About two weeks ago, my nine month old son decided he HATES formula! He never did eat much, even at 7 months he would almost never eat more than 4 ounces at a time of formula. He's on the small side, in the tenth percentile for weight. I have taken him to the Dr. to rule out medical reasons for refusing the bottle, he is completely healthy. At this point he is probably taking in 10-12 ounces a day on a good day, sometimes less. His other eating habits have not been affected, he is still interested in solids and has about 4 ounces of oatmeal cereal in the morning mixed with formula, 3-4 ounces of fruit or veggie at lunch, and 4-6 ounces of fruit and veggie at dinner. He also has cheerio pieces through out the day. He initially shows interest in the bottle when hungry, but will usually only take 1-2 ounces and then refuse. Also, he does not have teeth yet, and is not showing signs of cutting teeth soon (no swollen or red gums) so we don't think gum pain is the reason. My Dr. suggested feeding by spoon or dropper (doesn't work, we tried) or adding flavoring to his milk. We tried chocolate syrup out of desperation, and it seemed to help the first few times, but he is back to 1-2 ounces even with flavored milk. He doesn't seem to have lost any weight, and his personality has not changed. Our Pediatrician did not seem worried, are we worrying for no reason? Any suggestions on how to get him to take milk? We don't give juice regularly, maybe 3 times a week, 4 ounces at a time. We also don't give water in a bottle, but have offered it in a cup. I am also worried about him gettting dehydrated since his fluid intake is low. Should we be offering more juice or water in a bottle? Please help!

Thank you so much!

Beth

Hi,

How about a cup for all the liquid intake? He will certainly not get dehydrated if he is offered liquids by any means. This sounds like a good time to change completely to a regular cup. Most kids do fine with a regular cup that has a slanted handle to make it easier for both of you to use. Make sure the solids you are giving contain a lot of liquid. If he is light on liquids for a few weeks, that is fine.

Good luck, Dr. Olson

Thank you for the advice. We will keep trying the cup, however he just wants to play with it. He has gotten sips from it (we took out the flow control valve so the liquid comes out easily) but he only seems interested in spilling out the juice/water. He had a better day today (16 ounces formula) but we had a couple days with less than 4 ounces. He also just had his 9 month check-up and he has dropped from 10th percentile for weight to under 5th. Dr. seems concerned and wants him back in a month. We are upping his solid food intake as best we can, but I am still worried about him getting dehydrated. Will he get enough fluid from the solid (jarred fruits/veggies) to keep him from getting dehydrated? He just has no interest in any type of fluid from any type of bottle/cup/spoon. The only way he seems willing to drink is to suck the water out of a washcloth in the bathtub... lol Thanks for your advice!