7 Month Old Daughter's Eating Habits

My son is 7 months also and is breastfeeding but sometimes I find he is totally distracted when nursing and only nurses for 30 sec then sits up and will nurse again for 1 min. then want to play. It sounds similar to your daughter and I think it is part of their age and being more aware of their surroundings and wanting to play or check their surroundings out. It sometimes helps when I move to a quiet room and turn down the lights and try not to talk to help him focus on the task of eating
good luck

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Hi N., My Daughter is also around that age (she's 8 months old) and she has also lately been doing that.. I find that its because she wants to feed herself.. so what I do, is I lay her onto the floor, (that way if she rolls she doesnt hurt herself) and prop her onto a Boppy, a pillow would do too...and give her the bottle, and I sit right next to her to keep an eye on her while she drinks it. but this for me has worked,she likes being able to control when it's in her mouth and when to take it out, and she's now going back to drinking it in about ten minutes or so...another thing that I found out, is it could be the nipple size..not ness. the bottle itself.. she was having trouble a while back because she was still on 2's, and I didn't even realize it until i looked at the size. so maybe it's time to go one up? anyways, i Hope this works for you, and if not, GOOD LUCK!!! :)

-G.

Hi N.,

Sorry to hear you and your little one are experiencing frustrations with feeding....however, please try to be patient with her (I'm sure you are!) AND with yourself, because it's such a basic need and such a time of nurturing and bonding, if that makes sense - it's not meant to be something to just rush through and get over with, any more than our meals are supposed to be for us to be healthy. Make sense? Also, babies change as they grow, so some of the variation may be normal.

I'm sorry also that you were not able to continue nursing - you didn't say why, but I wish it had worked out differently for you and your baby.

You might want to consider that she could be experiencing infant reflux (and yes, it can be "silent reflux" which means they have discomfort, pain and burning without actually throwing up most of the time). The sitting bolt upright but still being hungry makes me think of this. My daughter had reflux in her infancy, and hers was mostly the "silent reflux" (doesn't mean SHE was silent, there was often a lot of crying and fussing!). Until we diagnosed it and then found a ped who actually understood and would help us treat it (she needed meds to control her discomfort as well as my being aware of positioning etc.), we had lots of feeding issues and stress. The on-again, off-again feeding your baby is doing seems very typical of reflux feeding to me - it would be worth checking it out and watching for any other symptoms, and talking with a knowledgeable pediatrician and/or lactation consultant about it. Not sure if you would be interested, but you could relactate and nurse your baby again and an LC could help you do that.

One thing we needed to do for our daughter was to feed her at an angle rather than held horizontally or "flat" (propping with a wedge pillow so her head was elevated helped a lot). Also we needed to hold her upright for about 20 minutes following a feeding to help prevent the refluxing from happening. I realize your daughter may not have this (and I hope she doesn't!!) but I'm just tossing out these ideas in case she might. There's lots of info on the Web if you search under infant reflux and here is one good mom-run webpage: www.pollywog.com. You could see if any other symptoms remind you of your baby - frequent hiccupping, for example.

One last thing re the bottles - when we had to supplement for a while when she was tiny, until the reflux issue got resolved so she nursed better, the bottles that worked the best for her above all others were the Dr Brown's bottles (the wide necked ones). They really do work to reduce any chance of intestinal discomfort and gas, and were better even than the Avent bottles (which are what we used prior to that). For me, I REJOICED when the day came that I could put all that bottle paraphernalia away for good and not have to fool with it anymore (she was a champion nurser by about 2.5 or 3 months of age, yay!) but I know that it's not the same for everyone. :)

Just take or toss - hope something helped here!
Enjoy your sweet little ones (and not-so-little one!),

God bless,

S.

N.,
When my kids were small, the Dr. used to tell us when the
baby would lay down, that is when they would feel the throbbing in their gums. Maybe she is just waiting for the sensation to go a way. If they could only talk to tell us what the problem is!!!

Well, start out by asking your pediatrician. But I have a feeling (mommy instinct) that she's just enjoying the idea that she gets to decide how much she eats and taking the bottle in and out of her mouth. I don't know for sure at all; my daughter nursed till she was 3, and at 7 months or so she started doing this thing where she'd nurse for a moment then roll away, practically careening off my lap, then roll back in and chow down again. It drove me NUTS.
:-}

She despised pacifiers, but perhaps your daughter would like having a binky, rattle, or teething item to take in and out of her mouth.

My son didn't do this but sometimes does other funny things around nursing, bottle feeding, or eating solids. I think they just like doing things now that they have some independence and good control over their movements, and they like to experiment with things. She is probably just enjoying herself. Just wait til it takes an hour for her to finish her (solids) meal because she's playing, taking it in and out of the bowl, watching some of it drop to the floor, trying to feed some to mama....

I would guess that she is exploring the world around her and she does not want to miss a thing. If you were to nurse, she would most likely take the same time to feed. My son is 8 months and does the same thing. He is just worried that he is going to miss something or just wants to look around before he goes back to the bottle. He takes anywhere of 5 mins to 20 mins to drink the whole bottle. What I do is put him in the bouncer and give him his bottle, that way he drinks when he wants and I can do what I have to do. He gets 4-5 bottles a day plus food. Don't worry to much, she will grow out of this stage.

It's probably teething and you might want to give her another nipple with another hole (moving her a step up) b/c it's painful and she wants more. With another hole, it would increase the milk flow and she won't need to suck so hard. My daughter is going through the same thing and she's a year old. This will be her 6th tooth, but it seems to be more painful than the last 5. So I gave her a size up and she's been drinking more and not stopping. You can also give her Tylenol about 20 minutes before the bottle and give her baby orajel before her feeding to see if that helps. That's what I've been doing and she's been drinking better. The Tylenol will help her with her naps too. Hope this helps!

My grandson does the exact same thing when he is teething. Maybe it hurts the gums to suck too long.

I am sure you have her on some food as well as formula.
If you have her on a milk based formula it could be she can't tolerate the dairy. Is she drinking a bottle right after eating? She just might not be that hungry if you are trying the bottle after she eats. Also, she could just be hungry for more food. ??

She's probably just distracted. You could handle it by just going with it and trying to plan more time to feed her. Or, you could try feeding her in a quiet room and covering her head in a way that blocks her view from everything but you. That might help keep her focus. If you are holding her you could also just not allow her to sit up and put the bottle back in her mouth. If she takes it then she is hungry but if it becomes a battle then just end the feeding and make her wait until her next feeding would be if she had eaten enough. Otherwise you might find her snacking every hour or two instead of taking a full meal. Also, try introducing the sippy cup now that she is old enough to sit up and hold it. Strap her down in her highchair so she gets used to sitting through a meal. This way she can see everything and eat at her leisure. She will also get used to sitting though a meal and it will be easier to transition her to only cups by the time she is one. Some people make the mistake of waiting until their child turns one before starting that transition. If your baby likes the cup you will be one step ahead of the game when it comes time to get rid of bottles.

A good thing to remember is that you decide when and what she eats, she decides whether or not to eat it and how much she'll eat. If she only takes two ounces just know you did the right thing by offering her plenty of food and an adequate time to eat. It's okay. Babies don't generally starve themselves!

Enjoy this silly and fun stage if possible :-)

My daughter does that on and off. I think its gas, because sometimes when she sits up she will burp.
I really try to stick to giving her bottles no longer than every 3 hours, that seems to help. I think gas builds up in her tummy if she goes too long w/out eating. It actually happens to me too if I go too long w/ out eating. Try to feed her more often and see if it helps :)

Could she possible have a reflux problem? Will she drink it elevated or in a bouncy chair?

Have you tried feeding her while she is sitting up? It sounds like her stomach hurts when she eats lying down, like she gets a cramp or she is getting a bubble in her tummy. Or shoot, maybe it's just a game to her, and a way to get your undivided attention for as long as possible!

Hi N.. My daughter did this and my son (who is almost 5 months old) is starting to do it, too. For them, they were just easily distracted by their surroundings. They were wanting to look at everything and the bottle gets in their way. As it is now, my son will try to drink with the bottle hanging out of his mouth at an angle just so he doesn't miss any action. This lasted a good 3 months at least, for us. I found it near impossible to feed my kids at restaurants, and now, with my son, he has a hard time even if the tv is on, his sister is talking, anything. I think it's just the age. Good luck!

Hi N.,

It's funny I thought my 11 month old was the only one to do this very same thing. He went from hardly drinking anything at about 7 months to this same ritual a couple months ago. He will drink about 4 oz. then put his binky in his mouth for 2 seconds then go back to the bottle. He too will do this until it is just about gone. I think it's cute, but yes it's a pain especially when you're in a hurry to get to work! My oldest son never did this either. But you know like I said he went from drinking 7 oz. to alomst nothing in a full day. I was lucky to get 2 oz. in him in 12 hrs! So this to me is fine, because he's actually drinking. Anyway he takes it is a good thing. I don't have any recommendations for you, but wanted to let you know that your baby isn't the only one out there that does it. It's nice to know that mine is not as well! Good luck try to be patient. Her health is the most important!

She is becoming aware of the amazing world around her?

My breastfed babies have all done this peculuar thing when my milk won't let down fast enough for them. I haven't delt with bottles at all, but since my babies do it when the milk is not coming out fast enough for them; I'd bet your baby is doing the same thing. It sounds like all you need to do is switch to nipples that allow the milk to come out faster...the next size up from what you're using. Hope this helps.

Blessings,
Amy
mom to 4: Samantha (6), Caleb (5), Joshua (2), and James Jr. (1)

Maybe the holes in the nipple are too small and she gets tired. My daughter would wear out when feeding and ended up not eating much. We switched the nipple hole size and she could eat longer.

Hello - I do not mean to sound insensitive, but what is the big deal here. So it takes her 15-20 to finish eating, how long does it take you to eat a meal? Why such the rush? Enjoy the feeding time, enjoy your daughter, she is only 7 months old

When one of my kids started this I would ask them if they were done and encourage them to finish. If they did it more than once I just said 'O.K. we're done' and put the bottle down and moved on to the next item on the agenda until they acted like they wanted it again. If they got upset then I told them that they need to finish and sat back down with them. What I found is that they are at that age where they're just about ready to be weaned to a cup and they get bored laying there and are really only doing it #1 out of habit #2 out of wanting to be with you not so much cuz they are hungry. If they were hungry they wouldn't keep sitting up.

Just be patient with her. She is excited about her world and wants to look around and probably prolong the time with you. Unless she is jerking up and crying, like a stomach cramp. She is just showing you her unique personality.
L.

My daugther is almost 7 months and we're experiencing feeding changes right now too. She'll drink about half the bottle and then sit up and not want the bottle anymore. Sometimes she will pull the bottle towards her and then drink alittle more. We've gone from finishing a bottle in 10 minutes to an hour and still not finishing. Although we've moved on to other activities, I continue to offer it to her sporadically in case she wants it. If not, that's fine too - I don't want to force food or over feed if she's not hungry. I know she'll let me know if she's hungry. Similar to what's been mentioned in the other posts, I've been thinking that it could be related to the teething or to the start of solids. I also wonder if it has anything to do with her being more independent/aware. She's so interested in her environment now and sometimes seems to get distracted, even when there's nothing going on. My daughter was diagnosed with reflux at about 2 months and has been treated with meds since. That seems to be well under control though. I'm just keeping an eye on things right now as long as she's happy and energetic, continues to take in an amount somewhat close to what she needs, has the same amount of wet diapers, etc. It is reassuring to know that we're not the only ones going through this.

My DAughter is 7 months as well and she does the exact same thing. I think it has to do with the fact that I am now feeding her food. Are you feeding her any baby food yet? I started about 1 month ago or so and she started doing that. I think it's cause they are kinda full from the food, so what I do is wait about 20-30 minutes after I feed her food, and then I give her the bottle, sometimes she drinks it all and sometimes she doesn't. They will let you know when they have had enough and also when they are still hungry! Hope that helps!
S.
Riley : 7 months old

Hi N.,
My 8-month old daughter did the same thing last month when her bottom teeth were comeing through. I didn't know what she was doing at the time, but once her first tooth broke through it made sense. Some times in the middle of the night she would drink an oz or so, then just cry. Have those homeopathic teething tablets on hand!! I was resistant at first about them but honestly they are the best!