8 Month Old Will Not Drink Her Formula

Maybe now is a good time to try switching from the bottle to a sippy cup or try a cup with a thin small straw. My son switched before one. Maybe she is trying to tell you the same.

If she will drink out of a sippy cup, you could try giving her formula in that.

That's ok. Babies her age only need 17-24 oz of formula a day, most of it is when they take the bottle before they sleep. My daughter is the same way. It's because they are getting a lot of their nutrition from food now. No need to worry. Good luck.

The fact that she is eating fruits and veggies is awesome! And she is still drinking some formula, so that is not bad either. If you WANT her to drink more formula, give her less of the fruits and vegetables so that she will want to drink her milk, she will get hungry enough to want to drink it. Of course you need to use your own judgment to make sure that she is getting enough to eat/drink. Just give her some fruits/veggies and when its all gone be like, "Uh oh, it's all gone, what a big girl, here is some milk/ba ba"...etc. It's worth a try and this might just be a phase. Good luck!

Hi B.,

I am going through the same thing with my 10 month old (starting at 8 months old) and I went through the same thing with my now-2.5 year old son (when he was 8 months.) Yes, just about everything you read and most docs say they need 24 ounces. However, according to my own pediatrician (and even some websites), 16 ounces of formula is just fine as long as they are eating a good variety of other foods. Try giving her yogurt and cheese (even cottage cheese) for more dairy/calcium. Neither of my kids were ever able to handle eating solids and drinking a bottle at the same "meal", though...I give them a bottle, and an hour (or hour and-a-half) later, I give them the solids. There were a few times when my daughter (the 10 month old) only took 13 ounces in a day, but she always made up for it the very next day.

If you are really concerned, you can see if you can have her weighed at your doc's office (she will probably have a 9-month appointment soon anyway, right?) As long as she is growing fine, do not worry too much about her not getting that 24 ounces. (In fact, my daughter RARELY took 24 ounces. Even before she really started with the baby food, she would get an average of 20-22 ounces per day!)

Oh, one more thing. Sometimes when babies are teething, sucking on a bottle can hurt them, so this just may be a temporary thing!

Good luck!

Hi B.,

You have to remember that the food is replacing the formula for that feeding. If you are giving 2 ounces of food, then she will not want as much formula. The solids are supposed to be more filling. And yes she is getting enough. There will be days she eats more and days she will eat less. Kids eat when they are hungry, same as any adult.

K.

Have you tried giving it to her in a sippy cup?

Try putting her formula in a sippy cup. My son completely weaned himself from the bottle by 10 months. They only way I could get him to drink it was in a sippy cup. Good luck!

Try mixing formula in every thing. I mixed it into a instant pudding mix. Put it in mac n cheese, put it in mashed potato's...just remember the container you put it in, you prob don't want to eat it.

Maybe she is ready for a cup - that is about the age some babies wean from bottle to cup permanently. I would try that. Otherwise, do formula first, then food. At 8 months she should still get about 24-30 oz. per day is what my info. from the pediatrician says. Good luck!

She is self weaning--this is ok. Babies do not have to be exactly one year old to be weaned, and it is better that she has made this choice herself. Give her formula in a cup for more calories.

GL:)

B.,

I have Twins that just turned 1 last week. At this point, your daughter should still be mostly just drinking her formula. Eating solids I was told by our doctors that this is just practice, by the time she turns 1 she should be eating more and her drinking formula should slow down a bit, but they also told me that they should always Nurse (which is what I am doing) or bottle feed them first before having solids. That is to ensure that they are getting all they need in that way first and solids are secondary.

So maybe offer her the bottle first and then when she is all finished with it, then offer solids.

I hope that helps.

B.

Hi B.,

I am going through the same thing with my son. I have started giving him smaller amounts of the baby food so he would take more formula and it has worked somewhat. I do agree that babies are supposed to get most of thier nutrition from formula until age 1. My son is a bigger baby as well so at this point it is not a concern. Hope this helps!

H.

she needs to get at least 24 oz of formula a day (per my pediatricain)

so reduce the solid meals so she gets the formula.

but is she drinking the formula other times during the day.. (first thing in the morning or just before bed??) the times of the day when you dont give her solids does she drink the formula??

she probably is full after 2 1/2 jars of food babies have tiny tummies

I make sure that thre is at least 1- 1 1/2 hour between a solid meal for my son and a nursing.. I know that he would not nurse after he just ate solids..

Lisa

hi B.,

i dont think you have anything to worry about. my son actually stopped eating when he was 6 months old. so i know what you are going through. i think that when she is hungry she will eat. if you are worried about her getting enough nutrition give her more veggies. in 4 months she will be on whole milk anyway. this might be a good way to transition her from formula to whole milk. this could be a blessing in disguise. i think she will be just fine.

Just keep giving her as much formula as she will take. Now that she has had a taste of real food the formula dosen't taste as good. My son went through this at her age and I now care for my nephew as well (8 months today) who is also more interested in his new foods. Hang in there- just a few more months she'll be ready for milk. Ask your doctor if it is safe for you to start mixing 1/2 milk - 1/2 formula. My doctor approved this method for my son and I was able to relax a bit knowing he was getting all he should.

Babies stomaches are very tiny. And yes, fruit is very filling, just as formula(milk) is too! It may be that in fact she is full. Try giving her either some water or maybe some juice while she eats her fruit. Babies know when their little tummies are full, she'll take the bottle when she is ready for it. Good luck!

The majority of her nutrician until age 1 should come from formula. I used to feed my son (now 4) his fruit/veggies at normal meal times and the bottle about an hour or so later.

my son is 14 months old and i would always offer the bottle inbetween breakfast, lunch, and dinner. like in the morn when she gets up offer the bottle then feed her breakfast about an hour or 2 later, then lunch then about 2 or 3 hours later offer the bottle again.and the same for dinner and then give her the bottle before bed, Sort of like a snack. That worked out great for me. and it works good when u want to take the bottle away b/c instead of giving them there bottle you give them a snack and milk in a cup instead. My son has been off the bottle since 12 months and its great!! if u have n e more questions my e-mail is ____@____.com!
good luck :)

Maybe you should try a sippy cup. If she likes being fed she will like a cup. She is old enough for real milk now too. Try giving her real milk instead of formula.

My daughter is 8 months and doing the same thing. My doctor says they will drink less the more solids they eat,thats normal. What I do is first thing when she wakes up I give her a bottle 5oz then a few hours later I'll give her some oatmeal, then about 2 or 3 hours after that shell drink about 4 oz of formula for some reason she seems to drink more in the day then evening, probably because she loves her dinner (gerber 3rd) so much.
Also my daughter r3ecently started sleeping through the night without getting up for a bottle..Im soo thankful for this I can actually sleep all night!!

Not to worry mom. She knows when she is full so follow her cues. Don't force her to eat if she doesn't want to. If she doesn't want her bottle after eating, wait a little while and give it to her again. If she is thirsty or hungry, she'll take it. You could also try giving her the bottle before she eats or in between foods.

B.,

Have you tried offering her bottle first before you give her fruits and veggies. This way her stomach is empty and she is very hungry after she finished with her bottle than you offer her the solids either right away or wait awhile.

I've always heard that the formula is more important than the solids until age 1. I would try the formula in a sippy cup, perhaps she wants more independence. Good luck. S.

I see you already have lots of advice but thought one more wouldn't hurt! My daughter wasn't a good formula drinker at that age either and my pediatrician recommended I start her on two milk products early. Cottage cheese and yogurt. It did take a little while for her to get used to the consistency of the cottage cheese and she never real liked the sour taste of plain yogurt so I did switch to flavored. Remember babies need the full fat version of both. I buy Yo Baby yogurt, it's full fat and also organic, a little more expensive but worth it. Now at 13 months she eats both cottage cheese and yogurt like a champ...So I feel it built in good snack habits. It's also a nice protein supplement. It also had the positve side effect of getting my 3 year old interested in cottage cheese. You might want to check with your peditrician if you have any concerns about milk allergies!

My doctor always told me to give the bottle first and then food because the formula is much more important than the food. That way she can have her bottle and then if there is still room she can have some fruits and veggies. Good luck.

That normally happens when they start eating solids. However we have to make sure she is getting the proper amount of ounce intake from the formula. Did you know the amount is anywhere between 24-32 ounces of formula a day. Even ask your pediatrician. Mine told me that. One thing you might want to re-think is.....if you are giving her the bottle at the same time you were before the baby food, then that all could change if you move the bottle feedings not off schedule because you wouldn't want to do that but maybe after 2 hours. I had similar problem especially in the mornings when she was that age(now 15 months old) I would give her the fruit and maybe 30 minutes later give the bottle and she would push it away. So I did a little trial and error(you have to at times) I would giver her the bottle right in the morning before anything else when she's most hungry. That worked like a charm. Try that if you haven't already. I now remember asking my pediatrician the same question. He's the one that told me to wait 2 hours in between. And if your giving her oatmeal|cereal at night, it might be helpful to only give 2 tablespoons(I had to cut down because I gave her too much ad that made her not take the bottle too). Do you give her that for dinner and then the bottle before bed????? Well I hoped I gave some insight. Let me know!!

Have you considered giving her a multi-vitamin? That might take the edge off of your worries. We use a drinkable called Might-a-Mins. (see www.marketamerica.com/thevoiceoftruth and click on Isotonix and Might-a-Mins) Now I don't worry so much!

Hang in there!

S.
____@____.com

Don't worry about it. Yes, milk (either formula or breast) is the primary nutrition for the first year ... however, you have to keep in mind every kid is different.

It's great she is eating, and liking, her fruits and veggies! yeah! I would try to give her the bottle about an hour before the 'meal'.... or an hour after. Dont' try to do it at the same time.

It really sounds like she is self weaning, and that is ok as long as she is getting a variety of other foods.

I know some pedatricians will say that babies need 24 ounces until they are a year. But, really.... there is no way a pediatrician can know what is right for each and every child. (even though they want you to believe that!) Follow the cues your daughter is giving. The fruits and veggies are probably filling her up more then the formula.

Make sure she is gaining weight like she should and go from there.

Good luck!

Hi B.,
It is very normal for babies to cut down on the amount of formula they are taking in once they start eating whole food. My 12 month old daughter has been consistently weaning herself off her formula since about the same age as your child. I also started giving her some juice in a sippy cup so that she could get use to using her cup while still taking her formula in a bottle so it would not be a sudden change. However, even WIC cuts babies off of formula when the baby turns one knowing that the kids are getting much more nutrition for the foods they eat. My daughter takes a full bottle before bed and about 5 oz. at nap time. Every child will be different so your best bet is to talk to your childs doctor but I have learned you cannot for the baby to take a bottle and sometime they have their own reasons be it getting enough to eat or when their mouths hurt from teething. Good luck

You should always give the bottle BEFORE any solids. Solids are just for fun right now...taste testing they are not intended to be used for nutrition