My soon to be 11 mo. old baby is not drinking enough formula. It started when he was about 4-5 mo. old, he was drinking about 4oz. when others were drinking 6oz. It got a little better at some point, but now his is more interested eating solid (i.e. whatever we are eating). He is developmentally on par, but underweight based on the growth chart. I don't know if I should start giving him vitamin supplement at this age. My 3 yr. old has the same issue. He is a supper picky eater and is very small for his age. He is turning 4 this month and he is wearing 3 yr. old clothes. He likes the gummyvit but not gummy calcium. I need any advice on how to deal with them and supplement recommendations. Thanks.
3.5 ounces of cheddar cheese each day is 750 mg. A 1-10 yr old needs 800mg's each day. If you add some carrots, dried apricots or figs or pecans and almonds they will get all the calcium they need without vitamins or milk.
My son is a little one too and I used to make smoothies for him using fruits he likes (frozen bananas, blueberries) and then added coconut milk for added fats and whey protein or hemp protein. I used the hemp protein first b/c it's supposed to be easier to digest. This helped him gain a little but he's still my light guy (only 28 lbs at almost 3) but I think he's right on track as far as his growth curve. You could also introduce milk instead and see if he likes that. Good luck and hope this helps!
I work with infants/kids nutrition at WIC and I really think it's great your baby is leading you to weaning off the bottle! Most aprent struggle to reduce bottle use and end up with have to "transition" over months and months. Past a year, the AAP recommends no bottle and just 12-16 oz equivalents of dairy products (liquid milk, yogurt same oz, cheese is 1 oz, I think..). So if your little guy gets down to 12-16 oz formula per day around this time and is eating a variety of table foods from all the food groups, development is normal and your ped. is ok with his growth...you are so much ahead of the game!
Unless your doctor has a concern with this, I wouldn't worry about it. Too many kids drink way too much milk and not enough food. It is often quite a struggle to get kids to make this transition. I have 4 daughters all of which are healthy. Two of them have always been underweight and on the small side, but the doctor nor I have ever had a concern with this. Each child is so differant. I have 3 year old twin girls and their eating habits are so differant. One really took to food very well and has always preferred food over milk, and the other one preferred milk over food. And again, unless your doctor thinks he needs any additional supplements I wouldn't worry about it.
My 15 mo old son is also less interested in milk since he started eating. At 12 months I switched over to regular milk, but he still wasn't drinking enough and at his recent appt his iron was low. My doctor recommended Pediasure and my son loves it. It comes in different flavors and has all the vitamins/nutrients the babies need. Good luck!
My son is 10 months old and i'm breastfeeding. He weened himself off of some of his feedings. He only eats on me, 4 times a day. And he doesnt stay on anywhere near how long he used too. My ped. didnt worry about it because he eats yogurt and cheeses and alot of solids.(three meals a day) , and snacks. Pretty soon i'm going to ween him to whole milk. I wouldnt worry even if he's a lil underwheight. As long as your ped. says its ik I wouldnt worry. But it doesnt hurt to give them supplemants- Good luck...
I am curious of the order of his feedings. My girl always weighed in small, but was a very big eater. My doctor (and a few books) insisted that I give her the bottle before the solids. The major purpose of solids as a young age is learning to eat meals, but the majority of their nutrition still comes from their milk. For breakfast and lunch we do her bottle first, and then follow with her solids. Dinner she goes straight to solids, then gets a bottle before bed. Maybe the order will help. I don't think my daughter would be very interested in her bottle if she got her solids first. She loves to eat! Good luck!
My now-10-month-old son had the same thing after he began on solids. Loves to eat so much that he just seemed a lot less interested in formula. And then, all of sudden, it dawned on me that we had not moved up to the faster-flow nipples on his bottle for quite some time. I immediately switched and he started drinking a lot more right away. Took him a few days to get used to the flow and it was a little messy, but it certainly did the trick.
I am having the same problem with my 8 m/o son. He's been suffering from GERD since he was about 5 weeks old. He is still struggling with it even though he is on medication. My son never drenk enough formula. He takes only 3.5 oz while others take 6-7. He is in the bottom 5%. We saw many doctors but his situation is just not improving. I wish I could give you a good advice instead of complaining. But sometimes it is easier when you know that your kid is not the only one. Good luck.
I am not a doctor but think if he is eating solids three times a day he doesn't need formula anymore. He can probably start on regulat milk now or soon.
Hi C.,
Of course I'm not a Dr. but I wouldn't be worried about it. In fact, consider yourself lucky that you don't have the dreaded weaning process. Just start giving him what you are eating and make sure he gets enough fat (avocado, whole milk cheese etc). Of course, you should talk to your Ped but I honestly think this is his cue to you that he's ready to move on.
T
My husband and I simply mixed baby formula (mixed with water)in with whatever solids they were eating. For example, a little powdered formula milk mixed in with some green beans and possibly rice cereal so its not to runny. Our kids loved it and we felt like we were giving them the food they wanted with the vitamins/protein they needed.
Don't worry how he compares on the charts, as long as he isn't back sliding. My daughter has always been around the 20th percentile in weight, but that's been since birth. So while she's small for her age, it's been consistent. I nursed her for 17 months because I was worried she wasn't drinking enough milk. My dr. said as long as she's also eating cheese, yogurt, etc., then don't worry too much. She's 19 months now and drinks about two sippy cups of milk a day--one in the a.m. and one in the p.m. We even add 1/2 a packet of Carnation Instant Breakfast, no sugar added, to increase her nutrition value. Also, it's the only way she'll drink it :-) I also add a dropper full of Polyvisol vitamin drops for extra iron, since she's borderline on blood tests. And as long as your son is getting enough liquids to stay hydrated, don't stress over it too much.
