7.5 month old takes over 2 hours to eat 6 oz....

[daisyd]

My 7.5 month old DC barely eats one solid meal a day (which is not a problem) and has 20-24 oz formula/ day. He's not gaining much weight (which is a problem) and tends to wake up 4-5 times a night (which again is a problem) and nurses hungrily. During the day DC takes 3 sittings over 2.5 hours to finish a 6- 8 oz bottle . Does anyone else's DC do this? I'm concerned that his fragmented eating schedule means that he goes to bed before he eats enough for the day and this in turn feeds into his poor sleep schedule. Any advice on getting him to finish a bottle in one sitting or is this just normal for him?

Thanks!

[tmphilo]

Not sure if this would help (or if you haven't already done this) but my DD started drinking her bottles better when we switched to a fast flow nipple on her bottles. I'm not sure when we switched, but she was probably around 5 or 6 months.

[AbbysMom]

My DD was 6 1/2 when we started giving her bottles. She acted the same - she'd hungrily drink 1-2 ounces and then only slowly drank the rest. I just messed around until I found the right combo that made her happy - warm bottle, fast flow nipples, and sitting straight up on my lap so she could look around and drink. She does much better now.

[daisyd]

Thank you tmphilo and Abbysmom, great suggestions. I'm eager to try out anything that will improve DC's eating and sleep. I'm afraid daycare which he's starting in 2 weeks, will not be as tolerant as mommy :(