16 month old wont drink milk

[AlCookie]

I am tired of trying this and that. Nothings working. Its cows milk that i m offering. He drank it for some time last month with a lot of issues but now its no again.

He is too small for his age - 8.7 kgs 74 cms at 16 months.

I know i can get calcium from other sources but i m too concerned about the fat!!! I got pediasure to 'fatten' him but he just doesnt want to drink AT ALL!

I have googled n got tons of ideas but nothing is working.

Can anyone help me out with other ideas how i can get him fat?? He really needs fat for healthy development n i guess most kids get it from the milk....i m so depressed.

...and so desperate that i tried forcing pediasure using a syringe!! But that definitely is too cruel n will make him hate it even more.

Yes, avoid the force feeding at all costs - it will stress both of you out terribly.

It's really difficult not to be anxious about this issue but try as much as possible to control it - your DS will pick up on it and drinking will become a Great Big Deal rather than just something we do.

He might try 'milkshakes' - banana or berries or other fruit blended with milk? If/when you offer a new drink, just hand it over in his usual cup and walk away - try not to hover over him or be too 'encouraging' (again, really hard I know!) If he doesn't want it, take it away, don't get into a battle - pop it in the fridge and offer it again later.

Also try natural/greek yogurt in a bowl with a spoon - add some fruit (fresh or dried) if you like. It would be another source of calcium for him.

Good luck

Would he eat cheese, either cubes or grated?

Smoothies are good either milk or cream with banana, strawberry, raspberry and some ice are mice especially in this heat as long as its not left out too long.

You can also add unsalted butter to cooked vegetables and make mash with butter which may help him gain weight.

I make milk time a special time with my son, who gets super distracted. I play him his favourite shows/songs on my iPad whilst he drinks his bottle. It distracts him and he just guzzles most of the bottle back. Another thing is he likes his milk in his cereal so I pour LOADS in and then give him a straw to drink the milk out of the bowl afterwards. It kind of tastes like Cheerios or whatever he has had and he enjoys it...

DS1 wasn't a big milk drinker at that age, but he had loads of cheese, yoghurts etc so I didn't worry about it too much.

2 of my 4 had given up milk long before that age, they just got it from other sources.

grated cheese is good for this age group too

As my LO can't have dairy I have to think of other ways to make his diet 'fatty' enough. There are plenty of other fats that can give calories, and there are other sources of calcium - our preoccupation with dairy is a Western reliance. For example: Give meat with more fat than you might consider healthy for yourself - chicken drumsticks with the skin, cook mince and spoon the fat off the top and stir it into his bowel for things like bolognaise, eggs are very nutritious, cook with healthy slug of olive oil - this makes a tomato pasta sauce soooo delicious, avocados are very good for you, peanut butter on rice cakes. My LO can tolerate baked dairy so he has croissants for brekkie/snack quite a lot. I'm no dietician but have talked all these ideas through with a dietician so I think it is ok advice. My LO is bf for his milk source, but has reduced this recently, and is now 19 MO. He has really soared back up the growth charts recently so try not to worry. I think this is mostly due to increasing his solids in the last few months - maybe your LO will do the same?

Also sounds obvious but don't give too many 'bulky' foods like wholegrain rice/bread and pulses. Hope this helps :)

We're in a similar situation with my DTs who were 31weekers, they are almost two and around 9kg. They eat a LOT of cheese, I use double cream for cheese sauces, add cheese to the top of spag bol etc, mash with butter, butter meted on to veg or add cream to stew / pasta sauce. They like peanut butter on celery sticks for a snack or full fat cream cheese on an oat cake and full fat yoghurt for desserts. I also make them rice pudding with cream. I'm trying to get them on to advocado but they wont touch it for some reason.

I've given up on milk they just won't drink it and actively pick their cereal out of the milk unless it's weetabix and they can't. They dont NEED milk at that age but I know where you're coming from re the calories / fat.

There's some great advice on here already, was just wondering if he's been tested for cow's milk protein intolerance. There is some info on dairy sensitivity here and some info from allergy uk here.

If he eats dairy in other forms, like cheese on toast, mascarpone in his pasta sauce, butter in his mash etc i don't think you have much to worry about. If he won't take any dairy at all I'd get him checked for an intolerance and ask to see a paediatric dietician.

Don't know if its been mentioned already by try salmon, full of healthy fat and calcium too

Thank u so much all you wonderful people!!

Got some great ideas n a lot if encouragement - exactly what i was looking for