She's refusing the bottle except when she's falling asleep

So L.M. is now refusing her bottles! As many of you know, she's never been crazy about milk, she still uses a 5 ounce bottle.

For the past 5 days, she refuses to drink during the day unless she is falling asleep for her nap. She drinks no problem at night. I have tried feeding her in a darkened room during the day, and it doesn't help.

She isn't even drinking 20 ounces in a 24 hour period, she's drinking about 16 oz. She also drinks 2 ounces at a time lately, if she drinks at all.

She has rice cereal for breakfast, a meat/veg mix for lunch, and sweet potatoes and cereal for dinner.

I wish I could ask her doctor, but we don't have health insurance right now.

She eats her solids fine, even if she has just refused milk. I try to keep a rule, no solids until the formula is gone, but sometimes I get so worried that I'll mix her formula into her cereal and let her have it that way.

What do you all think?

Well, that's a good idea to mix formula in her food if she's not drinking it from a bottle, so I would keep doing that if you're worried.

K did the same thing at about 4 months and then again at 6 months and then again at about 8 months. I dont know what the deal is, but she wouldn't nurse or drink breastmilk from a bottle even unless it was time for nap or bedtime. I guess she just preferred to eat food from a spoon. I just kept offering the milk to her (breast and bottle of breastmilk) and she eventually started taking it again. I think it's just a phase.

BTW, K also has never taken anymore than 5 ounces of milk at one time from a bottle. Obviously when she's nursing I can't tell for sure how much she drinks, but by the time it takes her, I'd estimate it at about 4-5 ounces. When we give her breastmilk in a bottle, she never will take more than 5 oz. Alot of babies in her nursery class are drinking 8oz and she still doesn't have near that much milk. I'm not so worried about it though, as she's getting lots of important nutrients in my milk when she DOES drink it and she's to the age now where she's getting alot of nutrients from her food also. Plus I've mentioned this to my pediatrician several times and he says that her weight gain is great and she doesn't appear to have any kind of deficiencies or anything so she's getting what she needs one way or another.

I guess my advice (if you want it) would be to just keep offering it. Another thing I always do is write down dates in a calendar. Like I would write down what day it was that she kinda stopped taking her milk and see how long it lasts. That way, when you DO get to see a doctor or just for your own peace of mind, you'll know how long the phase lasted and especially if it happens again, you'll recognize it. Like you said, some babies just don't favor milk that much.

Hey hunny,

I have done some research for you... the first two are just a couple of links thtat show it's very normal for a baby exactly Lily maes age to start to want less milk.

http://www.babyexpert.com/chatroom/topic/37222

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/startingsolids/milkat6mnths/

And here is a GREAT link with a table to show a guid of solids/how and when to introduce each type into the diet!

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/solidfood6to8montholdbaby.htm

In fact it's so good that I think I will post the chart in this forum as a sticky!

The general concenus is though,perhaps offer her water instead and yogurt for calcium,perhaps a little cream cheese/Look at the chart anyway.Hope it helps!

Thank you so much for the chart Angel

I worry though, because it recommends that she have at least 24 ounces of formula a day, and she isn't getting that.

Maybe I should give her a vitamin supplement every day then.

How far are you off the recommended amount?She looks healthy and is gaining weight.I would only be concerned about her calcium really ,as for fluids she will get it in her food.Try adding more formula to her creal.Also...Another trick i had.Teo would NEVER drink formula by it'sself right from the start.So...I ask my ped,she said to add a tiny drop of orange blosso, esseance,and as he got older,vanilla.
I dont know if you've tatsed it but formula is NASTY at the best of times,perhas changin the taste a little would work,it did for teo,he would ONLY drink it if I put that stuff in,otherwise he would take one mouthful and spit it out and cry!

I have TOTALLY thought of flavoring her formula! But how much should I put in??? What do I put in exactly?? I'll do ANYTHING to get her drinking more than her 16 ounces that she has been drinking.

A couple of drops of essence of vanilla/orange blossom,those are the ones that I KNOW are safe.That was all I needed.Not sure what else you can put in there.Perhaps take one of the fruits that you are already feeding her that she likes...and just squeeze some of the juice (peach?) in the bottle with her formula.maybe only natural feesh fruit though not canned otherwise it will probably contain loads of sugar whihc we DONT want her getting hooked on yet LOL!

Thank you so much, I'll try the flavoring.

Rylee Mack, I do appreciate your input here, and you are right, it's probably a phase.

hey Tiff -
have you tried giving her formula in a sippy cup? It might be more time consuming for you but it might be a solution. My niece did this and my SIL started giving her a sippy cup and it worked out great for them.

just a thought.......

You know, I totally have tried giving her formula in a sippy cup, she just looks at me really weird, and then refuses the cup. She does the same thing if I offer her something in her bottle that is not formula.

This kid is a stubborn ball of fire

the parenting book I read calls it "spirited" lol!!!!!

Spirited! LOL.

So I did re-try giving her formula in her sippy cup. It worked last night, but not this morning. She's onto me

Right not I just have a hard plastic sippy cup, I'm going to try giving her one that has the silicone top. It Feels more like her bottle nipple, but it isn't so maybe It will help, I dunno.

Ok, this is totally opposite of everything else posted here......

My sister just sent me that ''What to expect during your baby's first year'' book. I was browsing thru the what to expect during the 4th & 5th month chapters, and during the 5th they talked about this.

They called it a ''nursing strike'', and said it is very common. They also said it is very important for the baby to keep the breastmilk/formula as the primary source of nutrition for the first year. Their recommendations were to not offer the baby anything else until they started drinking again. They said it will not last more than 1-2 days, and it will not hurt the baby, and they will start drinking again like they are supposed to - then you can start the solids and stuff again.

I am not sure what to think, it sounds like the formula for a very miserable day or two for everyone in the house. I just thought I would throw it out here to see what everybody thinks........

Thanks Dolly. I had heard of a nursing strike, but never considered that it can happen for formula fed babies as well. I think that she is just loving her solids, and all the new tastes she is getting, and bland old formula is just not what she wants right now. I will keep offering her the formula no matter what. I don't think I could stop her solids altogether, because she has had them for over 2 months now, and is over 20 pounds, and needs the calories. However, I am going to cut out her afternoon snack of rice cereal, and see if that helps.

A little OT...but wow, Lily Mae is over 20 lbs!!?? You got yourself a big girlie there!

Ya she's huge She is really tall, in th 95th percentile for height and weight at her 4 month check up. She already out grew her carrier car seat! She was 18 pounds at her 4 month check up, and I think she is probably about 21 pounds or so now.

Hubby is 6ft 5, I'm 5ft 7, and my parents are both tall, as well as my mom's dad, so ya, not much hope of us havin' small babies They had to induce me at 38 weeks, cause she would have been over 9 pounds at the rate she'd been gaining!

O.k, yes this is O.T, but I just measured her with a measuring tape, she is 27 3/4 inches!

Wow, Lily Mae is as big as my K and she turned 9 months on Oct. 2!!! She weighed 21 lbs and measured 28 inches at her dr appointment on Oct. 9th. She's about average for her age I think. The doctor said 95th percentile for her weight and about 90th percentile for her height also. I can't believe she outgrew her car seat!! K still rides in hers...that's weird! What kind of carseat do you have?

BTW, I was also induced - one day before my due date and K was 8lbs 7oz at birth! And the dr told me at my 35 week checkup that I would most likely have a 7 pounder but she wouldn't be much bigger than that. I'm so glad I was induced!!

I don\'t think it\'s too important how much they are drinking at any one time as long as they have SOME. Rowan regularly went through phases where I had trouble getting even 4 oz down her at each feed before I started weaning at 5 months. I think this coincided with growth spurts.

Rowan was onto 8oz bottles by the time she was 5 months but now she\'s weaned and almost 9 months old she\'s gradually losing interest in milk. According to guidelines I prepare her 21oz a day now. 5oz in the morning, 8oz mid-morning and 8oz at bedtime. The only bottles she is bothered about are the bedtime and first bottles of the day. She barely has 4oz of the mid-morning bottle now, so I think this will be the first to go.

If LM is not taking milk well, you can give her other dairy products now that she is 6 months old. Cheese is a good one to add to her veggies.

All this talk of weight I haven\'t had Rowan weighed since the end of August because now I\'m back at work I don\'t get time to go to baby clinic. Rowan weighed 16 lb 8oz at the end of August. She generally gains about 1lb a month so I think she must be about 18lb now.

Tiff - LM can also have cow's milk in any food you cook for her or on her cereal in the morning instead of formula as well as cheese and yogurt too. As long as she's still drinking formula in her bottles. SHe can't have cow's milk in them till she's 1-year-old

Thank you Bryony for the info. I didn't know she could have other dairy now. I'll look into more of what I can give her.

L.M. is a big girl. She was in a graco infant carrier seat it's a lot like this: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SbSe7yrqL._AA280_.jpg , but it says 20 pounds is the limit for that carseat. Luckily we had another carseat, it's one that works for all ages, infant, toddler, and it converts to a booster. We got it at Wal-mart, it's a really nice seat.

How is she doing with her formula now, Tiff?