# 8 month old not drinking enough milk



## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Hi Jeanette and welcome back,

Will is just over 8 months old now and is refusing his bedtime milk. He has 8oz at breakfast time, most from a bottle and the remainder on cereal or porridge. He was having 3oz in the afternoon and 8oz at bedtime. He started refusing to drink the bedtime bottle, so I replaced the afternoon milk with water, but he is still refusing the bedtime milk. So today he has had only 8oz of milk in total (he's had small amounts of water throughout the day so I don't think he is dehydrated). Does this matter? My hv told me to get him down to 18oz per day at 8 months, but he is obviously way below that.

He eats very heartily at mealtimes, and always has a yoghurt at lunchtime. Should I be trying to get him to drink more milk, and how, or is it OK to try and sneak milk into his food in other ways - custard, cheese sauces etc? 
I tried giving him the milk from a beaker instead of a bottle this evening, but he wasn't having any of that. I can't (and don't want) to keep him up any later than 7 to have milk as he is so sleepy by then.

Emma,


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## jeanette (May 3, 2003)

Hi Emma

Its absolutly fine to sneak milk in whatever way you can!

Try a milky pudding at teatime (with formula not cows milk).

It is common for babys at this age to become ''bored'' with milk. You may find that he will go back to wanting hois bedtime milk but if he doesnt then what you are doing is great.

Jxx


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## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Thanks Jeanette,

He got fussy with his breakfast milk this morning too.  He only drank about 4oz, so I poured much of the rest onto his weetabix (what a horrible sloppy mess that made).

I'll keep offering the bedtime milk and see if it is just a passing phase.


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## jeanette (May 3, 2003)

Hiya Emma

Is he teething at the moment?? Have a look in his gums just in case as it maybe that his gums are a little sore.

Hopefully its a passing phase..but if not just get the pint of milk into him however you can.

Jxx


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## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Hi Jeanette,

Sorry to bother you with this again, but this is still puzzling me. On Saturday Will took about 4oz of his evening feed, so I thought perhaps it was a phase after all. Yesterday evening he took 6oz ... and then projectile vomited it all back again (but not the food he'd eaten beforehand).  
Do you think that perhaps he doesn't like milk any more? Could it be a reflux thing? He was diagnosed with this just before Christmas, rather late in the day I know, and has Gaviscon now. We are seeing our GP to review the reflux situation later in the week so I guess I should mention all this then, but the GP never seems very clued up about baby milk/food needs, or babies in general.


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