One of our 8 month old twinfants hasn't been drinking much from the bottle lately. Does anyone have experience with this? It could be a phase, he did this same thing at about 2.5 months. He's eating his solids, but he's not finishing his formula (he normally drinks about 7 oz, but lately it's been about 4-5 oz per bottle 4 times a day), and doesn't seem to like juice or water too much. I'm worried that he will get dehydrated. His diapers are wet, but they are not full when I change them every few hours. I tried giving him a sippy cup to drink from, but he just chewed on the sippy spout thing. We have the boys on the "12 Hour Sleep Schedule" where they eat 4 times a day, and sleep for about 10-12 hours a night. Maybe he's outgrown this schedule??
Thanks Mamas for all the suggestions and advice!! So it got a little worse before it got better. After I wrote the question, he drank 2 oz for one feeding! Over the weekend we saw some more intake of formula, and now he's getting back to normal. I do believe that he and his brother are teething, and that may have caused the hiccup in his feeding amounts. Lately both he and his brother are enjoying frozen chewy toys, especially in the hot afternoons. They remind me of little puppies=) Thanks again for all the support!
I believe that my kids started to eat three bottles a day around nine months. He may be ready to cut back. If his diapers are wet, I wouldn't worry about dehydration. He may also be full from solids, so try spacing out the solids and bottles to see if that helps. Good luck! :)
A couple of things to look for, make sure he does not have a yeart infection in his mouth they call it Thurst, usually the baby won't want to take a bottle at all or fuss when you try to give it to it. The tongue will look bunpy, or white milky color. will he drink from Mommys cups , are you using tap water bottle water, sometimes I think kids have to get used to water. he might be teething also , and does not want anything in his mouth is he drooling at all. Put your finger in his mouth mom feel around. If all else fails and your worried MOM take in to see the doctor, just for peace of mind.
Blessings to the baby
Hi L., when my son was that old he didn't drink as much since he was on solids. If you want him to have more formula, I would try giving him his bottle first and then wait a little and give him soilds. Also, my son did not eat as much when he was teething. I hope this helps! Good Luck!
Another idea is to buy new nipples, with an easier flow.
It could be anything, even teething.. at which time they sometimes nurse/feed less. Both my kids did that. He chews on the spout... and this can mean he is teething or simply not interested in drinking or not hungry.
Keep in mind, that although at this age they are on solids...for the 1st year of life, breastmilk/formula is the PRIMARY source of nutrition for a baby.
At this age, generally, is it better to offer the bottle BEFORE giving any solids. Giving solids beforehand, is usually don't to "wean" from bottle/breast. Solids first makes them full... thus, they won't be interesting in their bottle feeding.
Try not to fill up on juice... or at least cut it in half with water. They don't need the refined sugars... and it can be a "habit" you don't want to "train" them on, yet.
Water is fine... but if this is filling him up and thus interfering with his formula feeding... then don't offer this first. If he is simply not interested in water or other liquids... that is perfectly fine. For some babies, it can be an "acquired" taste to get used to. In the case of breastfed babies for example, they nurse for 1 year and water does not supplant this.
Perhaps, just keep offering him his formula STILL in a baby bottle... perhaps he is simply not ready for a sippy-cup. Every baby is different. At this age, they don't "have to" use a sippy cup, unless they are fully adept at it. Nothing wrong with using a baby bottle... it is for nutrition sake AND you want to make sure he is not losing intake. My clue is, you said he just "chews on the sippy spout thing.." So to me, he is probably not yet ready for it.
Ask your Pediatrician how many ounces he should be drinking for his age and how often. Also see if his weight gain is fine? If it is, then that's probably fine. If he is not gaining weight or losing weight... then that is a concern. But yes, at least he has "wet" diapers... although not "soaked" as it might usually be. Keep an eye on it though... per
dehydration. Dehydration can also be detected by their fontanel... if it is "depressed" it can be due to dehydration for example.
In any event, both my kids behaved this way with nursing/or bottle feeding when they were teething. And it passed and was temporary. At least it seems they are sleeping well at night. Good for you! And them. You are very lucky!
Ask you Pediatrician though.
Take care,
~Susan
try a leak proof cup with a straw. that worked for my daughter.
Try giving him his bottle before any solids. Space out the solids, ie 1 1/2 hours after a bottle, offer a little water w/ the solids. Hopefully he will be hungrier to then take more of his bottle, which is more important than the solids at his age.
I would keep giving him the sippy cup. It takes time for them to master it. Don't give up on it at all!!! Give it to both of your children. Sounds like he's doing ok, as long as he is eating his solids. He's most likely getting enough liquids.
Good luck.
Is he eating more solids? I think about 24oz of milk/formula is average at this age. My kids ate less right before they came down with colds.
Also, he's becoming more distractable the older he gets. Is he trading the bottle for something to play with or do?
Maybe he's teething and it's uncomfortable? My son did that around 6 months... he refused bottles almost completely for a week! Luckily he would still breastfeed at night but it was hard when he refused bottles when he was at day care or grandma's. I would just keep offering it as you've been doing and hopefully he'll come back around. You may also want to keep an eye out to see if he's sick at all. My son also started drinking less between 12 and 13 months when he had an ear infection because I think the sucking hurt his ears.
Don't you just love how you finally get used to a schedule, and then your kid changes things on you?
I know that infants go through a lot of growth spurts where they will eat a lot in preparation for the growth spurt and then eat/drink hardly anything immediately after the growth spurt. My son did this and now my DD (who is 14 months) is doing the same thing. She is currently in a "hardly eating/drinking anything" phase. And the last two weeks before she was eating everything under the sun and getting up about 3 hours into her nighttime sleep for a full bottle every night.
It could also be that your little one is teething and for some reason would rather chew on food or bottles than drink fluid.
I would think that your baby boy is getting enough fluids even though it may seem that he isn't. If you are really concerned about him getting more fluids, you could try letting him suck on popsicles a couple of times during the day. Plus if he is teething, the cold feeling might help with the teething.
My DD is finally cutting her first 4 teeth all at once, so needless to say there are days when they bother her a lot. So I went to Target last week and bought some popsicle molds for like $4 for a set of 4. Then I just poured in some organic lemonade and strawberry lemonade (we are big organic eaters here) and froze them for a few hours. Everyone in my family loved them, even more than the store bought popsicles. And I love it because in the end it will be cheaper to make my own than constantly buying them from the store :)!
Also, a good way to check if he is getting enough fluids is to check the consistency of his poop. If it is hard or "pellet" like, he is constipated. If it is soft in texture (think yogurt) then he is getting enough fluids.
Good Luck!
