Not eating?

Starishna · January 2014

I am wondering if my DD is filling up on milk and not eating enough food. Here is my schedule:

7:30 am - wake with 4 oz of milk
9:00-10:00am - solid breakfast
10:30am - 4 oz of milk before nap
12:00pm - wake from nap
2:00-3:00 pm - lunch
4:30pm - 4 oz of milk before nap
6:00pm - wake from nap
7:00-8:00pm - dinner
9:00pm - 5oz of milk at bedtime

My Lo is almost 14 months and without the milk her stools are extremely hard and small. We just reduced the milk from 5oz to 4oz. Can you share your schedule along with the age of your child? It seems like my DD is never hungry and barely eats anything. We are trying table foods and then follow up with jars and pouches. I just don't know if she is eating enough.

ELF4321 · January 2014

DD barely ate from 12-15m and actually dropped from the 90th% for weight at 12m down to the 35th% at 15m. Her pedi was not worried and said a lot of kids have a big drop at that point and to wait and see at 18m. By 18m, she was back up to the 50th% even though it didn't seem like she was eating that much more than before.

The recommended max of milk is 16-20 oz, so it sounds like you're in the right range. The reality is, all you can do is make the food available, you can't force her to eat. Try to not worry and just see what your pedi says at her 15m checkup.

Kath517 · January 2014

I've always worried about this too- my LO filling up on milk and not eating enough (this started right around 12 months when we switched him from formula to organic whole milk)... He also had the hard stools and would cry and scream every time he went #2- my pediatrician suggested to switch him to organic 1% or 2% and that would help soften his stools due to the lower fat. The only thing that really helped was time, he's 17 mths old now and he's still not the best eater but he has definitely improved over the past few months. He doesn't really have the stool issues anymore either. I just try to expose him to as many foods as possible but when he's teething he prefers the softer foods like yogurt and bananas. Not sure if this helps, just wanted to let you know I definitely went through the same thing.. hang in there & good luck!

meglette417 · January 2014

Can I ask how you know LO is drinking 4 oz of milk? Do you measure every meal and LO drinks it all. By 12 months we were off the bottle and he would just drink as he wanted it, he asks throughout the day still and I give him a zippy cup and he drinks what he drinks. I don't think it sounds like an extreme about of milk though and if she is eating good meals I wouldn't worry too much.

ashiscute · January 2014

I would assume she is eating enough if she doesn't seem hungry. I wouldn't give jars of food at this point. Just give LO what you are eating and she'll eat what she wants and stop when she's done.

My DS is almost 16 mos and I give him milk with lunch and dinner usually but not always. I do not give milk separately during the day. Other than meal time he drinks water. I do this with DD too (she's almost 3).

Kids don't eat as much or as normally as adults do. If she seems genuinely not hungry I wouldn't stress.

pb_bride · January 2014

My suggestion is to offer milk with meals and snacks, offer water throughout the day and in between meals. It seems counterintuitive but I think most of my mom friends noticed their LOs eat more during meals. We put the milk in front of DS so he can request it anytime during his meals. He usually eats the food first, then take a sip or two half way through, then drink more when he's done with the solids,

DS is 14 months and here is our schedule:

7am wake up - nurse

8:30am breakfast with wcm

12noon lunch with WCM

2pm snack with WCM

4:30pm nurse

6:30pm dinner with WCM

I don't know how much BM he gets from BFing, but he drinks about 8-10oz WCM per day.

hmontty · January 2014

Pretty normal. One good meal a day is a victory at this age. My DD, who is now going on 3, eats next to nothing but is growing up strong and healthy.

emberlee3 · January 2014

DD is a chow-hound, but she only drinks water so all her calories come from food. If you are going to give milk, it only needs to be 8-12 ounces per day. Water is better than milk for preventing constipation.

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