DD is refusing bottles! Drinking about 10 oz./day only! :-(

[californiamom]

Ladies,

I need help. DD started refusing bottles about 1 - 2 weeks ago.
She goes to daycare during the day so this is a real issue for us as I can't nurse her all day long during the week. I have been trying to wean her little by little (my breasts are constantly hurt) but I often give up because I think she's not ready yet (she really likes nursing!). But lately even when she's nursing in the evening she's very agitated and doesn't nurse for more than 2 minutes. Her daily chart from daycare yesterday showed she only drank 3 1/2 oz. the whole day!! She's eating solids and LOVES her oatmeal cereal and YoBaby yogurt, but she's not drinking enough. Any tips on how to deal with this??? How to get her to drink more?? I am concerned she will lose weight and/or get dehydrated if this continues...

Thanks so much!!
Ana

[squimp]

you may want to try a sippy cup or straw cup or some other way of getting milk into her. I think at 9 months she should get like 75-90% of her nutrition from milk. Also, it's the daycare providers job to make sure she eats, so I would emphasize to them that they need to help you figure this out.

DD went on a bottle strike at about 8 months, when I was working 4 hours per day. My ped and I agreed that as long as she ate some solids and drank some water or diluted juice she'd be OK without milk for those 4 hours.

About a lack of interest in nursing, this seems common in 9-month olds, from reading these boards. My DD became less interested in nursing when she started crawling - she just had more interesting things to do. She also is a lot more efficient - she can eat her fill in a few minutes, not the 20 minutes per breast of younger days. I just kept offering, and now we're back to the same pattern of nursing 4-5 times per day.

Not sure if this helps much, but good luck!

[Jen in Chicago]

Jude did the same thing, it lasted about 2 weeks. Made sure he got calcium via other sources. It is just a stage.

[californiamom]

We have tried sippy cups with no success. She only wants to drink water, and only about 1 to 2 oz./day.

We have been working with the daycare center on this... we supplied them with a schedule of what and when they need to offer her foods, ALWAYS starting with the milk. But she just keeps refusing the bottles! She eats solids well -- 3 oz of oatmeal cereal and stage 2 jar of fruit for breakfast; a vegetable and a fruit for lunch, yogurt for snack, and a vegetable, a fruit AND yogurt for dinner (I've been giving her 2 pot of yogurt a day since she is refusing EBM and/or formula. So about 24 oz. of food.

I am just really worried she's not getting enough fluids, although so far she hasn't really showed any signs of dehydration (I see tears in her eyes when she cries and she's been wetting enough diapers).

Thanks, though! I will keep you posted.

Ana

[californiamom]

Thanks, Jen! Hopefully this stage will pass soon!! :-)

Ana