[AlexGuitel]

Hello to everyone,

I'm starting to be very worried:

My 10month old baby who has been a big eater since he was born (he likes to try new food, never says no to a new solid) is decreasing his milk for 2 weeks now.
First I tried toi put some rice cereals in his bottle to settle him more if he eats less he refused comlpletly so I changed to normal cereals and it worked during a week, at least a little (he refused breakfast and only drank 120ml tops instead of the required 240ml but he ate good diner like 180ml or even sometimes 210ml) then he refused again so I changed to fruits cereals which are now partly working for breakfast (he drinks between 150 the good days and 60 the bad as today ) but he's still strange at diner. My pediatrician asked me to give him a little of solid food at night also (I already feed him solid at lunch and snack so his only milk supplies are breakfast & diner) so I gave him for a week a little of congee and tried to give him a bottle just after (with some cereals inside because I heared that he could just be bored of the milk) but he started to leave more and more and today he practicly didn't drink milk (60 this morning and 30 tonight), I try to give him milk in other forms like yogourt, like putting some milk in his congee at night but I'm running out of ideas and getting upset/worried:
In all the books I read it's written that untill 2 years old the baby should have at least 500ml of milk a day.
My bab if very fare from that ! And he is at a stage where he needs energy to learn how to moove alone, will he be missing energy if he doesnt have enought milk?
Did that happen to anyone of you?
Can you help me / reassure me?

I'm sooooo tired (and I don't have a helper which doesnt help to make me rest... but that's another story!)

Thank you in advance for your messages,
Alexandra

[Sumei]

hi Alexandra,

if it's any help, I've had alot of my friends' babies go through the "dont' like milk" phase, including my own son (14 months). Just the other day, he went through 2 to 3 days of drinking only about 20-30ml of his 180ml bottle (which is given to him 3 to 4 times a day) and refusing it - it happens for all sorts of reasons, teething, moods etc....the trick is to stay calm and not get over worried about it cos they are VERY intelligent little beings and sense the stress that you go through and act up on it......what I do is if he refuses to drink it, I take the bottle away and don't "force" it and try again 10-15 mins later (if he's still not taking it then leave it)....I don't know about your routine but to ensure he drinks his milk I give it to my son first thing in the morning (when he's thirsty) and at times when I know he's THIRSTYand HUNGRY (eg. at tea time, ie 3pm, I give him his milk first then his fruit and biscuits).....sometimes in a panic to ensure they get calcium and calories in their diet we give them more solids/calcium rich foods etc which only fills them up more so they are less likely to take their milk. If you find he's drinking smaller amounts, then just give him smaller amounts more frequently during the day.....it's very stressful I know (esp with the doctors and books saying they have ot have a min. amount of milk) so hang in there!

[AlexGuitel]

Hello Sumei,

Thank you very much. I'll try you advice (yesterday he woke up 2 hours after his bed time which he NEVER does and was so hungry that he finished the bottle that he had nearly completly left and this morning, again 30ml) and also I'll try to relax because I am tense and your are soooooo right, I'm sure he gets it...

How many babies do you have?

[Sumei]

hi Alex,

I have only one...we are hoping for #2 sometime next year? : ) I've noticed with a lot of my friends' babies that once they get to about a year old their milk intake can get VERY erratic, sometimes they'll finish their bottle, sometimes they'll refuse it all together, could be becos they are eating more solids (trying new foods etc) and see milk as just boring old milk, esp if they are not hungry! : )

are you tihnking of getting a full time helper or at least a part timer to help you with the housework?

[Karla]

Hi Alex and Sumei,

My little one is a bit younger than yours (7 month). But I am having the same problem. On top of that, she only eats very little solids (she is still trying new foods). Also she is teething and I think that is the cause of her refusing milk.

I have tried to relax and keep offering the bottle minutes later as you suggested. She would drink water from the bottle but not milk. Thankfully, she eats her solids without problem. I am not really sure what to do so she gets the nutrients she needs.

[mintycat]

That happened to my DD when she was around 8 months. She was teething and on top of that, it was the Christmas holidays and we took her out a lot, so that kind of disrupted her routine. There were days when she just drank 8-10 oz per day (vs. the normal 24 oz). But she was eating her solids fine. I even tried giving her milk in a sippy, straw and spoon, because I thought perhaps sucking on the bottle was uncomfortable for her due to teething. She wouldn't drink any at all. I was worried but my pediatrician assured me that it was probably a phase. If she is not losing a lot of weight and she has enough poopy and wet diapers everyday, I wouldn't worry too much. My DD went back to drinking her milk after about 2 weeks.