My DS is 11mos and within the last two or three days he has begun to refuse formula/bottle. He will take an ounce or two and then push the bottle away and start to cry. Today I tried putting formula in his favorite sippy cup (the one with the straw) and he would only drink an ounce or two still. When he see's his bottle he gets excited and the same thing happens all over again. He's great with solid foods and water and I tried a little bit of whole milk today but he didn't like it. I know he's teething so I make sure he gets some meds but I don't think that's why he won't drink his formula. I try not to get frustrated but, as any mom, it breaks my heart to listen to him cry and I can't figure out why he's doing it. Please help me!
Thank you so much for all of your great advice! I took him to the doctor first thing Monday morning and the doc said his ears looked red and irritated and that he could have possible fluid blockage. He started taking his bottle today with no problems, thank goodness!
is the nipple letting out too much formula? too little? is there an ear infection - that would make him hurt when he sucks. does he seem to gag or something - that would indicate too much coming out. make sure that you keep bottle nipples in newer condition so they dont wear out and start breaking up, and making the hole too big or something. also, make sure you dont get a plugged up nipple.
good luck
have you ever tasted that stuff?? its just nasty....id say if hes eating solids-drop the formula...you mentioned meds??..mix with his food or try chocolate milk in the sippy cup....both my kids were on table foods-no formula by 6 months.they hated it.so i switched over to milk with xtra vitamins,.....good luck
Is he eating solid food yet? At 11m he could certainly have preferences. My little one (13m) will refuse (and cry) to eat certain things because he knows he wants something else.
But until he could point/gesture it was hard to figure out what he wanted. I weaned him from the bottle at 11m but he knows the difference between milk and juice in his sippy cups and will cry if he can't have the one he wants when he wants it.
I too thought of his ears when I read this. You can have his ears checked at the public health nurse and save yourself a doctors visit if it isn't his ears. They can't perscribe meds so if it is, you would still have to take him to a doctor.
Hi K.
I would take him to the dr.
Could he have an ear infection or sore throat? That's what my little guy does!
He may have a ear infection. That is what my son does when his ears hurt. I would make a appointment to see his doctor.
A.
It could be a couple of things. Like the previous post says, get his ears checked. There's no harm in taking him in right away even if he is ok. It's just a process of elimination. While he's there you get could some advice from the doctor. If his ears are fine, try a regular sippy cup without a straw. The bottle nipple and the straw may be hurting his teeth. If that doesn'thelp, keep pushing the whole milk. You could try half formula half whole milk, and over time adding less and less formula till he's on solely whole milk. Good luck!
Hi K.
Does he mabey have a ear infection ? My little guy would act fine tell it was time to nurse and then he would pull away . It is the sucking that hurts their ears .
It also may be that his tastes are changing and he is not liking the taste of formula any more . And the milk is a new taste he has to get use to .
If he keeps up doing this I would have his ears checked out . Good luck
We had a similar issue at this time although my daughter was nursing as well - she was just not as interested in sippy or bottle and rarely nursed. I would say as long as your son has wet diapers and is eating he will be just fine. Keep trying but as long as he is not taking a bottle a lot this would be great timing to get rid of it!
Try just a regular cup. Sucking on a bottle or straw or sippy cup is probably bothering his teeth and gums.
You will obviously have to help him out. A shot glass is the perfect size!!
Remember that babies survived just fine before sippy cups and straws--ask your grandma. ;-)
I don't claim to be a perfect mom, but I will tell you that our son went straight from nursing to a sippy cup with whole milk at 10 months. I really didn't think trying to get him to take formula for 2 months after nursing was worth it. I also thought I didn't want to have to break him of the bottle, so we went straight to the soft topped sippies. Maybe the combination of a sippy with a lid that's a little more similar to a bottle than the straw might be the happy medium?? Sometimes when my guy was hesitant with the whole milk, I would mix about half and half with whole chocolate milk. My thought process was- half chocolate milk is better than no milk at all. A little extra sugar was not going to hurt him- especially at that age when the brain is still developing and needs some sugar! Anyway, in the end he loves both white and chocolate milk, but probably prefers white...and is a strapping 9 year old with his own curve way above the top of the growth chart. Sometimes personal experiences give you a spring board to do your own thing...you'll figure it out! Good luck.
Is he pulling on his ears at all? If he has an ear infection the sucking itself can bother him.
My son did this, he had thrush (a.k.a yeast infection of the mouth).
Thrush usually develops suddenly, but it may become chronic, persisting over a long period of time. A common sign of thrush is the presence of creamy white, slightly raised lesions in the mouth—usually the tongue or inner cheeks—but also sometimes on the roof, gums, tonsils, or back of your throat. It may have a "cottage cheese" appearance. This cottage cheese symptom can
Pain or difficulty swallowing (I don't agree with the pain, I was told by my son's doc that it was not painful, as it was an annoying for him).
if you see this take him to the doctor, it can only be treated with medication.
