Hi Mamas!! I seem to be having trouble getting my beautiful 9 month old girl to take her milk feedings. She is exclusively breastfed (although I do work full-time so she often gets expressed breastmilk in a bottle). At 6 months we introduced solid food in addition to breastmilk and she has enjoyed all the new flavors and textures tremendously. In fact, the last three weeks she has preferred to eat the solids instead of her milk. I have tried feeding milk before food, feeding from the breast only, feeding from the bottle only. She will nurse/take her bottle for maybe a minute or two before she pops off and gets distracted. I keep trying to get her back on, but she just doesn't seem interested. Because I know she is hungry, I will eventually give up and put her in her high chair to feed her baby food. She eats it like there's no tomorrow! She can easily put away two 4oz jars of food in one sitting. I usually can't shovel the stuff into her mouth fast enough. I've tried to nurse her halfway through her solid meal and that hasn't worked. I've tried to nurse her after food, and that certainly hasn't worked. I know her appetite is intact so I cannot figure out why she has developed a milk aversion. Mostly I am concerned because I know that babies at this age get most of their nutrition from milk NOT from baby food. Has anybody else been in this situation? Any suggestions/reassurance would be greatly appreciated!!
May be try rice/grain cereal that are mixed with breast milk.
This will allow more milk intake and feed by spoon... just how she likes it.
And if you want more milk intake than cereal, make it thin. Get more milk in that way.
I have a 3 and a half crazy active little boy!
He did prefer being spoon feed than taking bottle when he was that age.
Good luck.
verni
Hi Sabine
My son, who will be 9 months in a couple days is the same exact way. I'm lucky if I can feed him 3 4 oz bottles a Day. He LOVES his food and will sit in his high chair eating for 45 minutes straight some times. I'm not going to fight it, he seems happy and he's growing so I guess all is good! It's funny because my daughter who is almost 3 is the complete opposite and all she wants is milk anD barely eats...go figure!
How about mixing the expressed breast milk into baby cereal, baby yogurt, whatever else you're giving her? You can consider putting it into a sippy cup (try the 2-handled version) and see if she'll do that herself.
Have u tried regular cow's milk instead of breast milk? I think at this age the baby would like more grown up food. That's how mine were, so I just used a food processor on every meal we ate. She will definately get all the nutrition that way. I would also try chocolate milk too.
Hi Sabine,
I would keep trying with the breast and the bottle. I would also keep pumping too. You can put some of the milk into rice cereal and then give the baby foods and she will get milk that way. (put two ounces atleast into rice cereal, then give her a fruit or baby food of your choice, but make sure she takes the rice cereal too) Have you tried to breastfeed her when she is really tired? like first thing in the morning or last thing at night? bring her into bed and snuggle and see if she will take the breast then....it may just be a phase and she should go back...when someone else gives her the bottle they can try facing her outward (away from them)and sometimes they will take a bottle this way because they can continue to look outward)....you can also try to give her a sippy cup with milk in it..she may take this rather than the bottle and then you will have her off the bottle, but hopefully still drinking...
Keep us posted on how she is doing...Hope these things help
well
Some good advice that i was told was that the baby is ready to stop nursing and that is a good age as well.
Breast milk serves a purpose for while but after a period of time it is just milk
i believe that is her signal to say she is ready.
good luck to you and your beautiful preciious gift
this is very common my daughter went through a phase of just wanting to eat and now she'ld rather drink milk instead of eat. you're doing the right thing my offering the breast first and the milk first
i'ld try to feed her in a seperate room with little disractions and feed her before she really gets too hungry
my daughter is almost 11 months and my son is 4 years old so distractions happen a lot she's always preferred to play than nurse
try not to worry too
HI Sabine,
First... as long as your daughter is healthy, happy and putting on weight don't worry, she is probably getting enough nutrients from the solid foods. My daughter went through a similar thing at about 9 months old (now 15 months). She just didn't want her bottles (breastfeeding didn't work out for me). She is now strictly on cow's milk, but is still not a big milk drinker. I never know what is gong to work. She likes trying new sippy cups or cups with a straw. I even sometimes help her to drink out of a regular cup. It is fun for her to try new things and I know she is getting the calcium she needs.
Another thing I do to help my daughter drink more milk... I make her milkshakes or smoothies. Depending on what your daughter has already tried and doesn't have any allergies too. You can add it to her bottler. I mix her milk with a bit (half or a third of a jar) of jarred pureed fruit like bananas or a fruit mix with bananas (just shake it up) or I make it with fresh fruit (use a hand blender). Sometimes I add yogurt . I actually give this to her as a snack between meals.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
This behavior does not necessarily mean that she wants to wean. Distraction at this age is common and what you describe is not unusual. Until she is a year continue to nurse her before her solids and whenever she is interested. A baby at this age is very efficient at nursing and does not need to nurse long to get a good feeding but should still be nursing several times/24 hr period of time. Try at least once a day to take her to a quiet area to nurse. You can lay down with her for a few minutes to try to get her to focus on nursing. You can can also nurse her when she is sleepy. She may stay on longer that way. Is she still nursing at night?Sometimes when babies are really distracted during the day they make up some of those calories at night. Don't worry too much about this, just keep offering frequently during the day and always nurse her before she has her solids.
Hi Sabine,
My baby had the same problem too. Two things you should consider: 1) Mixing the milk with cereals or fruits. 2) Begin giving her vitamins.
I give my baby (now 13 months) Poly-Vi-Sol. It's vitamin drops with iron intended for babies and toddlers. I began giving them to her when she stopped drinking so much milk. The doc said that as long as she does drink SOME milk, and I add milk to her cereals or oatmeal or cream of wheat, whatever, the baby gets enough nutrition. Adding the vitamins as part of her diet just ensures she has all the nutrients she needs to stay healthy.
Good Luck!
Mari
Hi Sabine,
It is very common for children around 9 months to not want to drink or nurse. They sometimes call it a nursing strike. Just keep doing what you are doing to get your daughter to drink as much as she will take. At that age they are realy becoming aware of their world around them. When she is sitting in her high chair she can still look around and see what's going on, but not so much when laying still to drink a bottle or nurse. She is probably getting most of the nutrients she needs even though you don't think so. It's do hard and worrisome when our little babes don't drink or eat as much as we think they should. So just keep up what your doing, sounds like you are doing all the right things!! As a side note...my daughter never nursed for more than 5 minutes at a time during a feeding and still only ate every 2 hrs. She is still small but healthy and that's what counts. Good luck, keep up the good work, and try not to stress too much! :)
My almost 9month old daughter eats mostly baby food and table food. While she is eating she has a sippy cup of milk or water that she drinks. I try to give her 3 8oz bottles a day and sometimes she drinks them all and alot of the times not. You could try bottle or breast right when she get up and is hungry. Also I would try putting the breastmilk in a sippy cup and give it to her throughout her meal. As long as you are trying to get some liquid in her so she doesn't get dehydrated I wouldn't worry about the nutrition- she is getting nutrition from the baby food too.
My daughter did that at nine mos. too, only she was done nursing for good & wanted to wean herself. I'd offer her the breast & she'd crack up laughing at me. She would however, take a bottle between feedings, so I pumped until the one year mark. To this day, if she sees my breast, she laughs and everytime I've offered it, she pokes me, giggles & turns away. Maybe she's just decided to wean? I was very sad at the time that she didn't want to go longer, but these little people really know what they want & need sometimes. Balance her diet out with pumped milk, you can put it in cereal, etc., until you transition to other milk sources after one year. In your case, maybe it's just a nursing strike & she'll start back up? Keep offering for a few weeks, but if she wants to wean, take your cues from her & supplement if you have to in other ways. Good luck!
Hi Sabine - With feeding, especially at that age, you really need to let the baby take the lead. My daughter is almost 8 mos and very much the same way - exclusively breastfed, I work FT so she gets pumped milk, started solids around 6 mos, LOVES her food! At times she is definitely more interested in her solids than in nursing/milk. She typically has 2 good nursng sessions during the day, again at bedtime, and a couple throughout the night. She nibbles here & there (nurses) as well when I'm around. When she's at daycare, she has maybe 2 to 3 3-4 oz bottles. Plus she gets a good amount of milk in her cereal. She is thriving, gaining weight and growing great. So... I wouldn't stress too much as long as she is still nursing some/taking her bottles. Also, I highly recommend 'Child of Mine: Feeding with Love & Good Sense.' It takes you through each stage of feeding your child and has been a huge resource for me with my kids. It definitely sets your mind at ease. I would ask though - how much is she nursing/taking breast milk? Good luck!
