Need Help Getting 7 Month Old to Eat "JUST FORMULA"

I would absolutely not worry about him. All 5 of my children have had cereal in their bottle until they were off of them. Most wouldn't take a bottle without cereal either. I would try more baby food to replace the # of bottles given each day. I think with the cereal it makes them go to baby food quicker.
Oh, and none of my 5 are over weight at all!!

My oldest son weighed 21 lbs and was only 27.5 inches at 8months. At 1yr he was 25 lbs and 29 inches. He was always in the upper percentiles for weight and the lower for height as a baby. Now he's 4yrs and is 37 lbs and 40 inches, average for height and slightly low for weight. His doctor always said not to worry but I did and now I see there was no need to. His baby brother (9mths) has always been the opposite: upper percentiles for height and lower for weight. So babies definitely can be very different. (They're at opposites personality wise too.) They both started out around 9 lbs with the oldest being 1oz lighter than the youngest. I never put food in the bottle so I can't help much there. Some Formula certainly smells bad though so he probably just got spoiled by the sweetness the fruit added to the formula. Maybe try slowly reducing the amount you put in it if you've been trying to go cold turkey. Or check with your dr to see if there's a better way to sweeten the formula without added extra calories.

My daughter was and still is off the charts for both height and weight. She is almost three and 3 ft 4 in tall! My first daughter was pretty average. Each of them eat very differently. My youngest was hungry all the time and grew quickly. She started eating mashed potatoes at around 4 months old. Every baby has his or her own needs that we have to adapt to. If your baby was hungry enough to need it before...I guarantee that he will continue to be "hungrier" than others his own age. So...he is just fine.

Hi L.... my soon to be 9month old is 23lbs...almost 30 inches too...
are you feeding him with the spoon? does he have teeth? have you introduced the sippy cup... i ask these because if you feed him with the spoon give him his formula 1st when hes the hungriest... you can probably trick him with putting a bit of banana on the nipple to get him started... if he has teeth the same give him milk before the finger foods... try giving the formula to him in a sippy see if he'll get the hang of it there... all these tricks i did with my oldest who my grandma practically raised since i was working so hard and she became obsessed with the "homemade formula smoothy" ...

I wouldn't really worry about it if I were you. My daughter is in the 95%ile for both height and weight, so I understand feeling like your child is bigger than others. But the dr. sees her as totally healthy and is not worried, so I'm not. I don't feel her a lot of snacks and she only gets animal crackers or something when she goes to her grandma's house. But she's full of energy, and I think she's going to be fine overall. We had to start my 1-week old son on rice cereal in his bottle at the hospital, and my pediatrician said it's really not going to do anything to him (I was worried about too many calories). BTW, I think your son's size is smaller than my daughter was when she was that long, and she's adorable!! :)

Oh, and I assume you're feeding him other kinds of foods (fruits, veggies, grains) outside of his bottle; he just likes the taste and texture of his bottles, I'm sure. :) Have you tried just cutting back on the amount of rice cereal or fruit in the bottle?

Are you mixing the cereal with formula or are you mixing it with applesauce/applejuice? If you are mixing it with formula then he is still getting his formula. I always mixed my son's cereal with formula until he was about 9 months old and they don't require as much. I also have my son on an eating routine. I give him a 3-4 oz bottle of formula and then cereal or a jar of baby food, that way he's getting his formula and will eat his food until he is full. I asked my Pediatrician and she said as long as he was getting about 20-24 oz a day of formula he would be okay. My son loves food more than his formula too. I think with boys they are just such hefty eaters that they often will choose food over their milk. Don't worry about it. And he doesn't sound overweight at all. Remember he's a boy and he's going to be very active so even if he does have baby fat he will probably burn it off when he starts crawling and crusing. Just make sure he's eating nutritious meals with a variety of fruits and veggies.

My daughter did the same thing with all three of my grandaughters. All three are not overweight. The oldest wears slim clothes now and she is 7.

I don't think it will hurt him to have the cereal in it. I use to wean them off of some of it when they were little and my daughter would put it right back in their bottles when they went home. They are all fine and not overweight.

My first thought is Are you sure baby has been extra hungry all this time?
Sometimes babies can have what seem to be hunger signs and take more bottle when they are not hungry at all but suffer from some other ailment. Like tummy trouble, reflux, gas, teething. Sucking on a breast or bottle is also a comfort to them. Is he a fussy baby? And the bottle seems to quieten him? Check out the link below on reflux. The fact that he likes a 'thickened' feed is a classic reflux sign. It soothes his throat.
So I'm wondering if he ever needed the cereal in his bottle in the first place. Especially if you think he's getting bigger and hungrier. Plus--I have to add--and please don't be upset with me, this is just as much for other moms--it's considered dangerous and outdated advice to add any kind of cereal or food to a bottle. It poses a choking hazard. Plus no matter what you add, it still won't be as nutritious as the formula or breastmilk already in the bottle so you are kinda taking away nutrition yet adding bulk.

Bottle Feeding Tips from Dr. Sears
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/0/T000100.asp

Reflux in Babies
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t106000.asp

Here's an excerpt from the previous link:
Signs that your baby is being fed too much at each feeding are:
* a lot of spitting up or profuse vomiting immediately after the feeding
* colicky abdominal pain (baby draws his legs up onto a tense abdomen) immediately after feeding
* excessive weight gain

Best wishes to you and the little one. And it's true, babies come in all shapes and sizes. I hope your sweet baby continues to be healthy!

relax. my youngest is alot bigger than my first too. i was very worried because she was so chubby however when she did finally start to walk at 15 months she thinned out and is a very healthy baby. feed him what he will eat! good luck

Each child is different and no two are alike. If the doctor's aren't worried let it go for a while and see what happens. Sometimes we make problems where there are none.

Your son is in the 75-90th% for BOTH height and weight. If he was in the 75-90th for his weight and in the 50-75th for height then you maybe I could see why you might be concerned. As long as he is staying somewhat consistant with both I think he's doing great.

I'm sure you know this having 3 other children but I'll say it anyway, their growth in the first year is so important. They ("experts") say it takes 3 days to make and or break a habbit at that age. Maybe you could try giving him a bottle first then some food after for a few days until he unleans this habbit.

When I took bottles away (1 year old) my daughter refused to drink milk from a sippy cup for 3 days. I called the doctor and asked if I should give her bottle back, his response was I don't know who's more stubborn you or her? It took her a few days to figure out I wasn't giving her bottle back but she eventually did.

I don't think there is anything wrong with your babies weight or length. I went back and looked it up and my son was exactly 20 lbs, 5 oz. at 5 months old. He was a chunk! Apparently this baby is just bigger than your others, but definately not out of the "normal" range at all. My son is now close to 16 months old and has slimmed down a lot, but he is still 95% in height and 90% in weight.

Parents seem to get so upset when their baby either does something that other babies don't do, or won't do something that other babies do. I would say if your son wants a little rice cereal or fruit in his milk, add as little as he will except and be done with it. Moms have too many other things to worry about!! ;-) Good luck!

P.S. My son liked the rice cereal with bananas and the oatmeal cereal with raspberries. I don't remember the brands?? Don't know if you've tried it, but your son might like that, too.

Hi! is your son eating solids aside from in bottles? This should be started at 4 mos. or so. I would put him on an eating schedule now that he's 7 mos old. Mine, I would alternate... maybe start in the a.m. with a bowl of rice cereal (or baby oatmeal), then do a bottle a few hours later (that way he won't be starving), then more cereal or you can start trying the veggies soon if not now, followed by a bottle. Eventually you'll want to have him on three meals a day with a bottle in between here and there. As far as the pickness with the bottle, I would stop putting any cereal or fruit in his bottles, he's a bit old for that now. Offer the formula and if he doesn't want it, then don't force it and wait until the next mealtime. Good luck!!

my son was 20 pounds before his 6month appt...he is still a big boy (now 4)...not fat...just big boned. Your son is definately old enough to try foods outside of the bottle and you had good advice below...try feeding him non foods outside of the bottle & leaving the bottle to liquids. Also, children have a way of getting in a routeine and crying when it's something new they don't like...be patient and firm.

Hi L.! I have actually always heard that putting there cereal or anything like that will make them gain weight. Do you feed him cereal or fruit on a spoon or just in the bottle. If you don't yet feed him with a spoon, I would go ahead and start doing that. The way I did it with my 2 kids when they were that age was give them cereal with fruit mixed in it in the morning, then give them the rest of their bottle, whatever formula was leftover from adding it to the cereal. Then, at lunch and dinner give them a fruit and veggie and give them a 5 or 6 ounce bottle. Neither one of them were overweight when they were babies or even now. They are 9 and 2 now. I would try that idea and I think that once your baby's belly is full enough from the food that maybe he will want the bottle with only formula in it after he eats. It might take a few days to get on track, but I think it might work. Let me know how he does.

C. H.

A little about me: I am 31 years old and have 2 wonderful children. I am married to a wonderful husband, too. I am getting ready to graduate in December with an elementary education degree. Can't wait!!

Hi! I was worreid baout how huge my son was as well. He didn't have anyhting extra in his bottles, but he wanted to eat ALL the time. And he ate a lot at each setting. Looking back at the pics of him, he was HUGE. Triple chins and everything. His doctor kept telling me he was in the normal range (but 95%). All of the other kids have started to catch up. He still eats a lot at 2 years, but instead of giving him goldfish, ets I make sure he just eats fruit. Yes it's sugar, but it's natural. He's now in the 75%, so it's leveling out. Looking at my sister's kids they were the same way. I just came back form vacation with them and they're both perfectly normal sizes (the 3 year old is even a little thin).
I'd personally try to get him to have straight formula in his bottles, and let him try other foods not in the bottle. But I wouldn't worry about his weight until the doc says it's a problem! Son enough he won't even by using bottles anymore!

I wouldn't worry about it.. as long as the formula you are feeding him is diluted properly, he should be getting all the nutrients he needs. I have a 9 month-old who is about 23.5 lbs, and he got that big from just breastmilk! So your baby knows how hungry he is!
If you really want to "wean" out the extra ingredients, do it little by little. feed him the fruit and cereal separately. put less and less into the bottle. Try a cup. and by now he is ready for baby food, so don't forget about that!

Best wishes.. chubby babies are the cutest, and there is no such thing as an obese baby!!!