8 Mth Old Doesn't Want Formula
I recently signed a dcf with the sweetest little dcg (8mths). The thing is, she will only take a small amount of formula, maybe two or three ozs a few times a day. I fed her baby food and crackers which she ate and I thought this was just her pattern. Dcm comes in the other morn and tells me that dcb acted like she was starving at home, eating non stop and how was she eating here? I said well...she doesn't want the formula and then I feed her food at lunch, breakfast and snack and stop when she acts like she is finished (spitting it all over..lol) So she asks me if I can try to feed her food more often. I feel like all I get accomplished is trying to feed the baby and am afraid next week when I have more kids in care that this could be a problem. Shouldn't she still be drinking quite a bit of formula at 8mths? What do you all think?
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do you use the same kind of bottle? is the flow of the nipple the same? the temp? have mom bring a tshirt she wore and did not wash. drape it over you and hold baby facing out a bit it might work. yes most babies still drink a bunch of formula. BUT breast fed babies often wait to nurse when mom gets there so this baby may be doing the same
I would still only feed at normal times but maybe offer the bottle an extra time. does she hold it herself. if so try letting her feed herself the bottle. Maybe she does this at home. |
I have an 8 month old dcb who does this occasionally too. Usually eats 6 ounces 3 times while he's here plus baby food but at least once or twice a week wants nothing to do with the bottle but eats a ton for mom later. I have found that he does it most when he has a tooth coming through
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Originally Posted by providerandmomof4: I know all babies eat differently but here is what my 7 month old DS eats in a day just so you can get an idea: 7am- 7oz bottle 9am- 1 jar of fruit and cereal 11am- 6oz bottle 1pm- 1 jar of veggies, and finger foods (puffs, mum mum, etc) 3pm- 6oz bottle 5pm- 1 jar of veggie or fruit and cereal 7pm- 7oz bottle |
Originally Posted by providerandmomof4: Also, does mom have a certain routine for feeding bottles? If so, perhaps doing a similar routine will help. |
what hours is the child there? are you licensed (aka required to offer a certain amount of food/formula at certain intervals?)
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Originally Posted by cheerfuldom: Also, yes she holds her own bottle- and won't have it any other way :) but she just takes it and squeezes it out all over the couch, carpet, etc...just playing with it. |
Could you try a sippy cup for the milk? Or even a different bottle/nipple?
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Just a few thoughts...
Could it be your water? I've had infants be a little thrown because I had well water and home was city water. Could taste quite a bit different depending on something like that. Could temp be influencing how she feels about it? does mom do bottles warmed, room temp or cold? Perhaps positioning is the problem, does mom feed her reclined or sitting up? Some babies with reflux it literally hurts to eat laying back. Or maybe mom is just feeding her more solids at home than you are attempting to there? The babies I've had run the gamut (including my own who were polar opposites!), some are eating almost no solids at that age, some that's about all they want. In the end as long as she's getting enough calories and her system can handle more solids at this point I'd ask mom to get a dietary statement from the pediatrician and take baby's lead. |
Originally Posted by Willow: OP, if the baby isn't loading up on formula with mom and getting the recommended amounts then I'd either cut back on the solids you are giving her, or try giving her a bottle before meals so that she is getting what she needs first and eating solids afterwards. Definitely worth a try. Good luck. |
I'm having the same problem with an 8 month old that I've had since he was six weeks. He would rather eat food now , when before he would drink and drink. I've found that if I wait about a half hr after regular bottle time and don't offer snacks he will drink it. He is definitely more interested in what is going on around him. I'm wondering if its time for a cup.
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Meh, I guess I'm more inclined to side with a pediatricians input on this as I said. I may know a decent amount about nutrition but I certainly don't know everything.
Every child is different, dietary needs included. If mom is ok with it and an actual doctor says it's perfectly fine who the heck would I be to argue? And sometimes children do indeed know what's best for them. I had a infant/foster toddler once who kept refusing grain/breads. I had to offer them, and I tried to encourage her to eat them as I thought was appropriate for her age.....only to find out she had a gluten intolerance several months after worrying she wasn't fitting into the cookie cutter expectations of what a toddler should be eating. They were literally hurting her body when she ate them. It was something she knew but couldn't express with words. I feel awful I didn't at least try to listen to what she was trying to tell me by refusing them. |
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