Kari's Keen Knowledge

Should you force feed your baby? That depends on a great number of things. How old is your child and how much does she weigh? If your baby is only two months old and already pushing twenty pounds-then the answer would be no.

If your baby happened to be born premature, then you may end up taking her home being trained by the nurses on how to encourage her to eat. Sometimes simply talking soothingly and pushing the bottle against her pallet won't work.

You may find your baby doesn't want to wake for her feeding. She may seem like a rag doll and unable to wake even when rubbing wet wipes along her back and stimulating her. If this happens for one meal and her breathing is strong and normal, don't panic. In the process of trying to wake her, be careful not to get too rough, you want to wake her but not injure her. If this is the case, and she doesn't wake up, just keep her warm and let her rest.  For the next feeding she should be ready and eager.

If she does not wake again despite all attempts (using a wet wipe, rubbing her back, patting her leg, talking to her in louder tones) you should call your doctor. If it happens on a weekend, call the hospital for any additional medical advice and they may have you bring her in.

What should you do if your baby is awake for feedings but isn't eating? Attempt to get as many burps out of her as you can, sometimes while crying baby can swallow air. After burping, try as gently as you can to coax her to eat. If this doesn't work, you should try to swaddle her, holding her close and keeping her mouth stimulated for the feeding. If your baby is well past the swaddling age, you should try to hold her in a position that keeps her head comfortably against the soft spot on the front of your arm and shoulder, keeping her arms snuggly against you with your hand gently on her forehead. It should look much like a football hold. Make sure you are not forceful with baby, but solid. She may just be too squirmy to focus, keep eye contact with her and speak in soothing tones.

If you succeed in getting your baby to take even an ounce before she clamps her gums together and turns her head, consider yourself successful. Overall, baby knows what she needs. If she's skipping meals but has not changed her normal behavior-she may just not be going through a growth spurt at the moment and will not need quite as much food.

If you notice she is losing weight, her soft spot is sinking in, her lips are dry, she's extremely lethargic, the skin underneath her eye is drooping away from the eye-call the hospital, your baby may be dehydrated.

Otherwise, as long as she is eating a little something, do not try to force feed every meal. If she's skipping quite a bit, I would only recommend trying once, maybe twice a day just to keep her from dehydrating.

Always talk to your doctor about unusual behavior or if you're concerned about the welfare of your child.

Try to keep yourself calm and don't worry too much, her body will tell her when she's hungry or if she needs more. When trying to make her eat, be sure to burp regularly and frequently. Forgetting to do so can result in projectile vomiting. If this does happen, quickly suction out baby's mouth and nose. If she's crying-she's ok. Clean her up and do not attempt to feed again until her next regular meal.