8 Month Old and Bottle

My son did the same thing. Give her time. My son will take his bottel and the food. I think it is just somthing new so they like it better. Good Luck.

E., My daughter is 2 1/2 and she did the exact same thing!! Although her speciality was anything but the bottle and veggies!! She's still a fruit kinda girl. Even now she still only weighs 26lbs but the doc assures me she is totally healthy! The majority of her intake now is water. When she was about 8 mths we started giving her water instead of milk through out the day. I assure you she's a very healthy beautiful little girl :) And if she's anything like my daughter she'll let you know when/if she hungry or thirsty!! You just have to let her get the feel of things too!!

The second part on sleeping, I can totally relate to you there. My daughter didn't start sleeping through the night until she was about 1. We eventually just had to let her cry it out, mind you I hated this, but in the long run I knew its what was best for her. Here lately she isn't sleeping well either, but I think its just because we moved to a new house/new area.

Hope this helps, good luck!!

I worked a full day and my son started to refuse the bottle at about 6 months. He would take formula in cereal until 9 months, and then refuse cereal. He ate enough baby food and table food to give him a complete diet (your child might like eggs for protein, my son loves them!). I took him to the doctor because I was concerned, but she said as long as he kept gaining weight, he'd be ok. He's now a year and has a healthy appetite (and is drinking from a sippy cup...even though he won't drink milk or formula...he loves yogurt and string cheese). Keep trying everything you can think of...something will work.

Hi E.,
I do believe 24 oz sounds right for the amount of milk. If she won't drink out of a bottle at meal time, try giving her a sippy cup. The different cup might help her transition a little better and it's something new which she obviously likes. The only advice I can think of for bedtime is to make sure she is getting enough rest during the day. If she's too tired at night it will make sleeping even harder.
L. S

Both of my boys did the exact same thing. They had completely broken themselves of the bottle by the time they were 11 months old. Try giving her formula in a sippie cup. There is still some nutrition in it that she needs and it may the method more than the taste that she doesn't like. When she wakes up at night keep a little sippie cup of water neardby. That was usually all my kids needed in the middle of the night after they were eating mostly solid food. Good Luck!

I have a 7 month old little boy who is exclusively breast fed, not by choice, he just refuses a bottle. Anyway, he only nurses for a few minutes at a time and prefers to eat over milk. I have read that it could be a stage that they go through as they experiment with food. I notice if I let him try to feed himself, which is what he wants to do, then he will nurse a little more. He doesn't sleep through the night and wakes up 2-3x's/night for night feedings. I don't mind becuase I know he needs it. I wouldn't stress about it, becuase the baby will feed off of that. My doc told me to offer the bottle/breast before every meal so that they are getting something. I don't know if that helps at all, but I am sharing your experience and am trying not to worry about as he is growing and is strong and healthy.

You can also blend up some fruit into the formula. You will have to widen the hole for the thicker fluid though. My family has a smoothie every morning for breakfast and my son was interested in it at 9 months. So we thinned it out and he has drank it every morning for a year now. If you are interested in the my recipe let me know I would be glad to share it.

Well I do know that they say 24oz per day, my daughter is 7months old and I know she doesn't get that much but she definetly doesn't have the problems that your little one is having. However I know that the most important thing about the bottle is the protein, therefore if she isn't drinking the bottle it's important for her to eat a lot more meat. But I was told that your baby knows what she needs and they said that if my daughter wasn't getting enough protein should would increase her bottle intake to above the 24oz. so it sounds like she's getting enough. I don't know just a little advice for you!
Thanks, C.

Hi E., I am mother of 3 and i am also a child care provider. I currently have a 9 month old in my care that is increasingly becoming iterested in table food. I feed him the bottle first while he is the hungriest and then he is so interested in the solid food that he ends up eating it too. I also supplement with a training cup, he is not getting much from it but he is learning and he thinks that the cup is so neat. He will probablly be getting more formula from cup than from the bottle in no time. My youngest child stopped breast feeding at 10 mos on his own because he was too interested in table food and what was going on to sit through a feeding. I tried a bottle but he was not impressed. he transition right to a cup and i was able to get enough formula in him that way.
good luck and dont worry too much. children usually let you know what they want in their own way and they develop differnetly. Becky

Try giving her a sippy cup--she is probably old enough and that might be new and different (especially if it's an Elmo one!) Or mix the formula in with the cereal, etc. In a way, it's good if she's rejecting the bottle because some people have a terrible time weaning from a bottle at 12 months. I would try the sippy and see what happens. Try the Playtex ones, they don't spill as much as some of the others.

I'm sure she will be quite alright. It sounds like she is getting adequate nutrition and a fair amount of milk/formula. Try mixing her cereal with formula instead of water if you want to get a little extra in her. When she can handle food, string cheese that is cut into little chunks would give her more calcium as well.

It's been a couple of years since my kids were babies, but my first born was bottle fed and I recall my doctor saying he should be taking in about 24 oz a day around 9 months or so, but 12 oz doesn't seem to be enough. But if you haven't already, I would start keeping track of how much she is eating each day (solids and liquid), then you'll know for sure.

I think the idea of a offering her formula in a sippy cup is great. You may try a few different brands of sippy cups, too. Some with hard spouts, some with soft until you find what she likes. She could also be on a feeding strike. My kids both did that where they went a day or two without eating/drinking much at all.

She may be waking up because she's hungry. If she taking a bottle then without complaint I would guess that would be the reason for waking. Or it (waking up) may just be a habit she needs to break - that she can't self-soothe herself back to sleep. If that's it, then you just need to find what soothes her and help her learn to do it by herself be it music, a pacifier, a lovey, etc. Feel free to send me a private message if you need some additional ideas.

Maybe she is just not wanting the bottle any more. Maybe try to see if she will take it from a sippy cup. That would make weaniing off the bottle alot easier.
My last son did not sleep all through the night untill hes was 16 months old.
If any thing else just ask your doc