My son refuse to drink milk when he is awake

Nari - posted on 12/09/2009

thanks for your advice. i will try to seek other doctor's opinion.

Renae - posted on 12/09/2009

This sounds very much like my baby. He developed a feeding disorder around 6-8 weeks old. He had abdominal pain and reflux when he fed so he started to refuse to feed. At his worst he drank 1 ounce every 45 minutes all day and all night.



If he had a blocked nose he would stop to catch his breath and then keep drinking. Some paed's infuriate me! Mostly because I have dealt with so many that don't have a clue what its like to have a baby who wont feed.



Dont listen to this pedi. If it was standard colic, that almost always gets better at 12 weeks, so you can try going back to a normal formula that tastes better as the colic has more than likely subsided. Give him whatever he will drink, you do not want him to develop a feeding disorder and get used to only drinking small quantities - trust me. If he will drink in his sleep then feed him in his sleep if you have to.



You can also try to distract him while he feeds, we used to bounce/dance around the room singing while he fed to take his mind off the pain to get him to drink as much as possible.



How much is he feeding in a day? Is he still getting the normal amount? Is he still gaining weight?



If it is "transitional colic" like my baby, the colic can last up to 12 months as a worst case scenario. My baby got better at 7 months.



Unfortunately, if he has transitional colic, there is very little anyone can do. You really have to ride it out as best you can. One thing I would warn you about is that feeding disorders cause sleeping disorders. Your baby is very hungry but refusing to feed, and hungry babies can not go to sleep. Watch out for this, you don't want a sleeping disorder on top of the feeding disorder like I had. Get him going to sleep on his own and sleeping long stretches NOW, before things get worse. It might help later on.



Babies can have a loss in apetite after immunisations, but it only lasts 1-2 days and then they go back to normal, I don't think this is causing your problem.



Try all the common colic remedies like gripe water, infacol, wind drops, try it all, something might work. There was a post on here a few weeks ago with lots of home remedies for colic, try them too. You need to reduce his pain as much as possible so he can feed normally.



Does he have reflux? After he feeds does he make a funny noise that sounds a bit like a hiccup and then swallow? Like the milk is rising in his oesophagus but he swallows it back down instead of throwing it up? One of the most common symptoms of silent reflux is babies who feed frequently in very small amounts. If it is reflux there is medication that will really help. In Australia they use a drug called omeprazole for very bad reflux.



I hope I have helped. I hope this is not a feeding disorder. But if it is and you need some support feel free to contact me. Have been there.

Edith - posted on 12/09/2009

i think u should get a 2nd opinion from a different doc cause that don't sound right. i would change the formula again as well. but i have no idea what can b causing him not 2 want his milk. my son didn't like his formula n would throw up every time i fed him n the doc told me 2 try a different 1 just make sure it has its iron n i did. i gave him similac also but i can't remember which 1 he didn't like n he was very gases. i gave him mylacon drops n it worked like a charm. mayb talk 2 the doc about different options. best of luck!