Need Feeding Advice

Hi Bremda,
It seems that the bottle is the only way that you can get nutrition into her. If it were me I don't think that I would stop them.
Does she eat any supper? This does not sound healthy or normal to me. I think I would be pushing that Dr. maybe it would be good to go to a gastrointestinal specialist.
Kids do have their eating habits. There is a great book on the market to help get healthy stuff into them. It is Deceptively Delicious but they have to be willing to eat something.
Good lick!

S.

Just don't give her a bottle. Once she starts experiencing solid food textures and flavors she won't want to go back but if you keep giving her the bottle she will be satisfied and disinterested. She won't starve to death! Hold back the bottle until she eats and then give her just a couple ozs. Repeat. Before long she'll be an eager eater.

With both of our girls - we did the bottle-stopping cold turkey. The older one (who is now 10) was rough but when we stopped the youngest one (she's now 5) we put her right on sippy cups with straws and she adjusted within 2 days. We did have night time issues .... but we stayed the course and she got through it.

I had friends in my mom's club who recommended the nubbie? sippie cup - but the pediatrician said it was just like a bottle and not helping her to learn to drink (bottle and sippies require different mouth manipulations) and it may be confusing to her - therefore prolonging her adjustment.

Good luck.

Hi B.,
I am a speech therapist that works with children with feeding preferences and difficulties. The doctor is on the right track by saying to stop the bottles. I would also recommend not putting baby food in the bottle. Children can survive on minimal foods as you try to stop a behavior/preference. If she refuses food and then you give her a bottle right away she will associate it with "i don;t have to eat, i just will get my bottle". I would try taking her down from the high chair after she refuses for a few minutes, and try again in 30 minutes. If that doesn;t get her to eat a little bitmore, take her out and don't offer a bottle for a while so she doesn't associate it with immediately getting the bottle. What foods are you trying to feed her? Does she seem more interested in finger foods versus the spoon? Some children want to be independent and will refuse the spoon when parents aren't ready for the transition yet. Let me know if you need any more advice! Good luck!
L.

Some of my boy have done and are doing the same thing. My Ped. in VA told me that my little guy wasn't small 'cause he wasn't eating but he just didn't need as much. That little guy turned out ok and is a healthy wonderful 9 yr old. He would only eat at breakfast too. It had to be peanut butter on a waffle. One good meal a day was my given guide line. If he ate all his meals for that day then there was 3 down for the week. I was to just stay away from junk and keep trying but not to get worked up about it. My 14 month old is doing the same thing now. It is hard not to be concerned , believe me I know, but unless they start consistently loosing weight, I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep trying to get your little one to use a sippy it really is better. I like the idea of putting her drink in your cup. My "baby" wants whatever Mommy is drinking. Maybe start with sippies without the valve, I know the leaking is a pain but she will get the drink faster at first and learn that good stuff comes from that container too. Then you can put the valve back in.

You are doing great! There are many things we will have to do as Mom's that will make our hearts hurt.This should just be a small one. One that is necessary for helping your daughter learn and progress in her development. As they grow older their challenges change, we as parents change and grow too. I love these stages that have , relatively , easy challenges. The older they get, the bigger the challenges. Take a deep breath and let it roll, she will let you know when she needs to eat more again. And then you will be having to buy all new clothes 'cause of the growth spurt :)

Been there, done that, and you have my sympathy. Feeding problems are a blow to your routine, your ego, your vision of yourself as a loving parent. And (surprise!) from your child's perspective they have nothing to do with any of the above!

The best advice I can give you is to keep your perfectly natural stress out of it. Offer food, and then find something else to do besides notice whether or not she eats it (it's not impossible that both my children like to read at meals because that's what I did during many of their meals). Giving snacks in the stroller is another strategy that worked for me (and that's a way you can 'not have' a bottle, but maybe can offer her a sip of 'your' drink from a travel mug or water bottle).

If wasting food is an issue, you can offer several small snacks rather than a few larger meals. Many toddlers eat a wider variety of foods by this method anyway.

A friend of mine used this strategy when her children went off eating. She went through the supermarket, buying any healthy food that she hadn't yet offered the child. She figured that if she only offered what she and her husband liked eating, she was unnecessarily limiting the child's choices.

You are a good mother. Your child can survive pretty well on oatmeal for a few days. Whether you hang tough on the bottles or give in for your own sanity, she'll be off them before kindergarten!

E.

I think this is totally normal. Both my girls did that and still do that. Their tummies are tiny. They do not need as much as we think. As long as she is not losing weight or seem sick she is ok. A bowl of oatmeal for breakfast is good and formula is too.

Hi B.,

This worked like a charm for me but may not for all. I picked up all bottles and hid them. When he asked for one I just told him I couLd not find the bottle and to see if he could find where he left it. When he could not find the bottle I just said well eat this until we find it. He accepted this just fine and the bottle was never found! I then bought him the sippy cup and told him it was for big boys anyway. All went very smoothly. I pray you get it worked out. Some people start by giving them the bottle for naps and bedtime which is a bad idea as then it is hard to break them from that too. I am sure you already know too that they should not be given a bottle when going to sleep as this can cause tooth decay.

Praying you find the right solution for your little angel.

Remember not all are the same. What works for one may not for another. Maybe you will get enough answers here that one will work.
D.

Stop the bottles. Have you tried something like peas from a can. Just put some on the high chair tray for her. Give her finger foods. Kids sometimes will eat finger foods when they won't eat anything else. My Sister In Law made it a party when they tossed out her sons bottles at one year old. She made a special little cake,got superman underwear for him,a new potty chair, a new cup, bowl, plate and silverware. They also got him a superman placemat and a booster seat to sit at the big table and told him babies that use bottles are not allowed to sit at the big table. They let him throw the bottles away in a special gift bag to pass on to another baby that needs them. It went really well and he never asked for the bottle again. Different things work on different children. This activity also jump started him for potty training. He was potty trained in two weeks time. I never had the bottle problem as I nursed both of mine. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

Hi B.. I can just tell you from my experience that you should just give it time. My daughter is now 16 months old, and for the longest time, all she wanted to do was nurse. She wouldn't eat but a few Cherrios for breakfast, refused baby food around 12 months, and just fussed and wouldn't eat much of anything. I was so miserable, because I worried like you that she wasn't getting enough in her belly. She gained only a few ounces herself over several months. But I found out that babies really don't gain a whole lot of weight during this period of their lives, and their food intake slows down. A few weeks ago, my daughter finally started eating a little more, although she still nurses A LOT. And she is so healthy. So please take encouragement that this is likely a stage that won't last forever, and as a mom, just do what you have to in order to make it through the day without driving yourself crazy. Also maybe give her baby forks and spoons and bowls to play with so she is still practicing her (pretend) eating. And if you have the opportunity to get her around other kids, they usually get curious about what others are eating and will eat the same. That's how I learned my daughter liked Craisins (at a time when no other fruit would pass her lips). Good luck and try not to worry too much - I did, and it made every day a bit more painful than it had to be.