Won't eat during day - wanting milk throughout the night!

[jenniferr]

Hi.
My 24 mo old DD is a very picky eater. I offer plenty of healthy options throughout the day and she hardly eats a thing! Then she wakes 2-3 times a night asking for milk and will NOT go back to sleep without it. I'm fairly certain she's hungry. Not sure what to do about this as I can't force her to eat during the day. I've tried many varieties of foods in many different settings. Not sure what to do.

Thanks.
Jenn

[Colin Macs Mom]

bumping up for you

[Rebecca247]

Hi jenniferr,

I have recently been thru this with my 19 month old DS, he was like this and waking 2-3 times a night for a bottle! Until one day i decided that enough was enough and thought he shouldnt be waking at all for a bottle so I decided to take the milk off of him altogether at night, the first night was tough but not as tough as i was imaginging it was going to be! i stuck to our usual bedtime routine but when I put him to bed that night i said "no more milk tonight for Max" of course he just looked at me but I thought I'd start explaining what was going on to him! Like clockwork he woke at 12.00 and I went to him and said " remember NO more milk, so goodnight" I layed him back down, he did cry a little but nothing major, he whined off and on for about 30 minutes until he fell back to sleep, he then woke again like clockwork at 3am, I repeated the same steps, he whined for about 15 minutes and slept until 7am! I couldnt believe how well it went!

The next night was even better, he only woke at 3am and I did the same thing, he didnt cry at all, and he was been sleeping thru 7.30pm til 6.30/7.00am every night for the last 4 weeks! his eating has improved during the day now, he still isnt a good breakfast eater which i thought would change from not having anything all night, but its improved 100% to what it was!

Sorry to ramble on, but just thought I'd tell you my story and hope you can get some help from that!

Bek
xxx

[~*Nicole*~]

Can you try to sneak in more milk during the day by offering it more often? If she is getting it during the day maybe she won't "need" it as much at night? It's not solids but it's something to up her calorie intake. Also somewhere else someone suggested adding some fattening things such as coconut milk or olive oil or something like that to increase calories and whatnot to foods that were easily accepted and eaten well during the day. Might help not feel so hungry over night? Not sure, but I suppose it's worth a shot. Then you can try to adjust and add a variety to the solids diet later once the NWs for milk are over with and all.

Good luck.

[Ducky]

It's probably become a habit wanting the milk at night. My DD won't drink milk in the day, she has a 7oz bottle of formula before bed, so at least I know she's getting some milks.

During the day I leave snacks out for her where she plays and she munches away when she feels like it.  The main thing is to not get to worried as a child will never starve and some days will eat more than others.

It is a worry I know but I think 2 years old is when most children hit that funny stage with food.  It'll get easier just try and relax about it.