how to break a bottle habbit??? i am desperate....:-(

[lainy]

Dear mums and dads

I have a 2 yr old, spirited girl who is very very slim (only 22lb).
She is not eating anything at the moment. Well...nothing since she took a bottle 1 yr ago. She went through a stage of having bit of a bread, bolognaise sauce etc, but she hasn't had more than a waffle a day for the last 2 months... no fruit, no veg. I have been adding some brown rice cereals to her milk to fill her up and it has been a success.
I need now to break the bottle habbit to get her to try some food.
She has 4oz milk for breakfast (with rice cereals in), 3 oz for lunch (plain milk), 2oz for afternoon snack (no...she doesn't like cookies nor raisins etc..she takes the easy option), and 4oz for dinner (with rice cereal). That is all. I need to break the habbit of snack and lunch bottle and maybe postpone a milk bottle that she has for breakfast and offer her milk in the glass instead.
so far she hasn't seem to understand that it is same milk that it is in the bottle - is also in her glass...
what do i do?? do i let her cry and scream calling for bottle??? she is terribly persistant...
i just dont know what to do...she needs more in her tummy than milk 
I am going desperate

Please help....

[Lolly]

Has she had any digestive issues since she was born - any reflux or intolerances? Has she been checked by a Dr to make sure she has no ear or throat infections for example? What was she like with milk feeds as a baby? How did she take to solids? Have you had any medical advice about her eating - if not maybe you should get your Dr to refer you to a dietician for example.

I get why you are putting the rice in the bottles but that is probably not helping her appetite. The rice is filling her up but nutritionally there's not much too it so I would take the rice out as a first step. I don't have a particularly spirited toddler but I know that the only way I can do things with my DD is cold turkey - and yes there are tantrums and crying but if I hold firm then she gets the message pretty quickly.

With her bottles I would keep the first and last bottle for the time being and switch the day ones to a cup. You could try one special one, either an open cup or a sippy or straw. For the snacks and meals I would give her some milk in the cup and offer finger foods with it, if she doesn't drink it then it's up to her but stick with it and don't give her the bottle back. Toddlers won't starve themselves and if there is no option of a bottle if she wants the milk she will take it, or hopefully eat some solids as well. I would keep it very low key as well, just put the food and milk out for her and leave her to it for a while then take it away again.

What do you think?

Laura

[lainy]

She had a terrible reflux in the first few months of her life - but she was never medicated (we opted not to as we knew it was matter of growing up). she took to solids alright. the problem was that she was soo skinny and very tall so we had to add some more calories in order to fatten her up. in order to do that we were constantly encouraged to do bottle and milk because it contains loads of calories. we were fighting the bottle for 13 months and finally one day she took it, just like that, out of the blue....and then she stopped eating.

I have been leaving food around the house and just said: here are some raisins/apple/ but she is just not hungry and she never eats it. not even biscuits!! not even a nutella toast!!! and because she is so skinny - milk is still very important for her, but she just wont eat anything else. if we are out of the house, she will sometimes eat bit of a soup,or rice here or there...but never at home...

we have done all possible tests - there is nothing wrong with her medically. she is very persistant and very strong willed child. i can't make her to do anything. she doesn't forget anything. i know that just as with everything else so far, she will wake up one day and just eat normally as if it never was an issue.
our doctor is not too worried. she said that kids can live on only milk for first 2 yrs and it is not too big of an issue. other doctors have said not to push (i dont get anywhere with pushing). I have seen other specialists too and they all say the same: she is fine, but is very determined little girl.

[Lolly]

Could the reflux still be an issue? Does she have any of the signs like wet burps, frequent burping, hiccups etc? How is she sleeping? Does she ever complain of her tummy hurting?

Both my refluxers were treated with ranitidine and reflux formula, DD is still on meds and we had to put DS back on. His reflux was never properly controlled and he started to not gain weight properly around 10 months, sliding from about the 75th centile down to the 9th. Although he took to solids quite well he would eat such tiny amounts that it really slowed his growth. DS was off meds by two but we put him back on at Christmas just after he turned 4. The interesting thing for me is that DS gained 0.5kg between his 3rd and 4th birthday, since being back on meds he has gained 1.5kg already in the last 4.5 months .

I think you may be trapped in a bit of a cycle here - she doesn't eat much so you give her milk which fills her up too much so she doesn't eat. To break the cycle you will need to reduce the milk in order for her to be hungry enough to eat anything

Laura