Feeding FAQ: 4-6 months – Formula Feeding

My 18 week son has suddenly dropped his milk intake over the past week and it is difficult to get him to feed

My 18 week old son has been a very CLB and has been following the routine like a dream child since he was 10 days old. Over the last week feeding has become an increasing problem. Until recently he has always fed well. Over the last couple of days each feed is becoming increasingly difficult. It started out about 2 weeks ago with him leaving 2 ounces at each feed (on average I was offering him 7 oz per feed). Over the week this has progressively increased and yesterday and today he is leaving as much as 4 oz in the bottle at each feed. I have moved him from a size 2 teat to a 3 as I thought that could be an issue but it has made no difference. I have also tried splitting the feeds but it just means he takes less at the second sitting and in aggregate eats the same. He takes the first couple of ounces well and then pushes the bottle out with his tongue and if I persist he arches his back and starts crying. I have also tried giving a short break but he refuses the bottle once the initial intake is over.

I have spoken to the HV and she seems to think there isn’t a problem as he seems happy in himself but I hardly recognize the baby I know when it comes to feeding. He is barely taking 24 ounces in a day which just can’t be right given his weight – he was taking around 30 – 32 ozs.

I have not introduced any solids for obvious reasons. He is also waking at night now, although this is not included in the report of sleeping times. Two nights ago he started to wake at 4 and 5am. I am sure he is hungry but I am confused as to what to do as I don’t want to just feed him and then reinforce any bad habits that are developing.

My son feeds at 7am, 5ozs, 11am 4ozs, 2.30pm 3.5ozs, 4.45pm 1.5ozs, 6.30pm 5ozs, and 10pm 3ozs.

My son naps at 9-9.45am, 12.30-2.15pm and 4-4.30pm. He settles at 7pm.

If you look through the questions on the site for this age range you will see that cutting back on milk is a very common problem. Around the age of 18 weeks many babies become fussy and seem to lose their appetite. It is thought it could be due to a developmental change which takes place around this time. The book The Wonder Years: How to turn your Baby’s Eight Great Fussy Phases into Magical Leaps Forward by Hetty Venderijt and Frans Plooij [formally called Why they Cry] explains this stage and ways to help your baby through it.

As your son has started to wake in the night apparently through hunger, it will help if you can find ways to increase his milk intake by day. Until his intake by day has increased, offer your son a feed when he wakes in the night. When he first wakes leave him for about 10 minutes to see if he will settle back to sleep on his own. But if he remains unsettled offer him a feed and settle him back to sleep as quickly as you can.

Whilst this phase is going on you may find yourself having to give split feeds in order to get your son to take as much milk as he can. If he is content when he first wakes in the morning, leave him until nearer 7.30am before starting his feed and see if he is able to manage to take another 1-2ozs. If he has taken a feed in the night, be prepared that he may not take such a big feed at 7am/7.30 until his feeding routine is back on track.

During the day try giving your son split feeds at 10.45/ 11.30am and 2.30/3pm. When you are anxious about your baby’s feeding it is easy to keep tempting him with a bottle every 5-10 minutes only to be met with refusal. By giving him at least 30 minutes between the two halves of the feed he may well take more. Encourage him to kick on the floor and have as much activity in the day as possible to help increase his appetite.

At 10pm go back to keeping him up for an hour and using the split feed method which you may have used at this late evening feed when he was younger. Or, if he continues to wake early in the morning, you could try waiting until10.30/ 11pm before you wake him and see if he is willing to take a larger feed then.

Be aware that your son may become easily distracted in feeds now he is getting bigger. Make sure you are in a quiet room with little to take his attention away from drinking.

If your son is beginning to show signs of teething he may be soothed with having teething gel applied before his feeds and being offered the milk at a slightly cooler temperature than usual.

If you remain concerned about your son’s milk intake then ask your doctor to check him over to rule out any other underlying problem.