Weaning a baby who had never taken much milk

[WankPuffins]

Dd is 5 months and so I'm starting to think about weaning.

The trouble is, she has never taken more than 16-20oz of milk over 24 hours since she was born. To be honest, if we get 20oz in, it's a win. She just won't drink anymore milk. Perfectly happy, hitting all milestones just not a hungry baby.

Weight is fine, it hovers around 25th centile somehow.

But I know when I start weaning she'll probably take even less milk (my other two did but they were absolute guzzlers, so it wasn't an issue).

Any advice?

I'd delay until 6 months and offer usual milk first and food in between milk feeds rather than at the same time

Wean her on foods which contain milk (porridge, mash, fish in a white sauce, custard etc...) and add cheese to her baby food. Offer milk before solids.

Oh gosh yes, I would aways try her milk first. She can go up to 6 hours in between feeds of 3oz though so it's so hard!

I'll wean her onto milk rich foods.

It's just so, so hard when they are not interested in milk, I didn't have this with my older two.

She's been checked out by a paediatrician twice - she had a touch of silent reflux but the symptoms went within two days of starting gavsicon. She's perfectly healthy, just not fussed on milk.

I'm worried she will be the same with food and then cut down on the milk even more.

My son is 6 months and also doesn't like drinking milk but absolutely loves to eat food. I was shocked at the amount he eats and I make sure I hide plenty of milk into his food and he doesn't notice.

At first weaning doesn’t normally have much of an impact on milk. Give milk 30 to 60 mins before food for the first couple of months.

Thank you. You wouldn't think this was my 3rd child the amount of worry going into weaning this time!

We had this with DS. He never took more than 3oz in one go and some days it would be 12oz max. His weight was fine so I can only assume he's got a terrible metabolism!

When it came to weaning I started at 6 months and, as you are expecting, he pretty much ditched milk within the first couple of weeks. I made sure he had a balanced diet obviously and he was pretty much on three full meals and snacks straight away. I kept trying so he had the odd couple of oz of formula, but couldn't force feed him so just went with it and he never had another bottle after he was about 9 months.

No idea if this was right or wrong but he's nearly 4 and is the best eater out of my three children and is perfectly healthy.

I did discuss with the paediatrician who said in his experience, he would wean at 4 months due to her reflux as it could still be causing pain even though the physical symptoms have gone, could be putting her off her milk.

She's such a happy little thing though. Nothing really bothers her (apart from her teeth). Even when she was puking with reflux at bad point, she was smiling and laughing during abs after.

I wanted to hold off until 6 months. But now I'm at the half way point between the drs opinion and mine.

Oh yeah, don't assume she's not a hungry baby because of the milk thing. My DS didn't like formula (any formula, we tried them all) but he ate food like a horse!

God sorry, keep forgetting things - DS also had terrible reflux so this might be the reason.

@mistermagpie that's what worries me! I had my metabolic rate tested once (my friend was doing a PHD and as I've always had to exist on air not to gain weight, I volunteered as her guinea pig). My metabolism is shite. I'm worried Dd is cursed with the same thing.

No one expected her to keep to her centile. She was born on the 3rd and went to 25th by 8 weeks and has stayed there, despite never upping her milk intake.

Well I've got three children, two are tall and skinny but the milk refusing child is short and... well, not so skinny. So I do think there might be something in that. I was always shocked DS wasn't underweight because some days he ate practically nothing.

But what can you do? I tried every milk you could buy, different bottles, different temperatures, dark rooms, light rooms, outside, inside... you name it.

Oh we've tied it all too. Milks, bottles, positions. We have the best luck when she's just dropped off to sleep for a nap. She's been know to drink 4oz on occasion then and I feel like throwing a bloody party.

The worse bit of advise was from a locom doctor who said "if she will only drink 2oz, make a 6oz bottle. Babies will always keep sucking, she will drink it all."

Like I was only making a 2oz bottle and complaining she wouldn't drink more. Muppet.

When it comes to cheese, not all are create equal. The industrial square one wrapped in plastic is little more than consolidated fat, the traditional cheeses is where you should go first, and especially those with the highest calcium content, parmiggiano reggiano (not the fake parmesan) and grana padano.

You can add some cheese to soups, soupy risottos, pasta cooked in broth.
I would follow your paediatrician advise and take the unique opportunity to offer the widest possible selection of food during that time window in which children are open to more food.

My son's reflux got worse with weaning before getting better.

Wow I'm so glad I came across this thread...my Little one is the same. She suddenly went off her milk around 4 months and has been the same ever since. Like you, 20oz is a massive win! We were advised by the consultant to wean early due to reflux and I've been worried sick about her milk intake dropping even further. Glad I came across this thread :)