Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Original poster

Help needed for new worried MNer please ladies.

46 replies

VictorianSqualor · 07/02/2008 21:01

Just seen this on another thread but thoguh it needed it's own one so they dont get too confused!!

Can any of you wonderful aldies help this woman??This was her post on the other thread.

"Hi I am new to posting a message and am looking for similar advice - but my lo has entirely stopped taking all of her bottle feeds. I am very worried.

I weaned her slightly early as she was never very keen on milk - at 5.5 months. She is now almost 7 months. She is very small for her age but had previously followed her centile.

She developed a fever a week and a half ago which she seemed to recover from this but then around 6 days ago started to faff with her milk feeds and then 4 days ago stopped taking her bottle feeds altogether. She was clearly not very well and was up in the night not sleeping properly and crying much more than she does normally. We were up around 10 times per night.

Since then she has been eating but not taking any milk at all. She was taking aprox 20oz over 5 feeds, one of which was a dream feed. All of these have stopped. I took her to the doctor this morning who said she had a virus and to get more fluid in. I thought if I didn't feed her purees then she would take more milk but it hasn't worked at all. She has gone to bed now asleep having not had more than 5oz today and not had any food.

I have also tried giving teething gel/ and or calpol before her feeding but it doesn't help. When presented with the bottle she arches her back and crys or when the going is good puts it in her mouth. Then spits it out and puts her thumb back in.

Please does anyone have any advice. I am just at a loss as to what to do and very worried as to how to get her to take milk again.

thank you"

OP posts:
Habbibu · 07/02/2008 21:03

Oh, that's hard. Maybe sipping from a cup/doidy cup? I wonder if sucking the bottle has been a wee bit sore for some reason.

Habbibu · 07/02/2008 21:04

And possibly try water, if she's less keen on milk. You'd have to make up some calcium with cheese, yoghurt etc.

Original poster
VictorianSqualor · 07/02/2008 21:18

I'm hoping the OP will realise this is her thread and come to answer any questions, I did link it to her in reply to her post.

OP posts:
Habbibu · 07/02/2008 21:20

VS, I may be the only person who considers myself a wonderful aldy.

CL4DB · 07/02/2008 21:22

thanks so much for your responses.

Do babies NEED to take milk if they really really don't want to? Can I get away with adding milk to her food and other forms of calcium or should I make her take a bottle?

My fear is that I go through this awful patch of depriving her food and then she stops taking her bottle again in few more weeks.

Do some babies really not like milk?

Original poster
VictorianSqualor · 07/02/2008 21:25

Lol Habbibu, CL4DB, I really dont know, I'd go with what hab says and try to get as much fluid down her as possible, try the water, if she is just off her milk she may quite easily go back to it in, and if you're worried about calcium top her up with more in her foods.

OP posts:
Habbibu · 07/02/2008 21:26

I really don't know enough about this to properly advise you, but I wonder if parents of children with milk intolerances might have some tips.

Have you tried letting her sip from a cup? Perhaps make a cup of tea, put some milk in a similar cup, and see if she wants to copy you? (with you holding cup, obv!). Mine was a bit of a bottle refuser full stop, but was rather partial to a shot glass full of milk!

Original poster
VictorianSqualor · 07/02/2008 21:31

If we keep bumping it we may get someone who actually knows something about it!

OP posts:
CL4DB · 07/02/2008 21:37

I did try the cup today and she initially found it interesting - seen as nothing else was forthcoming! - and took approx 2 oz with a bit of persuasion. I have also ordered a doidy cup to give that a go. I am just not sure I have the energy to persuade her to take much more milk this way. Life was so much easier when I could rely on my DP getting 6oz into her during a dream feed...

thanks for the bump

Habbibu · 07/02/2008 21:41

DD was a bit slow taking to a cup, tbh, and I did get a bit twitchy, as she'd pretty much self-weaned from daytime breastfeeds. Did persevere with really basic Tommy Tippee cup, and it did work. How about really juicy fruit like mango, and the things like Philadelphia stirred intosauces, etc, and yoghurt for calcium.

BigBadMouse · 07/02/2008 21:44

She's quite young for this suggesstion but I can't see there being anything wrong with it (please feel free to correct me if there is folks)

Ice lollies. My two will take ice lollies if they are ill even when they don't want food or drink and it seems to hlp quite a bit with fluid intake. Ideally you'd want to make up your own I guess but there are some decent ones out there without garbage in them. I suppose I gave my two their first ice lollies for this reason at about 11 months.

btw, my DD1 refused milk as soon as she was into weaning - I made her calcium up with yoghurts (lots of them) as she didn't like cheese either. Now, at nearly 4, she will sometimes drink milk (but still has her cereal dry )

LardyMardyDaisy · 07/02/2008 21:55

Has she got a throat or ear infection maybe? My 7mo dd went off everything a few weeks ago and didn't even want to lie down without screaming. It turned out sh had a bad ear and throat infection and it was obvious (after the fact!) that it was very sore for her to swallow/lie down. My GP suggested ice lollies for cooling her throat, so we gave her some frozen fruit purees and frozen petit filous type yogurts to suck on which she loved.

she got some antibiotics as well, so maybe it's worth taking your LO to the GP just to get checked over and to ask about the lack of milk fo this amount of time.

Welcome to mumsnet btw!

CL4DB · 07/02/2008 22:02

I went to the drs today and he eventually checked her ears. He didn't check her throat as 'you can't really tell with babies this age'. he suggested helpfully that if i didn't get more fluid in she would get dehydrated and have to go to hospital. and he was sure that she didn't want that (thankfully she's not yet had this experience to relate back to!)

sigh

Habbibu · 07/02/2008 22:04

Maybe little and often - try all sorts of different options, and she may start to feel a wee bit better, and be more interested in drinking - if that makes sense.

Pesha · 07/02/2008 22:13

I believe there are a couple of ladies on my April post natal thread whos babies stopped taking bottles/breastfeeds at a similar age and have been making it up through food. I will link to this thread from ours to see if anyone has any advice for you, although its very quiet tonight so might not be till tomorrow! Sorry I cant be of any help myself.

Habbibu - had to lol at this - "Have you tried letting her sip from a cup? Perhaps make a cup of tea, put some milk in a similar cup, and see if she wants to copy you? (with you holding cup, obv!). Mine was a bit of a bottle refuser full stop, but was rather partial to a shot glass full of milk!"

So what exactly were you drinking for her to be copying you by drinking from a shot glass?!?

Habbibu · 07/02/2008 22:15

Oops! I have got a really funny picture of her leaning, slightly cock-eyed, over a shot glass of ebm, of all things. She looks like she's sitting at a bar having had one too many insipid Baileys...

LardyMardyDaisy · 07/02/2008 22:21

will she take plain water?

did your GP mention giving her rehydration fluids? or at what point you should be worried enough to take her to hospital

LardyMardyDaisy · 07/02/2008 22:23

oh, and my DD quite successfully usues a tommee tippee cup with a fold down spout.

have you also tried chamomilia teething powders? if it is teething that's causing it these seem to work a treat.

Pesha · 07/02/2008 22:41

Lol Habbibu - was going to ask you to put it on your profile but see you're one of The Best Mumsnetters!

CL4DB · 08/02/2008 09:51

Thanks will give Teetha a try. Tried the tommee tippee this morning and she did take at least some milk.

did manage one dream feed last night of 4oz which helped but still refusing bottle when awake - including when she woke up screaming at 2.30 and then wouldn't go back to sleep.

the Dr just warned that when she starts to go floppy and there are no wet nappies then she will be dehydrated and need a drip. she wasn't dehydrated yesterday and as she has had some milk last night is still ok.

thanks for the support. did anyone lo actually refuse all milk or did you continue to bf? i stopped when she was 6 months in preparation to go back to work, and am beginning to wish i hadn't.

coastalmum · 08/02/2008 12:18

My DD started refusing milk at about 6month, and totally gave up by 7month. I made sure I cooked lots of milk based dishes, and found lots of other sources of calcium like sardines. DD still doesn't drink milk at all, not even on cereal, and has grown into a very tall and healthy 9 yr old.

If your really worried insist GP refer you to a nutrionist. Very helpful, and have loads of ways to get vital nutriants into a diet she actual wants to eat.

coastalmum · 08/02/2008 12:23

Have you tried changing brand of formula? They all certainly smell and look different, so I assume they taste different (not been daring enough to taste test myself). My DS1 certainally had preferance for one brand over all the others.

Also know not the best solution teeth wise but have you considered flavouring the milk?

Lulumama · 08/02/2008 13:01

She might be in pain, from teething or an ear infection that is making swallowing painful.

whenever mine were ill, they often went off food, and vomited back up a lot of milk, so i diluted the milk right down until they settled again..

i would get her ears checked out and see if that helps at all

Bekkie32 · 08/02/2008 13:04

I am actually in the same boat.. see thread "Not hungry for milk or food". We may pop to the hospital this evening (as docs closed) to see if she has an infection. Basically every bottle feed I dread. She drinks well at the dream feed (210ml, last night at 20.30), but when she is wide awake she is problemmatic, and seems to have gone off milk since weaning. I have to add the 210 milk is like a meal in a bottle, waterered down vanilla tasting baby rice. Only started with that out of desperation as her milk intake was too low just to ensure she was getting atleast one full meal and calories etc, but cannot give for every bottle. Flavouring the milk could be a possibility.. There is actually a vanilla flavoured milk from Nestle, may take a trip to the supermarket tomorrow. But just to say I know the feeling CL4DB.

Bekkie32 · 08/02/2008 13:07

CL4DB - my daughter is also the same age

Swipe left for the next trending thread