15mo not eating...being given too much milk?

[sailingby]

My 15mo DD is refusing to eat meals - or eats them sporadically. Very frustrating.

Could I be giving her too much milk?

She has 6oz 3 times a day (7am, 10am, 3pm) and then 8oz before she goes to bed. So total 26oz, all in a bottle.

Thanks. I don't weigh her (we don't have electric scales) but she is a very active and lively toddler.
I have no idea what the "norm" is for milk consumption at her age.
I'd probably have to cut out her afternoon milk first as that's the one that nursery say they would reduce (not that I would rely on them).
In terms of meals I always give her a decent portion in case I'm lucky and its a meal she eats. The number of delicious home cooked meals I've had to bin. And yet if she doesn't have her tea at nursery she often comes home and eats a Hipp meal no problem.

Could possibly be a behavioural thing? she insist on feeding herself (and is very good at it) and putting on her own bib.

My ds is 14mo and is bf on wake up/going to bed and has 3oz formula mid morning/mid afternoon. He was having 5oz mid morning/mid afternoon but I have cut that down as I was also worried he wasn't eating his food properly. He does seem to be eating his food better now though whether that is to do with the milk or not I don't know! I'm planning to continue reducing the mid am/mid pm milk over the next month but continue with the bf for a while. The way that I have done it (although I know it's not what it says on the packet!) is I dilute the milk with lots of water so he has say 6oz water with 3scoops so equivalent of 3oz milk as I think actually he is often thirsty rather than hungry as he used to bf v frequently in the day until I went back to work pt. Also I offer him a snack (rice cakes, fruit etc).

from 1 year a minimum of 350mls (approx 12oz) is recommended inclusive of milk in cereal, food, etc. Both my lo's were down to 2 milk feeds by 11 months so it does seem (to me) that your lo is drinking a lot of milk each day. The first daytime feed went by 9 months (mid-morning) and the afternoon one was dropped around 10 1/2 months. I replaced them with a small snack and a drink of water.

OK, thanks: I probably am offering her too much milk then.

Today I dropped the 3pm bottle and was very careful that she didn't have too many snacks (only a couple of rice cakes and half a biscuit - she rejected the other half - between noon and 5.30pm). But still she only ate a few spoonfuls of her evening meal. No matter what I did (showed books, showed her toys, allowed her to do some colouring) she wouldn't eat more - simply turned her head away when I tried to spoon it in.

I think it might just be her proving some independence: over the last 10 days she refuses to be fed, climbs in and out of her (my sons!) booster seat on her own (having shunned the highchair), puts on her own bib and goes crackers when I try to fasten the bib or her car seat belt (her having put the clips together).

I am beginning to realise how docile my son is!

Oh dear, I hope this phase doesn't carry on for long. She has her MMR tomorrow and I'd much rather she had it as a well fed little toddler (sound crazy I know)!

Are you sure she isnt teething? My DD has been teething for the past week and has refused most of her solids. Just glad she drinks milk.

My 14 month old is going through a similar phase - lots of head-shaking and point blank refusing food. Sometimes she'll refuse a spoon and only eat finger food, at other times it's the reverse. She has cut a new tooth this week so I think it's related, but I also agree that it is becoming an independence/control issue as well. I'm trying hard to be relaxed about it and not to make any fuss about whether she does or doesn't eat.

She has 6oz of milk first thing (between 6 and 7 am) and 7-8oz at bedtime (6.45 pm). We ditched the afternoon bottle over the last couple of weeks, and she dropped her mid-morning milk of her own accord at about 9 months.

My 11 month old DD is going through a phase at the moment as well. Turning her head away when I try to feed her: I find playing silly games helps like airplanes and really interacting with her. I pretend to eat some and make a big fuss of how yum yum yummy it is. She tries to stick food in my mouth and I play along. I often find when we lighten things up a bit by playing she becomes more open to being fed and eats better. Try not to have too many other distractions, just you and her or the whole family at the table all eating and interacting.

I'd say she could be having too much milk. My DD has 4oz on waking (6am), 4oz after her afternoon snack (3pm), and 7oz at bed time (7pm).

I replaced the mid morning milk with fruit/snacks. Try keeping the snacks light as well, as biscuits can be filling. I find, rice cakes, corn flakes, fruit, cucumber sticks, raisins etc. are good snacky foods and not too filling.

Good luck and hope she improves. As said above as well, teething is another factor. My DD doesn't eat much when she's teething.

PS: when I said corn flakes I meant dried special K flakes for her to munch on. Almost like having crisps, but much healthier!

Turns out DD has a sore throat (asked Doc to check her out before giving her the MMR) - so no MMR this week. And she was dribbling like crazy today, so could also be teething.

She had a good breakfast (shreddies and toast), didn't want her mid morning milk, and only ate what I was having at lunchtime (soup and chiabatta - not the bread and rissotto I'd got for her. Then downed her mid pm bottle and was desperate for some cake that I was eating (DS was being a shocker - I needed comfort food). Then this evening refused Shepherds Pie and the remainder of the risotto - and fromage frais.

I do try to keep the snacks healthy but DS is an active 3.5 yo and rice cakes and fruit don't always keep him going (I do try to have fruit to give him, but sometimes resort to a organix biscuit in the bottom of my bag). And of course DD sees it and demands it. Oh I do wish she would eat fruit - DS is a fruit fanatic, but DD gags if she gets as far as putting fruit in her mouth. Very very disappointing. Tho she adores raisins (tho not ideal for teeth) and will eat cucumber. I do like the idea of Special K flakes. She loves Annabel Karmel apple crisps - but we're not made of money!!

Playing "games eg trains into the tunnel" to get DS to eat used to work - but DD is altogether more stubborn - much more like me. It's a dangerous combination at the end of a tiring day!