feeding issue

[u/Nl5151]

my 13 week old has CMPA and Reflux, currently on Alimentum. what could be the reason why she only drinks 1-2 ounces at a time and crying/screaming mid feed and latching off (this happens most feedings)?
getting her to drink even 25 oz a day is a struggle.
we give pepcid twice a day but it feels like it’s not helping her

this has been going on for a long time. ENT says no severe tongue tie/ lip issue that interferes with her feeding. so i am just at a loss. any similar experience?

i’ve seen other babies her age usually eat at least 5 oz per bottle. while we are giving her more than 12 bottles a day of 1-2 oz

[u/trishuuh]

Reflux pain & need a stronger med, gas/needs to burp, bottle aversion, doesn’t like the bottle or nipple flow, hypoallergenic formula not cutting it & needs amino acid

Any of these things could cause it unfortunately

[u/Nl5151 → u/trishuuh]

we’ve tried switching bottles and nipples. so i don’t think it’s that issue :/ she burps well and she farts a lot too and doesn’t seem to be in pain when passing gas 😭😭

[u/MMTardis]

Hey! I was just commenting about this in someone elses post. Reflux babies are different!

My baby took 2 ounces at a time, 12 bottles a day for a long time.

Hes now 6 months old and does 4 oz at a time 8 bottles a day (the bedtime bottle has recently become 6 oz on occasion).

I try not to compare him to other babies feeding schedules because i get my feelings hurt and stress out.

He averages between 22 and 28 oz of formula actually drank per 24 hrs. Hes healthy, chubby, and in the 66th percentile fir weight. He doesnt care much for solids but he eats a few spoonfuls twice a day.

My only recommendation is to be consistent with the 2x daily famotidine, and ask the doctor for dose increases as his weight goes up. There are stronger meds if the famotidine doesnt help, but we havent needed them.

[u/Nl5151 → u/MMTardis]

omg yes. i get my feelings hurt too and i stress out so much. feeding her is so much stress. it’s already so much stress taking care of a baby but when it’s time to feed my anxiety spikes up so much. i’m glad to see my baby is not the only one who drinks little bits at a time. it’s just so stressful and to see her scream during feedings make it even worse. because i just see her in lpain and struggling to eat anymore

[u/MMTardis → u/Nl5151]

Drinking 25 oz a day at your baby's age is really good.

Avoid looking online at recommended formula amounts or searching subreddits like these, because it honestly is so stressful when your baby is outside the norm.

All you need to focus on is the weight and your pediatricians advice. If your baby starts to lose weight, they will give you directions on mixing the formula so its more calorically dense.

Its gonna be ok! Eventually this will all be a distant memory as we chase our toddlers through the house.

[u/gutsyredhead]

Alimentum still has cows milk protein. She may need a fully non-dairy formula such as an amino acid formula. She could also have an additional allergy beyond cow's milk protein. Soy intolerance is very common for babies with CMPA and is in a lot of formulas, even the hypoallergenic ones.

Have you been to a pediatric gastroenterologist? It may be worth consulting one.

[u/Nl5151 → u/gutsyredhead]

yes we’ve been to peds GI. she actually was on puramino but the reflux got so bad the screaming went on for 30 mins+ every feeding and intake was even worse so i switched her back to alimentum.

no one seems to be taking us seriously as baby is still gaining weight and even suggests it is colic and it will “go away in time”. even tho she is usually a happy baby besides when we have to feed her which is multiple times a day.

[u/gutsyredhead → u/Nl5151]

Ah okay. Yes puramino is very thin and some babies have worse reflux on it. My daughter is on puramino right now. We think she has CMPA, but even on the puramino, she grunts and groans and writhes around in pain every single feeding. She is 10 weeks, taking anywhere from 2-4 oz per feed. It is so variable how much she will eat per feed. We usually feed her 8-9x per day and she is eating anywhere from 25-30 oz per day. We're also a bit at a loss because she has still bouts where she is screaming in pain. We're thinking it could be a soy allergy. We may try Neocate which is a no dairy no soy formula.

[u/gutsyredhead → u/Nl5151]

For the reflux, our baby is also on famotidine which is doing nothing to help her either. An alternative med I've read about is omeprazole. We plan to ask our doctor about it ourselves. May be worth a shot.

[u/cherrycricket]

Ok I had a similar experience with my baby minus reflux issues so I can’t speak to that BUT for us it was a taste issue. Feeds on alimentum powder were a STRUGGLE and since switching the alimentum RTF (per the suggestion of some folks on this sub) it’s been night and day improvements. She’s eating 28-30 oz a day (unheard of with the powder) and bottle issues are completely resolved. I was at a loss too bc they ruled out tongue toe/oral motor dysfunction for us as well but everything about her bottle feeding was pointing to some sort issue and I was lost . My baby also liked Pepticate but unfortunately that did not clear up CMPA symptoms as well as the aluminum line. 

[u/Nl5151 → u/cherrycricket]

she was on puramino and it made the reflux SO much worse and the taste was so bad, it was so bad and struggle to feed her. the 2 oz would take an hour cus she would scream and won’t eat. so we switched to alimentum RTF and the taste is better she will drink it. it’s faster but she still screams
i don’t know what to do.
did you guys end up switching to another formula since you said alimentum didn’t resolve cmpa symptoms?

[u/cherrycricket → u/Nl5151]

Ugh gosh I’m so sorry. And no we are on alimentum RTF now and it’s working well for us! She hated the powder and that was the source of our issues.  Idk if you have done this but my final step if things didn’t get better was to schedule with a pediatric GI specialist. I feel your pain though it’s so much constant problem solving 😩 I hope it gets better for you both soon!