I feel like I'm the only mom in the world who has an infant that never seems to be hungry! From birth he has never showed an interest in eating. I breast fed for the first 11 weeks but finally gave up and started pumping because he would fall asleep immediately and would never complete a feeding. I finger fed, syringed and then finally bottle fed with expressed milk. He has never seemed hungry. He hates the bottle and I think could easily go all day without eating if I didnt force him or feed him during his sleep. His ped was baffled and put him on Pepcid because of his more than normal amounts of spit up, plus his lack of eating. It seemed to help just a little, but he still has to be force fed. He also doesnt care for solids either. On a good day I can get 3 oz of baby food in him. He doesnt seem to be in any pain from his reflux, so I just dont understand why he has an aversion to food. He started showing signs of reflux when I started the bottle (spitting up), but never really seemed to be "hurting". Can silent reflux cause this? No one can figure out why he doesnt like to eat. I've got to an OT twice so far, and she is absolutely worthless! She told me to try different bottles and nipples and to try a sippy cup. DUH! I did all of that a long time ago! Besides telling me not to force feed, that was all the help she gave me.

So I guess I'm feeling alone in this whole situation. And I'm just wandering if there are any other moms out there who have a baby like mine who has never been interested in eating. Some days I get so frustrated when all I've done is sleep feed for his 6 bottles (20-24 oz total), and I think that he will for sure be put on a feeding tube in a few months when I can no longer force feed.

I'm trying to get a referral to a ped GI, but his doc doesnt think its necessary yet. So far he's had no testing, so I dont know how severe his reflux is, or if he has DGE or even allergies.

Lisa - mommy to Alec (7-96), Connor, my 32 wk preemie (3-99) , and Noah (4-05) pepcid

I just moved your post from Questions to our new feeding forum as you may get more replies and they will be from people who are in the same boat as you. Trust me, you are NOT alone with this. I have a son who took 14 months to start solids (he was not diagnosed with GERD until he was 14 months of age) and we are still struggling with feeding issues. 3 oz of food would have been a months worth of food for my kid. Incidentally. my guy is a silent refluxer and my middle son was a classic puker but changed to silent when he was nearly 3.5 years old. Children who learn that eating hurts take forever to re-learn how to eat even if it does not cause pain anymore. If he is 7 months old and introduction to solids went south then you look at when he did start to eat and work from there. For instance, my guy is now 22 months old and started at 14 months so he was 10 months delayed in feeding skills. That is a lot of ground to catch up.

I am sorry, but I do have to get off to work now and will pop in afterwards. The ladies here are the best of the best. :wink: and will direct you appropriately.

Hi Lisa

You definitely are not alone. Shae-Lynne was tube fed the first year of her life b/c she refused to eat.

One lady in our book tells her story and she describes it as being like her child's brain did not signal to her that she was hungry. That made sense to me.

I have reflux and I have never had heartburn, or any pain associated with it at all. I knew I had reflux b/c I was diagnosed with asthma. But lately I do feel like something is always stuck in throat, like something I ate did not go down and that is an uncomfortable feeling.

I was thinking of DGE also as I was reading your story.

I hope you can get in to see a specialist soon. You needs some answers. Keep reading the posts. There are lots of great ladies here and they know just what you are talking about.

Best wishes
Jean

Hi Lisa!
I can't help too much since we are still dealing with this. Braden is almost 3 now and he has been seen my GI, OT, Neuro., Feeding/behavior specialist, and SLT. To this day I think if I didn't force him the kid would never think to eat. He was this way as a baby too. And when he did show in interest in feedin as an infant he would suck a few times and quit. Zantac and high calorie formula helped when he was small...he never took baby food. And he didn't start any solids till he was one. Now due to a scope and PH probe they think he might have a milk allergy so we are going to have to go dairy free for a few weeks and then get another scope. After that who knows. I realize this doesn't help much but dont start thinking feeding tube just yet. Have you asked the OT abotu body brushing? I thought it was nuts but it actually did help to de-stimulate braden some and he ate a little better...just a thought.
GOOD LUCK!

Maybe somethings up with April Noah's. Ours sound just alike! Noah hates to eat. I hate to do it, but I have to restrain his hands and sometimes really push the bottle in order to get the ounces in. Other days, though, he does a little better and a few bottles will go down like he doesn't even have reflux...well, not that great, but he doesn't fight so hard.

Anyways, just noticed that he's taking 20-24 ounces per day, and I don't think that's bad at all! Noah takes less than that, and DESPISES baby food and never gets more than an ounce or two per day, and he's always gaining (sometimes barely, but hey, that counts!)

Is your little guy gaining? If so, I wouldn't even dream of a tube. Push for an appointment with a GI, and maybe something stronger than Pepsid. I'm no good with meds, but I think you could be on something that might work better. Am I right, ladies? :?

You aren't alone!!!

I don't think my guy's eating aversions were anything quite like you're describing, but I know other's here are still going through this. My little guy would only drink 2oz at a feed for what seemed like ages. He's only now, at 12 months, drinking 6-7oz bottles regularly... and even then, we're back to 4oz'ers for this week. He does do solids... but it took a bit of work to get him to do it... more work than my non-refluxers anyway.

But that awful feeling in your stomach as you're just trying to get them to take "one more oz... please!" is the worst feeling in the world. It feels like every meal has the weight of the world in it.

Hi there Lisa and welcome to the boards! So glad that you found us! :D
I have to admit to "force feeding" at times too but we have been very lucky in that for the most part, the boys would feed, although they were hard and very long feedings... 2 hours for the 2 of them to feed about 3oz in the early days. **sigh**
It is such hard work and so very frustrating.. ((HUGS))

I don't know if I'm much help, but I have a 12 month old who is just starting to take 1st stage foods...a good day is 2 oz. over the course of the day--and forget about finger foods! Most wind up on the floor. The sippy cup is not a big hit around our house...about 1/2 to 1 oz over the course of a day is normal for her.
She is still breastfed, but never really had any issues there--she'd much rather b'feed than eat! She is, like yours, a silent refluxer who also has LOTS of issues with constipation.

We are just starting to see a behaviorist; however, the speech therapist/feeding specialist we saw was no help to us, either.

This is SO FRUSTRATING!!! I guess all I can offer you are {{{BIG HUGS}}} and the knowledge that you are not alone!

The sippy cup is not a big hit around our house...
Neither is it a hit in this house either Mary.. both of the boys will take 1-2 mouthfuls and that is it. Very frustrating.. :banghead:

Hi Lisa -- Your son sounds just like mine. He NEVER wanted a bottle (he couldn't bfeed due to his cleft) and eventually we started sleep feeding him, and after he failed to improved on the various bottles and nipples our feeding spec had us try, all she could tell us was not to force feed or sleep feed. Then what? We continued the sleep feeding until Daniel was 11 months old (or eight months, since he was a preemie) but then he had cleft surgery and totally refused the bottle afterwards, so we used an NG tube. (I figured the sleep feeding couldn't go on forever anyway because he did not need that many naps anymore.) Eventually I was able to force feed him stage two foods and yogurt, but he was drinking nothing, and then he starting winning the feeding battles and got a G tube when he was 20 months old. Not the ending you want to hear, I suppose.

Anyway, I think it's ridiculous that your ped hasn't even sent you to the GI get. This is serious stuff when you must sleep feed a child who hates to eat that much. Something is really wrong. And Noah is at an age when he should be learning new skills so he can transition to new foods. This is not the time to reinforce negative feeding behaviors!

Just so you know, my son now puts things in his mouth and chews, but spits it all out. He might have swallowed a tiny piece of sauteed onion today. That'd be huge if he did. He has an ST for speech, an ST at hippotherapy (horseback riding) for feeding, and a nutritionist.

Thanks everyone for your support. Knowing I'm not alone does make this frustrating and worrisome situation a little easier to deal with. I just cant figure out why silent reflux would cause eating problems. (That is assumming that he isnt eating because of reflux). He has never cried or arched as if in pain. The only reason I know he has relfux is because he has wet burps and spits up a little more than normal, with the rare full blown vomiting.

I've noticed a few of you have been to see a neuro. How can a neuro help with feeding difficulties? Is there some other disorder besides reflux that could cause lack of interest in eating in a baby that appears healthy and developmentally on track? Besides not showing an interest in food, the other thing that I've noticed that isnt typical baby behavior is that Noah has never been much of a comfort sucker. He isnt as oral as most babies. Not to mention he does have low muscle tone in his mouth (he has a weak suck and cant stay latched on very well to the breast or bottle). Thats why I gave up breast feeding and started expressing.

Becky - I know that the sleep feeding will soon end once he quits taking as many naps. I'm soooo worried about that happening. There are some days that I get so upset and frustrated that I think the g-tube would actually be easier! I hope that it never comes to that, but if thats what it takes to get nourishment, then thats what we'll do. I'm curious though, what is it like for Daniel to have it? Does it hurt or bother him? Can he lead a normal active life? And how is it for you? Is life easier, or does the feeding tube create a whole new set of problems? I guess I'm trying to prepare myself if it does come to that someday. I just keep hoping that life will get easier and less stressful no matter what happens with his feedings.

Maggie - Yep, Noah is gaining. Slowly but surely. About a 1.5 months ago I started adding 1/2 scoop of soy formula to his 4 oz of breast milk because his weight gain completely stopped for 2 weeks. Once I started adding a little formula, his weight as been increasing. At 7.5 months, he weighs 17lbs 5oz. Since he's gaining, the doc doesnt think he has a problem. Hence his reluctance to send me to a GI.
How many oz a day does your little Noah eat? Has he always been a poor eater, or was it only when his reflux kicked in?

thanks again everyone
Lisa

I'm curious though, what is it like for Daniel to have it? Does it hurt or bother him? Can he lead a normal active life? And how is it for you? Is life easier, or does the feeding tube create a whole new set of problems? I guess I'm trying to prepare myself if it does come to that someday. I just keep hoping that life will get easier and less stressful no matter what happens with his feedings.

Lisa -- Life is much easier with the G tube. I used to stress over every single bottle, and try to get in every single ml even if it took 90 minutes, because I'd worry I wouldn't be able to get Daniel to take the next bottle. When we moved onto purees, sometimes I'd have to stand behind him with my shoulder holding his head in place and my hand opening his mouth. There was nothing worse. I felt like I was torturing him. I didn't have to worry about cals with the NG tube, but it was a major pain because we were constantly retaping it, it made his nose run all the time, and it seems to make him gag even more.

Check out this thread (http://www.infantrefluxdisease.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3697) for info on life with a G tube. I wrote a pretty long description on the second page of the thread with links to my blog so you can see what it looks like. But to answer your specific questions, no, it does not seem to hurt or bother him, and he leads a normal life (as far as I can tell :lol: ). He sleeps on his stomach, baths are not a problem, etc. I had some headaches over the pump at first, but I quickly figured out its quirks and actually we just got a smaller, faster one that works much better for D's needs.

But try not to think too much about the G tube yet. Sure, it's a possibility and may be much easier than what you're doing now, but it doesn't mean Noah will need one.

Hi

Oliver is now 3 1/2 years old, his diet consisted of yoghurts and juice , he would never try solid food,his surgeon and consultant said it was because these foods dont produce much acid so not making oliver uncomfortable or causing him to reflux( he never been sick with his reflux he got acid reflux). We were getting really concerned as he had the fundolpication operation back in October and he still had not ate a solid meal but we hung in there putting new things on his plate every day and yip hee for the first time last night he tried Mash potato and peas although he did not like the peas he ate the mash well about 6 fork fulls but at least he never tried to launch his plate which is what ysed to happen if i put different foods on his plate. We been told it will be like weening oliver all over again. Its very easy for people to judge our kids but they dont have to go through our daily battles which is why this site is fantastic we can vent our thoughts and fustration out and everybody knows what we are on about. Hope feeding improves for you im sure it will in time!!!
Cheryl
Olivers mum

Hi Lisa! We've been through much of what you've described. At 3 1/2 years, I still have to strongly encourage Evan to eat sometimes, but things are certainly much better than they were. He's finally learning to feed himself, and is only up once in a while at night with vomiting and is generally able to resettle again afterwards.

Hang in there! Things will get easier!