Getting to the other side of self-limiting

[Anonymous]

My 8 month old is self limiting and we just started working with a feeding therapist/OT but I think she’s going to focus more on getting DD to take solids rather than take more formula from the bottle. DD takes about 20ozs of formula per day and for the most part, no solids. We only just started offering them every day.

Does anyone have any suggestions for getting a baby to figure out that eating isn’t going to hurt anymore? I feel (and the OT agrees) that her reflux is under control and I think has been for about 3 weeks. I think it was for a while prior to that but then got a bit out of control so we had to up her meds. It breaks my heart that this little girl would rather go hungry than take the chance that eating too much will cause her alot of pain.

I feel like we are never going to get to the other side of this and I am just so frustrated. I have good days and bad days and today has been awful.

Any suggestions!

Thanks,

Heather

Owen – 27 months, Zoe – 8 months

[Anonymous]

I don’t have any advice, just wanted to send support. I think having the OT involved is going to be the best bet. It is probably going to take awhile but with the right help things should be okay soon. Good Luck.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much! I just feel like every day I wake up with a positive attitude and expect that today will be better than yesterday and we will turn a corner, only to be disappointed over and over again. I’m generally a pessimistic person but for some reason, I have been very optimistic regarding things improving with DD and so far, it hasn’t happened. It’s so frustrating, I went through this with my son, although not to such an extent and figured it just couldn’t happen again. Oh, it happened again and this time it’s worse……

Sorry, vent over……..

Heather

[Anonymous]

BIG hugs to you!

I remember when Landen was not taking much during the day from the bottle. I saved all of his daily reports from daycare to show his pedi…most of the time he’d take a whopping 5oz from 7a-4:30p when he’d get picked up. I ended up making the decision (and I am VERY careful not to recommend this to anyone!!) to feed him in his sleep. It was just a personal decisoin and it was very straining on me (setting my alarm twice in a night to feed him while he slept and getting up to go to work the next day), straining on my marriage and I was soo run down it was hard to be the mommy I wanted to be to my older DS.

But things did turn around and Landen ate more and more while awake in the months to follow. It took time. I even posted once how scared I was that he’d scream at the sight of the spoon. I stressed soo much b/c I knew he associated eating with pain. He eventually took solids but only from this Gerber Lil’ dipper utensil that he could dip in pureed food himself. It was messy, but at least he was getting some calories and having fun! After a month of using that utensil, he started opening his mouth to a spoon. he is still high maintenance in the high chair. lol

I think it is great that you have an OT involved. There is a light at the end of this long dark tunnel and it WILL get better! Hang in there.

Oh and I can SO relate to thinking “it can’t happen again”. It did to me too and the 2nd one was far worse. I was actually unaware my first DS had reflux til he was 5 mos old. I walked around thinking he had a hard core case of “colic” b/c his pedi had me convinced it was that. (ignorance was bliss) My firstborn was given Maalox from 5-10 mos of age and now he has oral aversion and sensory problems.

jilly782008-04-11 22:25:54

[Anonymous]

Jill – thanks!! I too feed Zoe in her sleep. I’ve done this for I can’t even remember how long. It got to be entirely too stressful for me at one point that I gave up breastfeeding and went to the bottle. Then I got tired of pumping (I pumped for my DS and swore I wouldn’t do it again but I did) and now we are on formula. We generally do a dreamfeed around 11pm and then she wakes up around 3/4/5am for another feed. When I put her down for naps, if she gets pissy about taking the bottle, I get her to sleep and then feed her. It totally SUCKS but it’s the only way to guarantee that she’ll sustain life.

How old was Landen when you gave him the Lil Dipper? I feel like we are making progress with solids, atleast she doesn’t turn her head anymore, atleast not at first sight of the spoon. I usually give her a spoon to play with while I try to shovel some in and then we are playing dueling spoons…..

[Anonymous]

Oh my, Heather. We sound like we are in the same boat. My boy is 7 months old and we’ve been treating him with different medications and formula with no success since 4 months. I kept hearing from the Docs that it would just take a few weeks. Now 3 months later we are still in the same situation only now I feel that a definite aversion has come forth.

How do u tell if your lo is no longer in pain but has an aversion? I can’t tell. The Doc tells me that if the baby is under 1year old and becomes comfortable that the aversion will go away quickly. From reading this forum, I don’t think that is true.

We r not on solids either because the Doc thinks we need to avoid all potential allergens for at least another month. This has been a nightmare to me and extremly exhausting and stressful. My boy WON’T sleep feed either! I’ve tried and tried, he just refuses and cries. It’s awful. He is almost 7 months and getting in 20oz or less in a day.

I feel for you because I am right there with you. Let us know how the OT goes, I’m sure we may need one soon if I can ever tell if Cole is comfortable.

[Anonymous]

Susan – I really feel for you……this is so hard, I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t dreamfeed Zoe. It gives me comfort to know that we’ll atleast get 8ozs in to her relatively easily.

I checked the marci kids website today and she has just made a jump in the recommended dose for Zegerid so I’ve made the decision to go ahead and give her the max recommended dose for a week and see if that gets us anywhere. The OT, her ped and her GI all believe that her reflux is under control but if it were, I think she’d be eating better……..

[Anonymous]

hcates wrote:

Jill – thanks!! I too feed Zoe in her sleep. I’ve done this for I can’t even remember how long. It got to be entirely too stressful for me at one point that I gave up breastfeeding and went to the bottle. Then I got tired of pumping (I pumped for my DS and swore I wouldn’t do it again but I did) and now we are on formula. We generally do a dreamfeed around 11pm and then she wakes up around 3/4/5am for another feed. When I put her down for naps, if she gets pissy about taking the bottle, I get her to sleep and then feed her. It totally SUCKS but it’s the only way to guarantee that she’ll sustain life.

How old was Landen when you gave him the Lil Dipper? I feel like we are making progress with solids, atleast she doesn’t turn her head anymore, atleast not at first sight of the spoon. I usually give her a spoon to play with while I try to shovel some in and then we are playing dueling spoons…..

We started using the lil’ dipper around 6.5 months old. We had attempted solids before that (around 5.5 months) with disastrous results including screaming at the sight of the spoon. We just stopped solids for 3-4 weeks until he was over 6 mos and then reintroduced with the lil’ dipper. He was much happier to explore with that utensil and his hands. I feel for you. Landen’s daycare never understood. Every day from the time he was 4 months old they thought he should be devouring solids from a spoon like the other 4 babies in his little “class”. They acted like it was my fault, like he was spoiled or something. One lady even said “I am sure he doesn’t nap well b/c he’s not getting solids” (like I was depriving him of food). I had to explain to her over and over that he had acid reflux and was undermedicated and was developing feeding problems and his naptime “issues” were b/c he was uncomfortable and startled easily from other noises in the class. I can’t believe we overcame it, but we did. Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

I just want to let you know, as a mother of a sleep feeder, it does get better. At a year, my daughter just started taking bottles awake. It was the most amazing moment of my life! Now she eats decently and is gaining weight. I’m pregnant again with my second and I’m terrified to go through this again. Hopefully, now that I have a relationship with a good GI that gave Gabby 30 mg Prevacid at 8 months, she’ll be more helpful with #2. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Thanks Kathy! Every day I wake up hoping that today will be our day, so far, no luck! I’ll hold out hope……..

[Author]

Posts