My son is 8 1/2 months old and has started not wanting a bottle during the day. He will take no more than 6 oz in the morning and at bedtime. He just wants his baby food. He has also started waking up 1 to 2 times during the night and eating a full 6 oz bottle. Is it because he is not eating enough during the day? Thirsty? He has no teeth but his gums have been swollen for a couple of weeks now.
I know when kids are teething their eating habits change quite a bit. I woudn't worry about it to much b/c it sounds like he is getting nutrition from other sources. Just keep on offering the bottle eventually things will get back on track. Teething just messes EVERYTHING up!!
My daughter did that also; she only wanted a couple of ounces during the day. I started putting that daytime bottle in a sippy cup and letting her carry it around while she played. She drank a little more of it that way. Lucky for me though, she never woke up wanting to eat. I would say if he is waking up, he may need to get a little more milk in during the day, shoot for 18-20oz. You could try giving him the milk before he gets the baby food so he won't fill up on the solid food first. He might also be teething and that could be what's waking him up; I know my daughter ate less while teething and didn't sleep as well. They also go through that stage where they are just interested in table foods because they are new and different. At this age, I was only giving my daughter 2 solid meals a day, and sometime during month 9 we added lunch and ditched baby food completely. As long as he is having several wet diapers and not loosing weight, he will be fine.
He's probably just teething. Give him a teether ring, some baby oragel, hylands teething tablets, and when needed for pain, some Motrin. When mine was 6 months old she popped out 4 top teeth all at once. It was really painful for her for a couple of weeks.
Does he have an ear infection? My daughter stops wanting her bottle when she has one, so might check it out.
Hello,
My son is the same age and is doing the same things. He usually takes his morning and bedtime bottle pretty well, but the other two during the day are hit or miss. Sometimes I can only get him to take 3-4 ounces at those times. I was told that if they are getting at least 20 ounces a day, they are getting enough. Some days we cut it pretty close. On those days I put a little Poly-Vi-Sol vitamin supplement in a bottle. Also, he likes the Yo Baby yogurt, and one of the varieties has 45% of their daily recommended amount of iron. I would venture a guess that your little guy is about to get a tooth or two. My son has 5 teeth and each time one breaks through, he is fussy and doesn't eat well for a day or two. Another thought is that they are becoming so active at this age, they are just too busy to settle down for a bottle. I just keep at it...and some days I feed him small amounts more frequently if I have to. I'm with you though...first time mom, just trying to figure all this out! Good luck :)
Hi H.!
I would suggest not feeding him during the night, or you could end up with a tiresome habit that won't go away. Sounds like he is having enough milk, just keep offering it to him and he'll drink it when he wants some. Also, if he wakes up in the night, you might try giving him some water in a bottle if you're worried he's thirsty. At his age, he doesn't need to eat till the morning. Good luck!
We went through the same thing. My son (now 15 months) was very interested in baby food and skipped his bottles for a while. Your son is probably just curious about the new foods. Once the newness wears off he'll go back to his bottle as normal.
My son awoke at night when teething and when he gets ear infections. See if he is drooling a lot, has his hands in his mouth or if he is tugging at ears to see if his mouth or ears are bugging him.
