3 month old not taking bottle?

positivenote

HI all, our little man has been very little trouble since he was born, but in the last 3 days he has started to get really upset before we feed him or when he's tired. We would hold him to feed him and when we have the bottle at his mouth he starts screaming crying, we have to physically hold the bottle in his mouth before he will start sucking it. we are still using the level 1 teet on the bottles. Also any time he is tired and we try and rock him to sleep in our arms he also does the same... has a crying/screaming fit before tiring himself out and sleeping.
Any ideas whats wrong here and any advice on how to get the lad back to a more comfortable state for feeding and sleeping?
thanks in advance

deelite

Oh poor you - there's nothing worse than an upset baby - change the make of teets if that doesn't work I'd bring him straight down to doctor/hospital. Also he might be in pain when taking his bottle - maybe a "reflux" issue with the baby - so by giving him the bottle could be causing him more pain.

easynote

Move on to another teet maybe 2 or 3 it is probably too hard for him to get anything out of the bottle. There are also specially designed bottled that does not build up a vacuum in the bottle as they are emptied through some special airsystem. They are a bit more expensive but you only need one or two. I think you can get them in Mothercare, ask about them in there. First step, is immediately move on to a bigger flow teet. It might be giving him cramps in his mouth having to suck too hard on a level 1 teet.

easynote

deelite wrote: »

- maybe a "reflux" issue with the baby -

This is not a reflux issue, reflux is vomiting.

positivenote

thanks guys, we are going to buy the level 2 teets today. He doesnt appear to be sick or anything to be honest as he's grand the rest of the time so i think we'll hold off bringing him to the doctor for a bit.

deelite

easynote wrote: »

This is not a reflux issue, reflux is vomiting.

Oh my bad - it was a problem we had with our daughter a few years back she cried everytime she was in the arms - and then cry when she was in cot. She didn't throw up the bottle - the doctors in temple street said it was a kidney reflux (I'm sure that's what they said but I was in such a state they could have said something totally different tbh).

easynote

Oh, sorry there might be other forms of reflux... Just "reflux" though usually refers to vomiting. I know what you mean now that it might be some form of "reflux" issue.

janmc

I know we're not supposed to give medical advice here, but maybe look up oral thrush in babies on google - symptoms can involve crying when feeding as their mouths are sore.

Good luck.

Ballyman

positivenote wrote: »

HI all, our little man has been very little trouble since he was born, but in the last 3 days he has started to get really upset before we feed him or when he's tired. We would hold him to feed him and when we have the bottle at his mouth he starts screaming crying, we have to physically hold the bottle in his mouth before he will start sucking it. we are still using the level 1 teet on the bottles. Also any time he is tired and we try and rock him to sleep in our arms he also does the same... has a crying/screaming fit before tiring himself out and sleeping.
Any ideas whats wrong here and any advice on how to get the lad back to a more comfortable state for feeding and sleeping?
thanks in advance

Howdy

We had the same problem with our lad when he was three months. Apparently we were letting him get either too tired or too hungry and didn't notice the early signs of each. As a result he wasn't able to either sleep or eat without losing the plot!!

Now we feed him before he gets hungry and put him down to sleep before he is tired. He can be lying in his cot for 30 mins now talking to himself before he sleeps but the roaring has stopped and he falls asleep gently as he gets tired. If he has adults/stimulation around him all the time then he won't sleep as easily and can get overtired very quickly.

Hope this helps you a bit as I know what it's like!

cynder

Talk to your Public health nurse, that's what they are there for.

gowayouttadat

easynote wrote: »

Oh, sorry there might be other forms of reflux... Just "reflux" though usually refers to vomiting. I know what you mean now that it might be some form of "reflux" issue.

Reflux doesn't mean just vomiting. There are two types of reflux... one that involves projectile vomitting and one that doesn't involve any vomitting at all, commonly known as silent reflux.

OP, my little man went like this at 8 weeks. He had silent reflux. He was the perfect baby up till 8 weeks. What happens with silent reflux is that the babies bring up acid from their stomach and over time this aggravates the oesophagus making it difficult for them to feed. Also, lying down really hurts too which throws sleeping out the window!

It mightn't be the same thing but if your baby stays like this for a few days I'd try gaviscon in his bottles to see if it'd help.

cbyrd

One of the signs to looks out for hunger, so he doesn't get to the * i'm too hungry to drink my bottle* is if you watch him closely when it's coming time for the next feed you'll see him making sucking movements with his lips.. that's the best time.. when they're crying it's too late and it takes too long to settle before feeding. The infant gavisgon is brilliant if it is silent reflux, but again another sign of that can be chewing on his fist a lot (can be confused with early teething but was how i figured out my lad had silent reflux)

Tilting his mattress might help too or putting him down on his side, again my lad slept better on his left side tilted rather than flat..
Trial and error ... :rolleyes:

Dades

gowayouttadat wrote: »

Reflux doesn't mean just vomiting. There are two types of reflux... one that involves projectile vomitting and one that doesn't involve any vomitting at all, commonly known as silent reflux.

OP, my little man went like this at 8 weeks. He had silent reflux. He was the perfect baby up till 8 weeks. What happens with silent reflux is that the babies bring up acid from their stomach and over time this aggravates the oesophagus making it difficult for them to feed. Also, lying down really hurts too which throws sleeping out the window!

It mightn't be the same thing but if your baby stays like this for a few days I'd try gaviscon in his bottles to see if it'd help.

+ 1

If you find he is more upset later in the afternoon/evening, it could well be this. The acid builds up during the day.

Check with a health professional of course, but maybe try some Gaviscon. It made a huge difference to our wee man. He's 6 months now and is pretty much weaned off it.