7 month old won’t take any milk! HELP!

[mum2bemay22]

Can anyone help me, my 7 month old son won’t take hardly any milk and I’m starting to worry. I’ve rang the HV who is going to weigh him in a few days. He will only take a 6oz bottle in the morning when he wakes and then I use some on his breakfast in the morning, he barely takes anything throughout the day even though I offer it to him and before bed he refuses it full stop! I’m really getting down about it as he isn’t the chunkiest of babies and the last time I had him weighed he had dropped to the 25th line and now I think he is probably bordering underweight 😔. Has anyone got any tips? I formula feed him by the way. He is being weaned and having three solid meals a day, I do try the milk before and after foods but it makes no difference. Any advise would be greatly appreciated x

If he's having 3 meals a day I wouldn't worry as much. Keep offering drinks with meals and try to get other sources of calcium in. Add milk to meals as much as possible if they're having purees, put it in cereal etc.

I weaned both of mine early and by about that age months were on 3 meals a day and only had a bottlefirst thing and before bed.

My seven month old DS has gone off milk since having three meals a day. Even 1st thing he will only drink 2 oz but i put it in his porridge. He does drink the one before bed. Does he drink water?

Yes he drinks water at lunch and dinner time, he takes a little, not a lot but he is getting better. I’ve even changed formulas to see if that was the reason but still no luck! I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s struggled. I do give him yoghurts too to get the calcium in him and I always use the milk over his cereal in the morning!

If you are worried about his weight, I’d drop one of the meals he has each day. This should encourage him to drink more formula which is more calorific than most foods you can give.

Are you giving him a vitamin supplement too?

Yes same here with yogurt. I buy a big tub of natural yogurt and mix with puree and he will have a lot more than if it was an individual pot. Its that inbetweeny stage they are at where its hard to know if they are getting enough of everything. My DS likes his water. I know theres a lot of bad press over it but i dont think it makes sense as water makes up formula bottled

I have thought to do that but I want to speak with the HV first before I drop a meal, he loves his food! No vitamin supplements yet, again, hoping HV will tell me whether he needs them or not!

If he really won’t take formula, it’s important to replace not just the calcium but the fat too. Look for good sources of fats like oily fish and olive oil.

I seem to recall a milk strike in mine at around this age. If you are concerned offer milk before meals and maybe offer slitghly less at meal time

I am trying to reduce the size of the meals he has slightly to try and encourage him to have a bottle and again, I have tried to offer the milk prior to food but I just get him screaming and crying 🙁

The current advice is that only breastfed babies need a vitamin supp (dont get that as its meant to be better) its around 18 to 21 oz a day min of formula a day at this age till 12 months

P.s. I have added fish to my shopping list, Thank you!

According to the NHS guidelines, which your HV should be following, all babies and children between 6 months and 5 years need a vitamin supplement unless they’re having 20 floz of formula in 24 hours.

Also in the guidelines it says to move to 3 meals between 8 and 9 months. So it’s fine to drop a meal for a couple of weeks

This is why I worry Mumshappy because he is no where near the 18oz most days 😫

Sorry, I’ve read that info again on vitamins and it’s bf babies and ff babies who drink less than 500 ml, around 16 floz, a day. How much formula would you say he’s having?

It is all only guidelines though! My DS was definitely ready for solids before the NHS guidelines so I wouldn’t want to drop that meal as we’ve been weaning since 5 months and only recently has he chosen to not drink milk so I’m not sure it’s because he is full but more perhaps he has a taste for other flavours? I don’t know!

I can get 5oz in DSs porridge if you can manage that plus the 6 in the first bottle your well on your way . He only needs a few more oz throughout the day. Ive googled 500ml its 17.5 oz

It varies day to day, today for example, he has taken about 11oz. Yesterday he took closer to 16oz so it’s unpredictable

It is all only guidelines though yes, but weren’t you asking for advice because you’re worried about his weight?

I wouldnt drop the meal either. DS was weaned early too

Just give cheese and yoghurt as much as possible to replace, mine stopped milk at about 10 months.

Sorry again, it’s my tired eyes. My calculator said 500 ml was 16.9 which I misread as 16floz.

So I suppose our day looks like this:
Wakes up about 6am and has a 6oz bottle, he may only take 4oz of that.
Breakfast at 8am and I get 5oz into his weetabix
He then has his morning nap and SOMETIMES he might take another 2oz but that’s hit and miss
He doesn’t want anything after that until he has his solid lunch at 12:30pm
I try again between 2-3pm and we are hit and miss there but he may take about 3oz.
We try again at bedtime and he takes an oz if that!

Your virtually there

I’d shrink down the meals if you don’t want to drop one. My LO probably wasn’t on 3 meals until closer to 10months, that’s the only way I can think to get him to take more milk

I’m going to try your natural yoghurt approach Mumshappy, currently he has petit filous (shoot me for giving him sugar but he likes them)