16 month old only wants milk all day, refusing solids

[Triiny]

Hi there,

my son has been a pretty bad eater since he was about 8 months old.... except for his milk which he can drink all day! im not sure if its because of teething (he was getting his teeth early and all at the same time) or some other unknown reason. He will refuse anything that is offered from a spoon and throw a tantrum on the high chair. We always eat around the table with the whole family and offer him the same food we eat. He would just sit there and fuss and try to get down or just play with the food. There are some finger foods that he would occasionally eat like chick peas, edamame, bread, grapes but thats about it. If he hasnt had his milk for a couple of hours and is super hungry, he will just scream and fuss until he gets his bottle.
An interesting thing is that every time we go out for dinner (cafe or restaurant) he will eat! and he will take food from a spoon or fork. I guess there are more distractions outside but i cant do it 3 times a day and every day...
Also, because he is not eating enough during the day, he cant sleep through the night without having a bottle. I am drained and out of ideas how to make him eat. Forcing him will just make things worse
Please help!

Thanks in advance
Triin

[Lolly]

To be honest I would stop giving him the milk. You will have a rough couple of days but he won't starve himself. I would think he has learnt that if he makes enough fuss you will eventually give him his milk so he gets what he wants. At 16 months they only need around 14oz of dairy to get fill their needs and milk is very filling so you could decide when in the day you want him to have milk and stick to those times only. My DD for example has a mid morning sippy of milk, some with her tea and a bedtime bottle. She has breakfast, lunch and tea and I make sure that there is always at least one thing she likes to eat, if she chooses not to eat then she doesn't get anything different. She has her milk and toast mid-morning and a small snack in the afternoon like raisins but not too much or she doesn't eat tea!

What is his daily intake/ food routine like now?

Laura

[Triiny]

Thanks for the quick response!

There are some days all he has is milk, which is a lot! i would say at least 5 bottles. And some days when he managed to get down some solids he would drink less.
i guess i need to put my foot down and prepare for some hard times to come... i'm just worried that if he wont take any solids and i am taking away the milk he will stay up all night hungry.
Should i not give him the milk at all and just put some food in front of him and when he refuses take him out of the high chair and wait for next meal time?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I would still give him milk at a certain time...maybe knock it back to 2 bottle of 8oz each and only at whatever time you pick (we do milk at breakfast & after naptime) Otherwise offer food/snacks or water to drink and stick with it, because if you do he will catch on that milk is only served at X time. 

I'm sure it will make for a few hard days unfortunately, but kids don't starve themselves and he will adapt.  When my kids don't want to eat, they are taken down from the table and have a go next time...I have sent my oldest to bed having eaten no supper and she slept all night, so obviously she just wasn't hungry.

[Lolly]

You will have some rough nights so be prepared for that but at his age he should be getting his calories/ nutrients from food and not milk and he doesn't need nightfeeds so you need to turn that around.

I think I would only offer milk in cups in the day but would keep the bedtime bottle for now. I think I would offer a cup of milk with his meals, in a cup and only a few oz. I would offer him meals I know he likes, give him a chance to eat but as you suggested if he refuses get him down and try again at the next meal time. Maybe offer him a small snack between meals with a drink of water but don't let him fill up on milk as a snack. Keep low key and as relaxed as you can, with plenty of praise for eating but you will need to be consistent and not give in to tantrums for milk.  

What do you think?

Laura

Posted at the same time!

[Triiny]

Thank you ladies!
I will start as of now he just woke up from his nap, i am serving some solids and a cup of water. I will let you know how it goes!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Good Luck!!!

[Lolly]

Good luck! Stay strong and let us know how you get on!

Laura