My 13 week old has developed a feeding aversion. He is completely bottle fed, a 50:50 combination of formula and expressed breast milk and formula.

For the last 3 weeks he refuses to feed when he is awake, I swaddle put him to sleep before every feeding, needless to say that it is frustating for the both of us. Our Pedeatrician thought that he may have acid reflux and prescribed Zantac. My son took Zantac for 1.5 weeks and the result has been negligible. Now the doctor has switched him over to Prevacid.

The doctor has also advised to see an occupational or feeding therapist in the meanwhile as she is not sure if my son's aversion to feed is due to acid reflux. I am really concerned.

DS drinks barely 3oz/ feeding and he has been drinking the same quantity for the last 6 weeks now, an average of 24oz. He is in the 25th percentile for weight and has been very gradually gaining weight. He weighs 12 lbs. I am worried about this feeding aversion growing to a bigger problem as he grows up.

If the occupational therapist fails we have been advised to see a Gastroenerologist. Anyone had similar experience earlier? Please help.

Thanks!

Hi, I am sorry your LO is having difficulties. Ask your doctor if you can try the faster flow nipples. I use playtex and they have 2 speeds slow and fast, but I know some other bottles have various stages of speeds. This really helped my DS to eat more at a feeding because he didn't have to work so hard. Also maybe try some different bottles. At first we used Avent and those did not work for my guy. Playtex drop in bottles worked great for him. Another thing to try would be to vary the temperature of the milk. We discovered that DS liked it room temp the best. Having said all this though, my baby drank only 2oz at a time for a loooooooooooong time. Then it was 3 for a looooong time. At one point he was less than 10th percentile for weight but the doc was really not concerned at all since he was otherwise healthy and meeting all his milestones. Now he is 16 mos and 50th for height and 25th for weight. BTW he was also about 50 50 BF and formula. Has your son dropped to 25th? Because 25th or any percentile is fine, as long as there is not a decline over time. My son gained weight very slowly and continues to do so. Also at 24 oz your DS may not be far off from eating what he should. Here is a quote from Dr. Greene:

"Another way to express this rule of thumb is that the average baby takes 2 or 3 ounces of formula each day for every pound of body weight, up to a maximum of 32 ounces."

Good luck and let us know how it is going!

From what you said, he takes about 3oz every feeding and he drinks about 24 througout the day total.

Uh that's 8 times a day that he is eating about 3 ounces, if you get up a bout 6 am that's about every 2 1/2 - 3 hours or so depending on when he goes to sleep for the night. Does he have night time feedings? Is that 24 ounces including for a 24 hour period?

every 2 1/2 - 3 hours with about 2-3 ounces or so at a clip sounds fine to me so what is wrong with the dr.? My 1st born was always at 25th percentile. It doenst matter what percent they are as long as they stay on the same curve. If they go higher real fast or lower real fast that is a concern. Unless they are ILL then of course weight is lost.

My 2nd was in 25th-50percentile and 3rd was in 25th untill she was 2 weeks then she was 50th and then at 6 weeks went to 97th and stayed there ever since and she is 2 1/2 yrs now.

My 4th is 50th still and is 6months.

12 weeks sounds fine for what you are feeding. Not sure why dr. would even think to give a drug for any reason unless he has seen acid reflux. Has he?

Is baby burping ok? If baby having a hard time with reflux, it might just be that you dont have a slow enough nipple Playtex is always one i use. You might want to keep him lifted a little higher so he doesnt spit up so much.

When feeding baby and they are looking to go to sleep, take off blankets and dont hold baby to cuddle. Feeding time is feeding time. Some babies love cuddle time with feeding but some fall asleep to fast doing it so you have to stop getting baby comfy, just feed with blankets and even clothes off helps sometimes.

Honestly though that is what my DD's were drinking ( i looked at my chart for ya;) around that time so not sure what dr's thinks the big deal is.

Is he happy?, crying? gassy? Does he cry after being fed,changed,burped? Does he have colic?

If he is fine and happy then let him eat what he will. 25th percentile doesnt mean a thing unless he is dropping in it.

As long as your baby isn't losing weight, I wouldn't worry so much. There is nothing wrong with being in the 25th precentile, in fact, you shouldn't worry about that number- it'll make you stress out more than you need to.