12 Month Old Will Not Drink - Tried Everything! HELP!

Time for whole milk now- He might like the taste of it better and because it is cold - he really might like it. I have a friend who puts a cup of milk in the fridge with a straw and any time her child asks for a drink or she decides he needs one, she just lets him have a sip and then takes it away. (kind of like your "it's mommy's thing) He now asks for his milk on a regular basis. And stands at the fridge until someone hands him his cup. Good Luck

First and foremost...have you informed your doctor and asked for advice?

The reason I ask...I have a friend who had the same problem with her 1 year old. She didn't tell the doctor until six months later...if you don't tell/ask...they can't help and that is what they are there for. Anyway, after about 6 months of testing because they could not figure out what was wrong. They finally did. They removed his tonsils and adnoids (hopefully I spelled those correctly). Now he is a different child. He eats like a champ and is gaining weight. The mother and father are much happier now that they have a happy 2 year old.

Don't know if this info will help...but thought I would post just in case.

Your daughter is fine but if she is far below the weight percentile and you're concerned because of this, then do something. If her weight gain is fine, I would not pressure her into eating because it will make her even more opposed to eating. My son was only 16 lbs at his one year check-up which is way under where he should be. He was walking and knew 5 words so he did not have failure to thrive but we had to get his weight up. Things that worked for us were feeding him when he woke up at night, giving him Pediasure instead of formula, and using a powder called Duocal. Duocal is tasteles and each small scoop puts 50 calories into whatever he is drinking or eating. There are a list of things the specialist told us about but these are the only things that have been effective with my son. Good luck, feeding issues can be very frustrating and a pain to deal with everyday.

R.,
You've gotten some great responses. Now that your child is about to be 1, you can switch to whole milk. Ask you pedi on your next app how much dairy your child should have daily. I'm pretty sure it is less than the formula you have been trying to offer. With toddlers, you need to be very sure you are not creating power struggles with them, especially when it comes to eating and toileting. They will always win those battles, and you both end up feeling defeated. If he isn't taking to the milk, try other dairy products. An ounce of cheese contains several ounces of dairy. Yogurt allows him practice with a spoon; large curd cottage cheese is a great finger food. Sometimes the drive to conquer a new skill, like self-feeding is so strong children will eat a food they would normally turn away. Also, keep in mind that it can take 20 times of introducing a new food before a child will be ready to eat it.
Best wishes! Good Luck!

It's been a while for me- but 24 to 32 ounces of formula sounds like a LOT of formula for a one year old. At 12months, babies usually can go to regular whole milk- and since he is eating solids, his milk requirement should go down considerably. Are you giving him finger foods? Slice grapes down the middle (lengthwise),small pieces of cheese yogurt, avocado chunks- anything mushy- all of these things also have water in them and will be new and interesting. Check with your pedi but sounds like maybe he is ready to move on to the bigger kid way of eating and you are still in the baby mode. I always laughed that once you figured out a baby's stage- they had already moved on to another one. And the new walking trick definitely has him distracted- who wants to eat when you can do something that cool?! I was also amazed that once they hit toddler stage their food requirements seemed to dip so much...maybe you're just trying to put too much into him?? Good luck. If he is happy and giggly- he's not starving or dehydrating-so don't fret too much.

I wouldn't worry as much. If he is nursing twice, he is getting a good bit. I would try to nurse him 1-2 more times each day. If a child is nursing 3-4 times a day, they are getting the protein and fat that they need. Work on offering balanced meals, instead of pushing the formula. Cows milk is an easy way to get protein and fat into kids, but it isn't the only way. There are lots of kids who don't drink milk, who are perfectly healthy.

The other thing to remember is that healthy children won't starve themselves. He will get what he needs into his body. Your job is to offer healthy meals, and his job is to eat. You can't force it.

I had a hard time switching too. I mixed milk and apple juice at first, and my daughter liked it. Another friend of mine mixed milk with vanilla yogurt... For a while, my daughter would only drink milk if we were driving in the car. Just keep trying things, and eventually something will work! Good luck!

I have a 18 months old girl, that acts the same as yours, somedays she only eats a half banana and milk, some times only milk. I decide to cut cherrios, goldfish, crackers, etc. And now she is eating much better.

NONE of my boys drank milk at that age. 1st- relax! 2nd- does he eat cheese, yogurt, pudding, ice cream or other milk based foods? If he does, don't worry, he is more than likely getting enough calcium.

It may also be that he does not like whole milk. When I started my oldest on milk he wouldn't drink whole milk. It was too thick. I went to 2% (with Drs permission) and he drank that, but I limited it to 1 cup a day.

He is probably getting too full from the milk to want to eat so I would cut back and introduce more table foods that are high in calcium into his diet. At 1yr old, he can handle anything except peanut butter.

He is more than likely ready to wean from you as well. It is sad, I know.

Good Luck!

It's just a phase, and there is no need to stress too much over it. It may just be that he doesn't like milk. Have you tried pediasure or a little Ovaltine? You need to stop spoon feeding him because you're reinforcing his behavior. I'm assuming since he's abotu to turn a year old that he has a pediatrician's appt soon. That's the person you should be talking to.

Well, we sort of have the same problem. I stopped nursing at around 15 months, and started to offer milk from a cup, and I could for the longest time only get my little girl to drink one full small sippy cup each day. I would sneak it into food if I were you. You get get a lot in that way. Like with her oatmeal, I would use only milk to mix, and I would sneak it into all of her food. Not too much where it gets wattery though. My doctor use to tell me not to worry, because there is lots of water in everything that she eats. Now, my daughter is 2, and she MAYBE drinks 2 sippy cups a day, and I just don't worry about it anymore. My doctor also told me that with adults you always hear that we need to be drinking 8 glasses of water a day, and she said it's not the same for kids. Just get them to drink what they will. I hope I helped a little.

Have you tried goats milk instead of formula? My daughter loves it. It's very healthy.

I'd leave him alone for a couple of days and try again. He's probably giddy at being able to walk. And he may just not be hungry. Give yourself a break for a day, and try one of the cups again.

ok is it just me or have things changed so drastically since I had my 37 yr. old and 34 yr. old? My youngest was and is allergic to milk, therefore she was put on goats milk and to this day hates milk. They were both off the bottle by 8 months old and drinking out of cups, even though it got quite messy at times. They were both eating table food at 1 yr.old by themselves, using their hands and drinking juice, tea, water, koolaide, and they are both beautiful healthy mothers with four children each of their own. They raised their children, like they were raised and with the approval of the babies pediatrician, whom by the way was their pediatrician...Maybe their Dr. and I were and are just old school. They are constantly being told by the kids Dr. to listen to your Mom, she raised you all right so she apparently knows what she is talking about!

My youngest isn't a big milk drinker. Since weaning her she only drinks maybe 4 -6 oz of milk a day, and sometimes only if I will add molasses to it! Really they don't need milk. She will drink water sometimes if it is cold, especially if she's really thirsty.

If I really want her to drink I will add a bit of juice to her water. The aren't supposed to have more then 4 oz of juice a day but if you add an ounce or two of juice to the water he might drink it. You might have to add more at first and then decrease it a little at a time while he gets used to drinking from the cup.

She's two now, has been drinking from a cup for 1 1/2 years and no breastmilk since 15 months. She just doesn't like cow milk and I don't worry about it. She is of normal weight and size, though. She is parroting what her older sister say, so she's doing pretty well.

S., mom to 4 girls on Earth and missing my Heavenly Treasures, especially Benjamin Isaiah born from the womb into Heaven on March 8, 2009

At that age my son was drinking 3-6 oz bottles a day of whole milk. Any more and he would not eat food. I am not real sure about juice/water like how much he drank. I always remember keeping a cup available.

your 12 month old is on the move!!stop spoon feeding him formula!!!! he is obviously happy and healthy, just continue to give him cups and offer drinks to him at meal times and when he is on the move. he may be teething and sometimes chldren won't drink because of this. He will drink when he wants to. so relax and be happy because he's so happy!!!!

ps: if he gets lethargic or generally does not want to run around like he usually does, then worry!!

Where does this required amount of milk come from? My son stopped taking milk in any form when he was 10 months old. I put formula in with his cereal until he turned 1, then I consulted his pediatrician. He was not concerned at all. I was giving my son cheese, yogurt and other foods that all contained calcium, so he was getting plenty of calcium. There is no reason your child has to continue drinking milk. I did keep offering milk to my son and eventually he started drinking it again. I did not agree with people who told me to give him chocolate or strawberry milk because I wanted him to drink milk and I don't give him much sugar. Check with your pediatrician, but you may be worrying yourself over nothing. good luck.

Well R. maybe he is tired of milk.Try juices instead.Alot of children dont like water until they get a little older and a sip or two is all they will drink.As far as milk put it in his food like baby cereal or add something to the milk for a diffrent flavor.(just enough to taste,not to give him a sugar high)---M. D.

Try using a bigger spoon when you give him the formula that way- one that doesn't fit into his mouth and forces him to "sip" (or most likely slurp, lol) it from the spoon. This might make the spoon more like a cup, and he might be more open to a real cup after doing it that way for a while.