Refusing milk

[lilbooboo1]

Hi :)

My 5 and half month old is refusing her milk. It's such a struggle to get a few ounce inside her when she use to have 7oz every 4 hours. The only bottle she takes without screaming and getting upset is the one before bed. I've tried her with some baby porridge today and she wasn't that keen. Is this a normal thing that babies go through or should I be concerned 😕 she doesn't seem dehydrated and I have been given her some calpol as I think she's teething but still doesn't help with the milk situation.

Thanks in advance
X

How long has she been doing that? Sometimes the gums hurt when sucking or the nose is blocked.
If you could get teething gel or crystals, applying it just prior to a feed may help.
It sounds pretty normal but there will be a reason.

@ProfessorSillyStuff

How long has she been doing that? Sometimes the gums hurt when sucking or the nose is blocked. If you could get teething gel or crystals, applying it just prior to a feed may help. It sounds pretty normal but there will be a reason.

I would say she's been doing it the past week but it's getting worse. As soon as she sees the bottle she's starting to try wriggle away 😞 Her nose is clear but it could be her gums. I've been giving teethers from the fridge and calpol 20 mins before a bottle to see if that helped but still refusing it. I have also used teetha gel. Just not sure wether to stick it out and see if it's a phase or ring the doctors? X

Have you tried a faster teat? She might be frustrated with the flow being to slow?

@Vicky1989x

Have you tried a faster teat? She might be frustrated with the flow being to slow?

She's on size 2 teats (mam bottles) tried size 3 and it's way to fast, she just chokes and half of it spills from her mouth 😖 x

In my experience calpol was enough to help with the background pain of teething for sleep, naps and general grizzlies, but a topical local anaesthetic like bongela infant or teething granules was still necessary for them to take a bottle. It's a tough phase for sure!
If it doesn't work then I'd phone the health visitor.
I never found chilled teethers worked well. I did used to cut up fruit and freeze it and put into a net type feeder for them at this time to help get some nutrients in.
A vitamin supplement with iron can also be used from 6 months such as wellbaby liquid. My kids were poor feeders and turned out to have asd. My five year old still becomes pale and thin if he doesn't have his wellkid liquid for 3 weeks!

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@ProfessorSillyStuff

In my experience calpol was enough to help with the background pain of teething for sleep, naps and general grizzlies, but a topical local anaesthetic like bongela infant or teething granules was still necessary for them to take a bottle. It's a tough phase for sure! If it doesn't work then I'd phone the health visitor. I never found chilled teethers worked well. I did used to cut up fruit and freeze it and put into a net type feeder for them at this time to help get some nutrients in. A vitamin supplement with iron can also be used from 6 months such as wellbaby liquid. My kids were poor feeders and turned out to have asd. My five year old still becomes pale and thin if he doesn't have his wellkid liquid for 3 weeks!

Thank you for the advice, I'll give the teething granules ago with her next feed. It's just so hard when they can't tell you what's wrong 😖 I've messaged my health visitor and she said it could be teething or just a phase she's going through. She said as long as she's alert and taking some milk she should be fine and it will pass. Just can't help but feel like there's something wrong x

Try nurofen and anbesol liquid together for teething.

The only think one teething granules which offer any pain relief is the sugar. You will get the same effect if you pour sugar in her mouth.

Omg ... OP, are you me?

Almost 5mo refusing milk here too. Will take a large bottle at dreamfeed when he's essentially too sleepy to refuse but otherwise, during the day, he protests the moment we sit on lap to give it to him. He kind of arches his back and moans. He might take an oz or two if I'm lucky before he turns and point blank refuses anymore. This has been going on since last Saturday, so almost a week. He has never been too enamoured with milk but had been taking about 5-6oz every 3 hours during the day before this latest hunger strike.

Took to GP yesterday as so concerned and told I could early wean if it carries on. Tried some Ella sweet potato pouch today (teeeeny bit) and he seemed okay with it, but even if I do start weaning it'll be a while before he eats enough for it to count and meanwhile he's not getting his nourishment from milk. It's so stressful!

I do believe his is teething related pain. Tried bigger teat, but had same experience as you. Been giving Anbesol (brilliant stuff!) at bottle time and it helps a bit but he still won't drink much.

I've never tried teething granules personally, I've met a few mums who swore by them though. I used the infant bongela and it helped so much, I would always try to keep some in the house although I had very little money at the time.

Ps.If you feel that then do keep an eye on her. Mother's instinct is usually pretty good ime. It sounds like you're doing a great job OP, it is really hard needing to be a mindreader!

@FinallySomeNormality

Omg ... OP, are you me?

Almost 5mo refusing milk here too. Will take a large bottle at dreamfeed when he's essentially too sleepy to refuse but otherwise, during the day, he protests the moment we sit on lap to give it to him. He kind of arches his back and moans. He might take an oz or two if I'm lucky before he turns and point blank refuses anymore. This has been going on since last Saturday, so almost a week. He has never been too enamoured with milk but had been taking about 5-6oz every 3 hours during the day before this latest hunger strike.

Took to GP yesterday as so concerned and told I could early wean if it carries on. Tried some Ella sweet potato pouch today (teeeeny bit) and he seemed okay with it, but even if I do start weaning it'll be a while before he eats enough for it to count and meanwhile he's not getting his nourishment from milk. It's so stressful!

I do believe his is teething related pain. Tried bigger teat, but had same experience as you. Been giving Anbesol (brilliant stuff!) at bottle time and it helps a bit but he still won't drink much.

Sounds exactly the same 😣 it's so hard because you dread when it's time for a bottle. And like you said the weening of food isn't enough for them. I'm really hoping it's a phase and she will just wake up one day as hungry as ever! Haha I've ended up getting my partner to feed her more as she doesn't seem to play up as much. Just managed to get a 7oz bottle in her as we speak 😆 first time in a while! Fingers crossed for a settled night! Xx

@ProfessorSillyStuff

Ps.If you feel that then do keep an eye on her. Mother's instinct is usually pretty good ime. It sounds like you're doing a great job OP, it is really hard needing to be a mindreader!

Thank you means a lot ❤️ x

How are you getting on OP?

My DS started to get a bit more interested in milk again once he cut his first tooth a few weeks ago...but now we're back to milk refusal again. We are weaning him and he does have small amounts of porridge, purées and some finger food (can't say he swallows much finger food though!) but he's not overly bothered by solids either! I feel like he is just never hungry or interested in eating or drinking!

Annoyingly, still wakes at about 4:30/5:30am for a feed too - a tiny 2-3oz! Almost doesn't seem any point!

@FinallySomeNormality

How are you getting on OP?

My DS started to get a bit more interested in milk again once he cut his first tooth a few weeks ago...but now we're back to milk refusal again. We are weaning him and he does have small amounts of porridge, purées and some finger food (can't say he swallows much finger food though!) but he's not overly bothered by solids either! I feel like he is just never hungry or interested in eating or drinking!

Annoyingly, still wakes at about 4:30/5:30am for a feed too - a tiny 2-3oz! Almost doesn't seem any point!

Hey :) she eventually went back to drinking her milk. No teeth in sight though! She's been on 4 7oz bottles a day and I've dropped the milk feed at night as I've started on food. She's great with all her food either purées or finger food. The problem now has been her belly. I'm not sure wether it's a stomach bug or her adjusting to her food. She was fine the first week and bit but the past few days she's pooped loads and is so grizzly 😖 my partner has said to work he's not going in for the afternoon to give me a break as I got really upset. It's so hard to listen to them cry and not know what to do 😣 it's been a hard few days and long nights. She still wakes in the night but I don't give her milk I just rock to sleep. I think she will wake because she is use to for milk but like yours she was hardly taking any. It's more of comfort thing so I'm just riding it out and hopefully she will learn not to wake 🤞 I'm not sure if this is teeth or a growth spurt or she's just not well. Babies are hard! 😂

Also I've spoke to my health visitor and she's told me that once you start weaning they don't need as much milk. She said it could be the amount of milk and food that's giving her belly ache. She only needs 550ml of milk a day which can be from a bottle or included in food. The goal is to scrap bottles slowly as food is introduced. I didn't know this and was still giving her the same amount of milk and food on top x

Personally, I allow as much milk as mine want, but it's not considered correct to, because they will be hungrier and eat better if you offer water instead at this age.
It sounds like her tummy is adjusting. Some live yogurt, banana and sweet potato could help with providing useful bacteria and soluble fibre. I think yeo Valley does one that is 6m +, they are expensive but just one pack of six would introduce the strains of bacteria that create the enzyme needed to digest cows milk ready for when she is 1.
Just to check, are you winding her a lot? The thicker consistency from solids in her tummy could mean you have to work a bit more to get the wind up.
One of mine would burp easily but the other you had to have a special technique of rubbing, bouncing and tilting and it would take about 10 minutes and he would do a massive hard burp . I had to do it in the middle of the feed and at the end, or he would get upset after 4oz.

How long was it until she went back to drinking normally? Were going through this now and it's tough