Posted by
jingaling
18 yrs ago
Hi all, my son is 5 months old, and we haven't really put him on any drinking schedule since he was little. And I'm not sure since when, but now he won't drink when he is awake. Will only drink when he is half asleep or asleep. We tried to starve him a bit and then feed him when he is awake, but he still pushes the bottle away. His daily intake varies between 800-1100 ml of milk. Anybody has any experience on how to correct this? Thanks!
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If you have started solids then you can expect his milk intake to drop. The amount you said is absolutely fine for that age. four bottles a day of around 800 to 1000mls is normal. You don't have to worry about forcing him to have more if he's not hungry as long as you see he is healthy and growing well, if he pushes away the bottle it is because he is full. Don't over ride his natural instinct to tell you if he wants to eat or not.
It may be time for you to get him on schedule of just having a bottle when he wakes in the morning, one before his morning nap, one before his afternoon nap and one before bed. and start him on solids if you haven't of one meal to begin with at lunch time, then you can try a dinner meal as well after a few weeks.
Eating schedules are quite important because your childs metabolism is set by his eating schedule and he will have a better idea of full and hungry if he understands that food comes at certain times during the day. His body will adapt to expecting that certain times are food times and will start to be hungrier at those times.
But don't force feed your child, just offer him a little and see what he does.
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I agree with Mumof2, if bubs isn't hungry and is otherwise healthy, don't force. The ultimate goal is to wean anyway, maybe your child just happens to prefer solids. In that case, feed the most nutritious (and non-allergenic food) you can! Pediatricians can help sort out the schedule to offer various solids, based on your baby's individual preferences. But also, drinking in bed or when sleepy is a very bad habit that eventually needs to be broken. His teeth need to be cleaned before bed, and stay clean, or he will develop dental caries.
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My 8 1/2 month old is underweight and has been on solids since 4 months old. He is a good eater (touch wood!) but these days he doesn't want to drink much milk in between the feeds. He will latch on latch off repeatedly. Actually, he used to do that before as well and that's why we started him on solids at 4 months but now the only time he breastfeeds properly is during the early morning feeds. I've tried from the beginning to bottle feed when he wasn't breastfeeding properly, but he keeps pushing the bottle away. He does the same now. I've also tried a soft spout cup but that hasn't worked either. I add some formula, fresh milk, yoghurt to his food. It says in the books that he should be getting 600ml milk a day in addition to the solids but I doubt that he is. Should I be worried? Otherwise, he's a happy little chap.
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Jingaling, I have a 4.5 month old. She's been on a feeding schedule since she was born- started out feeding on demand, which worked out to once every 2 hours. After a month of this, our pediatrician told us to get her on a 3 hour schedule, which eventually became every 4 hours all within the second month. To this day, she feeds every 4 hours, except during the night when she goes longer without a feeding. Her daily intake is about 750-950ml and she takes it via 5 or 6 feedings a day. Her schedule has made our lives a lot easier (& hers as a result) b/c we can predict how much food to take with us when we are out and it also tells me when she's fussy if she's tired or simply hungry - especially during growth spurts. The best piece of advice anyone has ever given me regarding babies is don't start habits that you don't want to continue 6 months from now- he eventually needs to learn to eat 3 or 4 times a day while awake to develop a "normal" daily schedule. Because of the reasons listed in the previous posts, I would go see your pediatrician for advice. You might also be able to get help from Annerly Midwives to get your son on a feeding schedule. Good luck!
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pocoyo, try breast compression when your son is latching on and off. It gets the milk flowing faster which may be what your little guy is looking for. There are many websites with info by Dr Jack Newman about how to do this. Good luck!
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Hi Ruth,
Before I started him on solids when he used to latch and unlatch repeatedly during breastfeeding, he used to cry in frustration. Now, when he does it, he just looks like he's not interested and is more interested in what is going on around him. It doesn't help that his 2 1/2 year old brother is a bit of a monkey. I sometimes try feeding him in the bedroom after plonking his brother in front of the TV (Baby TV or Playhouse Disney or Baby Einstein DVDs only incase someone starts telling me off for that), but he's still not really interested. Just now, before bed, he fed for about 2 mins and after awhile threw up. He's asleep now but what will happen is he'll probably wake up anytime between 5-7am and start crying and won't stop till I feed him. He used to sleep through till 8am, but the early wakings has been going on for about 10 days now. I tried to ignore him one day when he woke up at 5:30am. I thought perhaps it had become a habit and tried ignoring him. He cried on and off for about 45 mins and I finally gave up and fed him and that finally shut him up and he then went back to sleep.
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Do you have much milk? It's likely that your supply is compromised unless you are pumping as well. If he doesn't nurse much, then you probably don't have much and there's the cycle.
Hope he settles down soon!
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