feeding aversions-sleep feeding

[Anonymous]

It is my understanding that sleep feeding can lead to feeding aversions. someone correct me if i am wrong.

there is someone that i talk to that encourages sleep feeding for
reflux babies and says that that is the only way to get them to eat an
adequate amount sometimes. she said that feeding aversions are
extremely rare and that she works with kids with these aversions and
none of them had them because of sleep feeding w/reflux. i had stated
that beginning a sleep feeding routine
can be a bad idea. i have no evidence to back this up with so if anyone
wants to help me out please do…or explain to me if im wrong! THANKS.

nataliachick72006-8-22 15:30:34

[Anonymous]

I am not always sure what is a good idea or not, but I think you do what works. If your baby is only getting proper nutrition from sleep feeding, then sometimes you have no choice. This was the case with Dylan.

Carter is a much better eater so we do not need to sleep feed, but we do one feed asleep at night that goes great and we get a better stretch.

Sometimes we have to throw out what the “experts” say to do, and just do what works. All babies are individuals, and only you can judge what your baby’s needs are.

[Anonymous]

i totally agree with you. im just wondering if someone were to start
sleep feeding their reflux baby who is still getting a decent amount to
eat during wake times , could this begin a feeding aversion?

im talking with someone who encourages is and states there is no chance
of a feeding aversion developing from this. in fact she states the two
have nothing to do with eachother.

so now im a little confused.

[Anonymous]

If he is getting a decent amount during wake times, why would you want to start sleep feeding?

[Anonymous]

I agree with Ann Marie, you do what you have to do. Maybe I say that because I have a sleep-feeder, LOL. As for the feeding aversions, I think they come first, not later (meaning that the baby has a bottle aversion, and that causes the need to sleep feed). I also think you have to clarify what this person means by “sleep feeding”… some people use this to refer to feeding the baby at night for extra calories. Others, like myself, actually mean that the baby would take NO feeds while awake and needed to be asleep. I don’t think that I would advocate FOR sleep feeding… I think you just sort of end up there stuck between tube feeding or sleep feeding. I would be leary of any therapist who tells you to sleep feed your baby, but that’s just my opinion. Not a large percentage of kids with reflux go on to develop feeding aversions, BUT it is common in kids with severe reflux. And our feeding therapist told us that more than 90 percent of the referrals she gets is to treat reflux induced feeding aversions (and that number might be even higher, I can’t quite remember). My personal opinion, is that if you don’t have to sleep feed (and I don’t mean night feed) then don’t. You’ll know what to do if you ever get there, and I hope that you are never in that horrific position.

[Anonymous]

right. someone had mentioned that occasionally the baby cries at the
bottle during feed times (and i suggested a PPI) and this woman said
she should sleep feed.

sleep feed=she said try when the baby is really sleepy.

nataliachick72006-8-22 16:1:38

[Anonymous]

Is this person talking about “sleep feeding” or “night feeding, also referred to as dream feeding”. Dream feeding is a common practice advocated by the baby whisperer and has nothing to do with caloric intake. The goal according to the author is to promote longer periods of sleep.

Feeding your baby at night will not CAUSE a feeding aversion. Most babies are fed at night. As for sleep feeding, you end up there because of a feeding aversion, not the other way around.

[Anonymous]

thanks for that info. that is what i thought too.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I posted my reply before yours came through, LOL!!!

[Anonymous]

sleep feed=she said try when the baby is really sleepy.

[Anonymous]

lol

[Anonymous]

“sleep feed=she said try when the baby is really sleepy.”

You do what you have to do. It’s certainly not ideal, and having been there, I’d try everything I could to avoid it because it’s not fun in the least.

s&h’s mum2006-8-22 16:5:13

[Anonymous]

With Dylan we would have to set the alarm clock and get up to feed him all night every few hours to get food into him. If he woke up during the feed and realized we were feeding him, he would scream himself back to sleep and we would start all over.

I would never want to intentionally start that, but it is what we needed to do. He didn’t even hit the charts until he was a year old. He was preemie, so that part was normal, but it still was awful trying to fight for every ounce on him.

I only do the dream feed for Carter at night prior to going to bed for the long stretch (I know, selfish of me ) but it really seems to work.

Sleep feed is what I consider the last resort… It is so draining!

[Anonymous]

Ann Marie,

For how long did Dylan sleep feed and how did you get him off of sleep feeds and on to awake feeds. Did he take a bottle awake during the day? Hailey still does one sleep feed at around midnight, another around 5am (which is mainly my way to get her back to sleep fo I don’t have to wake up then). She also does one around 1pm and one before bed… they are all small- around 3-4oz. It’s exhausting.

[Anonymous]

When we switched to Neocate. It really was a miracle cure for us. He had a very immature digestive tract and it could only handle the neocate… Once he felt better, we really were so much better.

He was 8 months old when we switched to neocate and by 9 months eating like a champ and sleeping through the night…….

[Author]

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