My dd has been eating the same amount of formula since she was aabout 1 month old........she eats anywhere from 17-24 oz., which I have to fight with her to get to it in her.... I've tried everything from sleep feeds to laying on floor, keeping the place very quiet to having dad hold her oover his shoulder while i put the bottle in. She just absolutey hates the bottle she only takes 4 oz every 3.5 hours sometimes less....She is on zantac and prilosec...according to her dr she is gaing weight just fine...I personally think she should weigh more for how long she is....she is 27.5 inches long and just wieghs 16 pounds....she very long and skinny.......she is also starting to refuse her cereal.......i think because of thickening her bottles with it and it all taste the same so she wants nothing to do with it......over the last week she stopped sleeping through the night....and i can hear her refluxing.....she also doesn't really seem to be hungry ever.......she went yeserday from 11:30am until about 4pm without even wimpering for a bottle......if anyone has any suggestion on what i should do please give them to .......ill take anything right now.....from tips on getting her to eat to what to tell the GI to get her to listen.......i think she thinks im full of it.........when we took Lizzy for her 1st appt, I fed her there and she ate like a perfect little angel without making one peep and sucked the whole bottle right down in like 5 minutes......which she has never done.......then when we got back home it was back to the same old kicking and screaming...........PLEASE HELP ANYONE!!!!!!!!1

Oh I'm sorry your little one is going through such a rough time right now. Isn't that funny how they won't do what they "normally do" in front of the doctors?
Do you have her elevated as much as possible? Including in the bed or wherever she sleeps (IF she sleeps). Have you tried mylanta at all during flare ups? Did this start up when you started thickening her bottle? I've heard a few say that it made it worse when doing so. Her weight sounds good to me but you know your daughter. I think my DS was about 15-17 lbs at that age (can't remember). As for the GI, I would keep a log if you don't already. Go armed with times she eats, how many oz. at a time, her demeanor throughout the day at specific times she "flares"...etc. If the "GI" won't listen...go ahead and video tape this behavior and let her see for herself what you are dealing with. Hope any of this helps because that is no fun dealing with a screaming baby all the time who wont eat...i think we've all been there on many occassions (some more than others).
(welcome by the way.) ;)

Her weight and height seem great for a 4 month old! Yes, long and skinny but still high on the chart individually right? You must be doing a fabulous job even though it is so hard. Is there a number of ounces she should be getting in a day? My son is 8 months and weighs the same, and is 27 inches long. He is taking in 16-19 ounces a day but should be getting about 30 according to the ped. He is not doing well! I would think that a 4 month old would be doing okay with that though (17-24 ounces), but I don't know. I am not trying to take away what this is for you guys or frustrate you either, so please don't take it the wrong way. Are you guys tall and thin or were you as babies? Have you tested her for Delayed Gastric Emptying? It sounds like this may be an issue for her (not wanting to eat very much very often). That is what my son may have, and it started like you are describing when he was 4 months and has escalated to where we are at now. Does she vomit or spit up a lot? If it seems like pain that is keeping her from eating maybe you can address the pain with an increased med dose?

Oops I just saw that she is a silent refluxer...so is my son. I would look into DGE, which could be contributing to her not eating well and make reflux worse. I see that she is on zantac and prilosec too--is there room for an increase to rule out pain?

I see that she is almost 5 months old and the same size and weight for Maiya. Please see my recent post on weight for height percentiles. I think mine is too thin too (for her length)

I breastfeed so I cant be much help. I know mine eats little because when I pump I only get 2 onces but I cant control it- which i think helps, and i never know how much she ate (one less thing to worry about)!

jo

Besides having to fight to get that much into her, she seems to be doing okay in the weight department. 17-24 ozs. is okay. Cady took 22-28 ozs. at that age. It isn't that much more. As far as refusing cereal, if you're thickening her bottles with cereal, she is getting more than enough of it. Go to veggies or fruits and skip the cereal. This was our instructions per the GI. Lizzy doesn't need any more cereal than what she is currently getting via bottle. Hopefully, you can get her back on the solids track with mild fruits and veggies, if that is what you want to do. You may just have to wait until Lizzy is 6 mos. old to reintroduce solids, as they really are not completely necessary at 4 mos. old.

I do not have much advice on getting Lizzy to eat comfortably, but there are plenty of moms here who have dealt with bottle refusal. If you are getting 17-24 ozs. into her by force, then continue what you are doing and maybe add some distraction, if you haven't already.

I also agree with Sara. If you're having problems getting drs. to listen try to video tape feeding and show it to the doctor. Maybe they will listen if they see it happening. I'm sorry you have to go through this. Hopefully, you're able to get some answers soon.

16 lbs is a really good size for her age. You're doing a good job getting nourishment into her no matter what hoops you're having to jump through.

You're doing a great job, and I wish I could magically have something to say to make it easier for you and your baby.
People and some docs would say the same to me. "you're doing great." and I didn't believe them, I HAD to do more.
When your baby's eating isn't going well it makes you feel like you're doing everything wrong, and Oh the worry. It sucks, and I'm so sorry you have to go through it too.

I think her weight is doing well, but that doesn't take away from the feeling in the back of all our heads "If he/she didn't have reflux their weight would be healthier."

Around that age Eric was averaging 12 to 16 oz a day (no solids yet). Some times he would go a couple of weeks only drinking while asleep, and at times he would go days only taking in 8oz.
I started to really force the issue and did everything I could think of to get him to eat more (kinda like what you say in your post). I stressed about it and worried about it constantly, and was always looking for some way to get him to eat, but in the end, and now that I can look back on it. I have to say that I don't think I accomplished a thing except making myself miserable and the people around me. I honestly can say that he just ate what he ate (some feedings better than others) and "forcing it" didn't change his intake one tiny bit. All it did was make him hate eating even more. I just through away the journal I was keeping at the time, and after reading it, there it all was in black and white. His good feeding were so completely random as were his bad regardless what "trick" I tried using. It's weird because at the time I thought I was accomplishing so much, and I knew I saw a definite pattern, but now that I can look at it all from a distance, it was just how it was.

Time was our only cure for his lack of interest in eating.
It sucks to say, but I don't think any of my struggles did anything to help him, and I truly wish I would have concentrated on other things and spent "real" time with my baby, because now that time is just one big blur. I look at pictures that were taken and it was like I wasn't even really there. I was just too darn busy trying to "fix" it.

One more suggestion/question:
I think constipation played a big part and once he got a stool softener and things were moving his eating steadily got better and better.
Is your baby having problems with pooh?

Take care,
and REALLY (even if you don't really hear it)
YOU ARE a wonderful Mom and you're doing the best you can.

Minnie-
I really like what you had to say. It is so hard when your days are consumed with trying to get your baby to eat. Lizzyleigh- I really don't have any advice right now since I am going through a very similar situation and I haven't found anything that really helps. I am now doing distraction feeds- lots and lots of distraction. Sometimes whe will eat and sometimes she won't and I end up syringe feeding her- I don't know if this is the right thing to do.
karie

I spoke to her GI on Friday and she told me to keep her on the Zantac and Prilosec together which i was doing anyway..she said if that doesnt work she will switch her to prevacid..so far she i doing a little better with feeding.....not fighting as much but still only around 22 oz.......I wanted to thank everyone for all your useful info and input.......I really appreciate it.....