Introducing Juice

Updated on September 10, 2008
T.M. asks from Reno, NV
17 answers

Hi, I am starting my 4 1/2 month old on juice. We recently switched her to Soy formula and it is making her bowel movements thicker and harder for her to get out...so the ped recommended giving her 2-4oz of juice twice a day. Now...my question is, how did you introduce juice to your baby? I tried giving it to her in a bottle this evening and WOW, that didn't work. She was SO mad that it wasn't formula...and then when I went to give her formula she wouldn't take it. I had to calm her down, change her into jammies and try the formula again...she finally ate and went to sleep.
I just don't know how to get her to drink the juice. She won't drink from a bottle, unless she is hungry?

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A.B.

answers from Las Vegas on

I would say to do it after she has waken up from a nap since she will be well rested and hungry. Give her half the formula that she usually gets and then give her the juice so that she's not starving for her formula.

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L.H.

answers from Honolulu on

I just went through this with my 23 week old son. I just changed the bottle. Get a totally different bottle and nipple. They recongnize the bottle as the one the gives the milk just like how they recognize us. So giving her a new "fancy" bottle with a new nipple shape just let her know that this is something different. I just bought one of those really cheap bottles. I hope this helps but if not try giving it to her when its not her feeding time. That way she feels like its more of a snack instead of food.

Hope this helps...

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S.G.

answers from Reno on

I would dilute the juice and try giving it to her from a dropper or a syringe.
Good luck,
S. G

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J.E.

answers from Visalia on

Stop the soy formula. It's the proteins in soy that your little one cannot digest and is causing the problem. To introduce juice to early can cause intestinal imbalances and cause further problems. When I started with pear juice, I warmed it up first and put it in a differently shapped bottle so my kiddo would know something different was coming. I also said "juice" so he would make the connection eventually.

IHTH

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T.H.

answers from Las Vegas on

First dilute the juice for the first few months with water, before giving it full strength. Secondly, try a sippy cup with the Nubey nipple. (not sure if I spelled it right). It has a very soft tip and is similar to a regular nipple, so it isn't the hard plastic kind. My 7 month old grand daughter took right to her Nubey Sippy Cup at 5 mos. and she is a breast fed baby who refused ANY nipple or cup at first. Always make sure babies aren't drinking juice from the same bottle as their milk. It should be different and the Nubey sippy cup is a good choice. Hope it works for you. Good Luck! Grammy Tracey

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J.L.

answers from San Diego on

Hi T., The first thing i would do is take her off the soy. And as far as juice goes introduce her to juice in a sippy cup, onces she gets a taste she'll drink it. J. L.

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S.G.

answers from Los Angeles on

Try a few drops from a medicine dropper several times a day, until she gets used to the taste. Or even from a tiny spoon. Something different until she likes it, then she should be happy to accept it from a bottle. Right now it's probably just that she associates the bottle only with formula, not that she actually hates the taste of the juice itself.

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N.J.

answers from Las Vegas on

Try mixing 1 (small) part baby juice to three parts water, and warm if necessary. Also, can try a "sippy cup" just because it is not a bottle. Good luck....gramma neenee

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G.B.

answers from Indianapolis on

At 3-4 my son's stool all of sudden became harder and without SOY formula so who knows what could be causing it. We introduced 1 oz of prune juice to a bottle of 3 oz water, he loved it and went almost immediately. After that we stuck to 1oz in his oatmeal each day (by then he was 4 mo). It worked great. I too was cautious about too much juice too early so I'm careful to not become juice dependent so we only do in oatmeal; we used to do rice cereal which also could have been a source of the constipation. Now at 5 mo we are eating homemade baby food and all the green vegges have him going 1-2 times per day very nicely. Good luck!

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J.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

wow why so early. my daughters ped. said no juice till 6 months. and to mix it 2oz juice with 2oz water and only 4oz a day. i would mix about 1/2-1oz of straight prune juice onto her formula. it seems like she is having tummy issues with the new formula did you just switch her cold turkey to the soy? you are supposed to mix it half and half over like 2 weeks so their tummies slowly adjust. you can also buy stage one prunes too that will help a lot. i wouldnt push it she doesnt seem ready for the juice i would just stick to the formula and rice cereals for now.

J.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

When I first introduced apple juice to my daughter she didn't like it at all either. A friend of mine recommended me try a different brand of apple juice, I just thought apple juice was apple juice since I really don't care for apple juice myself. So I tried Tree Top Apple juice and she loved it. I put 2oz of juice and 2oz of water in her bottle and she loved it. My daughter s now 23 months old and still loves her Juice. I hope this helps.

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L.A.

answers from San Diego on

Seems awfully early to introduce juice! None of mine started juice until at least 7 months. She doesn't like it. Seems like the soy milk is the problem. I wouldn't risk creating another one by instituting juice this early.

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D.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi T.,
I strictly breastfed my son and I didn't want him taking a bottle when the pediatrician said he could start juice. I didn't want him to want the bottle more than me. It didn't please my daycare provider at all. The way I introduced him to it was to mix his cereal with it. He was a little older than your baby though. I hope this helps.

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M.S.

answers from Santa Barbara on

dilute the juice: 1 oz juice to 3 oz water.
for constipation problems, our ped recommended 1 oz. prune juice, a teeny splash of pear juice to make it more palatable, and then 3 oz. water.
warm it up just a bit.
keep trying.

try giving it to her at different times--our girl was freaked out when we introduced juice at first (for constipation problems from formula and rice cereal) at around the same time, perhaps 5 months. We found it was easier to get her to suck it down when she was hungry, so we would give her a bit (not the whole 4 oz) and then give her the formula. After a few times she was definitely more receptive, especially when we began warming it up. You may find your son is more accepting of the juice when he's hungry; some babies will accept new things more readily after they've been fed, though. Just try different things and see.

We just used the same bottle as for her formula. After a while, she really, really liked the juice and had no problem using the same bottle for juice, although sometimes she would get surprised--her eyes would widen at the taste of the juice. Hang in there, and good luck!

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C.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

a teaspoon of juice for 2oz of water

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J.S.

answers from Reno on

well i never had to introduce juice at that age, but i know when i had trouble switching from breast milk to formula my son wouldn't have it. so we had to feed it to him from a syringe like the ones you would use from a tylenol bottle or something and give it to him gradually a couple drops here and there and he finally started taking it.but at that age when they havent had anything else to taste, it might be a little trickier. good luck.

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K.D.

answers from Las Vegas on

T.,

I would skip the juice until your baby can drink from a sippy cup. Mine started around 6 months. Try to feed her some prunes...that usually loosens up my little boy. At 4 months we started solids with no problems although im sure there are LOTS of moms on here that will tell you no way don't feed them yet. But the prunes definitely helped...we used gerber.

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