My 10 mo., almost 11 mo. old triplets will not eat table food. I offer table food first and if they refuse I give in and give them a bottle. So, we are still on 4 bottles a day (x3 = 12 bottles to clean a day for me) and a 2nd food fruit in the morning and a 2nd food combo dinner at night (but they are starting to refuse the dinner at night) . They can eat puffs, cheerios, yogart melts, graham crackers, ritz, freeze-dried fruit with the best of them, but put a vegetable, meat, pasta, cheese, or fruit in front of them and they will not eat it....at all. I went to the ped. yesterday to get the seasonal flu shot told them about it and they told me to get rid of the afternoon bottle, offer them table food and juice and do not give them a bottle if they don't eat. That makes me feel like I am depriving them of nutrients. What do I do? I soooo want to get rid of a bottle, but not starve them. OH, they are really tall and look thin, but weigh around 18-20 lbs. Help
Okay, over the weekend, I did get rid of a bottle, so now we are down to 3 (8 oz.) bottles a day, which I can live with. As for the table food, however, some days it is good, but most days thus far are still not going well. They like french fries, hamburger, bread, and chicken and drink a lot of juice with it. They don't eat enough of this to make me feel like they are getting enough, so I started feeding them a baby food veggie along with the baby food...so now they are eating 3 jars of baby food per day, three bottles, some yogurt, puffs/snacks, and juice. They aren't starving. Their moods aren't too bad, so I will just still pray about it and I know one day it will just click. Thank you all so much for the advice....oh, and I am probably going to get them on some vitamins.
Love,
A.
As my Mother-in-Law is fond of saying "if they get hungry enough, they'll eat". You are the parent and you have to establish that you are in charge. I know that will be tough with triplets but they won't starve. If they don't take the table food or juice in the afternoon, then they wait until dinner.
Hi A.! My twins are almost 10 months old and we are working on this same issue. Although my pedi still wants me to make sure I get enough breastmilk (or formula) in each day. My girls are skinny too (but the pedi is not worried b/c they've always stayed on the same growth curve). What is your little one's adjusted age? I just keep trying to introduce different items and hope they'll pick up on it. Just today, Natalie ate all the cheerios I put on her tray for the first time! Yay! Do you have a moms of multiples support group or discussion forum? That may help you too. My favorite is www.twinstuff.com - there are lots of moms on there with triplets (and more) and can offer great advice and creative solutions. One mom on there told me to roll their diced bananas in rice cereal (helps them pick it up and its a familar flavor too). Good luck!
That is a very interesting response from a pediatrician. I have a 10 month old. He is also tall and thin at 30" and 20 ibs. I have found our balance by sticking to what my son is comfortable with and using the Baby Center chart for babies based on age as well as our pediatrician's recommendations. He has four 6 oz bottles plus one 4 oz bottle (tried it with less but he just wastes it and won't finish). He has rice cereal mixed with fruit in the morning (ped says rice cereal is very important still), between 6-8 oz baby food at lunch and 6-8 oz baby food at dinner. He likes puffs and tiny pieces of food he can take a long time to swallow. When I offer him Cheerios, he will put one in his mouth after another until he throws up, so I must feed VERY slow. He is the same with table food. He has had 6 teeth for the last 3 months. I have learned that this is just his pace. I can't give him more solid food until he is ready. My friends who are Moms all have different stories because all babies are different. My suggestion is to buy a couple of baskets for washing bottle parts ($3-4) and buy the dish detergent in bulk, which you may already do. I really think there isn't much longer to go at this, as the amount of formula reduces and you can transition to cow's milk at 12 mos, right now the range is between 24-32 oz. What if you reduce the afternoon bottle in size slowly, and give sippy cups with juice all day (mine will only sip it so I have to offer all day). Sorry so long, just that I'm doing a lot of research on this right now.
Unfortunately the pediatrician is probably giving the best advice - taking away a bottle and then they will eat because they're hungry. I'm sure you've tried this - but is it possible they just don't like some of the foods? Have you tried different foods? Or are you able to hide your frustrations when they won't eat the food in front of them? I ask these things for multiple reasons. I'm the mother of Irish triplets - twins that just turned 2, and a 9 month old. When my 9 month old doesn't like the food, he will refuse it - even if he's hungry! If we feed him something else that he likes, he'll take and he's happy. For the second question, the twins really seem to react to our reactions. If they throw food or feed the dogs and we get upset, it just seems to make them want to do it more. Not sure if your triplets react the same but it's certainly possible.
In the end though, you need to do whatever works best for your kids. If you're worried they won't get the nutrients, then take it slow and maybe give them half a bottle so they won't be as hungry. In a few months, you'll be washing sippy cups instead and this will all be a distant memory.
Good luck!!
I have never heard of taking a baby less than a year old off the bottle, although adding a sippy cup and encouraging them to drink from it is common. Babies need the nutrition they get from formula. At 11 months we usually started adding 2oz milk to the formula for about a week then half and half then 6 oz to 2 oz formula. So by 12-12 1/2 months they were on regular milk. I can tell you in all the years in the baby room in child care that if you don't mix it like that and go cold turkey straight to milk it can make you puke when you change their diapers. Their little systems can't handle it. It needs to be gradual.
I agree that they should be eating table food at this age but I will tell you I have THE PICKY EATER! I think she would win any prize at it. And she WILL go days without eating if we don't offer her choices from food she likes. I know, we have tested it at school and at home. She will not eat if she doesn't want it.
So now that said. Children this age still need 24 oz's of milk daily so you you will just be switching from washing bottles to washing tippy cups. If you truely want to stop washing bottles and start washing multiple tippy cups and valves instead...LOL. I hate to wash valves because of having to scrub the insides with a stiff toothbrush every time. We also soak the valves in bleach water while we are waiting on enough dishes to run the dishwasher.
Here's my favorite baby and kid website.
You aren't going to deprive them of nutrients by taking away a bottle. I know it seems mean, but they have to move on from bottles and sometimes it takes a little shove to get them moving in the right direction. They will probably fuss at you, but hold your ground. They will eat when they get hungry. We've all gone through this with our kids and it turns out okay.
Good luck. :)
J.
Hi! Ok, here is what I did, when Ema was born I set small realistic goals for each baby step so to speak. i said ok by this age she will no longer sleep with me (when i was done breast feeding), at this age her crib will go back in her room. at this age she will be off of a bottle, at this age she is done with a binky. And here is the thing! It worked! For hte most part at least. My next bug goal is potty trained completely before her 3d birthday. and its going ok. We have been doing it for several months and her birthday is still a looong ways off but i think its realistic. ok so let me help you now that you know about me. I understand that you feel like you are depriving your children of their nutrients however, think of the ones you aren't providing and not just that but your babies have also figured out that if they don't eat what you want them to then they will get what they want! This is a bad trend to start. I did it! I know! Start with something small...like bananas or apple. I started Ema on chicken nuggets from mcdonalds...i would peel the fried part off and then let her naw on it with her teethign and it helped! It sounds silly but just try different little things, for each kid it might be soemthing different. Get frustrated! Its natural, just don't give up. This is a huge and important step in thier lives. It is past time for them to be eating table food. Ema liked macaroni and cheese and garlic mashed potatoes at that age. Please stop feeling like you are depriving them, when they are hungry they will eat what ever you put in front of them. It is the bodies natural reaction. Stop stressing it. You are not a bad mom. that is obvious or else you wouldn't have posted this. It shows you care. Now, continue to care and do the right thing. Get some meat on those kids bones! I am sure that table food will fatten them up a bit! Also try just regualr bread (no crust) and sliced cheese. And remember, they might not pick it up the first time everytime. Actualyl they never do. So start with one food...(or 3 in your case maybe one for each kid) and do that same food 2 or 3 times in one day. just try it for 2 days or maybe 3. let them have time to decide. the first several times they wil be like eww new! But they will come around. be patient! Let me know how it works out ok?
I hate to repeat what has been said, but maybe if enough moms tell you, you will believe it...babies will not starve themselves! I have three kids that aren't triplets-and they all start testing you about that age. Your children will all push to see what they can get away with, it's what children do. If you give them a multi-vitamin (Poly-vi-sol or the like), you should be able to relax about what they actually eat(or don't eat). I'm sure millions of parents can attest to what I'm saying--this is not about food, it's about power--you can be strong and not let them develop bad eating habits, or you can do like most of the rest of us and feel bad about giving in. I have an autistic child and no way of knowing if the food he prefers to eat is causing him to be worse, because we (his dad very much has a hand in this) aren't strong enough to battle him about what he eats. I wish I had tried a lot harder when he was 10 mo. Don't give up, you are fighting the good fight. Try not to stress too much! God Bless You!
