9 month old only taking 12oz a day

[choc]

My 9 month old will only have about 12oz of formula a day.  He never finishes his bottles, he has 3 x 4oz a day, though I offer 7oz everytime.  I am worried he is not having enough.  He eats his solids really really well though, we are BLW and he eats everything.
I don't know if he is losing weight or not as I have recently returned to work so have no chance to take him to the clinic to be weighed.  He is extremely active so I have a feeling he may have lost, or at least not put much on.

Anyone else LO hardly drink any milk?  He doesn't sttn either, don't know if its related or not but he wakes in the early hours.  I don't feed him though!

[Lolly]

Which flow of teat are you using? If it's not the fastest then try swapping. The other thing that can make them drink more is to drop to 3 bottles. A common routine is to do the morning bottle, a bottle either before or after the pm nap and then a bedtime bottle.

From 6 months they need a minimum of 20oz to get their needs met, so if you are trying everything and he isn't a big milk drinker then get as much dairy into his food as you can as this counts towards their daily intake.

Has he always been a small milk drinker or is this a recent thing? Has he ever drunk all of his bottles?

Laura

[choc]

He has never been a massive eater no, but has usually kept to the minimum recommended intake.  He is on the fastest teat already.  I dropped to 3 bottles about 3 weeks ago to try and encourage more as he was only taking 2oz from his 2 daytime bottles, but was at least eating 6 or 7 in the morning and at bedtime.  3 bottles hasn't increased his intake, and he has now dropped more at bedtime and in the morning!

[RachelC]

Can you outline his routine, ie when are bottle feeds and when are solids (and how much solids)?  You may need a reduction in solids in order to up the milk intake.

What kinds of solids?  Any dairy (formula in cereal, yogurt, cheese)?

Perhaps a sippy of formula with his meals?

[choc]

7am -bottle
8am - breakfast, porridge made with cows milk and banana or 3 quarters of a slice of toast with cream cheese, maybe yougurt too
12pm - lunch, sandwich made with one slice of bread, with tuna or ham or cheese, cheese string, piece of fruit, biscuit
2pm - bottle
5pm - dinner, what ever we are having, pasta/ meat and potatoes and veg etc fruit or yogurt.

He usually takes about 4oz at each bottle.  With breakfast we pour the rest in his sippy cup and he will drink more but not during the rest of the day, he won't take it.

Today he took all 6oz at each bottle so hopefully we are turning a corner.

[RachelC]

I hope you are turning a corner!

Seems like a lot of solids to me.  If he doesn't keep up the increase in formula, I would cut back a little on the solids and see if that makes a difference.  He is getting lots of dairy in his solids, so that counts too.

[Mama_Mia]

Hi choc, I just recently saw my pead about the exact same problem except my LO doesnt get that many solids. Anyway, the doc said that they need a minimum of 24 ounces a day and that if you cant get them to eat it during the day by cutting solids or offering the bottle more often, then you really should feed at night. My doc was very adamant that it takes 24 ounces for a baby to be healthy and to help brain development.

Whatever you do I hope it gets better and easier for you.

[choc]

Thanks for the info Mama_C, have you started feeding in the night then?

[Mama_Mia]

yes, I have to feed at night as my LO only takes 12-18 ounces during the day. He just isnt a big eater. And the doc didnt want me cutting out his solids because he needs time to adjust to eating solids. So when he wakes at night I feed him. And I just hope that someday his appetite will pick up and I wont have to anymore.

[choc]

DS has been back up to 18oz this week so I'm going to increase his bottles to 7oz tomorrow and hope for the best. 

[Mama_Mia]

Good luck hun, let us know how it goes