8 mths old LO refusing bottle suddenly, please help

[Dr3ammu]

Hi. This is my first post..I'm searching all info and forums to help me with this and I don't know where to turn to for advice or if anyone has been in a similar situation. My LO is 8 mths and used to drink her milk from bottle until now. She is completely absolutely refusing to drink milk during the day like she used to. It's been 3 days and I am starting to worry as all the nutrients are in the milk and it was never a problem before! She used to have 1 bottlefeed at lunchtime with her meal, and a 2nd feed at nightime before bed. Now she will not drink the bottle at both times. I have tried offering her milk with her food, after every 2-3 spoonsful; I have tried splitting the big lunchtime feed between lunch and mid-afternoon - no success - she looks as if she's disgusted with it; she would pushed it away/turns her head away/pushed the teat out with ther tongue/throw back her head/crying/screaming...anything..but she STOPS when I take the bottle out of her sight, as if none of the screaming happened seconds ago! I'm really worried that she will not drink milk at all again and won't put on enough weight! Has anyone been in this situation? Do you know why LO has suddenly stops drinking bottle? Will LO go back to drinking milk again? Sorry for all this questions but I haven't a clue of what to do anymore. Any info/advice would be very much appreciated.

Our DS1 weaned himself off bottles - we gave him one of the little tommee tippee cups and he was really happy with that. I think it helped that the 'big kids' at playgroup drank out of them.

Did the same with DS2, though he preferred his milk cold.

Thx but I've tried using this cup & she still doesn't drink from it either...

Dr you are right to be worried as at this age it is much more important to get the milk into her rather than the solids.

Have you tried giving her the milk an hour before her solids so that she will be hungry? For instance if she has tea at 5pm try giving her the bottle at 4pm.

Another thing to try is giving her the bottle after her nap, if she is still sleepy she might just take it.

How often do you give her solids?

And have you checked her mouth?

Could she be ill or teething?

My DS is 9mo and has gone off his bedtime bottle the past few days. He has some upper teeth coming through and a bit of a cold. He's also a bit off his food (unusual for him).

Luckily am still bf'ing but he seems to be more interested in chewing (ouch) rather than feeding. Try other ways of getting dairy into her like mashed potato with cheese or yoghurt? DS is still eating tons of yoghurt!

Also check her mouth for oral thrush or tonsilitis. I've had oral thrush and it really hurts. And tonsilitis is doing the rounds.

Try a bit of Calpol and then try the feed again half an hour later?

I have to say, DS isn't very interested in his lunchtime bottle/breastfeed anyway, as of a few weeks ago. He goes to nursery one day a week and they said he refused it there. Probably full enough from his lunch!

I've heard anecdotes of friends' babies self-weaning and 8-9mo seems to be when that happens. I can't remember what my DC1 did.

If you are giving painkiller for dental pain then ibruprofen is much more effective than paracetamol Jubilee. Also, it is very unusal to self wean before 1. I would give the milk before the solids so that they are full from milk and have reduced solids.

Another one suggesting teething here, DD1 ate mainly yoghurt, mash with cheese, cereals with milk and breast milk lollies for days when teething at that age. You could try a straw cup if you can get her to suck from it.

Thanks for all the suggestions. JiltedJohns DD's on solids 3 times a day. I have tried offering formula after her afternoon nap - I reckon she would be hungry then - but nothing again.. She used to have formula right before solids during lunchtime. DD has been teething since a couple of weeks ago and was happily drinking formula before solids at mealtime. Jubilee She doesnot seem ill.. I've checked her mouth - there is a bit of bad breath - but she's eatings her solids in a good way so I don't think she has got oral thrush. I'm still bf'ing (luckily too given that formula is a big big no-no!) and for the mo, I am giving her lots of cheese and yogurt as substitute. But is this only a phase DD is going through?

Could it be that she doesn't want to be fed with a bottle but would rather take control herself? That is very normal at this age - and also healthy, as it means she learns how to self-regulate her eating.

Either way, I think going with the flow (scuse pun) could be a good thing - persistently trying to get a LO to do something she doesn't want to do often just makes things worse. Maybe offer her the milk in a sippy cup and just let her get on with it? I promise you she won't starve herself!

Hello,

My DS did that at 10 months, despite downing bottles previously to that. I didn't worry too much as he was older and ate a good amount of solids - although I did miss the bedtime bottle when we could cuddle and he would stroke my hair while drinking :(

It then occurred me that my brother and I are both lactose in tolerant - not massively I can eat things like parmesan and butter i.e, stuff relatively low in lactose but I can't do milk at all. My mother then told me that we both weaned ourselves off bottles roughly around 8 to 10 months.

So I just didn't give any milk and kept an eye on whether he would react with cheese/butter/cream/yoghurt ect, which he didn't.

About 6 months ago (when he was 2) he decided he wanted to drink milk as one of his little friends did, so I gave him some and I then realised that whenever he had milk he'd have explosive diarrhea for the next 2 days, so I figured he really couldn't do milk and we switched to oatmilk, which he loves.

You could get your little one tested, speak to your GP as if she is intolerant or allergic you should be able to get a replacement formula on prescription.

I haven't bothered as mine doesn't need to drink milk, he just wants to be like the others.

Obviously, as others said it could also be a myriad of other things like teething or wanting to feed herself..

Good luck

How was she yesterday/today, OP?

FWIW, my DS, after a few days off the bottle/formula, took his bottle with gusto last night.

He has not one, but TWO new teeth this morning. So that was definitely the problem with him.

Ah I didn't realise that you were still bfing Dr. She sounds like she has decided that she prefers bfing and it is quite normal for a bf or mix fed baby to stop taking bottles.

Have you spoken to a BFC about her breath refusal. You could try a number like the National Breastfeeding Helpline.

As for the bad breath, I'd get her checked out tomorrow, just to eliminate ear or a throat infection.

She is a mixfed baby & I am going back to work next week; hence the slight panic abt her stopping bottles. Sunday she was not shown/given her the bottle at all and ate lots of yogurt and cheese. Monday midday, she drank 3/4 bottle! And her 2nd tooth has cut through! But today, she's refusing again. I'm waiting for tomorrow when I can have her checked. It may be a combination of teething and wanting just solids too..Hard to know for sure but it's good to know these things happen to babies. Thanks for the support

I would phone one of the helplines, as well as getting her checked, just so that the BFC can talk you through bottle refusal and returning to work. Try the National Breastfeeding Helpline.