5.5 month old taking very little milk and solids

[user1488791198]

Recently my 5.5 month old is only drinking 3oz of milk, then pushes it away, he's used to take 6oz per feed and would go 3-4 hours in between. He still refuses it even if I offer him more 1-2 hours later. Last week I tried solids carrot puree and have tried swede, he takes a little bit and looks at me as if to say "what the hell have you just put in my mouth" and then pushes that away aswell! Any advice?

Are there any signs of teething at all?

He's got the two teeth at the bottom but no sign of others he got the first 2 at 4 months

Maybe he just isn't ready yet? 5.5 months is still a little young for solids, unless you have been advised to try for medical reasons?

6 months, plus signs of readiness such as sitting up and tongue thrust not being as strong.

I would leave the solid food a little longer, and concentrate on milk as that will remain most important till 13 months.

Could also be teething, that can cause a loss of appetite.

12 months*

You are not supposed to wean babies under 6 months. Not surprising he doesn't want it. Give it another few weeks.

The reason for me starting to wean was because of the milk issue it's been going on for over 2 weeks so I thought maybe he was seeing food etc! It's only a guild line I don't think that 2 weeks off 6months is a massive issue.

No, I don't think it's a massive issue - it just means you don't need to worry too much about the solids at this point because it's a little bit too early anyway.

Maybe he's coming down with something hence the lack of appetite for milk, or he's just going through a less hungry stage.

Have you spoken to your GP Or HV about his milk intake? Is he growing ok?

It doesn't sound like he's ready for solids. My DS is 9 months old and he's only just started really accepting solids within the last couple of weeks!

What teats are you using? We had a lot of refusing here until we upped to variflow

I'd also focus more on his output of nappies than what he's taking in. If he's happy enough and still wetting and spiking nappies I wouldn't worry too much. X

How long has he been off his bottles for? My 4 month old did this for about a week and she ended up having a cold and two teeth coming in. If it's been a while maybe take him to be weighed and speak to your HV.

It's only two weeks earlier than guidelines so I really don't think it's too big of a deal giving him the bit of food anyway.

You're his Mum and you know best, don't worry about giving him solids a few weeks early. Offering him veg isn't going to harm him and its not like you're force feeding him!

DS2 was exactly like this, never been a big drinker. From a young age he has always had much less than the recommended daily milk intake. When he was on only milk he would routinely only have 12-15oz a day and absolutely nothing would make him take more. I would cry and loose sleep over it as I was sure he would make himself poorly - But he gained weight fine, plenty of wet nappies and both GPs and HVs had no medical concerns. We offered him solids around 5 months (baby porridge, so more mush!) and he wasn't interested at all.

Around 6.5 months it was like a switch clicked and he loved solids. He has had 3 proper meals a day since then but will still only take 8-12oz milk, we make sure he gets plenty of calcium and dairy through cheese, yoghurts, formula in porridge etc... and hes absolutely fine. Just not a huge fan of milk...which is the polar opposite of DS1 who would wolf down 40oz a day sometimes!!

Unless he shows signs of dehydration of his wet nappies become fewer he should be fine. It's always reassuring to speak with your GP or HV so you might want to give them a call but you're doing everything you can.

He's on the mam bottles size 2 teat, I have tried the 3 teat numerous times at first as thought maybe he was having to work too hard for it but that just came out far too quickly for him and kept spitting it out and pushing it away! His nappies are still wet etc and is always full of beans. Will talk to my H/V and will stop the food for now, I never let him get distressed or force feed him, he takes some off the spoon and as soon as I see him go to push the spoon away or spit it out I take it away! Thanks for the advice everyone

With regards to bottles my DD is coming to the end (I hope) of a similar fussy bottle feeding phase pushing out batting away etc. She's always been a milk monster but recently was only taking a 2 or 3 oz at a time which was concerning. I've stopped letting her 'snack' so make sure she hasn't had any milk for a good couple of hours then feed in a darkened room with no distractions, this has helped massively.

If I were you I'd give solids a break for a few days before trying again, like a PP solids clicked all of a sudden with my DD, from spitting everything out she suddenly can't get enough but definitely prefers fingers foods.

I really wouldn't worry about being just under 6 months, check the nhs advice on signs of readiness which is most important that could be just before or even after 6M. It's not like a 6 month old magically becomes ready overnight!

Not sure where you got that information from... I have 2 children and both started taking food purées from 5 months and fully took to them. Also had this confirmed from the health visitor that it was perfectly fine.

It might be worth giving him a dose of ibruprofen half an hour before his next bottle is due, just to make sure he's not in any pain.

Why wean so early? It's supposed to be 6 months ans that may be complicating the issue. Has he shown all the signs he is ready?

Looked at this thread as I was looking for advice re. my 5.5 month old daughter who similar to the poster has stopped taking as much milk as she used to. Disgusted by the way this lady has been spoken to re. starting solids early!!!! The 6 month mark is a GUIDE! Some babies start before & some after. Its upto you when you feel YOUR baby is ready. Please do not slate someone because they have not made the same decision as you! It’s very patronising @BabyLlamaZen I find you particularly inflammatory! This forum is for advice not ripping someone to shreds because they have started weaning a couple of weeks before 6 months. We should all be supporting each other not pulling people down 😡.

@IndieMcg19

Totally agree. Was gobsmacked when reading this thread..

Jesus christ people need to calm the hell down about the 6 month thing...she did it ONLY a couple of weeks early and that too BECAUSE her LO was not having her milk. Jheeeeeeeez.

OP same thing happened to my now 5.5 month old and sadly we are still struggling lol :( we were advised to wean early due to reflux...some days she loves food and other days not so much so not sure what's going on. Just making sure she has wet and dirty nappies to calm myself down, but I totally understand your anxiety!