5 Mth-old Not Interested in Bottle, Now That She's Eating

my pediatrician said that babies need to take about 24 oz of formula a day..

you can try a sippy cup to see if she will drink more in a cup..but you may have to cut back on teh food to get her to drink her milk. For the firs year all of the nutrition comes from the milk.. there is not that much nutrition in baby cereal and pureed baby foods.

- can you change the timing of the solid meals so there is more time between the solid food and the bottle..

two of my kids were off of the bottle by 6 months the youngest by 8 months. Just put her milk or formula in a cup and consider yourself lucky that you dont have the later fight so many have trying to take the bottle away.

S.,

At this age the bottle is more important than food. 90% of here nutrient should be coming from formula or breast milk. I would give her bottle first before food. She should be getting 24-45oz. of formula per day. If feeding her first does not work then I would try a different nipple. I would keep track often she is eating and how much. See if she falls into this amount and if she does I would not worry about.

My 7 month old takes less from the bottle as she eats more solids. The ped told me it was a natural shift and said by 9 months she will probably be down to 2 or 3 bottles. It sounds like your LO is doing this a little sooner. You may just want to check with your ped to make sure the shift is OK at 5 months.

I would not necessarily move up the nipple. We did that for our son but he got the formula too quickly and ended up going back to level 1. My 4 month old just started cereal and baby food, but he still gets over 24 ounces of formula a day. Our ped said to make sure he is getting at least 24 ounces of formula, that's more important than the food. We give our son formula, wait 30 minutes or so, and then give cereal or baby food (depending on time of day.) That way he for sure gets the formula.

I had the same problem with mine, when he started baby food. My doctor advised me to cut back on the food, or give the bottle before offering the food. It helped to make sure he was getting the right amount of formula. The fornula is more important then the food at this point.

I had to switch to a level 3 nipple(Gerber Orthodontic nipple) and it was fast and it took her about 4 days to get used to it but if you decide that, don't give up on it b\c it does flow fast and that's what's going to do the trick. I can't tell you how many moms I talked to with this same issue at this age and had to switch to the stage 3 nipple. It's her just getting bigger and with that come lots of changes. Some good some bad. I think there more stressful on us mommies than them!! Good luck

I would give her less food. It is very important for her to have her bottle. The bottle provides the nutrients she needs. The food provides minimal nutrients. This is from my pediatricians advice. You could try the level three nipples it couldn't hurt.

Try a sippy cup. There are some out there with soft lids so she can still have the sucking action that she may need. It sounds like she is a good eater and I'm sure she drinks what she needs, so experiement a bit, but try to enjoy this time and not worry too much. :-) Unfortunatly, they all grow up at different rates and our adjustment time is usually very minimal! :-)

K.

I would try either the Avent Sippy cup or I believe that Dr. Brown makes sippy cups now also. Let her use a sippy cup. All three of my boys were 100% off the bottle at 9-10 months. It makes it easier with her not wanting the bottle.

I would try her on a cup w/formula. My daughter started to use a cup around 4 months and by 7 months she was drinking great and off nursing by 9 months (she was just always interested in the cup more than nursing or the bottle). I kept giving her formula in the cup until she was about 14 monts due to her size.

Hi S.,
At this age she NEEDS the formula. You will have to double check with you ped. but if I remember correctly she should be drinking 24 ounces of formula a day. The food that she is eating now doesn't have the nutrition that her body needs. I would def. cut back the cereal and baby food until she is drinking more formula. You could try sippy cups as long as she is drinking all of it. Good luck.
Chris