Baby won't drink anything but milk!

[northerngirl]

So Felix is 6 months old and having 3 solid meals a day, for a while he was having water with his meals and then milk before nap times and at bed time.
But now he has decided that he will not drink water, ever. He screams as soon as I put his sippy cup near him. But I don't want to be giving him milk with every meal as well because I know once on solids babies are only supposed to have 500-600ml of formula a day, and he already has that just in his nap/bedtime drinks.
I've even resorted to giving him watermelon to try and get some fluids into him!
Any ideas on how to get him to drink water or something other than milk??

 

[MrsS143]

They don't really need food til a year old so can live off of just milk alone
It has plenty fluids in it x

 

[kumber]

Have you tried some reeeeeeally diluted sugar free squash? Some kids (and adults) don't like just plain water but will drink it with a bit of flavour in it.

 

[TTT]

I also read that they don't need water until they're one as they drink enough milk to satisfy their thirst. There's no harm in offering it but I wouldn't force the issue. My baby is exclusively breast fed on demand and when we're on the ball he has three meals a day and he doesn't ask for milk from me for a while after his dinner. He will also only drink water from an actual cup. He likes to hold it himself and drinks from it like an adult, we just have to hold it otherwise he tips it too far and spills it all over himself lol so maybe try him with a cup, it wouldn't hurt.

 

[Pin badge]

Like TTT suggests maybe try a different cup, one with a soft teat, different handles etc maybe even a straw although he maybe a little young to work out how to suck it up yet. Xx

 

[littlemonkey]

I wouldn't say it matters if he wants milk rather than water with his meals. Some people don't like water much, I'm on of them.

 

[bigbee]

A couple of friends have recommended a doidy cup. Look it up

Apparently they are really good as babies can see what they are having and it's like a grown up cup, rather than a soppy cup.

Might be worth a try. I bought one (not tried it yet though!) from john Lewis for under £4.

 

[northerngirl]

Thanks everyone, I think it was the way the HV worded it to me, she was sort of implying that he shouldn't have more than 500ml a day and that I should be giving him water but if that's not necessarily true then I'll lay off it. Cos she was also saying that I shouldn't be giving him bottles through the night (he still wakes up quite a lot through the night) because then he'd be having too much milk?! So I've been having screaming fits most nights 'cos I've been thinking he shouldn't be having night bottles.
Although I did try giving him some water in a normal bottle and he seemed much happier with it xo

 

[TTT]

I think your hv is giving you bad advice I once read that you shouldn't water down formula or breast milk or give them too much water as babies as it can be bad for them if they have too much water and milk contains enough fluids for them.to not feel thirsty.

I think babies know if they're hungry or not and my 8 month old still has 4/5 night feeds on a bad night.

 

[Belfa]

I thought that if they were in solids they should have access to just water and not milk which is offered away from meal time? I guess though if he doesn't take the water then he doesn't need it if he used to take it.

That said, I was told by the child smile worker (not sure if this is a NHS Scotland only thing) that you should use fresh orange juice instead of orange squash if they won't take water but never offer the OJ neat x

 

[northerngirl]

It's so annoying when you can't fully trust your HV to give you the right advice! xo

 

[Orion]

3 meals a day at 6 months old. Wow. We're not even starting until 6 months and then it's only tastes, maybe some breakfast porridge. Working up to 3 meals by a year old when they don't need milk anymore. That's based on a timeline my HV gave me as then naturally the more food they have, the less milk they'll need.

 

[northerngirl]

Yeah I started weaning him just before 5 months and he just took to it really quickly!

 

[kitten2014]

hi nothergirl we started at 4.5months cos all the signs were there...also took to it quickly...finger foods after 1 week, holding spoon relatively well after 3wks, drinking water out of sippy cup after 4wks...only on 2 meals brekkie n lunch as dont like her to eat after 3 as bedtime 6.30 n had some middle of the night poops so atm 2x day...different things approx 3-6 tspoons of food n 1/4 slice toast n 15ml water per sitting. milk qts still same - 5 feeds totalling 950ml...

 

[northerngirl]

So your LO is still having the same amount of milk as well as solid food kitten? Oh my HV is useless, a few of the other mums have been complaining about her as well, she was acting as though he'd get overweight if he was having too much milk saying 'he doesn't need the extra calories', I'll chill out about it then and just let him have milk when he wants it xo

 

[MrsS143]

They tend not to overeat
They stop when theyre full
And run about like maddys to burn it off x

 

[kitten2014]

yes same qty, aparently its only when they get to 9-10mths when milki qts reduce...

 

[littlemonkey]

I've weaned both my boys at four months. Both had reflux, my eldest was especially bad and I weaned them both early because neither of them drank much formula. I just wanted to do something to get the extra food into them and as a result I never actively reduced the amount of formula given. With my first, I tried everything to get as much as I possibly could into him, like adding it to his baby porridge and mixing it into purees. I also still fed him in the night if he wanted it.

I always thought of my babies like grown ups. Technically, we only need a certain amount of calories. But some days we're hungry and eat more and some days we eat less. We don't need to eat or drink at night but some nights I wake up hungry or thirsty so I get something to eat or drink. As someone who grew up with a lot of issues around weight and food, I've always let my kids guide me and trusted them to know what they need.

 

[russellmuscle]

From 6m on Jackson had his usual milk bottles but I always gave water with food which he mostly shook about and sipped at. Wasnt till about 1 year he fully started having more food than milk. Once they are up running about they burn more and tend to have food but until then milk is fine.

The less milk they have the more food they will eventually eat although personally I wouldnt rush that.

Jackson still has a morning and nignt milk but i limit during the day so he will eat proper amounts of food at nursery and home.

Just go with your babies needs. I learned quickly not to trust my HV. She was full of nonsense.

Babies dont follow a rule book. They cant grasp that?

xxxxx

 

[littlemonkey]

Russellmuscle that's what drives me mad about HV and other people when they say babies 'should' be doing this or that. There's plenty of things adults 'should' do too but we're all encouraged to be individuals?!