7 month old hardly drinking milk, advice much appreciated

[namechangerforareason]

Hi all,

I do need to go out soon so sorry for posting and running but will check back later/tomorrow in the hope of some divine inspiration.

My DS is 7 months, always been great with milk feeds taking around 7-8 oz 4 feeds a day since 5 months.

We started to wean him 6 weeks ago, a few weeks early but he needed extra in our opinion, just very unsettled.

Anyway past few days he really hasnt been taking much milk, over the course of the day around 12 or 13 oz, when I know recommendation is around 16-20 oz.
He is not interested, hitting bottle away(refuses to use cup), spitting milk out etc.
He wont drink water, I even tried baby flavoured water, not interested.

He has his bottle before his solids at each meal but only takes a wee drop then thats it, tried to give him after his solids too but not interested and gets really upset.

He is doing great with food though, has his cereal in morning, fruit for lunch, yougurt in afternoon and his dinner around 4pm. Try to mix a s much milk as I can through his solids too.

I just worry about his milk intake and have tried to sneak it with rusks etc but not working. He is also gagging a lot on lumps and actually vomiting back up most of what he has previously taken when he gags so have taken a step back to puree for now. Its so so with finger foods, some days he is fine, others he vomits a lot.

We are waiting on an appointment to see a specialist as he has bad reflux, been on gaviscon since 5 weeks and we cant wean him off without him vomiting very forcibly, almost his entire feed.

Other than that a happy baby, sleeps well, doing great and weight gain has been steady.

Will try to check later but prob wont get on til tomorrow now.

Any help/advice would be so welcome. I know I being all PFB about him but I waited 8 years for him and worry too much I think.

Just to say HV says just to persevere but when it takes 2 hours to get him to take 100mls it gets a bit much

TIA

[johnworf]

FWIW my DD is the same. She's just over a year old now (9 months corrected). She's stopped taking her Gaviscon about 2 weeks ago but she's been on it since pretty much she's been on milk.

She has about 12-15 ozs of milk a day. Some drunk, most in food. She spits it out, smacks the bottle too. No idea why and told her consultant about it. Just told me to try and get as much milk into her diet instead. Make sure that she has butter not margarine. Also cheese and yoghurts. All full fat.

My DD loves the Ella's House foods that come in a tube. She will not take any of the jars anymore as she was gagging on them or just refused to eat them.

Wish I could offer more help but I'm where you are!

[Concepta]

Sorry can't offer any advice, but hate to see threads not answered so bumping this for you - hope you get sorted.

[chocolategal]

hi namechange
My DS, also 7 months has been like this for a few days now. Today I think he only took 11oz, normally will feed overnight though. Is he teething? I know my DS did this last month just before 2 teeth appeared.
If he is gaining weight and taking a good diet I would try not to stress it too much. Easier said than done I know! PFB here too!
Anyway, I've been advised to give extra yoghurts,creamy puddings etc and hope it passes once teeth have appeared.

Let us know how it goes

[Wigglesworth]

I would tend to lean towards teeth too. It could just be a phase, one day my DS loves his milk the next he isn't very interested.
It is utterley frustrating and I have got really miffed off to the point of tears when DS won't eat or doesn't want his milk. I have learned to accept that some days he just doesn't want it and I am less stressed about it now than I used to be, I am very PFBish, but I found the more I battled it the more pissed off we both got.

[namechangerforareason]

Firstly, thanks to you all for your replies, very much appreciated!

Concepta I am the same with unanswered threads so thank you for the bump!

johnworf so sorry you are in same position, its not easy is it? Hope that your DD gets a bit better for you and so glad she is off the gaviscon. We have tried and tried to no avail to get DS off but have got him down to 1 sachet per feed so getting there, he has been on it for 6.5 months now and thankfully it has helped as the poor wee man was just so sick all of the time. Just waiting on appointment at yorkhill to rule out any other cause but I do feel it is just reflux.
Have been using his milk in his foodstuff too so I am managing to sneak a little in. Has choking and vomiting with a lot of finger foods so hopefully when he can have full fat cheese/ butter on toast etc that will help too.

chocolategal
My Ds got his first tooth 3 weeks ago now and TBH it didn't really phase him re food, the sleep went a bit potty for a few nights but always took his bottles etc but I had considered it might be a possibility as I know some children do go off their food when teething so yeah I am hoping it is just that. Its so hard not to worry isn't it? I always thought that if I did become a mother I wouldn't be a stressed one but hey ho, I find myself counting wet/dirty nappies and the like. I know its not a great way to be and I know I shouldn't but I just cant help it. Do it subconsciously now! Will deffo give him extra creamy foods though. Thank you! Hope your DS is feeding better today also.

wigglesworth
I hear ya on that one. So hard not to fret when you have a HV telling you he must have at least 16oz milk per day! I too find the more stressed I am the more stressed Ds is and I try to keep from fretting but sometimes when I have had a bad day its not easy as I am sure you know. Will try to count to 10 today! Will keep checking his gums at nappy changes to see if he is possibly having another tooth through.

Have decided to try to drop a milk feed today to see if it makes him hungrier for it IYSWIM? God, that sounds harsh when you write it down! I am going to try spacing out his solids too so my plan for the next few days(totally depending on his reaction) is:

Breakfast, milk and cereal made with milk
Lunch, Fruit and yogurt, water
Afternoon, Milk
Dinner, meal with creamy desert and water
Bedtime, milk(usually takes 8oz here but not recently)

Was thinking that possibly he would take more milk at these feeds and with 3 bottles a day if he took 6 oz each that would be 18oz in total. Obviously I would offer water regularly in the hope he took some but don't want him to fill up on it, TBH I don't think he will as he doesn't really take water drinks.

Will see how we go toady, so far he has taken 5oz from bottle and a further 2 in cereal so already an improvement from past few days!

I know I need to stop stressing, I just can't help myself!

Once again, thank you so very much for taking the time to help me out. You are all superstars!

[chocolategal]

Glad there is a slight improvement namechange.
My HV said that the 16oz includes youghurts,dairylea,creamy puddings so sounds like your DS is probably getting enough.

I found myself yesterday counting number of wet nappys! I too was getting stressed by it andam more reassured by this thread, so thanks for posting.

[namechangerforareason]

Aw thank you!
Glad this thread had brought you some reassurance too. I wasn't sure whether to start it as I thought people might think I was a bit mental and PFB but so glad I did now.

DS awake after morning nap so as its horrible outside we will have to make do with play mat on sitting room floor!

Thank you again!