should i change bottles?

Queen of Sheebs

Our little one is 4 weeks today and it is taking over an hour to give him each feed. We are using avent bottles. He is constantly spitting out the corners of his mouth during the feed and we're finding it very difficult to wind him. He gets that blue black colour around his lips and won't take anymore milk. He doesn't cry just fusses on the bottle and squirms alot when I'm trying to wind him. We're using the number one teat. I've tried the number two teat and he drinks it alot faster but same problem as with the number one, spitting and dribbling out the corner of his mouth and dribbling down his chin. My question is.....should I try a new bottle or try using infacol drops?? Any opinions or help would be really appreciated. Also can anyone else say how long it takes to feed their littles ones.

Moonbeam

Talk to your public health nurse or doctor it sounds like it maybe more of an issue then the bottles.

Queen of Sheebs

Sorry moonbeam, i think i posted a report instead of replying to u.

Queen of Sheebs

Second try!!!! Thanks moonbean, i'll ring phn in the morning. He is very congested too which may be part of the problem when feeding. I posted about that issue on another thread and got some great suggestions but nothing is really helping. I feel cruel spraying stuff up his nose when he gets little relief. Spoke to phn, gp and pharmasist about it and they all said to use saline drops and get used to it, that it could last a year!! I'm getting stressed about it and beginning to dread the next feed!

Das Kitty

Queen of Sheebs wrote: »

Second try!!!! Thanks moonbean, i'll ring phn in the morning. He is very congested too which may be part of the problem when feeding. I posted about that issue on another thread and got some great suggestions but nothing is really helping. I feel cruel spraying stuff up his nose when he gets little relief. Spoke to phn, gp and pharmasist about it and they all said to use saline drops and get used to it, that it could last a year!! I'm getting stressed about it and beginning to dread the next feed!

Nevermind them saying it could be a year! How bloody helpful. A year is like a lifetime when you have a new baby.

They do get blockages when they're small but it won't always be as bad as it is now, the older they get the easier it gets. I would get a snot sucker personally. Worked wonders for our lad, the amount of snot that came out of his tiny nose! Do the drops and the sucker before the bottle. They don't like it but they do like the releif it gives. It doesn't hurt them or do them any harm so I wouldn't think twice personally.

egan2020

My little one is 3 months today and I've had the same thing since she was born. I thing I was making three ounce bottles and she would drink an ounce and then refuse to drink anymore until she had a break or even a little nap. I would eventually get her to drink the bottle but it could take up to two hours. She's better now. She's drinking 6 ounce bottles and will generally stop after three, have a break in her bouncer or lying on the floor and then drink the rest.

The colour over the lips is a sign of wind. When I had difficulty getting up her wind, I found that leaving her down for a few minutes on the floor or bouncer actually helped to get it up. I spoke to the PHN at the two week check and the GP at the six week check up about her feeding and both said it was nothing to worry about. It can be tiring for you though because it feels like you are constantly sitting under them trying to feed them.

I had her at the PHN for her three month check up yesterday and everything was fine. She weighed 15lb so she's obviously been getting enough feeding.

Personally, I don't think changing her bottles will be of much benefit. It looks like you might have a "grazer" who just likes to take her time (and yours!!) drinking her bottle.

egan2020

Just to add, I found that she drank a little faster and it was easier to get wind up when I gave her a warm bottle.

Das Kitty

Sitting them up whilst feeding also helps with the wind. Used to put my fella sitting on my lap with me as a chair (facing the same way as me). You can't really see how they're feeding like that but it definitely helped him.

The good news is that once they're sitting up on their the need to burp them all the time is gone. You may need to help them with the odd sticky one but for the most part your days of pat-patting are over.

Queen of Sheebs

Tried the dr. brown bottle. didn't make any difference to the spitting out of the corners of his mouth. :-(

Queen of Sheebs

Spoke to my phn this morning and she told me to ring the number on the side of the formula carton!!!!! I was so mad and upset. really felt like she was laughing at me and said that just to get rid of me.

Das Kitty

Queen of Sheebs wrote: »

Spoke to my phn this morning and she told me to ring the number on the side of the formula carton!!!!! I was so mad and upset. really felt like she was laughing at me and said that just to get rid of me.

Wow! Jesus, that's bad.

You could try your local pharmacist for free advice also.

Just so you know, my lad dribbled his bottles all round his mouth when he was small, it's not abnormal.

If it's the blocked nose causing him to gasp the pharmacist will most likely help you.

Hannibal Smith

If the cause of the not drinking the bottle is nose congestion, then changing the bottles won't help.

We had exactly the same battles with doctors and PHNs telling us not to worry, they'll grow out of it etc and we were thinking well that's great but what do we do now. The thing is the nasal congestion may very well last a year, but it won't be as bad as it is now....and he won't be as dependent on bottles so it really doesn't make that much of an impact as they get older.

How many ounces are you giving him? How many ounces do you manage to get into him before he starts spitting it out? It definitely shouldn't take an hour to feed him. I think I'd be more inclined to spend less time trying to feed him and more time trying to wind him. I know that's easier said than done, but he's not going to eat when he's got trapped wind. It's the same if you had a stuffy nose and drank a bottle of water or something you'd find it very uncomfortable.

If he's not crying with the wind pains, I wouldn't really give him the infacol. I'd only use that as a last resort if he was really distressed.

Queen of Sheebs

Thanks for all the replies. We decided to change and try the no. 2 teat again and have decided to give him two days to get used to the faster flow. Four feeds in and i can see a little improvement. He is taking up to 6ozs and will take the first one without any spillage! I also managed to get a nasal aspirator that fits just inside the nostril for suction and have been able to remove some mucus. At least i feel i'm helping him now! He is still very hard to wind and i definitely think that is causing part of the problem with the spitting and dribbling during feeds. We may decide later to try dr. brown bottles again. Any other opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Queen of Sheebs

Gave up on the no. 2 teat! His wind was really bad he was gasping so much to keep up with flow. back to no.1 teats. still dribbling and spitting out the side but not as much and it's alot easier to get up his wind. This parenting is one big guessing game. I haven't a clue if i'm doing the right thing but he's having plenty of wet nappies and a dirty one every two days and seens happy enough so have to go by that!

Hannibal Smith

Queen of Sheebs wrote: »

Gave up on the no. 2 teat! His wind was really bad he was gasping so much to keep up with flow. back to no.1 teats. still dribbling and spitting out the side but not as much and it's alot easier to get up his wind. This parenting is one big guessing game. I haven't a clue if i'm doing the right thing but he's having plenty of wet nappies and a dirty one every two days and seens happy enough so have to go by that!

It is a huge guessing game, especially when they're so young and can't communicate with you. But you'll get there. I don't want that to sound patronising, but he's getting some food into him....he's having we and dirty nappies and he's happy enough. That's all you can go on for now. None of us are experts it's all trial and error.

Any imporvement with the nasal congestion?

Queen of Sheebs

No real improvement with the nasal congestion. I bought a humidifier and I think that is helping a little at night. He is definitely more congested at night although today has been a bad day all day. Poor thing seems to be snorting all day. My husband picked up a nasal aspitator but it was too big so couldn't get any suction. I got a pedeatric kit and the nasal aspirator in that was perfect. I can get some mucus out every second day. I'm still using the saline drops that the phn gave me (they are .9%) and I got a salt water irriagation called sterimar which is good too. We bring him into the bathroom when we are having showers in the morning and one of the suggestions that we got here and which works is to put in the drops and turn him onto his belly with his head lower than his body and that releases some of the mucus. Nothing has cleared it to any major extent but we can soften the mucus so he can breath a little easier which is vital for feeds. I've a feeling it'll be a long road! Thanks a million for all the advice and support.

smileyeyes

My heart goes out to you... sometimes it is liek a process of elimination to find the cause!!

I do agree with previous posters that blue colour around lips sounds like trapped wind. Have you tried using infacol?

Both our children struggled with nasal congestion also and, like you, having tried nearly every product on the shelf, we eventually found one that worked, almost instantly. It is called "Sterimar". It is 100% natural and we find it brilliant! Maybe you have already tried this??

Our PHN (who is also a friend, lucky for me) told me that if baby is struggling to breathe at night (due to blocked nose), then raise the top of the cot/crib slightly off the floor. We did this by using books under legs of crib. This worked great for us also.

I hope this is of some help..let us know how you are getting on when you get a chance..;)

Queen of Sheebs

My little one is definitely more congested at night. Have had a few bad nights! My husband and I are like a tag team. One does the 12 till 4 shift and the other from 4 onwards!! Last night I had ds in bed with me from about 5 onwards. It was the only way I could settle him. I don't know if that's the right thing to do or not....will he just get used to having one of us beside him to sleep?
The feeding situation is up and down.....generally it goes hand in hand with how bad the congestion is. The day feeds are definitely easier!
We're going to raise one end of the mattress tonight. Just worrying about him sliding down and getting squashed at the other end of the cot!!! I think he sleeps easier in the bed with us because we are able to prop him up a bit.

qwertytlk

Hi, i was advised to change my baby to number two teats at the two week check up as i was finding it very hard to wind him, he was gulping the bottle and then screaming with wind pains later on. The doc told me that the wind was going into his bowel and making him uncomfortable, which was making him fart alot also. So I changed the teat to number two and it really helped, but he was still difficult to get wind up despite using infacol(although that did help a little too) so now i have just chaged to dr.browns bottles and i will not be looking back! It has made a huge difference. He is getting his wind up within minutes now and is not crying with wind pains later one either! With the avent bottles i could actually see the air going into them, but the dr.browns are totally different. Its amazing. Like i said, i use infacol too an it also helps. He could be taking a long time to feed if your using the number one teats as he is having to suck too hard to get tje milk out, which in turn is making him tired?obviously thats me presuming he is falling asleep duing the bottle. It takes me about 15mins to feed my baby and he is 8weeks and taking 6oz. So maybe you should try the dr.browns bottles, i know they are expensive but in my opinion, they are worth it. Even buy two an see if it makes a difference. In regard to what tou said about the milk coming out the sides of his mouth, well this happens to my baby too. But it wouldnt be loads, just a bit, is that what you mean? Not sure if any of this was helpful, but good luck with everything:) p.s by four weeks i think they are supposed to be changed to the number 2teats, as there are newborn teats, number 2's, then number 3 which is for 3months+

LashingLady

I would recommend infacol for the wind. It has a progressive effect because it allows the wind to come up before it gets down to the bowel and causes problems.

For the blocked nose, if he;ll tolerate it you could try giving some tummy time for a few minutes before the feed. I found with my babies that worked to clear their nose when they were blocked. My daughter was born in Sept and she was blocked up for a lot of the early months with all the central heating on. They might be a bit of a snotty mess when doing it but that's a good thing!

Also Karvol is good for helping to clear them