eating small amounts/gas/reflux

grbnik

Hi all!

Well, I finally have some good news to post- DD is up to about 20ish oz a day for eating!  She was doing 12-15 oz on a good day, and if sick (which was the last 6 weeks) she was doing 8-10 oz.  Per day.  UGH.  But, we are looking better now!  woo hoo!

So, here is my question:

DD eats very small amounts at a time.  She has about 1-3 oz in the morning before daycare, then at daycare, she is finally eating about 13-15 oz, in the form of about 6 bottles (some 1 oz, some 4 oz).  She doesn't want much between her last feed at daycare (about 4:30, they try every hour) and going to bed, around 7ish.  She does eat throughout the night (nibbles) and we bedshare, so she is able to do so.  She had a few nights of horrible stomach pain, in which I gave her gas drops to relieve.  I am mostly dairy free, but I have been sneaking some back in lately.  Wondering if I need to go back to fully dairy free?  Also, wondering why she eats so little at a time.  I told daycare that if she eats a bigger bottle, not to worry about offering so often.  But, she really doesn't, until the end of the day, so throughout the day, she is being offered every hour (by recommendation of the Ped).  I am scared to not offer it as often, because I am worried that she will go back to not eating as much (she never signals us that she is hungry- well, maybe after 6ish hours or so).  I have a sneaking suspicion that she has severe reflux, and we are getting an OT eval and going back to the GI doc.  She is on Prevacid twice a day (just upped the dose 2 weeks ago) and I am trying to get her to eat a small amount of rice or oatmeal with milk (she normally refuses all solids, well, purees).  She has a super shallow gag reflex and gags/vomits on almost anything that is not milk (and, even sometimes, on that).  

I guess I am worried to drop the night feeds (maybe reverse cycling?) and not offer the bottle as often, because I am worried we will be back in the 12 oz range.  She is in the 80th percentile for weight, even with 12 oz/day, so I am wondering also why she would want so little.  Wouldn't a bigger kid want more?  I can see a smaller kid eating 20 oz/day, but it seems weird to me.  

Any thoughts you have are always appreciated.  I am so happy that she is on a better level with her milk, that I can't complain about much.  But, if I can make the pain, or whatever else is going on with her, go away, I would like to!