What is wrong with my babies?

[savepaws]

My girls are going to be 6 months in a couple of weeks and they still eat 1-2 freaking oz at a time. They usually go 2-3 hours in between feedings. At night they eat 3 oz every 2-3 hours. They would probably sleep through most of the night if they they didn't wake up hungry! They have no problem SLEEPING or going to sleep...but when they eat only 12 or so oz a day, of course they are hungry at night.

I don't know what to do but they need to eat more in the day. They will drink a little bit and then either get distracted or act like they are full and when they get like that its like you can't force them to eat.

We talked to their pediatrician about this at their last appointment and she just said to make them hold out 3 hours between feedings so that they are hungry enough to eat a lot at once. Well we try that and they will still just sometimes eat an ounce. Its like they get full really fast...but how can they down 3 oz at night without any problems?

They haven't been gaining weight and I'm afraid the doctor is going to tell us that they don't even register on the percentile chart anymore. They were just barely at the bottom of it at their last appointment and she said that as long as they keep going up, she isn't concerned. But at that point they were growing like weeds and gaining a pound every 2 weeks. I think they've maybe gained a pound in the last 2 months. :( They will be 6 months old in 2 weeks (4 months adjusted) and right now they are 12 pounds.

[lize566]

I'm definitely no expert, but from what I've read, some babies tend to snack as opposed to eat full meals, however, if they are eating 3 oz at night, you know that they probably aren't full after 1-2 during the day. The first couple of months I fed Zach on demand and he was eating evry 2-3 hours, but once I followed more of a schedule (I never denied him food, I just didn't feed him everytime he got fussy, and tried to keep 3 hours between each feeding) he didn't seem as hungry in between feedings. I could've been misreading his cues, though, and feeding him when he got fussy, as opposed to putting him down for a nap or changing his environment.

If they are getting distracted, could you try to distract them first and keep them eating, like feeding them under their playmat?

And have you/are you going to try some cereal or anything? That might spark their interest in food again.

Are the girls rolling over? Once they start getting more active their weight gain typically slows down, so it maybe it won't be as big deal that they aren't gaining as quickly.

But I really don't think there is anything wrong with your girls! All babies are different, and since you were pregnant with them they have been doing there own thing!

[ikkin510]

Ryan was like this. Never eat a "meal" (4-6oz at a time) only "snacked" (2oz at a time). One thing that got him to eat more was offering him the bottle more often. During the day, if you have to, offer them the bottle every hour. I am sure with too babies it will seem like you are feeding them constantly then, but offering it to them might help them want to eat more.
Starting cereal, like Lize said, might help them too. Especially if you offer it right before bed at night. It will make them feel full longer and they will sleep longer periods. Then hopefully they will eat more when the wake up.

[Danielle9608]

My only suggestion, which I'm sure you have tried, is keep offering the bottle for that full hour. Sometimes (actually most of the time) Averi will eat 2 oz and then act not hungry, but if I offer her the bottle again 30-40 mins later she might take after 2 oz.

[Chele&Chris]

Matthew doesn't like to eat all day long either.. he will only eat 1-3oz each feeding and sometimes it takes the whole hour to get him that far but like Danielle said sometimes if you feed him he'll only take 1-2oz and if you give him a break to play a few minutes he will eat up to 5oz. within an hour but at night he will take a full 5oz feeding like there's no tomorrow.

[savepaws]

If I offer the bottle throughout the whole hour, then its like all I am doing is feeding babies. LOL I will keep on it I guess. We've tried cereal...they have no interest in it yet and they just stare at me and let it just sit in their mouths or they push it out of their mouths with the tongues. They aren't even attempting to do anything with it.

[amisteratwisterandme]

Have you added any cereal to the formula? I know with my niece that helped a lot. We didn't put very much in so it was still easy for her to drink, but it helped her stay full longer.

[KMS]

I don't know about the cereal. It might not be a good idea if they're on the lighter side and you're concerned about their weight. It'll take up space in their tummies instead of the nutrient dense formula so they'll be consuming less calories...unless they drink more when they wake up like Nikki said! Babies are all about trial and error. I hate that part. :( I've never had any problems with Paisley eating...she's always been a piggy, but she's still pretty underweight. :bbconfused: So I don't have any ideas or suggestions. I just wanted to offer you some support. I think the girls are probably fine though...just being little stinkers! Haven't they proved themselves to be little stinkers by now? lol. ;)

[savepaws]

LOL yes, they have certainly proved their point!

[flyerso6]

I don't have much advice on eating, my twins have always been amazing eaters, they weigh more than your babies and they are a month younger (about the same adjusted age though). Logan is pretty low on the percentiles too, they are the same size but he is a boy so his are different. Mackenzie is average. They both eat 6oz 4 to 5 times a day and don't eat any at night.

But with the cereal did you only try once or twice? we just started last week and only feed cereal once a day (no decline in formula feeding) and at first they would do spit it out like you described but after about 4 or 5 days of persistence they are eating it and seem to enjoy it.

Maybe do what others have suggested and make them go longer between so they will eat more at once.

[firespirit]

Is it maybe time to change to a faster flow rate on the nipples? Maybe they are getting tired of sucking too long?


I would also recommend against the rice cereal. I was taught that the pushing out with their toungue is a sign that they aren't quite ready yet (but of course every baby is different and every baby philosophy is diefferent). With Aiden we gave him rice cereal early because the kid was never full (and when we gave his eating information to our pediatrician she recommended it).

[KMS]

Is it maybe time to change to a faster flow rate on the nipples? Maybe they are getting tired of sucking too long?


I would also recommend against the rice cereal. I was taught that the pushing out with their toungue is a sign that they aren't quite ready yet (but of course every baby is different and every baby philosophy is diefferent). With Aiden we gave him rice cereal early because the kid was never full (and when we gave his eating information to our pediatrician she recommended it).

We tried both avocado and brown rice cereal several times over a week at about 5 1/2 months and Paisley pushed it out with her tongue and looked at us like we were soooo stupid. When we tried again a few weeks later and she took to it right away!

I didn't even think about changing nipple flow! That might help! It's worth a shot!! :crossfingers:

[flyerso6]

I didn't think about the nipple flow either. About a month ago we switched to medium, but they were getting so frustrated with slow that they were screaming in the middle of feedings.