My son is 7 1/2 months old, and we've been struggling since 6 months to get him to eat from his bottle. The same week he cut his first two teeth, he suddenly didn't want to eat from a bottle. He'll drink a couple of ounces and then refuses to take any more. He loves baby food and always eats food afterward. I've had NUMEROUS conversations with his pediatrician about this, and we've tried everything: different bottles, cutting back on baby food, sippy cups, tylenol, teething rings, treatment for acid reflux. Nothing seems to help. The doc finally okayed for him to have 5 servings of stage 2 baby food per day, just to make sure he is getting enough calories. We still offer his bottle first, but he just won't take it. Occassionally, he'll drink better if he's sleepy, but even those times aren't great. My son still only has the 2 teeth (the front bottom 2). In the past few days, he has had less interest in eating his baby food, so I'm wondering if the top teeth are about to appear. His weight gain has leveled off, but he seems healthy otherwise and has no symptoms of dehydration. Has anyone else had similar feeding issues? This is a daily struggle for us, and I'm wondering how much longer this could possibly last. I worry constantly that my son is not getting enough to eat, but I'm out of ideas.
Is he having trouble breathing through his nose? It might be that he needs to see an ENT.
Best of luck!
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Its normal for him to not drink full bottles since he is eating baby food. Honestly if his mouth is hurting from teething he may just not be in the mood. He may be one of those sensitive babies. Also, did the doctor check his throat and ears? If there is any infection or inflamation then it wouldn't be comfortable to drink. Are you using fast flow nipples I think they are stage 2..I know they get called by different names for different types. A faster flowing might be more comfortable. Other than that I just encourage you to keep offering it to him.
ditch the bottle, my daughter did the same thing we ended up giving her formula in a sippy and it worked then about 12 months she got tired of that and just wanted water tea and reg milk. hope this helps!
I too suggest trying a sippy cup with a straw, if you haven't already!
go to a sippy. NUK makes a great soft tip sippy. Our dd was on a sippy at 6mo she was holding it by the handles after a few weeks. Look on amazon its the same "bottle" style just with a different tip. She loved it. try that maybe he does not dig the mouth piece on his bottle. gl
He is old enough to learn to use a sippy and some kids want to sip from straws or from our own cups. I'd say do water as much as you can too. It sounds like you are doing what you can and he'll be just fine.
I'd use the opportunity to stop giving him bottles all together, and get him started on table food.
He may be telling you that's what he wants anyway.
Try soft table foods. Scrambled eggs, pasta, breads, steamed veggies, etc... he'll gag a bit at first but then get the hang of it.
My DS was on table food exclusively by 8 mos because baby food wasn't cutting it for him.
If you're worried about nutrition, you could try giving him some Ensure or other vitamin water to make sure he's getting the nutrients he needs. Even if he'll only drink a little bit, it's better than nothing.
