Has anyone else ever had a 7 month old who loves solid food, and has never had a bottle refuse to nurse? I can't seem to figure this one out, she is my second child, and the first loved her milk. There have been no notable problems, or changes except that she's changing in her sleeping habits...from back sleeper to side sleeper. She has also been an excellent baby until now. Goes to sleep on her own, slept 6 hours at night right from the hospital and has been known to sleep 12 hours at night, until last week. Now she's up through the night, last night it was for nearly 2 hours to play (only nursed for 15 minutes) and throughout today she only nursed once for 15 minutes. I'm just so confused. The only change is that she discovered rolling over from back to tummy. Even her 5 teeth gave her no troubles coming in. Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks
First, Thank you to everyone who responded. Your thoughtfulness and help has been greatly appreciated. I have decided to try a different type of sippy cup as she only chews on bottle nipples and hasn't grasped the idea of sipping through a straw. So we'll see how that goes. I tried her with a little formula in a hard sipper and she seemed to take to it, just had troubles with the spout (she's very busy and wouldn't sit still and her sister kept her on the go.) Also, I will be seeing a public health nurse on Monday morning and will ask more then as well. Unfortunately keeping her up later is VERY difficult by 8pm she's so cranky that if I wait past then she falls asleep nearly on her own without nursing and would be up through the night for sure. Last night she went down at 930pm as we'd had company and she made it to 630 before waking up to nurse. It's 9pm now, and she's been sleeping for half an hour, so we'll see, she ate a small portion of cereal and fruit, and nursed well before wanting her bed. Thanks again, and sorry this was so long winded.
Hi, From my experience with second children (I have two boys, now 14 and 10), the second one will do whatever it takes to compete with the first one. Even at this young age. Give her a sippy cup (with handles) and see if she likes it. My youngest gave up the bottle around this time. I think it was because we always ate as a family and he could see his older brother using a sippy cup. Good Luck!
gosh, your little one sounds like my little one. my kid eats EVERYTHING, and the only time that she wouldn't nurse, or take a bottle was when she was teething. i didn't have any trouble w/her first 6 teeth, but man is she teething now and fussy and not even wanting to really eat anything which is NOT like her. i've noticed and also read somewhere that a change in their sleep pattern can indicate that they might be teething or even sick. i had a run last month when mine was up and down for a week, but i figure one week out of her life isn't that bad since she is such a GREAT sleeper and has been since she was born...lol. hope this helps
It sounds like a nursing strike to me, here is a good site, make sure to look at the links at the bottom of the page.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/back-to-breast.h...
A baby that young really needs breastmilk or formula, they're nowhere near ready for just solids so hopefully the link will help! Good luck :-)
She might have an ear infection. Whenever one of mine didn't want a bottle, that's what it was. Everytime the weather would go warm-cold-warm-cold someone in my house got sick. Darn Michigan weather! You can freeze juice into small ice cubes or make a snowcone type drink for her to eat with a spoon. I know she's little, but when it comes to food, sometimes the baby does know best.
Based on being a mother of 4, stepmother of 4, 2 foster kids, godmother to one and took in a nephew.
Call the Dr. and check for an ear infection. If you rule that out then our children sound very much alike.
My son slept great until he started rolling around and crawling. I discovered he was trying to crawl in his sleep. He is so active now that he wants to play and explore 24/7. I just keep putting him back to bed and I am so tired. He is also not wanting bottles but to only feed himself. He is so into everything new that it seems as if he wants nothing to do with anything else. I have been very patient and I let him have a snack now so he can chew before a feeding - this has worked! The good news is he is starting to sleep again. I think the newness of everything is getting less exciting now and he seems to be going back to normal. Take a deep breath and get ready for a fustrating week or two or maybe three. When she does settle and start to sleep again get as much rest as possible because our children will most likely do this again when they start walking. The good news is that are children are very curious about the world, the bad news is we won't get much sleep when they start something new.
Get her to a doctor right away! Both of my girls had trouble with ear infections. Usually, the only noticable symptoms were problems with eating and sleeping. It is worth it to get it checked out.
If your child is refusing to nurse and likes solid foods have you tried giving her a sippy cup with breast milk? If everything has checked out o.k. medically such as ear infections and such maybe she just enjoys the independence of eating on her own. As far as sleeping maybe she is getting to the stage where she doesn't require as much sleep anymore. Have you tried putting her to bed later so she doesn't wake up in the middle of the night? She shouldn't need to nurse in the middle of the night. I nursed three children to 12 months and 15 min at 7 months is great. My kids only nursed for a max of 7-10 min. on each side. Two out of three of my kids never took a bottle and I put them right on a cup by 5 months. If you haven't already I would make sure I nursed before I gave her solids. Although she does need her milk as long as she continues to gain weight and your dr. isn't concerned I would pump and give it to her in a cup and see if that works. They do like to do what everybody else is doing. As far as sleeping uless my kids were soaked in the middle of the night or sick they never woke up. I would try a later bed time. Her whole schedule might just be changing. Good Luck.
You don't say if you are feeding solids and then nursing or nursing and then solids.
I would suggest nursing/bottle first and then solids. This way, she will fill up on milk first and then have a taste of solids.
H.
is your milk supply low..??
my kids lose interest in nursing if the milk supply gets low and it is too much work to get milk
I would reduce the solid foods.
Babies get all of their nutrition from milk for the first year. solid foods are just practice for eating later. The baby will drink more milk if she is hungry and not full of solid foods.
my daughter also prefered food to milk.
You have already received much good advice. Rule out illness (ear infections) and discomfort from teething. Try nursing prior to any solids, to insure she has an appetite. Once you have done this consider the possibility of a "nursing strike" which is a term I learned from Le Leche. Although some mothers will stop nursing at this time, it is actually a transition period which often occurs when the baby begins to become more mobile; however, it is temporary usually. Call/consult Le Leche in your area.
I didn't nurse my daughter but I did have the same problem with the bottle. Not to long after I started her on solids she decided she was too big for the bottle!! In order to make sure she was still getting the nutrients she needed I would mix formula with her cereal and I also put her formula in sippy cups. I'm not sure if you would want to pump and try that...
Maybe your eating something she doesn't like the taste of in your milk?
It sounds like she might be teething. Sometimes nursing causes the painful gums to throb. She might need to just limit this nursing time. Have you tried to use a sippy cup or a regular cup, with or without a straw, with you help holding it for her?
Sleep patterns change too, when they are teething. Also, make sure that you follow-up with the peditrician regarding any other symptoms that you might be missing.
