7.5 month old refusing BT milk

[MiniNs]

For quite a few weeks now my LO has fussed and refused his BT milk. He’s not in pain, he’s just trying to sit up and look around etc etc (I’ve tried with full light, dim light and darkness and he’s exactly the same each time) - when I put him down for bed he still self settles to sleep quickly.

He then sometimes wakes for a sssh pat around 10/11pm (I’ve tried feeding here - both if he wakes and as a DF - and he’s not interested) and then wakes hungry at 3am and takes a full feed.

He’s now started doing the same on other bottles - only taking 3oz per feed before not wanting any more, including his first bottle of the day. He used to take 5-6oz per bottle, up until he was well established with weaning. He’s also been poorly and off his milk, but is now better but perhaps has a smaller appetite for milk still?

He does eat a fair amount of solid food, and I can see how he might not be as hungry mid morning or afternoon. But clearly his night feed his compensating for his lack of BT milk and then is also impacting how hungry he is at WU.

Our current EASY is:

WU 6-7am,
E: milk 6:30-7am
E: breakfast 7:30
S: 9:30 1.5hours
E: milk 11:00
E: lunch 12:15
S: 14:00 1.5hours
E: milk 15:30
E: dinner (normally 2 courses) 17:00
E: BT milk 18:30/45
BT: 18:45-19:00

Please help!! I can see how it all starts to stack up at the end of the day, and like I said, he does eat a lot of solid food - he’s a big boy and at 7.5months is weighing 25lbs.

Should I be dropping a bottle? Cutting back his solids? Switching up my routine? Do something about the NF?

[Katet]

Given his age and the importance of milk and looking at your routine, I'd do the following.
Move Lunch closer to the 11am milk (say 11.45
Move Dinner  to about 4pm
That way they are more 'taster' and his stomach will be less full for a milk feed.
I do think a milk feed at 3.30pm, then solids at 5pm is why he's got no interest in milk at 6.30pm, as he's still full.

I too had big babies although only 10kg (22lb) at 8mo and they were still on 2 solid meals a day at that age as milk is more calorie dense.
NF are still reasonable at his age and if the weather is getting warmer the fluid intake is important overnight too.

[MiniNs]

I could move the meal times on some days, but it’s not possible on others due to school runs and older children who eat at different times. Hard to come to a happy medium isn’t it. I could definitely move lunch earlier, but dinner is much harder for me with other commitments. Perhaps I should give him smaller portions.

I don’t object to the NF - I just worry that he’s using it to compensate that’s all.

Last night he refused BT milk again, woke for a feed at 22:30 and then slept til 5:30 when he became unsettled (hungry I think) and has a full feed when I gave up and got up with him at 6:00. He then had breakfast at 7:30 but then didn’t want his 11:00 bottle - had half. I did lunch slightly early at just before 12. Then he napped and I tried a bottle when he woke at 15:30 and he had half again before fussing. I did dinner early at 16:30 and then BT bottle at 18:40 and he had half an oz before fussing and crying.

He had reflux as a baby and when I say he’s fussing it defo not the same kind of fussing as that. It’s not pulling g away or pain etc. It’s just him trying to sit up and clamping his mouth shut.

[MiniNs]

Did lunch and dinner early today, and still only 0.5oz on bedtime feed (6:30pm) He then woke at 8pm hysterical and had 5oz.
He’s also still only having half a feed mid morning and mid afternoon.