Baby Won’t Eat… Help???

[Anonymous]

I just wrote another post about adding cereal to formula. Our daughter is just under 2 months. She is just starting prevacid (zantac did not do much to help). We have changed her formula 3 times and are now on alimentum. There is a family milk allergy and that has seemed to have helped with the gas pains. She still, however, seems to have a lot of gas on occassion (which I assume is normal for babies). The problem we have is that she never seems to want to eat. When she does want to eat, she eats great. The most we have ever gotten her to eat is 4 ounces and that is a rare occurrence. She will eat 3 ounces ever 4-5 hours some days. There are times when she seems hungry but cries (screams, really) after a few sips. We then spend the next hour to hour and a half trying to get 3 ounces into her… I don’t know if this is because the reflux medicines have not started working??? Anyone have this happen and have any suggestions. She really is (almost) only fussy during feedings and I don’t know what to do…

Help!

[Anonymous]

Amy, how much Prevacid is she on? It can take up to two weeks for the Prevacid to really give them some relief, so if you still have the Zantac, you may want to keep giving that to her in the meantime, just be sure to space them 4 hrs. apart from each other. Check out http://www.marci-kids.com There is great information there about dosing, meds, etc. Most babies aren’t dosed high enough, but they metabolize so quickly that they need a higher dose. I would think that you need to jump on this quickly, as she is already refusing to eat at times. How is her weight gain? Is the doctor worried that she isn’t eating more?

Also, if there is a known milk allergy in your family, you may want to look into Neocate formula. Alimentum does contain milk, so even that small amount may be enough to bother her.

I’m sure others will have more to offer, but I hope you find some help for your little one soon.

[Anonymous]

Naomi said pretty much everything that I would have said. Also does she have delayed gastric emptying? that might be why she isn’t hungry somedays, there may still be food in her tummy and therefore she doesn’t feel hungry. Just a thought> Good Luck.

[Anonymous]

Gosh, I’m so sorry . Your situation sounds really similar to my dds issues. Her main issue is painful eating. It’s a lot better then it was with medication, that’s pretty key if that’s the problem. She’s a happy, happy baby but when she eats, she struggles which I think makes it so hard because she’s doing something that should feel good and be comforting but it’s so hard for her. I agree with the other moms that you shoud be, which I’m sure you are, really proactive to avoid any type of feeding aversion which can be scary. You’re in the right place though Kate used to struggle ALL the time pulling off, arching, screaming but starving and wanting more etc…. I hope the meds will help your daughter and that she’s more comfortable soon I know how frustrating it is, believe me. I’ll be thinking of you guys and hoping it all turns around ASAP!!

[Anonymous]

A few things come to mind:

Fistly, maybe she needs neocate. For some babies with milk protein allergy, the alimentum isn’t enough, and the neocate really helps.

The other thing is that either the med dose is too low, or it’s not being given or prepared correctly. What form is the prevacid? If it’s the solutab, then it should be given on an empty stomach and followed up with a meal 30 minutes later for the med to become effective. If it’s a compound, then there are different rules, but compounds are hard to make properly. I also echo what others have said, that the problem might be the dose.

My dd was on compounded prilosec for a long time, and until we switched her to prevacid, started giving it correctly, and got her on a high dose, she arched and screamed in pain all the time. She did unfortunately also develop a terrible feeding aversion which was very sad and very difficult. Your description of feedings bring back a lot of hard memories for me. If your dd isn’t seeing a ped GI, that might also be something to look into. If you tell us where you are, then someone might be able to suggest a good GI for you.

I hope that you find something that helps your dd soon.

[Anonymous]

Everyone else has pretty much summed it up and I agree…Neocate! Since there is that family history there, it is worth a try. But if you do try it, remember that it can take anywhere from 1-4 weeks for milk proteins to exit the body so she might continue with some symptoms until after that time period even on the Neocate. It took a full 4 weeks with Addy. I hope she feels better soon!

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