ff baby refusing milk!

[ratfly]

I am sure this has been covered, but my search thing makes my internet crash...

Ds is 6 months old. I have been giving him food for the past 3 weeks - ever since he swiped at dh's food, cups of tea, cereal, even the dog food if he saw it!

He is loving solids, and I could easily put him on 3 meals a day, but am restricting him to breakfast (a couple of cubes and baby rice) and lunch (a couple of cubes).

The thing is he is rejecting the bottle now. So, this morning he refused his 7am feed after 1 oz(had about 2oz in the night), ate all his breakfast, refused his 11am feed so we skipped lunch and gave him another bottle at 12 which he took.

Should I just cut down on his meals then? I know that pear and apple doesnt contain the same vitamins as 6oz milk () so shall I cut down on his solids, or let him eat as much as he likes and let him reduce his milk feeds?

[IsabelWatchingItRainInMacondo]

I don't thing the idea is to cut down his meals,but perhaps giving half of the milk before the meal would help.

[ruddynorah]

he needs his milk. he's only just 6 months so doesn't need much in the way of solids at all. just give him bits of food to play with. he shouldn't be filling up on them. if he feeds himself he won't be able to eat too much.

[ratfly]

if I gave him half his milk before, he would still refuse it but eat his solids!!
he likes his food!

[WilkiesWizardWheezes]

Ratfly - just came on here to post similar question. My DS has never liked milk particularly so I weaned him early at 15 weeks as suggested my GP and HV. He is doing brilliantly on solids and has three meals a day but is down to one 6oz bottle at bedtime.

I make his morning cereal up with 4oz milk and he always has some sort of dairy pudding i.e. yoghurt, custard etc.

What are the consequences of him not having enough milk????

[fingerwoman]

I would cut down on the solids and keep on with the milk. Milk is the main source of nutrition up to a year, so it's important he gets enough. If he really resists you could make up porridge in the morning with formula or cows milk as a good way of getting some down him

[REIDmylips]

My ds did exactly the same. I always made sure he had his milk before there were any signs (sight or smell!) of food. He too went through a phase where he wouldnt take his milk. He went down from 3x6-8 oz bottles (which i did and still do give him just before each meal) to taking only 2-4 oz from each bottle (sometimes less!).

I am happy to say that this only lasted 3-4 weeks. He soon got the idea and realised that he could enjoy both.

He is now almost 11 months old and is a huge food fan (no idea where he gets that from ) he has 3 x 6-8 oz bottles a day plus a pretty big breakfast, lunch and tea.

HTH

[asher]

Rohan still wakes about 2 times in the night now on solids, is it because he isnt getting enough milk in the day????

Hi, i am also now weaning my 6 month old onto solids (Now 3 meals a day)and being previously breastfed only now having 3 bottles out of the 5 milk feeds a day is only taking roughly 3 oz of formula? The night bottle at 8pm tends to be a little more, say 5 ish oz's. He will take more off me than anyone else, perhaps i'm a little more pushy with it but am worried he isnt having enough milk in the day. I have tried decreasing the food amount and giving the size 2 teat instead of 3, fast flow to see if its to fast but he just tires quicker on the slower flow. Has anyone swapped formulas to see if its the milk or is it just them going through a fussy stage? Currently on Aptamil stage 1 and sometimes i give stage 2 to see if fills him up but seeing no difference.

[ratfly]

Ds seems to be taking his milk again - I gave his bottle before his food (with absolutely NO hint of solids afterwards!) and he took 6oz. then had 2 cubes solids. I think, as Reidmylips said, he realised he CAN have both!

[WilkiesWizardWheezes]

Ratfly - great!

Asher - spoke to my HV this morning after posting on here and she gave the following advice. Not to worry about the amount of milk he is having. About 6 months they can go through a fussy stage which is linked more to teething than anything. She said to ensure I give plenty of dairy products i.e. cheese, yoghurts, custard, cereal with milk (which I am doing) and fresh water/diulted juice. My DS has breakfast 7.30am (baby cereal mixed with formula), lunch 11.30am three cubes savoury then pot of yoghurt/custard or pureed fruit and juice drink, tea 3.30pm five cubes savoury and pudding (as above) and juice drink, 7oz bottle 6.30pm.

The waking in the night is prob more to do with teething or habit than anything. My DS usually wakes once or twice for a few minutes to be settled back down. He has a dummy too which he can't settle without (I am trying to wean him off his dummy).

If your LO is waking and very upset, it could be teeth either in the gums or coming through (my DS doesn't have any teeth yet but has white lumps in the front of his gums) so I give a spoonful of Calpol if he is upset to help the pain.

HTH!!

[REIDmylips]

glad you have had success Rafty

[REIDmylips]

erm i mean Ratfly oops

[asher]

Ratfly
Thanks for the reply. I think i am trying to shoe horn to much food and milk into him in a day..
8am breakfast then bottle. 12am Lunch then breast. 4pm Dinner then bottle, 8pm just a bottle, poor thing, as he will gladly take his food 2 cubes with sometimes milk mixed in..Breakfast i hide 2 oz in with babyrice)but after a little of the bottle he will then clamp his lips and refuse any more. I am giving milk straight after the food and i think he is just full.(Although i know if the breast was offered he would take more of that, "cheeky toad"
I will add more dairy foods also, cheers.

The night waking could sometimes be habit especially the odd occations he wakes a couple of hrs after i have just breastfed him. Sometimes i can rock him back off. Generally though he wakes twice, anything between 11 and 1am and around 5 or 6ish.(early morning one is not to bad just need to find a way to cut out the other)

[Seona1973]

Asher, why not try splitting the food and milk and see if he takes more milk that way - I rarely gave both together as there isnt much room for both at the same time e.g. my routine was (give or take half an hour here and there):

7am - bottle
8am-breakfast
11am-bottle
12pm-lunch
3pm-bottle
5pm-dinner
7.15pm-bottle

I always gave the bottle first and the solids after as milk is more important at this stage.

Also, up to 8 months ds woke for a feed most nights but he gave it up by himself (although I did limit the feed to 4oz from 6 months)

[Seona1973]

OR, if you wanted to give both together, give milk first rather than solids as solids are to supplement the milk not to take over from it