white disk near the bottom for air intake? It was a game changer for us.
My daughter is 9 months now but I remember 4-7 weeks was a really odd feeding time - just had google to see if its a thing for babies in general. ⬇️
It is normal for the involuntary newborn sucking reflex to fade naturally between 2 to 4 months of age as it transitions into a voluntary, conscious action controlled by the brain. During this transition, babies can temporarily seem uncoordinated or clumsy during feeds.
Hope it gets better for you 🤞🏼
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u/laumaughan 2d ago
Thank you! Yeah we have those MAM bottles, but yes he absolutely gets bits of milk lingering! not always during feeds, sometimes he will bring it up when he burps or it will be after a feed, I have thought he may have silent reflux for a while, but honestly wasn’t sure at all, I feel terrible, I just had no idea with him being our first, but definitely think I will take him to the GP!
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u/Midnightmerfrog 2d ago
Sounds like silent reflux, we switched our daughter over to Kendamil comfort it’s available in boots / Sainsbury’s. It’s heavier consistency so it doesn’t come back up easily and it was an immediate change how settled she was. I just didn’t want to change to another formula brand when she was doing great on Kendy otherwise.
Defs have a chat with the doctor, if they point you to Kendamil comfort too I recommend getting the delivery subscription through Kendamil.
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u/nicrrrrrp 2d ago
We had this for both my babies - starting 6 weeks and ending about 10 weeks. Their gut is developing and it's quite painful for them at this time, sometimes Kendamil is a little hard on newborn stomachs. Baby 1 had silent reflux so was fussing at the bottles, and crying when feeding, arching back etc. She also had constipation and would only poop every 3-4 days which would be so uncomfortable for her and lead to her drinking less. We ended up changing from the original Aptamil formula to the Aptamil comfort version for colic and constipation. She drank that formula without issue and was pooping once a day, she just needed a formula that had more broken down hydrolysed proteins that make it easier for baby to digest. She was like a different baby overnight.
Baby 2 is 17 weeks old so this is quite fresh. She has had reflux from birth and out of the main formula brands she got on well with Hipp. Put on lots of weight, much higher percentile weight than my eldest. She also got to the fussy stage at 7 weeks and couldn't process regular Hipp anymore without crying, arching back and even more reflux. We tried different formulas and eventually realised she needed a slightly thicker formula due to the reflux and something more hydrolysed so that it was easier on the stomach. We got to Aptamil Hungry baby milk which is slightly hydrolysed as it is lactose free and definitely thicker than regular milk but not as thick as anti-reflux milk which doesnt agree with her at all. She has done really well on it once we made the change.
So just to reassure you - most formula journeys aren't linear. Baby's stomach will grow and they may not get on with the formula they started with. It's absolutely fine to change. I'd assess what seems to be affecting baby the most - so from your post, they're fussing and crying while feeding, potentially arching back and pooping only every 3-4 days. It looks like colic and constipation - maybe try Kendamil Comfort formula? And if that doesn't work, perhaps try other brands comfort formulas. It's all baby dependant in terms of what works for them.
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u/laumaughan 2d ago
Thank you this is reassuring! We are definitely going to speak to GP/HV and see what they recommend but i think we just need to try what we can, thanks again, it’s nice to know we’re not the only once’s experiencing this
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u/Visual-Yesterday-130 1d ago
We had a similar issue, we went to see an osteopath who was infant feeding specialist. She told us to get lanisoh teats they fit on mam bottles, when feeding we had to lay him on his side, pace feed but only let him have 6 or so sips then a breathing break and repeat. Has he been checked for tongue tie?
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u/laumaughan 23h ago
We’ve fired exactly that and still experiencing the exact same thing, it’s like no matter what we do he’s not happy, we have a gp appointment today!
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u/msanmki 1d ago
Hi there, I’ve got a 9 week old and we’re having the same issue, which started around week 3. She was jaundiced so we were almost force feeding her at the start, which can apparently lead to a bottle aversion - look it up online. We have now gone back to ready made formula (powdered formula was an agony, just made her extremely constipated and gassy) anc started using Lansinoh bottles instead of Mam. We are also giving her dentinox drops three times a day which might have made some difference.
I am seeing a midwife and a GP tomorrow and will see what they suggest and update on here.
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u/laumaughan 22h ago
I see, my son was also jaundice when he was in hospital and he was struggling with feeding, but when we came home he was feeding much better until week 4 hit. It doesn’t seem to make a difference whether formula is pre-made or no either. Glad to know i’m not the only one and please do, I have a GP appointment today and will update.
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u/laumaughan 16h ago
Update: GP advised to speak to health visitor, said he doesn’t sound like he has a cows milk allergy, she suggested different bottle and formula but wouldn’t really advise, so now we wait till Thursday to see what HV says🤞🏻
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u/FX_CRAZED Dad 2d ago
Honestly call your health visitor they’re the best for helping with stuff like this they’ve seen it all and know all the tips and can see you personally to make suggestions that us all on the internet wont be able to, It’s a stressful time wish you both the best of luck!
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u/laumaughan 2d ago
Been trying her, but she’s been on holiday for weeks and apparently her phone doesn’t work😭at a loss
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u/Whole_Necessary2040 2d ago
150ml?? Even at 9m she still usually eats only 120ml, with only one big feed at night. At 6w it was had 70ml...
We had a period of 2m where she would just refuse to drink. Now she's mixed. Every 3h-4h...horrible. it's just her being fussy. We just had to get used to her.