Distracted eater

poohbear033

DD has become a distracted eater. She will take 4-5 ounces and then want to look around or grab things (my shirt/face/etc). She still wants to eat more because she opens her mouth, fusses and leans towards the bottle. Any suggestions? Is this just a stage, she will grow out of?

sleepymonkey

Looks like our LO's are birthday twins. Mine is also a distracted eater most of the time, unless she's really sleepy.  She looks around, starts playing with the bottle, pulling hair, etc. but she still wants to eat.  We have started feeding her in a very quiet, dimly lit room with little stimulation.  It helps most of the time but sometimes it's a struggle.

TrueBeliever925

Are you using the fastest flowing nipple? I know when my son started getting distracted, I upped the flow and it worked wonders. 

Good luck!

poohbear033

TrueBeliever925 said:

Are you using the fastest flowing nipple? I know when my son started getting distracted, I upped the flow and it worked wonders. 

Good luck!

We are on the med. flow nipple. She still manages to make a giant mess, and finishes 7-8 ounces in roughly 10 minutes.

sleepymonkey said:

Looks like our LO's are birthday twins. Mine is also a distracted eater most of the time, unless she's really sleepy.  She looks around, starts playing with the bottle, pulling hair, etc. but she still wants to eat.  We have started feeding her in a very quiet, dimly lit room with little stimulation.  It helps most of the time but sometimes it's a struggle.

Yay for birthday twins.

Encchanted said:

Feed her in a dark room. :P

Nope, nothing you can do. Muppet went through a similar stage at around 6-7 months old. There is a cognitive leap in there somewhere and they become more aware/active. Just wait it out. By the time he was 8 months or so, food became more important again, though he would still get distracted from time to time.

I'm totally going to become a shut in and stay in a dark house, just so DD can eat. Thanks for the awesome idea.
:P :P

ajgreen78

We're dealing with the same thing! DD is just over 6 months old and totally distractable. I only wish she would drink 4-5 oz! We're lucky to get 3 down her before she wants to play, play, play! Glad to know from everyone here that this is a phase! I'm tired of feeding her in the middle of the night because she didn't eat enough during the day!