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For Those of You That Thicken Formula With Rice Cereal (for reflux)

Mollymay39Mollymay39
in Multiples

We have been thickening formula for about 7 weeks now. It helps, and along with the Prevacid....we are doing great.

However, due to the thickened formula, my son isn't as hungry as often as he was before. I guess it just really fills him up. When he gets up in the morning, he'll take a small amount. And throughout the day he rarely finishes a bottle. There is no way he'd eat every 3 hours....and he is rarely hungry after 4.

Here is my question:  Do I just give up feeding the twins at the same time? Since her formula is not thickened, she is generally hungry around 4 hours. Should I just feed her, and then feed him when he is truly hungry and ready to eat an entire bottle?

Also, how long did you feed on a strict schedule? When they first came home, I was very rigid. They ate every 3 hours....no matter what. Now they are not hungry after 3 hours. I moved to every 4 hours, but like I said, now DS is never hungry at that time. 

DD is sleeping through the night. He is waking around 2 and sucking down a huge bottle. Some have told me that he is able to sleep through the night, and to not feed him. However, I feel he is "behind" in this regard....simply because the first 2 months were such a mess with the reflux. He NEVER slept, so now that things are under control he is finally adapting to sleeping at night ,in the crib etc.  

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Re: For Those of You That Thicken Formula With Rice Cereal (for reflux)

  • cadencaden member
    I keep my two on the same type of formula b/c I don't want to deal with different routines. Is that a possibility for you? If not then I would feed your DS whenever your DD gets hungry. If he doesn't take as much then that's ok b/c he may be eating more frequently than he would otherwise do. There's no way I'd let my two go on different routines. That would drive me crazy.
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  • Temp159135562506975Temp159135562506975 member

    have you tried using just the prevacid and not the rice?  i would try that - many docs don't believe rice cereal helps that much - and it could be filling him up and making him get less of the nutrients he'd get if he was drinking more formula.... and it might help to get them back on the same schedule.

    as for STTN - he certainly can at that age - assuming his weight is OK and there is no issue with FTT or low weight, etc --- there's no reason he HAS to eat at night anymore at that age - even with him not eating/sleeping as much early on - don't worry about that... you can't make him catch up now.

    my boys were STTN at 8 weeks. Gray's reflux came at 6w and was pretty bad for a few weeks - then tamed with meds... we never added rice to his formula.... and never woke him at night to feed after he was STTN.  He's still smaller- that's just how he's built - it used to bother me that he was so much smaller than his brother - but you soon realize that it's how they are- different.... and as long as they are a healthy size- then size is not an issue- so they don't need to catch up on eating b/c of reflux, etc.

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  • Mollymay39Mollymay39

    DS has a nickname....Bruiser....he is a big kid. He certainly doesn't need to eat at night. I know he'd probably have to CIO though....which I dread. I am starting to slowly cut back on the rice, and I would actually love to eliminate it. I'll check with the Pedi GI, but I am sure she'll OK it. 

    He just drank a huge bottle which was nice. 

    Thanks all! 

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  • DEPDEP
    A few thoughts....1.  at 3-4 months they naturally start going to a 4 hour schedule 2. You will got thru "phases" where they are "off"...they are 2 different peopel, so you may have to bare with it!. He may not be ready yet..  3.  Can you lessen the amt of rice cereal you put in the bottle?  Maybe that will help.  4.  What is the last time you feed him before bed?  At this age I was still doing the 7 and 11pm feedings;  that helped them to sleep thru.  ALso, I gave a pacifier instead of bottle in attempts  to try and lengthen their nights.  5.  Adding rice cereal definately decreases the amt of formula they take in per feeding as the rice adds extra calories...this happened with my twin.  GOOD LUCK!!  Before you know it they will be on to the next phase!
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