4 month only taking small feed in morning

magic_murph

Hi
Our 4 1/2 month old has recently taken to having a very small feed first thing in the morning. Usually it's about 1-2oz but sometimes he'll take 4-5 oz but that might be just one day a week.

His appetite does increase as the day goes on with the rest of the bottles being around 5 or 6 oz and a dream feed being about 7oz.

We would like the morning feed to be a bit more substantial to help with his naps etc.

We have tried adding a drop of vanilla and also jumping up to a size3 teet but with no real improvement.

Any ideas?

Loveinapril

I wouldn't mess with adding anything else to the milk, it could damage his digestive system. The guidelines say breastmilk or formula should be their exclusive nutrition until they hit 6 months. Could you stretch the time of the first feed until a little later until he takes more, delay by 15 minutes a day or so for a week.

5starpool

How many bottles a day does he take?

From about 4 months we were on only 4 x 8oz bottles a day for our youngest, and he never leaves a drop. For the last few weeks (he is 6 months tomorrow) we've introduced solid foods as well as the 4 bottles. We don't do any dream feeds though because it doesn't make him sleep any longer or better than without it, so we cut that out after a few attempts.

magic_murph

The vanilla idea was recommended by osteopath but we have now stopped.
I have tried leaving the feed a little longer but doesn't make a different plus from a sleep training point of view the training suggests anchoring the first feed to 30 mins after he wakes up.

He's currently on a feed every 3 hours so thats about 5 bottles during the day and the final bottle at 11/11:30 at night.
Total oz per day, including the dream feed, is about 20-25oz with other days hitting over 30oz

Lizardlegz

I wouldn’t worry about it at all. If he was hungry he would take more of his bottle.

From 17 weeks (that’s the absolute earliest for bottle fed babies) you can start giving them tastes of food. It’s 6 months for breastfed. Maybe you could try him. Although a lot of people prefer to wait a little longer. But HSE says it’s fine for their digestive system from 17 weeks.

But honestly... I wouldn’t be worrying. Mine went through many phases of taking / not taking their milk / food. Will happen again in a few months time!

jlm29

To be honest, I’d just let him lead you. He might not be hungry. If he’s having enough in a 24 hour period, then that’s the main thing.
I haven’t eaten my breakfast yet. I’m don’t like eating too much too early. Maybe he’s the same

magic_murph

Thanks for the feedback - I would tend to agree that the overall consumption throughout the day is more important than any individual feed.

afkasurfjunkie

Saw a useful meme recently. It said if I was told I could I could only eat every three hours and had to wait in between I wouldn’t be a bit happy. And it’s true. I eat when I’m hungry. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but we expect babies to drink exactly the same amount every three hours on the dot.
To clarify, I’m currently breastfeeding an almost four month old. He feeds on demand. He sleeps when he sleeps and in his own time he’s fallen into his own routine. Sometimes he feeds for ages, sometimes not.
You can google hunger cues for babies. When they stretch and turn their head from side to side it’s a sign they are hungry. By the time they cry they are really hungry- hangry even.

I’m also curious. What was the osteopath’s reasoning behind putting vanilla into formula? Not something I’ve ever heard of.

shesty

Gosh, I wouldn't worry.
Kids have eating patterns, oddly.Some it shows early, some as they become toddlers.Some stock up on everything in the morning and eat no evening meal.Some are very poor breakfast eaters but spend all afternoon eating.I have said here before I have a 2 year old who is an appalling breakfast eater.We do our best but he is minimal at best what goes in in the morning.Also (weirdly) if they need to poo in the morning, they sometimes won't eat much ahead of that either!!!

What he has over 24 hours is key thing I believe.Can"t remember the amount per day for that age, but that is what really matters.Mine all varied wildly in what they drank and when, it is just how they are.Also he is 4 months, don't get tangled up in bottle times and sleep training.I would be aiming to get a 4 month old back to bed roughly 2 hours after first waking.If he has a bottle somewhere in that 2 hours, that should be ok for him.

If the steps of a sleep training routine are not working out, then don't follow it.Babies are all different, and trust me, it falls into place over time.Once he is in a habit of napping regularly, it will all fall into place eventually.

Lizardlegz

afkasurfjunkie wrote: »

Saw a useful meme recently. It said if I was told I could I could only eat every three hours and had to wait in between I wouldn’t be a bit happy. And it’s true. I eat when I’m hungry. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but we expect babies to drink exactly the same amount every three hours on the dot.
To clarify, I’m currently breastfeeding an almost four month old. He feeds on demand. He sleeps when he sleeps and in his own time he’s fallen into his own routine. Sometimes he feeds for ages, sometimes not.
You can google hunger cues for babies. When they stretch and turn their head from side to side it’s a sign they are hungry. By the time they cry they are really hungry- hangry even.

I’m also curious. What was the osteopath’s reasoning behind putting vanilla into formula? Not something I’ve ever heard of.

Totally agree!

Also, regarding the vanilla... I would hazard a guess and say maybe it to sweeten the milk? Maybe to make it more appetising or something?? Either way it wouldn’t be something I would do. Babies will eat when they’re hungry.

Milly33

are ye going by feeding guidelines as in what is on the tin, or if ye are following a pattern..