4 Month Old Feeding Difficulties

well, at 4 months you don't really HAVE to burp her anymore. each kid is different, so just watch and if she burps on her own then she is fine. she sounds like she is teething. try some teething tablets (they are AWSOME if you haven't heard!!) they are all natural and inpossible to O.D. on. give her one or 2 and see if it helps. if not they won't hurt her

I went through this with my daughter who is 8 months old. Her doctor and other people told me it was teething. My daughter started teething around 4 months and didn't get her first tooth till 7 months. Once she got her first tooth everything went back to normal. Now she is doing it again and her gums are swollen, so she must be getting ready for tooth #2. Talk to your daughters doctor.

I bet she is teething! My son is 4 months old and cut two bottom teeth about 2 weeks ago, he did the same thing. It gets better! Run your finger on her bottom gums and see if you feel anything or see little white specks. It is genetic, cutting teeth early!

Hello,
I am the mom of three kids. The best thing that ever happened to me was my sister inlaw suggested, I read a book
called Baby Wise. It was great for helping me to keep them on a schedule for sleep,eat and wake times.It also helped me to know exactly what their needs were and when. I can't remember a time when I thought, what does this baby want.I suggest only because of the success I had, that you before each feeding give her a few drops of Mylicon or a generic brand of infant gas reliever. They can't burp when sucking and that may be why she is spitting it out.

Second, burp her after every two ounces so that her tummy is empty of air. She will be ready to eat.

Third, make sure she is drinking the bottle in the best upright position you can get her in. My son who will be three next month had acid reflux. It helped alot with gas and other issues to have him eat upright. I hope these suggestions help.

Hi T.,

I'm going through the same thing with my 4 month old. He actually started this about 3 weeks ago, and although now he still pulls his head away, it doesn't seem as painful for him anymore. He would suck a few times and then turn his head so that the bottle came out of his mouth. I would put the bottle down thinking he didn't want it, but a few seconds later he acted like he was starving, I would give him the bottle, and there we were again taking a few sucks and then turning away.
I know it seems early, but I honestly feel it has to do with teething. His teeth may not be seen for several months, but the teeth making their way down his gums really irritate the nerves and therefore cause pain.
I bought Orajel for babies. He makes the funniest face when I give it to him (it tastes yucky), but it tends to numb his gums so he can take his bottle. The other thing I occassionaly do when it gets bad, is put him in his reclining glider and feed him that way. Just make sure your baby is not laying too far back. I have found that with him independent of my arms, he is able to move his head around and get comfortable with the bottle. He turns his head so that the nipple is in the side of his mouth. When he sucks, the nipple is pressured against the gums on the side of his mouth and not the front gums where his teeth are growing against his nerves.
In addition to trouble feeding, he was chewing on his fingers, drooling like crazy, and making this "mmm" noise constantly (I think the vibration of the noise makes his gums feel better). Like I said, he started 3 weeks ago, but it has definitely gotten better this week. So hang in there :) Oh, and about her crying when you burp her - instead of burping over the shoulder, try putting her in a sitting position on your lap facing you. Hold her steady with one hand in the front of her chest and pat her back with the other. If there's any pressure on her when holding over the shoulder, that would cause a rush, or lack thereof, of blood flow and cause the pain to "pound". Congratulations on your little one! I hope this information helps. Sorry to ramble :)...

Does she take a pacifier? My 5 month old is hard to burp but he needs it and will not be able to drink more until he does. I sometimes hold the pacifier in his mouth (if he is really upset otherwise I do the same thing without the pacifier) while giving him strong pats all over his back from the bottom to the top and alternate with rubbing from bottom to top. Once he burps he can finish his bottle. Good luck!

What formula is she on? It sounds like a gas issue.

There's a lactose free formula on the market that's great and made a world of difference with our daughter.

Does she arch her back while feeding? Spit up?

She may need to burp in between feedings. Some babies like to play with their bottles, my son does this. You may need to see her pediatrican.

Have you tried switching bottle brands? Also, make sure you have the correct nipple size, or try a different nipple size. Maybe the flow of milk through the nipple hole isn't fullfilling her needs (could be too slow or too fast). I had much success with Dr. Brown bottles and I highly recommend them.

Hello! I have a 4 month old boy. He does the same thing. I personally think he is just fighting sleep. It only happens at night.

Good luck!
A.

Sounds like she has gas or her ears might bother her! I remember my daughter (now almost 4 yrs) did that unless I burped her after every 3 ounces.... Also, are you feeding her in an upright position, not laying flat? If you lay her flat, she can get an ear infection which could hurt her and affect her feeding! Also... if you are not using them, try Doctor Brown's bottles at Babies R' Us! Love them, they keep all the air out so the babies don't get gas... if all else fails, gas drops can do the trick! Good Luck!

Just a suggestion...Have you tried a nipple that has a larger flow...My oldest would do that if she didn't think she was getting enough.

How many ounces are you feeding her? Are you burping her when she first spits out the bottle? She might be hurting & need to burp, but my daughter also acts this way when she is just really tired. When else have you tried? Have you tried mylicon drops? A bouncy seat? Rubbing her tummy?
good luck!

If you haven't started her on cereal, you might try a little earlier in the evening. It sounds like maybe she isn't getting satisfied. My babies let me know when it was time to start food.

She's tired! Just put her in bed! I have a 4 month old girl who is breastfed and she does the same thing to my boob!! She's overtired. Just lay her down and let her cry for a minute. Trust me. This worked great for my little one, and she sleeps great now. 11 hours a night!

T....The possibility of reflux sounds likely. It is very common of babies with reflux to have this issue and exhibit this time of problem when feeding. You can add some cereal and also try Dr. Brown's bottle. If you add cereal to the DR. Brown's bottles you will want to get a level four nipple for that.

This question is a bit tricky. If you have already ruled out burping her and and pain from gas or teething (they can get teeth as early as 4 months) with your pediatrician, then it's possible that she is just getting into the habit of playing with her bottle. If she is having too much fun with the bottle, and not really drinking then she is just learning that this is the routine when she drinks. My 13 month old did that with her sippy cup at first and drove me crazy. So at first sign of playing now, I take it away until the next feeding. Eventually she's learned that she needs to drink it or lose it. It took about a week of consistantly taking it away at first signs of "playing" behavior. It may be hard to break this habit, at first, but be consistant and she will learn that playing with her bottle means no more bottle. Try giving her something else to play with in her mouth like a teething toy, pacifier, if she likes those, or something else she really seems to like whenever she gets mad when you take the bottle away. Otherwise, she is going to sip and run. The same goes for meal time. When my 5 yr. old son leaves the table, his food is taken away, he gets mad, but I just repeat the rule and do not give in or he will start up again. He likes to test me every now and then, less so now, to see if I really meant it or not. Hopefully this is helpful. The other responses are good to look at too. Good Luck!

my son used to scream when i would burp him too.i would always feel bad.It could be gas or it could be your babies way of saying im full.but she may still want to suck on something try feeding and burping her and then giving her a paci for comfort.if she is still hungry then this wont help but if she just wants something to suck on it will good luck.

Our little girl is the same exact way. It has gotten better since she is on the reflux medication, but she still just likes to play with the bottle. She wont take a pacifier so the doctor just thought it was her way of having some comfort. Sorry I don't have any better advice, but at least you are not the only one going through the same thing...:) Hang in there..I am told it will only get better and enjoy them in this young stage:)

Have you tried burping her between the nipple "play time"? At 3 months a child has yet to learn the art of burping on their own everytime, so a little help may be needed during feeding and not at the end.

I think the others are probably right about gas given that she drinks good at first. But if you don't think that is it -- Could she be teething already? I am nursing but I sometimes have a similar problem with my baby having trouble latching on. She already has the signs of teething (she is 4 months old) and my doctor said that sometimes when they start to get teeth it hurts them to nurse becuase of the sucking action. I am not sure if that is the same for bottle fed babies -- but could be. Especially if this is something that has just occured recently.

Sounds a little like she has gas from the formula. Try burping her after she spits it out the first time or stopping half way through the bottle and burp her. If she is still hungry she will cry but you need to burp her anyways. I had to do this with 2 out of my 3 kids. Infant gas drops are life savers too! Hang in there it gets much easier, until they learn the word NO!

Hi T.
My 4 month old baby girl is doing the same thing only she is breastfeeding. I asked the pedi when we went for her well check and he said it's just a stage at this age. They are getting distracted. I told him that she cries about it and he just said to be patient and it will pass...hmm
It's very frustrating. If you hear of any solutions...please pass them on, but I bet it will stop soon.

It sounds to me like she has reflux. My son had this for his first 9 mos. He nursed like how you described your baby bottle feeds and then when he burped he would cry and when he would spit up he would scream. I got him on Prevacid (Dr. prescribed) and it totally took the pain away. He still spit up all the time but it didn't hurt. It totally made a huge difference. My suggestion is to take her to your pediatrician and talk to them about it. Good luck! Hope you can figure out what the problem is. If it is reflux, there are lots of different meds out there that help.

Only things I can suggest is... try Dr. Brown's bottles- they work great for gas. Also, maybe try burping her in different ways- obviously the on the shoulder, but also, try sitting her up on your lap sideways (one hand holding the front of her torso, the other patting her back), there's the over-the-forearm hold (lay her belly-down on one forearm with her head towards your elbow up next to your body and pat with free hand). I'm sure there are others, you might google them, but that's all I can remember right now. One of them might make her less likely to scream. It definitely sounds like a gas thing.

We went through that with both of mine. Soooo frustrating!
With both, we were using Enfamil Lipil. My daugther was my first, and we didn't realize that the Lipil was causing terrible gas. We had to switch her over early. With my son, we cautiously started him on the Lipil, and he seemed to do fine for a few months, but eventually he started doing what you described. Only because my daugther had been through it did I know that it had to do w/gas. Their bellies were so bloated inside that putting more in hurt, but they were still hungry.
Switching to regular Enfamil worked for mine. The change was almost instant with the first bottle...no more gas. With my daughter, though, she did need a little bit more help in the form of Mylicon drops for gas.
If you're on regular Enfamil already, you might want to try switching to soy. I think that helps with gas, too. Or, you could try the Mylicon first and see if that helps. You could always call your pediatrician and ask which type of formula he/she would recommend for a baby who can't tolerate whatever you're using now.
Good luck! If nothing else, just keep in mind that your daughter will grow out of this!

T.,

My son did this and he had reflux (I was told reflux gets worse at night because the acids in the stomach have increased through the day). OR, it could just be a phase that she's going through and you just need to do what you can to get through the bottle and with time, she'll stop. My son would stop eating and start screaming (after about 3oz) and we would give him his paci to calm him down and then slowly remove the paci and slip in the bottle - then he would finish it. Then at times that wouldn't work and I would go ahead and swaddle him (in his swaddle me blanket) and with him being wrapped up tight he would relax and then take the bottle. Sometimes I had to do both. Sometimes i had to get up and walk around while feeding him. Was hard b/c I have triplets (now 8mos old) -but we got past it :)

Good luck!
T.

She might be teething. My daughter cut her first teeth at 4 months. That causes disruptions with feeding.

Every baby is different and has their different habits. There is probably nothing "wrong" -- it is just the way she is.

I'm a 39 year old mother of 3 daughters, ages 13, 8 and 13 months. Each one had different feeding habits. My first was a "sipper" -- she would never drink more than a couple of ounces at a time, then was looking for more 45 minutes later. Nothing I tried broke her of this habit . . . it was just a matter of her growing out of it. My second acted like she was always starving -- she would inhale her bottle then be looking for more w/in 2hours, and at least once a day she would vomit the entire feeding. Thankfully, #3 had "normal" feeding habits.

Just hang in there . . . you aren't doing anything wrong, and neither is she!

I was 35 when I became a first-time mom, too...funny how we become adults & think we have this whole "life" thing down to a science. All it takes is a little 7 pound bit of God-given humanity to humble us to the core! You have lots of good recommendations...here's some from my experience...
As your baby gets older, she sucks harder and she is hungrier. The flow on her 1st nipple may not be fast enough now, so you may need to move up to the next level. I also sterilized a needle and CAREFULLY enlarged the hole very slightly on the slow-flow nipples.
She's old enough to be on a feeding/play/sleep schedule. I'm not talking Marine Corps schedule, but a predictable daily routine that rarely wavers from breakfast, play, nap, lunch, play, nap, dinner, play, bath, night-night bottle, then bedtime. If she's being fed more than 5-6 times a day, she's not taking a full meal--she's "snacking" She may just need to satisfy the sucking urge & she's not really hungry. Strange as it may sound, sometimes when babies are gassy, they act like they're hungry. Use the tummy-down across your lap hold while you burp, or sit her in your lap and bend her at her waist while you rub and pat her back. The pressure helps relieve that pain & also gets the gas moving. At 4 months, you may consider introducing some solids. Talk to your pediatrician about this...Finally, take her to her pediatrician to rule out reflux.
Don't worry, as soon as you get this down, it'll be something new! Isn't it fun?

I am also a first time mom, and when my now 10 month old was around your daughters age he would scream when the bottle ran out, and it was PLENTY of formula for his size and age. We started putting a pacifier in his mouth when the bottle would run out and it ended the screaming. Now we don't have any problems when his bottle runs out. Good Luck

You may want to try a different formula or a different nipple. My friend went thru the same thing w/ my godson and it was the formula he didnt like. With my daughter, who is now 2, it was the nipple. Hope this helps

Just from the brief description...check and see is she has the signs of reflux. If she arches her back that is a sure sign, but usually the symptoms will continue to get worse as time goes without treatment. IF she cries during feeds, and especially after she burps...I would take her in and confirm it. Just something we went through....thought I would share.

Sounds to me as if she needs to be burped at the time that she first gets rid of the bottle. You can just sit her up with your hand at her chest and rub her back until she burps or you can burp her over your shoulder. She sounds as if she is taking in air with her playing with the nipple and this causes her pain in the stomach when you try to burp her after she has done this several times. My first one did a very similar thing and she had to be burped during the feeding process as well as at the end. Good luck to you.

does she do this only at night? or is it an all day thing, everytime she has the bottle? My daughter did this and it didnt matter what bottle she had, we tried them all even the dr. brown's. it turned out she didnt like that formula anymore. we changed and she did great, this went on every week. She wanted a different formula each week. Now she was a little older than yours is but that was our problem. she didnt like the powder either, unfortunately she liked the ready to feed (yuck) but thats what her deal was. When i told her dr. he asked if it was messing with her and i said nope doesnt bother her belly so thats what i had to do. i could switch between 2. very strange.

You are right about burping her. Try all the different positions for burping, and see which one works best for her. You can do an online search to learn about the different burping positions.

Have you noticed any white bumps on her tongue or in her throat? She may have thrush. It's usually not painful unless she's sucking for a few minutes.
Was she pre-mature? If that's the case, she may just be getting the sucking action down.