Hi moms,
For about 4 days now, my 8 1/2 month old son absolutely refuses to take any milk and will only take solids. He has been exclusively breastfed for 6 1/2 months and then I started with rice cereal, oatmeal, veggies one at a time, fruits one at a time, etc. He has taken expressed milk in bottles since about March (He has been in daycare and started refusing a breast at that time and only took expressed milk in bottles.) He was doing great with bottles and always drank all the milk, most recently about 7-8 oz at a time. He is a big boy, weighs about 21 lb. All of a sudden, about 3-4 days ago, he abruptly stopped taking milk and will not have ANY OF IT. We are desperate to pinpoint the reason, first of all, and then try to design his meals so he gets the nutrients he needs. He won't even drink water at all so it really looks like he is getting no fluids whatsoever.
I have thought of two substitutes I can try:
- giving him rice cereal and other cereal and oatmeal with expressed milk (but then, since that becomes a solid food, should I still look at it as drinking certain amount of milk that goes into making it?)
- giving him youghurt
I was reading that a baby, besides taking solids, will still need to take about 24-32 oz of milk or formula. He takes nothing. Only what is in his oatmeal or cereal.
We are really desperate.
Have any of you experienced this with your babies and if so, at what age, was it only temporary, have you pinpointed the reasons? What have you offered as a substitute? Isn't it too early to go off breastmilk at this young age? I know I cannot force him, I tried and it has gone nowhere. I thought he mighht be more interested at night when he is relaxed and sleepy but does not work even then. I tried quiet environment with no distractions, sitting up, reclined, different positions. Nothing works. It is puzzling that it has happened so abruptly, basically overnight.
Please share your thoughts, experiences, tricks to incorporate milk in foods, etc.
Hi moms,
believe it or not, Nathan has come around as abruptly as he stopped drinking his milk. The nightmare only lasted 4 days and he is back to really enjoying his momma's milk. We thought that what had perhaps happened was that just prior to refusing to take milk, he was on antibiotic which we were giving him mixed with milk in order for him to take his medicine fully. Perhaps he associated the bottle with the not-so-good a taste of the medicine.
We are back to mlik and we hope that he drinks it as enthusiastically as he did this morning :-)
Hi M. S.
Just get him a "sippy" cup. There are a lot of neat styles available. Children are very smart and loves to emulate other children. Since he is in daycare, he is seeing other children with their drinking cups. He wants to act and feel their size.
Have you tried putting the milk in a sippy cup? They are a ton of different kinds... he might even like sipping from a straw if he can figure it out. There's also a chance that the solids are just new and interesting to him and he's just focusing on those right now... and yes, you can count the milk that you put in the rice cereal as milk he drinks. At around 9 months I started giving my guy baby yogurt, and also some cheese... I believe 1 piece of cheese is equal to 4 oz. of milk, and the yobaby yogurt cups are also 4 oz. of milk. I know it's not enough milk he'd be getting... but at least it would be a start :)
Just an idea, but try putting the expressed milk in a sippy cup....That he picks out (give him a choice of 2). Then give it to him while you are fixing his meals and with his meals (in his high chair).
Hang in there and if this lasts much longer talk to your dr.
R.
At 10 months old my son started refusing his formula. He would drink water by the cup full but wouldn't take more than a sip of formula. After 3 days of it we switched him to cow's milk and he LOVED it!
Of course, my son was a bit older than yours, so he was closer to the switch anyway, but our pediatrician was fine with it because she agreed he needed to drink something other than water.
I'd take him to the doctor to rule out an illness. Many times, an ear infection can cause baby not to BF or take a bottle because it hurts to suck. Even if he doesn't have any other symptoms, that's what it could be.
Otherwise, I'd try sippy cups. My DD likes straw cups and has been able to use them for quite a while. She really likes the playtex ones.
Have you tried getting him back to the breast at all? It's still possible. He likely developed a bottle preference at daycare, but you might want to see if he wants to nurse again. Lots of skin-to-skin contact and patience helps.
Good luck!
M.
My son once refused to nurse around 7 mo. old. He was also a big boy and an avid nurser, so I knew something was wrong, although he had no symptoms I could notice (no fever, runny nose, etc.). He wasn't eating as many solids as it seems like your little guy is though. After 3 days I called the ped. for advice, and they asked to see him. Turns out, he had a chest virus causing wheezing (I really couldn't hear it!) and needed some nebulizer breathing treatments. After taking them, he immediately began nursing again.
My daughter's ped. said that babies this age should take about 20 oz a day and it's not unusual for them to cut back with more solids. That said, I'd try a sippy cup or very soupy cereal with a spoon or some other method of getting it into him. If he will still nurse, then perhaps that's when he's getting all his ounces and doesn't need so much during the day. Kellymom.com is a good resource and has articles on nursing strikes and alternate feeding methods.
Also, always offer milk first.
First off he maybe weaning himself. If he wasn't getting any fluids he would die and since he hasn't that means he's getting enough he's just getting them in other ways. My daughter did the same thing and to be honest she never really got back into it. She isn't a big milk drinker now at 6yrs old. Enough so she even realizes it now and has started trying to drink more. What i did with her is i started offering her yogurt with breakfast every morning to get more calcium in her once a day. I offered water between meals just in case she still was thirsty. She didn't start off drinking it but she did after a while and is actually now a big water drinker. Which I'm very happy about.
Most of all Don't worry if he was missing something important you would know it. Good luck
So if I am reading correctly, baby is getting no liquids other than expessed milk, which he is now not drinking.
At 8 1/2 mo, I believe he should be getting milk before meals, but I remember my kids doing this too.
No, milk in foods do not count towards fluid intake. At 8 1/2 mo, he shouldn't be drinking any water, and no more than 2 oz of juice in a day, so all the rest of that needs to be milk. (milk in foods does count towards calcium requirements, but not towards fluid intake) If he starts showing signs of dehydration, take him to the doc immediately. (not peeing 4x a day, skin looking funny, soft spot sunken, etc)
He should get over fighting about it in just a few days, but until then, try feeding when he's asleep. Rub the nipple on his mouth once he's already passed out, or drowsy, and he should take it. I know it can be scary, just keep offering the milk. I had a nursing strike with my son, where he would only drink while asleep, for almost 2 full months, but that's supposed to be out of the ordinary, to fight it for so long.
And a baby will not voluntarily wean themselves before a year old, regardless of what you read. If they do, it's because someone was making other foods more appealing, which is not why we breastfeed in the first place. ;)
