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Do i have the only baby in the world that hates milk?

I am at my wits end!
From day one my every feed has been a nightmare. My lo just hates milk! We have tried several different formulas and she is now on prescription milk for a possible allergy but i do not believe she really has an allergy. I feel like we are being fobbed off by the HV & dietician as they don't know what else to suggest! She has had no tests to confirm any allergy.
We are at the point now where i have even tried getting my lo to take the milk from a sippy cup (she is 4 months) and even from a spoon. When the bottle comes in sight she gets aggitated and when the teat hits her lips she goes nuts! In an average feed she takes 3-4 oz which is not nearly enough.
In desperation we introduced her to solids at 16wks and she loves everything from a spoon (hence why i tried to feed her milk from one - daft i know!) I am happy she likes her purees but am still stressing about how to get her to take her milk.
It doesn't help that every other mum i have talked to goes on & on about how great their baby takes their milk and how big they are getting when obviously my lo is not growing very well at all!
Sorry for the rant!!







Replies

  • i had to write although my son who is now 1 loved his bottle ne now refuses to have milk at all i have to give him cereal, rice pudding i give it to him in his food, he has done this since he was 8 months old he got the taste for food and that was milk out the window, have you tried to give it in food i dont know how else you could try?
  • Thanks for the reply.

    I am giving my lo baby rice, cereal & adding milk to her purees so she is getting a little milk that way. I just wish i could get her to take more, she only put on 2oz last week which is terrible and my HV is still telling me it's not a big deal!!
  • Nooo! Millie hated milk. She was breastfed so it was a bit different but she always had to be reminded/persuaded to feed, more or less from birth. She took really well to her solids and in the end weaned herself off milk completely at 10 1/2 months. If I tried to feed her she bit me and if we tried to give her any sort of milk from a cup (she never had a bottle) she would just flip out. Fortunately for us she was old enough to just drop the milk and we made it up in her diet. Sorry I don't have any useful advice but just wanted you to know you weren't the only one.
    xx
  • I'm so sorry you are going through this too, it's a nightmare!
    Since my last post my lo had improved with the milk slightly but now it's going down hill again. This past week she has been taking around 5 oz in the morning, then every other bottle throught the day she starts to refuse it after around 1oz! I have been having to load up her solids with lots of milk (very messy) but at least this way i get a few more ounces down her.
    We initially went to see the dietician at the start of july and were told to come back in a month. We have only now received a follow up appointment for the end of september!!! Don't they realise that at this age a few months is a long time in their little lifes?
    I can't help getting stressed out by the centile charts. My lo's weight is only just above the 2nd centile but her head circ and length are above the 50th. Surely it can't be good for her weight to be so much lower??
    As usual HV is not too interested.
    I am going to get some of the little fromage frais pots tomorrow, thanks for the tip!
    I hope things improve for you! Let me know how you get on.
  • Hi, I'm having a similar problem with my 4 1/2 month old boy. He takes 2-3 ozs every 4 hours and even then I sometimes have t force it down...gets very tiring and causes me no end of upset.
    He seems healthy enough, wanting to stand and is smiling alot (until milk time). We've started him on baby cereals and rice but even that sometimes he doesn't want. I don't know whether its that he doesn't like his milk or just doesn't need as much as they say he should at his age.
    He also seems to be teething...but surely its even more important for him to take calcium. He won't even have milk or juice...
    I'm at my wits end
  • re Jai14... What you have said sounds just like my lo. She is now almost 9 months and is getting even worse. Over the last few weeks she has dropped to taking just 15oz on a really good day, 9 on a bad day! nowhere near what she needs. In desperation i called the dietician on fri who had nothing to suggest that i haven't already tried and told me to go back to my GP??? My GP referred me to her!! I too am at my wits end and no one seems to want to help. I would not worry so much if she would take water or juice but like you my lo will not take that well either. I am really worried that she is dehydrated but don't know what else to do? Have you tried using a sippy cup instead of a bottle? It didn't work for my lo but maybe it is worth a try?
    Good luck & let me know if you find anything that works. x
  • my friends baby as never really liked milk but docs and health visitors had sed as long as e drinks somethings eg juice hes fine as he is know getting protein etc out of his food.
  • Sounds just like my youngest - he was tube fed to start, was very slow to get on to the bottle and feeds used to take over an hour to get 3-4 oz into him - drove us scatty! He's 8 months now and weaned so I tend to give him rice pudding, porridge, cereals etc all made up with his Enfamil so he gets enough milk nutrients to just about do him. Does you lo have reflux? We've ju7st tried cutting down some of Caleb's losec to see but he's even worse at taking milk on the reduced dosage so we had to up it again. All I can say is to hang in there and keep pestering the hv/gp for help.
  • wow it seems my lo is not the only one who hates milk,he is now 21 months and am still having problem finding the milk he will like apart from breastmilk. This is the reasonwhy am still breastfeeding because he will not take any milk,I've tried all the formula milks including the whole milk he would always spit it out and now am worried because think he is not getting enough milk coz he is only breastfed in the night. he is not interested to be breastfed daytime,but make sure give him other foods that contain calcuim in his diet just to make up.Hope to stop breastfeeding soon.

  • A baby will give off clues that he is getting hungry. Try to feed him before the last clue and then it wont he such a hassle.
    If you wait until the baby is very hungry he will get mad at how slow the milk is coming out of the bottle. Try a differnent bottle - you said that you have tried different teats but a different bottle might work. The type of bottle that you are using might have a strong air suction in it.
    Also - find one formula and try to change the form of the formula first - if you use powder - try concentrated or ready-to-feed. Depending on how the formula is made (concentrated, ready-to-feed, powder) varies on the chemical makeup of the ingredients. Sometimes sticking with the same formula just changing the way its made will solve a lot of problems.
    Also look for thrush in his mouth. This can be painful for the baby.

  • I'm going through the very same situation. My daughter is 22weeks and just hates milk. She was diagnosed with reflex at 6 weeks and was given ranitidine and gaviscon. It helped for a few weeks but than started again. started giving her solids at 16 weeks which she really likes but not milk. She will averagely have 15 ozs in 24hrs and most of it is forced. it's very upsetting and stressful for me. What am I doing wrong?

  • My son refused formula when he was 3months old, he's now 8months old and still no formula! I try to add it to his food but after two spoons i think he tastes the milk and stop swallowing. He loves water and hipp purees. I tried different formulas but no luck. 

  • Lxxxxxxx I had the same thing! No idea why the formula tasted great if you ask me XD

    I did manage to get my son onto goats milk though

  • I am going through this atm I'm struggling to get 500-600mls a day into my daughter she's now 14 weeks but this has been an issue since 9weeks it's driving me batty my daughters not gaining much weight. I am presuming if yiur child's not taking any formula your giving him some kind of other fluid just wondering what your daily diet is. I'm off to see the gp again today so I am going to ask if we can start on some puréed food to get her gaining some weight

  • Lots of babies don’t like the taste of formula which is why it’s  always best to nurse if you can. Gives baby everything he needs and is a tremendous bonding experience for you both 

  • All are same.image

  • I am posting here hoping to get some update and advice and hope from those struggling mothers. 
    My LO has always been a poor feeder and has never consumed the required quantity of milk since her 1st month. I have been in and out of the pediatrician's clinic about more than 10 times since.
    In the first month, we found out she had colic and was gassy so we gave her gripe water, Rid Wind and tried to massage her tummy and burped her before feeds. This worked for 2 weeks then she didn't really feel hungry and would sleep through feeds and refuse to feed. But she was in the 75th percentile and was gaining weight slowly. 
    Went back to the pediatrician's clinic and she gave us Appeton - a multivitamin that stimulates appetite due to the vitamin B. 
    That worked for another 2 to 3 weeks and  she was so active that she didnt sleep at all throughout the day. The thing about these appetite stimulants is that the body doesnt respond to it after some time. Sort of plateau effect. But she was still drinking well about 80ml to 90ml every 3 hours. This was at about 2 and a half months. She was gaining weight so so slowly by then had dropped to the 50th percentile. 
    Then closer to her 3rd month she had her DPT vaccination. God, I hate that damn vaccine (please excuse my language). Her appetite literally died after that. For the next 2 weeks after the jab, I struggled to feed her even 200ml a day.  She would starve for up to 12 hours straight even if i offered her milk every hour or so. I was at the brink of losing my sanity. We tried changing the milk formula but absolutely nothing suited her. She had terrible colic after all the other formula milk and would cry endlessly. So we were back at the original formula milk - Nan. 
    We even tried to change the feeding bottle. I bought every bottle out there and tried different teats but she hated every one of them. So we were back at drinking Nan in the same old bottle. When we called our PD, she informed us that 1% of babies experience loss of appetite for up to 1 month after the DPT jab. So, there we had our answer. On top of being a poor feeder, now the dpt jab had completely derailed her appetite and drinking pattern. 
    By then her pediatrician had asked us to drop by right before her 4th month. She had not gained any weight and had dropped further to the 25th percentile by now. The PD asked us to offer our LO rice cereal mixed with her milk. We started off well and our LO loved rice cereal so much that she started with 1/2 tsp and gradually but quickly went up to 3 to 4 tsp a day. She wasnt drinking the required amount but it was good and consistent. She drank up to 650ml a day, which was a great improvement for me. We were scheduled to have the next dose of DPT jab the following week. 
    When we went in, the pd checked her weight and my LO had gained about 250g within a week just from adding rice cereal to her milk. I was beyond happy. 
    But on that same day, she had her dpt jab. 

    Today, it has been 2 weeks since her jab and her feeding and appetite is completely gone. 
    She barely hits 300ml a day. The rice cereal doesnt excite her. She cries upon seeing the bottle and refuses to feed. she goes hungry for hours and hours and still wouldnt take the bottle. I end up having to feed her using the spoon which takes an hour for each feed. 
    She hasnt gained any weight ever since. 
    I called my pd again and she told me to increase the amount of rice cereal, add butter to her feeds, give her more banana and avocado (high carb and high fat). She ate bananas for 2 days and hated it when offered it on the 3rd day. 
    I havent had the time to even try avocado because she isnt even drinking her milk. 

    Each time i go to the ped i am labelled as a overly anxious first time mother. But my gut feeling tells me there something definitely wrong. I cant seem to find out the problem and it has been 5 months now. 
    The doctors are okay with babies not gaining weight, but i am not. In fact the problem isnt about the weight anymore, it is about her feeding. Food doesnt excite her one bit. HELP!!!!! 
  • Insyirah said:
    I am posting here hoping to get some update and advice and hope from those struggling mothers. 
    My LO has always been a poor feeder and has never consumed the required quantity of milk since her 1st month. I have been in and out of the pediatrician's clinic about more than 10 times since.
    In the first month, we found out she had colic and was gassy so we gave her gripe water, Rid Wind and tried to massage her tummy and burped her before feeds. This worked for 2 weeks then she didn't really feel hungry and would sleep through feeds and refuse to feed. But she was in the 75th percentile and was gaining weight slowly. 
    Went back to the pediatrician's clinic and she gave us Appeton - a multivitamin that stimulates appetite due to the vitamin B. 
    That worked for another 2 to 3 weeks and  she was so active that she didnt sleep at all throughout the day. The thing about these appetite stimulants is that the body doesnt respond to it after some time. Sort of plateau effect. But she was still drinking well about 80ml to 90ml every 3 hours. This was at about 2 and a half months. She was gaining weight so so slowly by then had dropped to the 50th percentile. 
    Then closer to her 3rd month she had her DPT vaccination. God, I hate that damn vaccine (please excuse my language). Her appetite literally died after that. For the next 2 weeks after the jab, I struggled to feed her even 200ml a day.  She would starve for up to 12 hours straight even if i offered her milk every hour or so. I was at the brink of losing my sanity. We tried changing the milk formula but absolutely nothing suited her. She had terrible colic after all the other formula milk and would cry endlessly. So we were back at the original formula milk - Nan. 
    We even tried to change the feeding bottle. I bought every bottle out there and tried different teats but she hated every one of them. So we were back at drinking Nan in the same old bottle. When we called our PD, she informed us that 1% of babies experience loss of appetite for up to 1 month after the DPT jab. So, there we had our answer. On top of being a poor feeder, now the dpt jab had completely derailed her appetite and drinking pattern. 
    By then her pediatrician had asked us to drop by right before her 4th month. She had not gained any weight and had dropped further to the 25th percentile by now. The PD asked us to offer our LO rice cereal mixed with her milk. We started off well and our LO loved rice cereal so much that she started with 1/2 tsp and gradually but quickly went up to 3 to 4 tsp a day. She wasnt drinking the required amount but it was good and consistent. She drank up to 650ml a day, which was a great improvement for me. We were scheduled to have the next dose of DPT jab the following week. 
    When we went in, the pd checked her weight and my LO had gained about 250g within a week just from adding rice cereal to her milk. I was beyond happy. 
    But on that same day, she had her dpt jab. 

    Today, it has been 2 weeks since her jab and her feeding and appetite is completely gone. 
    She barely hits 300ml a day. The rice cereal doesnt excite her. She cries upon seeing the bottle and refuses to feed. she goes hungry for hours and hours and still wouldnt take the bottle. I end up having to feed her using the spoon which takes an hour for each feed. 
    She hasnt gained any weight ever since. 
    I called my pd again and she told me to increase the amount of rice cereal, add butter to her feeds, give her more banana and avocado (high carb and high fat). She ate bananas for 2 days and hated it when offered it on the 3rd day. 
    I havent had the time to even try avocado because she isnt even drinking her milk. 

    Each time i go to the ped i am labelled as a overly anxious first time mother. But my gut feeling tells me there something definitely wrong. I cant seem to find out the problem and it has been 5 months now. 
    The doctors are okay with babies not gaining weight, but i am not. In fact the problem isnt about the weight anymore, it is about her feeding. Food doesnt excite her one bit. HELP!!!!! 
    I also had this situation with one of my twins. Perhaps the reason is psychological in nature, I recommend adhering to a certain regime of the day;
    remove the source of excitement (turn off the music, TV, go to another room where there are no guests);
    protect from intense external influences before feeding (at this time, the mother should remain alone with the baby);
    optimize the level of excitement with motion sickness or swaddling;
    lower your emotional level with a dummy.
    This is exactly what helped in my situation, perhaps you should try.
    By the way, there are many cases when a child does not want to eat milk only in a certain position when feeding. Patience and good luck.
  • Hi everyone I’m in the same boat, my lo hates milk iv tried everything you can think of, she’s six months old and she’s been refusing the bottle since she was 2/3 months old, the only advice I can give you which has sort of helped me get some milk down her is to sleep feed, she will not drink milk awake ever, she just fusses cry’s gets annoyed but drinks it while asleep, I know it’s not ideal but worth a try it worked for me, she doesn’t drink nowhere near enough but atleast she drinks something. I hope it helps I know how stressful it is 
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