I have a 8 month old that will not drink his bottles anymore. He takes in about 4 ounces when he wakes up and starts to push the bottle back. He'll then eat his solids without complaining... asking for more. The lunch bottle is always an impossible task... I'm glad if he gets 3 ounces in. Yet, he eats his solids without any complaints. End of PM, he usually drinks 3 ounces of his bottle and eats his solids around 4:30. When bedtime comes, he won't drink his bottle anymore... yet I'm able to get him to drink another 4-5 ounces by waking him up around 9PM and feeding him while he is drowsy.
I always mix the rest of his bottle with his solids as he really wouldnt get enough milk. Overall, he gets about 18 ounces a day... and I know it isn't a lot for his age. I have started giving him yogurt as well.
I wonder if I am giving him to much solid at his meals though...
I am giving him the same quantity I gave to my girl when she was a baby though...
Here is what he eats... looking for guidance from any of you. Note that when I talk about cubes... I am talking about a serving the size of an ice cube as I serve him homemade purees. Equals roughly 1.5-2 tbspoons.
Wake-up(6:30AM): I try a 6 ounces bottle... usually drinks 3-4 ounces of it.
Breakfast (7AM): 3 tbspoons of cereal mixed with about 2 ounces of his formula + 1 cube of fruit + 1 tbspoon of yogurt
Lunch (11:30AM): I try a 6 ounces bottle... usually drinks 1-2 ounces of it
Solids are... 2 tbspoons of cereal to which I add about 1-2 ounces of his milk + 1.5 cube of veggie + 0.5 cube of meat + 1 cube of fruit + 1 tbspoon of yogurt
Mid-day (3:30PM): I try a 6 ounces bottle... usually drinks 2-3 ounces of it
Dinner (4:30PM): 2 tbspoons of cereal to which I add about 1-2 ounces of his milk + 1.5 cube of veggie + 0.5 cube of meat + 1 cube of fruit + 1 tbspoon of yogurt
Bedtime bottle (6:30PM): Lately doesn't even want to put the bottle in his mouth at bedtime... but I manage to get him to drink 4-5 ounces by waking him around 9PM
What do you guys think?
Well - thanks to Carol! I followed her advise to stick with what I was doing and stop worrying. After a few days, my baby started taking his bottles again - yet we also discovered he had another ear infection. Maybe his ear was what was disturbing him... not wanting to suck his bottle due to discomfort from his ear. Anyhow - he still isn't the biggest drinker, but I've learned to accept that that's the quantity my boy wants and needs.
Someone told me one day - Never get into the thick of thin things!
I'll try to stick to that!
Thanks for everyone's advise.
Since it sounds like you are trying the bottle before the food, why not try putting the formula in a sippy cup or even a glass and see if he'll drink it. It's obvious he has no patience for the bottle anymore so try giving him the formula another way.
Good luck!
my ped said.. that for the first year.. all of the nutrition comes form formula or breast milk.. food is just practice for eating.
so if he eats solids and wont drink the formula.. cut back on the foood..he doesnt need the food.. he needs the milk..
my ped says he needs 24 oz of milk per day until 1 year then they can go to 16 oz. per day..
Our pediatrician didn't give us the same advice as Lisa's.
Ours says that the majority of their nutrition should be from breast milk/formula with between 24-38 oz/day
Here are the guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics:
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/f...
I'd recommend asking your own pediatrician, though, to see what their personal guidelines are. All doctors interpret them a little differently, so I'd follow their advice and recommendations.
From the sounds of it, you're really doing a good job with what you're trying right now.
Stop with the solids all together. Infants don't need solids before 12 months. Solids are all about learning to eat and exploring tastes and textures, not about nutrition. They get EVERYTHING they need from breastmilk or formula until 12-18 months. So, he is being deprived nutrients if he doesn't get enough formula. Cut out the solids, go back to a formula schedule, then slowly add in small amounts of solids.
This may not be a popular answer (after seeing what everyone else had to say) but I'll throw it in the mix anyway. My ped (whom I love) was perfectly okay with taking the baby's lead. Both of mine were off the bottle and formula by 10 months old! (they do a finger prick test in the office to make sure there isn't an anemia issue, which would requre the extra iron found in formula/breast milk). As long as you are giving them healthy options, which it sounds like you absolutely are, then it's perfectly okay to begin the transition from bottle to real food! I wouldn't worry about it one bit - he's just a little bit ahead of the game, because no one is going to be on the bottle forever!
Think of it like this -- is it healthier for us, as adults to receive our nutrients from the source itself (real FOOD) or from a vitamin or supplement? From the source, of course. So, same holds true with babies - formula is a supplement and necessary when babies are too young to perform the act of actual eating. When they are able, however, it's actually healthier to receive nutrients from food rather than a supplement! (I'm a certified nutritionist/personal trainer, by the way)!
So, those are my 2 cents -- keep doing what you're doing because you're doing GREAT!
