13 mo old only wants milk

[SabrinaD]

Hello Ladies!
I have a question about my daughters eating habits. she is a decent eater, she eats 3 meals a day plus a snack, and water throughout the day, but she LOVES milk so much that she willl choose that over everything.  here is our schedule:
8-830 wakes up
has breakfast, followed by a 6 ounce bottle of milk
1130 lunch another 6-8 ounce bottle
1230-300 nap time
315 snack
600 dinner (sometimes she wants milk after her dinner )
7:00-7:30 bedtime routine, bottle 8 ounce (even if she had milk at dinner) and bedtime

not sure if i am not feeding her enough throughout the but there are a lot of times she wakes up at 530 in the morning and wants another 8 ounce bottle..she never used to be like that, when she used to be on formula she never woke up before 12 hours and she never drank this much..she would probably drink even more if i left her. i'm wondering if this is what is making her constipated?

is this too much milk? does our schedule look okay?

[Lolly]

That is quite a lot of milk for her age! From 1 they only need 12-14oz of dairy to get their calcium needs met so she's getting plenty!

Is it cow's milk she is drinking? If it is then it's quite likely to be what's making her constipated. From 1 most toddlers are having 2 bottles of milk a day plus maybe some in a sippy during the day. How much is she actually eating and what does she eat at meal times?

I think you would be better to reduce her daytime bottles,  and I would swap them for a sippy cup with a meal and increase her food. If she isn't having a lot of protien that would be a good way to fill her up! Is she self feeding? Is she using a sippy cup at meal times - I'm wondering if she is actually thirsty after meals, do you give her water?

Laura

[SabrinaD]

Thanks Laura--
Yes she is drinking whole milk. I've tried everything to reduce her milk intake but she whines for it and says "mo mo mo" until i give it to her.
We are usually pretty healthy eaters, sometimes for breakfast she gets eggs, bananas(or pears), and toast..after she is done, she was a bottle of milk.
after lunch yesterday we gave her chicken, green beans, pasta salad and watermelon.
dinner was split pea soup, with ham and carrots.
she had a few snacks throughout the day, like crackers, etc.
she self feeds--doesn't really like us to give her a spoon, she never really ate baby food..loves to use her fingers haha.

and when it comes to her milk, after she was 6 months she stopped taking milk so we had to just give it to her whenever she would take it and somehow she turned into wanting it before she would go down for naps, so now she wants her milk before she goes to sleep. if she doesn't get it, she will wake up an hour later screaming hysterically.
I usually give her water after her snacks, or I leave her sippy cup around and she grabs it whenever she is thirsty.

not sure how to reduce the milk?

[Lolly]

You will need to reduce the milk gradually I think, I would leave the first and last bottle for now and reduce the day time bottles by 1oz every 3 days and put the milk in a cup rather than the bottle. She will demand more, but if you stay strong then she will get to kinow there is no more. Toddlers have long memories and short tempers and they do start to know that if they make enough fuss and Mummy gives in they can do the same again next time

If she is having milk to get to sleep it sounds like this is a prop problem rather than a feeding problem. Does she have the milk and then go straight to sleep? If she does I would definitly change things around and move the milk away from sleep time. Is she able to get herself to slepp at all without the bottle?

Laura

[Lemonthyme]

CUP CUP CUP!

Some kids like the comfort thing with a bottle and it's a good idea to move from a bottle anyway to protect their teeth.  I'm sure she'll drink less when it's from a cup.

[SabrinaD]

Thank you both so much. Yesterday she did so good!! I'm trying to do the cup as much as possible. I am trying to stay more consistent =) However, through all of this she is majorly teething, i feel so bad for her. her bottom gums have 4 huge bumps. and one of her canines look like they are getting ready to pop through so we had a rough night =(

[*Kara*]

Ouch!  Poor girl - sounds like it could be some comfort sucking with those teeth too.