11 Month Old Not Eating Enough Formula?

I am a laid-back mother of 3 as well as a Physician Assistant and have worked in pediatric medicine. Babies are very good at regulating their caloric needs. She is probably getting enough calories between her solid meals and formula. If you are worried about nutrients, I would suggest skipping the typical baby snack foods nad stick with the small cheese pieces, fruit and low sugar cereals like you are doing. Yogurt and cottage cheese are also a great snacks. Something else to think about...don't go for low-fat. Babies need much more fat than we do for brain development until they are about 18 months old.

Have you tried a sippy cup? If she refuses, put her warmed formula in it so she recognizes the flavor. Consider this at first only at meal times since likely she will just play with it. It helps to start without the stopper so she gets the idea of getting liquid out of the cup. I have started with water just so there is not a huge mess. There is no need for juice. If you really want to avoid a mess without the stopper, give it to her when she's in the bathtub - even cleaner if it doesn't get dunked into the water!

The only reason to wait on cow's milk is the risk of allergies. While it is unlikely that she's allergic if there is no family history, wouldn't you always wonder if she gets an allergy that you gave it to her before "the rules" said to?

Bottom line: Continue what you are doing. She will not starve, nor get malnourished if she is eating as you speak of. When you go for your 1 year pediatician visit, just ask if she is following the trend in percentiles for height and weight and as long as she is, you will know she is being well-nourished. If not, you can discuss options with your physician. There are high calorie formulas available but they are usually used for preemies.

Hope this helps. Don't forget, I am fairly laid-back so my instinct is to let baby regulate herself as I know they do so well.

W.

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i would say talk to your dr, my ped started my daughter on whole milk at 11 months, she did not like the formula either, also i would try a sippy cup (the soft plastic nipple like ones) she was off a bottle by 1 and like the cup better then the bottle and i put her formula right in. now she was my second, my son was on formula till two and he drank his form right from his sippy cup too. i also tried to substitue teh nutrients into her meals.

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When my son started losing interest in his bottles around 8 months, I asked his Dr if yogurt would be OK to "supplement, for lack of a better term"-he said absolutely. I've never heard of no dairy until 1 year if they've been on cow's-milk based formula without issue, just no milk until 1 year. Heck, at 9 months, we were giving him cheese, yogurt, ricotta cheese, ice cream...In addition, there's no magic switch that flips at 1 year that says "ding ding ding...you can have milk now!" If you want to start trying milk and she's close to 1, I don't see why not, though I would suggest putting that milk in a sippy as opposed to a bottle. Come to think of it, does she like a sippy cup? Have you tried putting her formula in a sippy? Our Dr wanted our son off bottles completely by 18 mos, we managed to do it at 12.5 months with no problem, I think partly because I started to phase out bottles at 10 months and never put milk in a bottle; only in a cup.

I believe as Moms, we tend to overthink some of this stuff to the point where it drives us batty. Good luck!

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Start mixing in the milk like your friend suggested. This way she starts getting used to the taste. I wouldn't worry if she drinks all milk a few weeks before she turns 1. My mom's friend said that she gave her children solids back in the early 70's at 1 month old already while in this day we wait until 4-6 months. We survived different feeding tactics back then, and your daughter will be fine if you bend the "rules" a little now. As long as she eats the meals and drinks the milk, she will get the nutrients she needs.

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hi - my son WILL NOT take a bottle and i only BF 2x a day now...what i do is mix 4 oz of milk with 1/2 cup oatmeal cereal and mix into his breakfast lunch and dinner...that way i know he's getting at least 16 oz with meals and then whatever he gets when he nurses from me...good luck!

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My advice (and that's all it is) is to stop feeding her snacks that aren't real food, as what you described tend to expand in the stomach and give a sense of fullness without the nutrition. Rather than the bottle, I'd wean her off "puffy" things and start introducing snacks like almonds, celery, carrots, apples, pears, maybe even goat cheese for a hit of protein. I think she'll probably start to regulate herself a bit more and you'll be able to then "read" her body. A very smart pediatrician said to me once "if you leave a kid alone, provide balanced healthy real food, they will regulate their intake and eat exactly what is necessary". In my opinion we spend too much time trying to figure out when to do things, when in reality, if we just clean up what we provide, our kids come equiped with the wisdom of how much and when. If only we could keep that wisdom our whole lives!!

BTW - Goat milk is much more digestible. My daughter (adopted) nursed with a supplement of goat milk from the age of 4 months

And another BTW - A good book is Superbaby Food. There may be one for older kids as well, but I used the wisdom and ideas in that book till my kids were 2 or 3. good luck!!

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Hi, my name is N.. I am a mother of 4 ages 1 thru 10. We had a similar issue with my youngest. She is a cancer patient and had several feeding issues, namely not being able to hold enough in her belly to get the proper amount of ounces of formula. Our solution was to concentrate the formula so she gets a higher amount of calories and nutrition without the extra volume. Works quite well. She can get her proper nutrition but with 8 ounces less a day, which is much easier on her belly. Of course I would ask your pediatrician if this option would work for your child. You can Google 22 or 24 calorie formula and get the proper way to mix either powder or concentrate to get the right mix. Hope this helps.

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Hi M.,
Congrats on being such a wonderful mom!
I wouldn't worry too much about the formula amount, she is most likely getting more than enough nutrients, because she is also eating solids. I started my daughter out on whole milk mixed with formula when she was 11 months and it helped with the transition to milk The fact that you are weaning her off bottles is an excellent step, so don't go back! You are doing all the right things, so don't drive yourself nuts. You're doing a great job!

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I would not start whole milk without asking your doctor--the 1-year rule is pretty standard. Did you try a sippy cup? She might be more interested in the formula if the cup seems "fun". Good luck!

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First, I'm not a doctor or nutritionist, just a mom. With that said, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've found most pediatricians vary on the recommended amount of formula a baby should receive anyways. If you would like to try to get more formula into your daughter though, which I completely understand, perhaps you could offer her some in a sippy cup during her 3 meals. You didn't mention what you fed your daughter for breakfast but I know I was always comforted by giving my son mixed cereal in the morning...full of iron plus made with formula. Honestly though, I wouldn't change anything. At 11 and 1/2 months I started to wean my son off of formula...the pediatrician wanted him completely off by his first birthday and so this is when he said to start the process of offering milk in a sippy cup. WELL, one sippy cup of milk and my son was done with the formula...his choice! A little side note of advice, I wouldn't worry too much about your child's eating if it seems okay for you...at about 13 months my son started skipping a meal here and there or would only eat fruit and yogurt for dinner one night. For the most part, he gets 2 solid meals a day, the third is a toss up. I've learned to relax a bit...he'll eat when he's hungry. Good Luck!

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suggestion to mix formula & whole milk and use cup.... cheese and yogurt are included in the required milk requirement
call your doctor

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Dear M.,

I wouldn't worry too much as babies are very good at eating when hungry and regulating their growing bodies. I would use the 20 oz. as a general guideline and try not to stress so much. Maybe ask your doctor about introducing whole milk. We just started whole milk with our daughter and she is 12 months. It sounds like your daughter is getting a nice variety of fruits, veggies and grains so I wouldn't worry about the extra ounces of formula. Good luck! L. S.

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Hi M.,
We have a lot in common, I am also a student studying Marketing and Psychology, just a few classes into Human Sciences, yet find it fascinating. i also consider myself a little crazy and feel my husband will vouch for that! I have a 2 1/2yr old daughter, yet was a Nanny for over 15yrs. With my own daughter at 11moths old she was drinking 2 bottles a day, one with breakfast and one right before bed, during the day I gave her about 4oz's of whole milk with lunch in a straw cup. It amazes me that people say, at 1yr old all of a sudden a child is ready for whole milk, I believe, like everything else, they need to be introduced to it slowly, whether you start this at 11mths or 1yr is up to you, however your childs tummy will tell you if it's not the right time. So my daughter was having at most 18oz milk a day, yet both my neighbours son's was having double that. Trust your instincts, your obviously intelligent, if your daughter isn't interested in drinking any more don't worry about it. If your still concerned add it to her cereal, try her with a straw/sippy cup. Still not convinced then talk to her pediatrician, if you have trusted the advice that he/she has given you in the past then that's a good place to ask for more. Hope this eases your mind at little. R..

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We started my son on whole milk at 11months. I checked with my ped. and it was no big deal. Also, we found sippy cups at walmart that are called Nuby and they have a soft nipple like a bottle would be and we had no problem switching him to that from the bottle. Good luck!

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Hi M.,
Yes, it's true, Doctors will tell you no cow's milk until 1 year old. I think it can be too great an allergen before that. Also, don't worry so much about the "at least 20 ounces" and your daughter only taking 15-18 ounces that is close enough. My daughter always took less formula. Shes's 16 months old and drinking off sippies. But, when she was still on a bottle and drinking exclusively, she only had like 28 ounces a day. My friends babies were having 5-8 ounce bottles and my girl was happy with 4-6. If your daughter is growing well, developing well, hydrated, alert, etc. ...then all is well. If in doubt, call your doctor, always. What is funny is that while my daughter had smaller bottles than most when she had only bottles, now that she is drinking milk from a sippy, she has more milk than they say she needs. They say 10-16 ounces, and she has 18-20. Go figure! :)

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I'm quite sure my pediatrician would say that is plenty of formula. Have you called your doc? If she's eating healthy food in addition to the formula, my guess is she's doing fine, but before you make yourself nuts, I would get a professional's opinion over a website.

If you get the go ahead with the milk, doing half and half is a good way. My daughter needed that for the transition. My son went right to whole milk at 12 months - didn't need to wean off the formula.

Good luck.

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Try mixing the formula in with the dry baby cereal....that should work. Good luck!

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My son, who is just about 8 months old, won't always take his bottle of formula either. He loves to eat by a spoon though so I sometimes mix the formuala in with whatever else he is eating like cereal or applesauce or whatever. Sometimes I just feed it to him by the spoon like soup!
Also, according to my pediatrician, at 11 months old, like your daughter, they only really need 16 - 24 oz of formula. You can supplement with yogurt as well and sips of actual milk is ok too. Unless she is on a special kind, the formula is milk-based anyhow.
Enjoy.

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Hi M.,

Do not switch her to milk just yet, there are lots of vitamins and minerals added to formula that are not added to milk. If She is eating and drinking until she is full and not cranky from being hungry, then she is fine. If you use powdered formula you might want to try mixing it a little thicker, but you don't need to. She is also getting nutrients from the food she eats, and just about all food (especially baby & toddler food) is bolstered with vitamins and minerals.

HTH

M.

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Congratulations to your daughter!!!! No bottle at 11 months is a triumph indeed!! My oldest was off the bottle at 11 months also............. don't worry about formula. Formula (I think) is only to sustain babies till they CAN chew food and drink from a sippy cup. If she takes to a sippy cup, by all means let her! She will get all the nutrients she needs from table food or junior food and whole milk. The trick is finding the right sippy that won't come out to fast for her to drink. I found that (not plugging it) Tupperware had the best sippy cups. They could still suck (somewhat) from it and if it tipped over the cup didn't leak. Good Luck - I think your daughter has decided to be a "big girl" all on her own!!!

J.

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Don't sweat the small stuff. babies her age should have about 18 to 24 oz of milk a day. If she prefers, give her dairy foods to make up the difference, such as yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, etc. Soon you will be transitioning her to regular milk also and you will find her milk consumption slowing. especially as you switch from a bottle to a sippy cup.

My 13 month old has about 24 oz of milk on a good day, but we do give her yogurt and cheese & crackers to supplement when necessary.

As an FYI, my older daughter (almost 3) was an avid milk drinker. I thought that was a good thing. She would drink up to 36oz of milk a day during her 12 to 18 months. That turned out to be quite a nightmare when she had her routine bloodwork done and was found to be anemic. Too much milk can effect the iron absorption in the body. We then had to give her daily iron drops (which tasted and smelled TERRIBLE!) for several months and then recheck her bloodwork twice. Not a fun thing!!!

Anyway, I vowed to never let that happen to any future children of mine. Therefore this time around, I am much more at ease with how much she drinks milk. She is such a good eater of all her fruits and vegetables during meals, that I know she is doing well.

Bottom line, sounds like your daughter is doing great. Supplement with yogurt or cheese along the way. And follow her lead. She'll let you know how much ahe needs...

Hope this helps...

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Hi, I am a 38 year old stay- at -home mom of 3. My children are 10 yrs. old, 8yrs. old, and 10.5 mos. old. Have you tried a sippy cup yet? My baby enjoys sips from a regular cup and is now drinking water everyday from a sippy cup. She also does not always get the amount of formula the web site says and my doctor says that's fine and she will takes what she needs. She is growing beautifully. She is better off without the bottle once she is one anyway. Good Luck!

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What does the DR. say? Is she under weight? Ask your Dr. about vitimins you could add crushed and mixed with applesause or if they have them in drops. If they are not worried about it, I wouldn't worry too much. If she likes the solid food great, but I would watch how much cheese you give her because of constipation.

You will find out as you go along being a mother is no child fits the books as to what the "EXPERTS" say. We learn as we go along. Most kids go through fases where they eat more at times and less at others. Relax, live and learn. List en to other mothers experiences and ask questions. This is a great web site for that problem.

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I have twin girls who also had the same formula problem once they hit about 9-10 months old. They, I believe, were actually taking less than the 15 oz. My doctor was not concerned. As long as your daughter is eating enough, drinking enough fluids in general and growing properly, let her do her own thing. You can start weaning her off formula, but do it slowly. I started with 1/4 milk, the rest formula. Then every week just up one a quarter. In a month she will be on all milk. After three kids, all completely different, I've learned they rarely go by "what the books say". You can tell if you're child is happy and healthy so just try and go with the flow! Good luck!

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Well, I know at my 1 year appointment they told me as long as she was getting 16 oz. of formula/milk per day then she was fine. So in the scheme of things, I wouldn't think a few weeks would make that much of a difference in terms of her formula consumption. If you are really worried, maybe you could offer another small bottle in place of one of her snacks when she is hungry in between meals - but if it were me (unless my child was very underweight) I wouldn't stress about it too much.

Also, I know moms who started their kids on whole milk at 11 months and everything was just fine. In my UNprofessional opinion (!), you could certainly try mixing the formula and milk now too if you'd like.

At any rate, although I know it is easier said than done, I'd try not to worry too much. Not all babies are the same and although the dr's give us guidleines for what they should/should not be consuming at each stage - not every baby is going to be able to follow the "rules" exactly because they are all different.

Best of luck :)

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To be honest, I wouldn't worry about it, you are weening her off. Have you tried the sippy cup? Try putting formula in it and see if she drinks it that way. She may be sick of the bottle and try advancing her to a sippy cup. I have not used the bottle that have straw as some thoers use then advance to a sippy. My second son started on sippy cup at 9 mos. He was not really interested in a bottle either, but I thought for you to try it in sippy (whenever she starts using sippy cups, clean it out as often as possible, because they can dirty, moldy even after a day of using it...yulk!)That's right, they say they are not to have milk until 1 yr old. I have three boys and I have found that there are some things that they say you should or should not do and not always pertaining to my children. Every child is different and give her foods that have lots of nutrients in them as well. Don't worry about her not getting enough nutrients. Try to focus on eating healthy foods rather than cheese puffs and others things like that because she may end up being a picky eater and it's hard to deal with them when they show they have a mind of their own...as early as 1 or 1 1/2 years old :) Try cheerios and and goldfish...more on vegetables and fruits and have her try them now and tell you if she likes them and don't forget some kids like theri vegetables cooked rather than raw. Get to know her more as she is learning too.

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2 ounces really is not a big deal. If she's only taking 3 bottles a day then give her 3-7 oz bottles. Or even start giving it to her in a sippy cup. You might also try giving her fewer snacks so that she will want the formula.

I usually started switching my kids from formula at 11 months. I started with 1/4 milk and 3/4 formula for a week, then the next week 1/2 milk 1/2 formula, then 3/4 milk 1/4 formula. So that by 12 months they were on all milk. It doesn't always work that way. My 2 year old was on formula till he was 15 months because his stomach just couldn't tolerate it. It would curdle and he would spit it right up. So ever child is different. You probably shouldn't just start your daughter on the 1/2 and 1/2 mixture though. That might be too much milk at first.

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You could try making "smoothies" with the formula. My son drank lots of those. I mixed fruit and cereal in his bottles and to him they were more of a treat. Then there was my daughter who never drank formula at all. She went from breast to juice. I still cannot get her to drink milk at all. And the kids don't drink cow's milk, just soy. She won't drink milk period. But she's fine. She gets her calcium in her veggies. Luckily, she likes most vegetables. And she takes a multi-vitimin. Those are important.

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I had the same problem with my 7 month old son. The doctor suggested I make all of his cereal throughout the day with formula. Hope this helps!

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Is your daughter losing weight? Is the pediatrician concerned? If not, I wouldn't worry about it. Sounds like she's getting plenty of nutrients.

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I raised 3 kids and am now helping with my granddaughter, don't worry too much. For 6 months my granddaughter hasn't eaten much meat, I showed my daughter how to find other things that are good for her to eat to supplement. She loves beans, lentils, sometimes tuna, macaroni and beans, vegetables above most else. Feed the baby homemade food, not store bought, processed garbage. Find recipes for different kinds of pudding, try making some with the formula. When she's thirsty, try to give her some formula in a big girl cup. I'm trying to help my daughter get the baby off the bottle completely by only using straws which she has already been using for almost a year. "Necessity is the mother of invention". I hope this helps.

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I started my 14 month old on milk a month before he turned one year. I started using it in his cereal. I did that for a week. When I saw there was no reaction (other than initial constipation) I weaned him off his morning nursing and gave him a bottle of milk instead. AFter two weeks, I weaned the afternoon nursing and replaced that with a bottle of milk. He didn't take to it right away. I'd been giving him Stonyfield Soy Yogurt at breakfast, so I put a dollop of flavored soy yogurt in his milk. If you give the drinkable Yo baby yogurt (also by Stonyfield) you can put some of that in the milk as well. It just gives it a familiar flavor and they like it.

If you have no milk allergy and have had no problems with formula (like needing to switch to a soy formula) you should be fine switiching to whole milk. My doctor also said that it's a TOTAL of "milk" for the whole day - that includes yogurt, cheese, formula/breastmilk and regular milk. At this point, the food is giving a lot of nutrients as well and baby doesn't rely so much on the formula/breastmilk for the main feedings. Hope this helps! Ask your doc just in case. They all have different views!

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Try mixing formula with oatmeal for breakfast.

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Hi - I'm a first time mom too and my son is 11 months old. He takes an 8 oz bottle in the morning and an 8 oz bottle before bed. During the day he eats table food and jar food, yogurt for snack and drinks water with abotu an ounce of juice. I asked my doctor about the formula intake and she said it was fine. Speaking of your passion for books and literature - my husband and I are both English teachers. :)

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Hi M.,,,,She is just about off the formula anyways and 15 to 18 ounces is plenty. I trust you have also started her on a sippy cup??? She is getting plenty of vitamins etc. through her food and will with fruit juices also. Hopefully she will give up the bottle on her own as it is a tough job to get them to give it up!!!! She is eating really good now but the day may come where she is not much interested in that also. But not to worry, they will eat when they are hungry. So if she is healthy and not losing weight don't worry about her dis-interest in food. It happens to all little people. Good Luck,,,,Enjoy every day of her little life as it goes by REAL FAST

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My pediatrician told me to start my daughter on 1/2 formula 1/2 whole milk at 11 months, and it worked wonderfully. By the time my daughter was a year old, she took the milk without a problem. Also, 15-18 oz. a day is enough if she is getting sufficient vitamins and nutrients in her diet. When you take her off formula completely, it is more of an issue since whole milk doesn't have the same vitamins as formula.

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Dear M.,
My first word of advice is to listen to your daughter and quit listening to the so-called "experts". It sounds as though you're heading for a nutritional nightmare.
First of all, there is nothing wrong with introducing your daughter to dairy at her age. In fact, the longer you wait, the more apt she is to become lactose intolerant, losing the ability to produce lactase; the enzyme necessary to digest lactose. I would suggest giving her 2% milk to cut some of the fat, but not all. Also, you should introduce her to vegetables ASAP, as well as fish and even meat. At her age, she is still willing to try new things. Once kids reach a year or so, they become more picky at what they want, as well as taste, smell, and texture of foods. She will also obtain more nutrition.
By a year old, I had introduced my kids to just about all nutritional foods. They prefered grapefruit, cheese, and carrots to junk food. Growing up, they prefered quiche,swordfish, filet mignon, and duck to offers on the children's menu. In short, get her off puffs and poofs and put her on real, nutritional food. She will be better off in the end.

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mix formula in a sippy cup

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Hi,

Did you call your pediatrician? If she's eating that much she's probably ok. I would just make sure she's getting enough liquid. You can give her some water once or twice a day. You can offer it in a sippy to let her try using a new cup, you can also add a little apple or pear juice to make it sweet in the beginning( we would do 2 ozs juice to 6ozs water) once she gets used to water you can taper off on adding the juice.
Don't give her cow's milk untils she's over 1 and then it's best to introduce it slowly.

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Hi M.,
Your daughter sounds just like my kids were when they were that age. I remember the 20oz minimum of formula and trying so hard to reach it. My advice to you- don't sweat it. Figure out what she will drink. My kids would drink 3 bottles of 5oz. So, that gave me 15oz. I would always put at least 7-8oz in the bottles in case they wanted more but usually they would stop at 5oz. So, I would take the other 5oz they needed to make 20oz for the day and mix it with their cereal and other foods. If they had a day drinking 18oz, I'd just leave it at that. Both of my kids drank formula until they were about 20 months. but during that time I also had them eating cheese, yogurt and other dairy products. If your daughter can eat some cheese and yogurt, then you have even less to worry about. Be sure that she is drinking enough fluids however as this is important - lots of water and some diluted fruit juices.
J.

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Put the formula in a sippy cup. That's what we did. We did 3 bottles/1 sippy one week then 2 botts/2 sippies, then next week 1 bot/3 sippies till we were only on sippy cups.

You can totally do the whole milk now, 1/2 and 1/2 formula. Sounds like she is getting enough to me, tho. Kids won't deprive themselves of what they need. You are doing fine, don't worry! :)

Jenn

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Hi
I am interested in getting a bS in Psychology too. What subjects /how many credits do you nede. I have an assocaites degree with a high concentration in sciences and psychology as I was in nursing school and my Assocaites is in Massage therapy.

thanks
S.

Hey hun, I am a military wife also(marines) and I have 3 little girls. If you say that you are giving her all those other supplements like food and snacks I really doubt that she is missing anything nutrition wise.Remember you give food in place of a bottle. Some people give formula to their kids until they are 2 years old. You don't have to switch to whole milk it isn't going to do them any harm. I wouldn't worry about her not being interested in the bottle when she has so much new and interesting things to eat.

My first daughter had a bottle until she was 2 and had a pacifier(but thats a lazy hispanic thing, my mother in law was caring for her while I was in the service). My second daughter was about 10 months when she kicked her bottle for a sippy cup and my youngest girl was 8 months old when she literally threw the bottle at me because she wanted a cup. Your daughter is letting you know that she wants to move onto other things, you started the first step of introducing new foods now she may want to try a new drinking vessle.

Oh and remember also if you have been giving her all these new foods you have to brush her teeth thoroughly for all the different kinds of proteins and sugars. They sell baby tooth pastes in walmart and target etc.

I hope this helps :-)