Toys? - Honolulu,HI

Aloha,
Okay, this is how babies are, they like other things which "we" have and "play" with... it's their natural curiosity and emerging development occurring. Its normal.
Many babies also just like to play with things in the house... kleenex boxes, toilet paper rolls, pots and pans, cooking utentils, magazines & tearing the pages, empty boxes, etc. As long as it is safe and not a choking hazard, it's perfectly okay. Let her. Mind you, in my Mom's generation they did not have "toys." They just played with whatever was in their environment. Many cultures are this way. It's perfectly fine. A "toy" is not only things that are store bought.

As for your baby not taking Formula... well our Pediatrician as well, says that for the 1st year of life, a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition is from breastmilk/Formula, NOT solids, NOT other liquids. And they must be fed on demand. This is the 'building block" period of their life, where it is very important. They need a certain amount of intake, and this is also a "growth spurt" time for a baby at 9 months old.

Have you tried other kinds of bottles/nipples? My son LOVED the "MAM" brand bottles. Which you can get from www.amazon.com
*OR, try a sippy-cup with her, or a straw cup. Maybe she will take her Formula from that.

If she does not get enough formula/breastmilk... watch that she does not become constipated or dehydrated.
A baby needs hydration, which comes from breastmilk/Formula.
And they need the nutrition from it and the calories.

How many times are you directly nursing her? Only in the morning and at night? Do you nurse her on-demand, when you are home?

Some babies, don't like to drink from bottles... and will only nurse from Mom when she is home....thus, "switching" their nursing habits to only nursing when Mom is around...at night. BUT, a baby also needs a certain amount of intake... so make sure that you are nursing her on-demand at night, even if she wakes. This is a growth spurt time for a baby and their intake needs increases and is important for their physical development & brain development.

If she does not get enough intake from breastmilk/Formula...then it may/can affect her growth/weight gain/development. Ask your Pediatrician....

Try whatever you can, so that she gets proper intake via Formula or breastmilk. Or, try another kind of Formula...
The thing is, she needs it.
Hasn't your Pediatrician given you any advice or solutions for this? I'm sure lots of Moms encounter this "problem."
I would try other bottles/ nipples, a sippy cup or straw cup, and/or other brands of Formula.

OR, for some babies, when they are teething, they SEEM to 'reject" the bottle or breast, because it is uncomfortable to nurse/drink at these times. Is she teething????

All the best, just keep trying.. she cannot just be eating solids, without proper intake of breastmilk/Formula. Also, too much water (if she is given this) will not suffice and it can also make her too full to nurse and it can leech vitamins.

Take care,
Susan

I really like the suggestions from the other moms about household items. My daughter enjoys getting into my tupperware and cooking utensils drawers in the kitchen. If you want to try some toys: the following are pretty fun.

I would try a noisy but fun toy: http://www.target.com/Battat-Parents-Kitty-Keyboard/dp/B0...
My sister got this for our little cousin. It is adorable! It says 2 years and up, but a 9 month to 1 year old would really love pounding on the keys also and it doesn't have small parts.

Or maybe a ball popper. Some moms don't like the facts that the little balls can scatter, but then that's what happens with babies' toys- that's how they learn. I got my daughter's for her first birthday and she really loves it. http://www.target.com/Hasbro-Playskool-Busy-Ball-Popper/d... (I got mine online for under $20 and paid no shipping or taxes.)

i know how you feel lol. my daughter loves my cell phone. what i did was gave her my old cell phone and charged it so it made noise for her. walmart sells kiddie cell phones and keys that make noise. try buying her toys for a 12 month old so they challenge her a little more. as far as the bottle issue maybe its a sign to try a cup. maybe have her sitter offer her formula more often in less amounts a day. what other drinks does she have a day water juice? just offer her the amount she drinks so in a 8oz bottle say she only drinks 5oz only offer her 5oz the next time. i hope this helps.

My friends daughter would only play with things that were mom's so she started carrying around her daughters toys in her purse like they were real. She hid her phone and carried the toy phone. She carried around plastic keys and other baby safe electronics. As long as it was mom's her daughter loved it! It took a bit of effort to keep the real ones hidden but so worth it. BTW my other friend has had to replace her phone twice because they short out from too much baby spit. You don't want to damage your phone and real keys often have dangerous metals for babies so whatever you do don't let her have the real thing.
Good Luck.

My 2 year old has a set of keys with a remote (toy from Target I think) and it has several buttons that make all different noises (car starting, horn beeping, clicking, etc). But I agree that you want to get creative with "real" stuff in the house. We have a drawer on the bottom that has tupperware and plastic utensils, lids, etc. that my daughter loves to play in, taking things out and putting them in, stacking, banging, etc. If you're supervising her, they love to play with play dough (squooshing in their hands), unless she's still putting everything in her mouth. If I'm outside, I'll put a pan of water with small cups for her to pour and play with and splash in with her hands. Your daughter is a bit young still, but you can figure out what she enjoys most. Do you have an old purse you can give her (take the straps off first) and give her some "real" stuff (safe things) to put in it that are easy to take out and play with and put back in. They also have those "weeble" crayons/markers for babies that are great. Or there's Color Wonder markers & books where the pen only writes on the special paper.

As for the "no interest" in bottle, no sense getting her hooked only to ween her off. It's time to try a sippie cup and/or straw. If that doesn't work, nursing her plus giving solids that provide the calcium (cheese, etc) as an alternative. My daughter drank her formula, but would never drink cow's milk (to this day at age 2) and after trying everything, the Pediatrician said to just be sure she's getting calcium in other ways every day (yogurt is a good one).

Hi!

I read somewhere that one Montessori belief is that babies don't like toys because they don't teach them about the real world and aren't interesting; e.g., a plastic rattle is the same as a plastic ball, plastic keys, etc. They suggested we give babies a low basket full of safe household items- real things that we really use. I did this and my daughter loved it. She liked things with lids, things to put things in, I put safe kitchen utensils in there, old containers, small shoes, old keys, sunglasses, lotion tubes, etc. She also liked me putting things in a cloth bag and then reaching in and pulling everything out and putting it back in. Of course I supervised her so she wouldn't swallow anything. Now she is 18 months and really likes rummaging through my old make-up while I get ready in the morning.
Hope this helps!

stacking cups and boxes were my daughters favorite. I would stack it up and she would knock it down. great fun... I also found this open block that had a rain stick in the middle and twisty stuff on the side and bright primary colors and a button on top that sang abc and one two three... I couldn't tell you what it was called, but she loves it still... I got it at walmart in the baby isle...
As for the formula, I wouldn't worry about it. She does still need to nurse, but if you nurse when you are with her, it should be fine... My sister would only nurse with my mother, and wouldn't even take food around that age, and my mother worked full time. My sister is fine, though she was a chunky kid...
I gave my daughter a sippy cup about nine months, and she loved it. Juice, formula, and water all in cups. She was so cute with them. Only give her water as a 'carry along' though, cause the others can cause teeth decay.
good luck
R.