My 6 month old has been drinking anywheres between 6-8 oz at a time then he got sick and wouldn't eat or drink. He is on baby food: cereal in the morning, fruit at lunch, veggies at supper w/ bottles in between feedings and he would still drink 6-8 oz with the food. Now I can't get him to really drink much of anything. for the past week he been only drinking maybe 2 oz here and there and thats all. Today has been a little better but its still a fight. He loves the food and tonight cried until he got some. I also don't know if he could be teething b/c he loves to chew on the nipple instead of sucking. I have tried teething tablets, infant mortin (nurse recommended)for the teething but it seems to make no difference. He doesn't have reflux or gas and doesn't spit up what he does drink. I am going to the dr. but was wondering if anyone else went trough this or has any suggestions. He has been on formula since he was 3 weeks old. He was breastfeed for two weeks but he was always hungry. We later found out he was tongue tied which we did get it taken care of. Any input would be great.
This is what tongue tied means:
is a congenital oral anomaly which may decrease mobility of the tongue tip (Messner & Lalekea 2002) and is caused by an unusually short, thick lingual frenulum, a membrane connecting the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth
Well yesterday he picked up on eating and today has drank 8 oz to morning (not all at once 4 oz then 4 oz) and had 2 tablespoons of cereal. I called the dr. and means he has picked up on his eating we are just suppose to keep an eye on it. For the ear infection he just had his 6 month check up and everything looked good. Thanks for all the advice it sure helped me out a lot.
Cut back on the solids. at 6months old solids are not "food" they are to play with and taste. He shouldn't be eating anymore than a a couple of tablespoons of solids per day. Always give the bottle before any solids as well.
I think it is a phase they go through. When my DD was that age I asked the doc, he said to make every thing that required milk with formula instead...ie homade pudding, mac n cheese, mashed potatos. I just had to remember which bowl was which.
I think he will pick his drinking in a few weeks of less.
I would agree that a 6 month old does need formula. Absolutely try a few different sippy cups. I had trouble with my daughter around 8 months. She never took a bottle but is great with a sippy cup. When we couldn't get her to drink the formula I was able to mix 3 oz of formula with her food at every meal in addition to the formula that I was trying to get her to drink...mostly unsuccessfully :-) All the sudden one day she started taking the sippy cup and is finally quite chubby. She happens to like the nuby cups with handles and the soft clear spout (target sells them). Really she will drink out of any cup now but at first that was the only one. My son liked a cup with a hard spout for his first cup so you just have to kind of try a bunch until you find the "one" Good luck, I know how frustrating it is to feel like you are battling to feed your child all day long!
Have you tried sippy cups? It takes a little while for them to get the hang of them, I always start with no valve and just water. If you are worried about baby not getting enough nutrition you can always mix in a little extra formula to his food. All I'm saying I guess is it could be the the bottle an not the formula that is the problem.
Good luck
J.
J.,
I would recommend talking with the doctor about this. You may need to cut back on the food so that he takes a bottle. We had to do this with one of my little ones. That way he was hungry and wanted to drink his bottle. A baby will never starve themselves. He will the drink the bottle if that is all he is offered. Hang in there.
J..
Hi J.,
I would make sure that he doesn't have any ear infections first. When my son was 10 months old he wouldn't drink formula anymore. I put it in his sippy cup during meals. He would drink some of it then but other than that he didn't want it. I would def. ask your ped cause at 6 months he still needs the nutrition from formula. I would mix the formula with his baby cereal that way he gets a little more. Good luck.
Chris
Hi J.,
I have a 10 month old who does the same thing & has been doing it for the past few months. I wasn't concerned about it so I didn't ask the pediatrician at his 9 month visit. My sister recommended starting a sippy cup if they play with the nipple but I couldn't get my baby to drink from that either. It seemed to be a bit of a phase because slowly he's going back to drinking 4-6 oz in between meals plus before bedtime. So, I don't know what you should do but that's the experience I've had.
T.
Since he is 6 months old, you might try a sippy cup and drop the bottle. Also don't make a big deal about it, just put it where he can get to it if he wants it. To make sure he is getting proper nutrition you can grind up your own food - veggies and rice, veggies and meat, etc, There is a little hand grinder that you can buy. Don't worry, he knows what he is doing, and won't die of thirst.. : )
He may have an ear infection and sucking on the bottle causes painful pressure. Have his ears checked out. You can also use Ear Oil- all natural, in his ears and see if it helps. It definitely won't hurt to try! Good luck!
Have his ears checked if that isn't a problem it is most likely that he is teething, he may not get any teeth for a while but his gums are probably sore, all little ones go through this phase, just keep offering it to him, let him take what he wants and call it good, and if he wants food give it to him, it won't hurt anything. Sounds like you might have a good eater on your hands.....
what do you mean by tongue tied?
didn't quite knkow what that meant- so not sure as to how to respond?
