1 Year Old Refusing to Drink

I think they all go through this at some point. 50% is good, nothing to worry about. My brother and I were probably like 5% if that we were both tiny. As long as he is healthy, the weight he is is the weight he should be. Teething was always the issue when my little one would not eat or drink. Good luck sounds like all is really fine.

My husband and I went through the same thing with our son when he was that age. What we did was take him to the store and let him pick the cup he wanted. Most of the are pretty much the same. By allowing him to choose which one he wanted it wasn't hard to make the switch. Also try not to give him a bottle, toss them all but keep one just in case you need it. If he wants somethig to drink don't be so quick to give him the bottle, trust he is going to make a fuss but keep at it. He will soon understand that the bottle days are over. Try talking to him and letting him know that he is becoming a big boy now and big boys don't drink from a bottle. Let him help you get the cup ready, like let him hold the top or the cup itself while you pour. This worked for us and our son is now 2 years old and he doesn't need the sippy cup anymore.

The other moms' suggestions are great.

Try adding chocolate to the milk-- remember that email we got from mamapedia yesterday that said the unhealthiness of chocolate is worth the tradeoff of the healthiness of milk?

Try feeding him from a normal adult cup; my son (14m) loves that. He still can't figure out a straw.

Try different nibs on sippy cups. Some are easier than others.

Last thing- I lived in Rwanda for a year and those people livin in mud houses had 16 kids and you better believe they didn't have the "recommended" diet, but they still lived and grew up just fine. So don't worry tooo much. Babies aren't like adults; they'll eat when they want what they want. Maybe your child is a snacker and he'll drink more if you give it to him little by little all day rather than at specific times? I'm often surprised at when my son decides he wants a drink. I nurse and now he's old enough to just point when he's thirsty. Wow if only he'd been able to communicate with me that easily a few months ago! When ya nurse it's easy to feed on command because you always have milk on you. Maybe you can leave a bottle of formula or water or juice around the house and he can just point when he wants it?

Maybe it's his ears. Maybe the pressure from bottle or straw or sippy puts pressure on his ears? I'm not sure, but I would ask the doctor to check. A

Hi B. It seems that your son will eat solid foods well. So try giving him some Pedisure. It has plenty of nutrition in it. Just continue what you're doing with the milk in the cereal and by spoon. Also check with his peditrican about the Pedisure first.

My son went through the exact same thing. When we were transitioning him from the bottle to sippy cup he pretty much stopped drinking. We took him completely off the bottle at a year and tried different sippy cups and did the same thing, gave him milk off of a spoon, it was horrible at the time but he finally got out of that stage after a month or so, just keep trying....offer him the sippy cup each meal. We made a game of it...acted like we were drinking out of his sippy cup and then offered it to him...he'll get it sooner or later. I think boys are just a little more stuborn....my daughter had no problems. Also, at a year my doctor said they don't need as much milk and fluids as they did their 1st year. Just make sure you put milk in his cereal and give him cheese and yogurt and he'll be fine...hang in there, it's only a stage...just keep on offering. Good luck!

At age one my son transitioned off breast milk and refused to ever drink cows milk - to this day he still will not drink it (he is 27 mo. old). My doctor suggested Yo Baby drinkable yogurt (it is made with whole milk while most other kefirs are low fat). My son loved it and drank it out of the bottle then transitioned to a sippy cup with it b/c he loved it so much. The only place I have ever been able to find it is Wnole Foods.
Overall it sounds like your son is doing really well. 50% is not bad at all. If he is eating solids well and taking 20 oz of milk I'd say you are doing great!

My 1 year old didn't like sippy cups at first. He spits out water. He is getting used to it. He is 50% in weight but that's good. He is very active. If you are worried about calcium levels, you can give him yogurt and cheese and cereal with milk. If he is not drinking, will he take juice? He should be fine with the solids he is taking in. He will get used to the sippy eventually.

I would mention it to your doctor, B.. 50th percentile is actually pretty good. My son, at that age, hovered around 5%, so he is doing pretty well, and sounds like he is right where he needs to be. It's probably just a phase. Keep offering it to him. He might be teething and going through some pain, so check his mouth for new teeth coming in. Try giving him fluids from a regular cup too. Some kids actually prefer them. I'm sure he'll come around in a couple of days or a week. Sounds like you are doing the right thing. :)

T.
Barefoot Books Ambassador
www.ReadandGrow.com

It's a bottle strike which is common for kids of that age to go through. When it happens with nursing babies many moms mistakenly think they are weaning. It is a good time to try to wean them if that is your desire.

For a nursing bottle strike: offer in a dark, quiet room, when they are sleepy or even while they are sleeping, you can use a medicine syringe to squirt formula/milk into their mouths to help them get that required liquid. Cut back a bit on solids during a strike because you don't want them to get constipated from too many solids and not enough liquids.

Strikes typically only last a few days. Good luck and don't let it show how upset it makes you. Or only offer just formula and no milk since milk/Pediasure doesn't have enough nutrition especially not enough fats in it to replace formula/breastmilk completely during a strike.