DS refusing all bottles

[Anonymous]

My ds is refusing all of his bottles and only wants to eat his solids. The ped said to go for it and he will drink when he needs to but he is only 6 mths old. He pushes the bottle away. We saw the doc yesterday and said that if he wants the solids then to give it to him as she doesn’t feel comfortable upping his meds. Have any of you gone through this?

[Anonymous]

The Ped said that? Have you seen a GI specialist?

It’s good that he’s eating solids, but IMHO he needs the bottle too. Is
he eating cereal? If so, are you making that with formula? Will he take
formula from a sippy cup?

[Anonymous]

Oh, boy…My doctor would not increase my son’s meds initially either. It took me weeks to talk her into it. I didn’t finally succeed until I printed the information from MARCI-kids and sent it to her. Once she saw the research she upped his dose, and he improved and began eating very well (bottles and solids).

And I agree with you, six months is young to be getting by only on solids.

How much does he weigh and what med/dose is he on now?

[Anonymous]

We are just seeing a regular ped becuase I am afraid to see a gi since I don’t want him to go through any invasive tests. He usually gets around 16-20 ounces of formula total between bottles and cereal. He weighs 19 pounds and is on prevacid 1/2 solutab once a day. I was thinking of trying a sippy with him but not sure if at 6 mths he will be able to handle that. My daughter did the same thing right around the same time and she didn’thave reflux so not sure if this is just something that my children do.

[Anonymous]

I would DEFINITELY recommend seeing a GI. I know the tests sound scary
but babies are generally fine with them and the answers are so
important. And when you have the answers, you’ll know what the right
meds/dosage is.

You can try a sippy – some babies take to them early (mine is not one
of them however). But 16-20 ounces of formula plus solids is not bad
overall.

[Anonymous]

My son also only eats about 20 ounces per day total with his bottles and solids. Some kids just don’t need that much.

My son weighs 18 lbs and gets Prevacid 15mg/3x’s daily.

If you are worried that his reflux is not under control, I would first try to talk to your doctor about the research at MARCI-kids. Most doctors don’t know that babies need higher doses of PPI’s than adults and that they need to get the medicine three times daily instead of once because they metablolize the medicine three times faster than adults.

If you print the information and send/fax it to him/her and then follow up with a phone call, you may be able to talk him/her into increasing the dose and then you won’t have to see a Ped. GI, or have any tests. This is what worked for me and I can tell you it’s so worth it. Believe me, I am not usually an assertive person and I felt like an incredible pest, but I wanted my son to feel better and I was willing to do whatever it took. Here’s the link.http://www.marci-kids.com/

You can always look at going to a Ped GI later if your doctor won’t increase his dose after seeing the research.

It’s true that some babies just start to drink less from their bottles and eat more solids….if he’s happy, sleeping well and doesn’t seem to be in any discomfort, maybe that’s all it is. You are the best judge of that because you are his mommy.

[Anonymous]

What is this about prevacid being given 30 minutes before a meal? Right now I give it to ds at night as he is taking his night-time bottle. Would I be better giving it to him in the morning before breakfast?

[Anonymous]

It depends on what kind of prevacid you are using – if it’s an oral suspension made by the pharmacy, you can give it at any time.

I just wanted to add about the ped gi, Owen’s been going to one for over a year and it was the best thing that we ever could have done for him. Hands down. He has actually never had any invasive testing done, or any testing at all for that matter other than testing his stool for blood which just comes from a dirty diaper. They just interviewed me about him, about my family history, etc. and were able to diagnose him that way. They got him so much more comfortable and happy – and of course that made us happy!

[Anonymous]

Isaac doesn’t eat that much either. Some kids really never do. I would agree with your ped though that if he wants more solids then let him lead the way. I would think (i could be so wrong here) that if it was reflux then he wouldn’t want solids either (that is how it works with Isaac at least).

[Anonymous]

Yes, I already posted in your other post but the prevacid needs to be given on an empty stomach (2-3 hours after eating) and wait 30 mins before feeding. Doesn’t sound like he is getting the most out of the PPI. Alos, half a solutab is very low. Most babies are on at LEAST half in the morning and half at night. Ever think about playing around with the dose a little and seeing if he feels better. Alot of babies don’t want to drink because it hurts to reflux. With silent reflux, we can’t see what’s going on, the milk is alot thinner and lighter than solids so they usually do worse on it. I bet he will drink more liquids once he is on the right dose. Don’t be afraid of ped. GI’s. He has already been diagnosed with reflux so you don’t have to prove it in many cases its the mothers who want to assess if there is any damage and if the child’s reflux is really under control.

[Anonymous]

So I just put a message into his ped as he is still refusing bottles and now solids. He has only had about 9-10 ounces of formula since midnight and 1/4 cup of cereal so not much food at all. I just don’t understand what is going on. I guess it is on to a ped gi but i don’t know how long it will be until we can be seen and ds can’t go on like this much longer.

[Anonymous]

So his doc is out of the office until Friday which isn’t going to work for us. the nurse is going to talk to another doctor but isn’t sure what can be done. i said so what do I do to get him to eat until Friday. I am so at my wit’s end and just want to curl up and cry. my ds is the happiest guy and doesn’t look sick at all but when I try to feed him he has a fit and screams and arches and pushes the bottle away.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried mylanta? I usually start with mylanta then go to tylenol. So if it is reflux the mylanta will help and if that doesn’t work then i assume it is teething (which bottle/food refusal is normal with this) and give tylenol. Hopefully one of those two will help!

[Anonymous]

I know how you feel and I’m so sorry. There were a few days when I was sure my little Myles was going to end up in the hospital dehydrated and starving. It’s so frightening when your baby won’t eat.

How old is your son?

Have you tried swaddling him and feeding him when he is really tired/half asleep. Some babies with reflux (mine included) eat better when they are sleepy.

Also, lots of moms use Mylanta Cherry Supreme before each feeding …if you post a question about it someone will probably be able to tell you the correct dose.

I wish I had more words of wisdom for you…, and I hope you find a really good doctor who will listen to you and make your son better soon.

[Anonymous]

Just wondering if he’s taken any more since your last post? I know what you’re going through, we’ve certainly been (and still are) there. Will he take some sips of water from a bottle or cup. I’d also make sure that he’s still wetting diapers and having tears. Hope things go better for you soon.

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