Those with 10 month olds...

About how many total ounces do your babies drink? Our girls have never been good eaters. They guzzle about 3 ounces when they are really hungry, and then swat the bottle away. You wouldn't believe the little games we have to play to get a decent amount down them. One is doing great at over 19 1/2 lbs, but the other is only 15 1/2 lbs and only gained 1 ounce last month We give them four 6 1/2 ounce bottles a day - they usually leave 1 or 2 ounces in each. We also give bottles before solids. I figure they probably get about 20 ounces a day. Does this sound like enough? Am I worrying too much, and should quit pressuring them into drinking more? Thanks, Stephanie

 

About how many total ounces do your babies drink? Our girls have never been good eaters. They guzzle about 3 ounces when they are really hungry, and then swat the bottle away. You wouldn't believe the little games we have to play to get a decent amount down them. One is doing great at over 19 1/2 lbs, but the other is only 15 1/2 lbs and only gained 1 ounce last month We give them four 6 1/2 ounce bottles a day - they usually leave 1 or 2 ounces in each. We also give bottles before solids. I figure they probably get about 20 ounces a day. Does this sound like enough? Am I worrying too much, and should quit pressuring them into drinking more? Thanks, Stephanie

 

My whole family calls me The Bottle Nazi b/c I have been so obsessed with their intake. At 7 months feedings became so awful that we had to resort to feeding them in the back bedroom (lights off, curtains drawn, no talking) to get them to concentrate. Just in the last couple of weeks we've been able to feed Joe out in the main room. Nick still gets "the dungeon" treatment.

They never drank more than 6 oz. at one sitting until about a month ago when they started drinking 7-8 oz consistently for bedtime bottle. Now Nick takes (4) 8 oz. bottles a day. Joe will usually take 7-8 oz. at each feeding. I usually give him a snack bottle with 3-4 ounces if he's had an off day.

I think if your kids are gaining weight you shouldn't worry. Also, our kids are at the age where they are going to start getting more of their calories from solids, and less from bottles. My kids are not big on solids (4-5 jars between them per day). They aren't real good at table foods yet, so bottles are important for us still.

Good luck.

 

SweetpeaG - 'Bottle Nazi'...that's too funny! Maybe I should try the dungeon idea. I would love to see mine drinking as much as yours. They are not the greatest with solids either and just starting with very small pieces of table food, so the formula is so important still. Thanks for the input. Stephanie

 

The dungeon definately helped, but what a pain. I always had to confine the "other one" in the exersaucer or jumperoo while I fed "the chosen one".

Before we started the dungeon, I was offering them 6 oz and usually got about 5 out of them. Now on a bad feed we get 5-6 ounces down them, on a good feed we get 7-8.

I'm curious...what are your tricks to keep them eating once they start batting?

One I use for Joe, who's allowed to eat in the main room, is to turn on the tv. I know that sounds horrible...but watching a little boob tube allows me to sneak in another ounce or so.

 

Mine are not as old as your 2 but they are close. I think in a day they drink around 25oz a day give or take a few oz. Sometimes having the tv on during feeds works and distracts them and they keep on drinking or sometimes they get to involved in it and stop drinking!!! Depends what kind of day you are having. Jack used to be a nightmare to feed he would not take a bottle. It sometimes took around an hour to get him to just start sucking and OMG if you were to take the bottle away he wouldnt start eating again it was a nightmare. Also if they are moving about more they tend to burn the calories off. As long as they are gaining weight. Good luck! x

 

They get about 30oz of formula plus 4 jars of baby food, an apple (or some other fruit) and about 1 cup of rice cereal mixed with baby food a day. Their average weight gain is close to a pound a month.

 

quote:
The Bottle Nazi

I have also been called this.

 

SweetpeaG - I also put them in front of the tv as somewhat of a distraction. (They are all over the place crawling now, so we have to strap them in their carseats since they obviously don't like their bottle enough to hold still and drink it. It's sad, but we have had to do so many feedings alone with them in their carseats that they actually eat worse when we hold them. We always end up putting them in their carseats to get a little more down them.) Anyway, once they swat the bottle away, I give them a pacifier for a minute or two, and then I take it (this is kind of gross, but works great) and put the edge of the plastic part between my teeth, lean in close and wiggle it around. They start grabbing at it, take it and then give it back - silly little game - and they don't even notice that they bottle is in their mouth. I can usually get a couple of ounces in them this way. Hey, whatever works! Stephanie

 

My boys have been like this too for a month or so, and the lighter one takes less formula. I totally understand your frustrations (my boys are less than 18 pounds so I worry about not getting enough too). Lots of swatting here too with bottles on the floor and formula spewing everywhere. Some days they get less than 20oz, somedays a bit more. My Pedi says they like to see at least 20oz/day, but if they don't suck, I can't do much. They're not great with solids either; they've completely stopped taking rice/barley cereal which I had liked to mix with formula to get in more calories... We've also tried the TV and moving them to a quiet room. I think sometimes my guys are picky about the temperature. So, if it's not just right, they just drink enough to get by and stop. Sometimes, if I warm it up again, they'll take more but usually once the bottle is out of the mouth, they don't want it again. Also, with one of them, if he stopped drinking and I switched him to my other arm, he would drink some more. Then, I'd keep switching arms until he refused the bottle adamantly. But, one of the latest tricks is to let him hold his "lovey" blanket while I'm feeding him. He seems to be more at ease with it.

Do your twins wake up at night hungry? If you're feeding them at night, maybe try weaning them. We've been diluting the night bottles. Since they've been sick these past two weeks, I haven't stopped night feeds completely but that is the goal.

Do what you can but try not to worry too much. Sometimes I think all the pressure makes eating a negative experience. Good luck!

 

Mine have never been big bottles drinkers either. At 10 months they were both drinking only 20-21 oz. infact they never drank more than that. Pedi. said that was fine as they were both gaining weight. Some babies just don't drink as much as others. Mine never seemed hungry so I didn't worry about it.

 

quote:
Originally posted by SweetpeaG:

I'm curious...what are your tricks to keep them eating once they start batting?



Johnny's like this, he'll eat just enough to not be hungry and then he's fighting to get down & play. Lately, when he starts getting restless I give him a little toy to play with while he eats - works pretty good! The other night dh decided he was just going to eat that bottle & he wouldn't let him down to play....and Johnny puked all over him.

I asked my pedi last time & he said it could just be they're ready for more solids now. We started increasing how much they're eating at meals & more frequently & that also helped a lot.

 

quote:
Originally posted by BoysInTheHouse:

Do your twins wake up at night hungry? If you're feeding them at night, maybe try weaning them. Do what you can but try not to worry too much. Sometimes I think all the pressure makes eating a negative experience. Good luck!


One (bigger DD) quit waking at night at about 2 1/2 months, the other would wake at about 3 or 4 am, but would go back sleep if we gave her a pacifier. The doctor wanted me to keep giving her a bottle at this time since she was so small, but even that became a struggle, so I just quit once she reach 10 lbs. She has recently (about 2 months ago) started waking alot at night. I try giving her a bottle every once in awhile, but she drinks a couple of ounces, swats it away, and then doesn't drink her morning bottle very well. I figure if it is not even going to get extra calories in her, I'm not going to spend the time.

I have thought about the pressure we put on them being negative, but when they can be tricked into drinking more, doesn't that mean that they are actually still hungry and need the persuading? Stephanie

 

My boys (10 mos) are still breastfed,but since I return to work tomorrow, I have weaned them of some feedings. So for lunch they get about 6oz( which they sometimes take fine and other days not so well!) and before bed they get 8 oz. Other than that they are breast fed when they wake up and around 4pm.
JenFB

 

quote:
Originally posted by steph-andy:
I try giving her a bottle every once in awhile, but she drinks a couple of ounces, swats it away, and then doesn't drink her morning bottle very well. I figure if it is not even going to get extra calories in her, I'm not going to spend the time.



Yeah, if she's not really taking a good bottle at night, then you're good not to give her one at all.

quote:
Originally posted by steph-andy:
I have thought about the pressure we put on them being negative, but when they can be tricked into drinking more, doesn't that mean that they are actually still hungry and need the persuading? Stephanie

I'm not sure. But, I too try the tricks... until they start getting angry about it.

This may not be related, but how often do you give a bottle? Our boys used to take a bottle every 4 hours and then seem to go to every 3 and now they're more like every 5 hours. I guess because they're taking more solids. I try to give solids within an hour after their bottle. Note: Even after over 5 hours, sometimes my guys don't take the whole bottle.

 

So glad to find this thread! My two have never been big bottle drinkers, but within the past week, they are now REALLY fighting bottles. On Friday, my DD took her morning bottle and refused all others, on Saturday she refused 2 out of the 4 bottles, and on Sunday 2 out of the 4 bottles again. And when I say "refused" -- I mean she was quite clear that she didn't want the bottle.

DS is now averaging about 16 ounces a day..after 4 ounces he just swats it away.

I called the nurse at the pedi's office and she does not think its a big deal, especially since we are likely to get advice in a month (at our 12 month appt) to wean off bottles entirely.

Sigh -- still, it is rather defeating as a mommy to refuse all those bottles.

40+mom
Carter and Fiona -- 11 months

 

quote:
Originally posted by BoysInTheHouse:

This may not be related, but how often do you give a bottle? Our boys used to take a bottle every 4 hours and then seem to go to every 3 and now they're more like every 5 hours. I guess because they're taking more solids.


We are giving their bottles every 4 hours and, like you, giving solids 30 mins - 1 hr after. I haven't really tried going 5 hours - unless I space out and don't realize it is time for a bottle. They do seem more excited about getting the bottle when it has been a little longer, but I can't say that they drink any more than usual. Yesterday I had to run to the store after their a.m. nap - which made them a little late for their 11-ish bottle. I ended up giving them their bottle in their highchairs along with their lunch. Again, they didn't eat any more than usual, but it went alot better than I would have thought.

I appreciate everybody's input. I hate to see other people having these frustrations, but it's always nice to not feel alone! Stephanie

 

I'm glad my girls are not the only ones not drinking their bottles. I have to follow Annalise around as she crawls and drinks. They take between 20-22 oz per day plus 3 sold meals. Fortunatley, it doesn't seem to be keeping them from growing, both are over 20 pounds at 9 months.

We're doing pretty well with a cup at meal time. I dilute apple or pear juice and they really like it.

 

I could have written your post about a month ago!! My girls have gained 1-1.5 pounds each month (preemies) but it took them 2 months to go from 17 to 18 pounds. They weren't taking bottles very well, wouldn't eat solids very well, in general driving me crazy!

Here's what I did, and I hope some of this helps. Keep in mind that my problem was more trying to get them to take more solids than more formula.

1. Fed them solids first, when it was time for the next bottle, but before the next bottle. This works for us - they eat all their solids plus all of their bottle.

2. Sit with them to eat (eat with them). This did wonders for my girls' appetites.

3. I give them a sippy with formula at each meal, and they take in anywhere from 2-5 ounces with their meal. I had to find the right sippy cup - what works for us are the short straw nuby sippies. Lily quite often takes 4 ounces with her meal then half an hour later 8 ounces in her bottle.

I mix their formula to 22 cal/ounce. They take 4 bottles a day (7:30am, 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:00pm). Lily, who is far more active and moving, takes about 28 ounces a day and Grace, who is more the watcher, takes around 20 ounces a day. Both gain weight pretty much at an even pace (Grace eats a bit more solids). But during that 2 month period between 17 and 18 pounds, I was lucky to get them to take 18 ounces a day (and sometimes it took 5 bottles)...ugh! But the pedi said that they needed a minimum of 16 ounces a day and 3 meals, so I kept plugging away until their appetite took a huge upturn.

Now I have a new dilemma (which I know, is good to have). I am trying to drop one of the 4 bottles a day because they're getting the sippies with formula at meals, and I know at a year I'd like to drop the bottle period. But they are having no part of it. They still want those bottles at those times and they are not giving them up.

I also recommend the book "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" by Ellyn Satter. It is very helpful.

 

quote:
Originally posted by 40+mom:
So glad to find this thread! My two have never been big bottle drinkers, but within the past week, they are now REALLY fighting bottles. On Friday, my DD took her morning bottle and refused all others, on Saturday she refused 2 out of the 4 bottles, and on Sunday 2 out of the 4 bottles again. And when I say "refused" -- I mean she was quite clear that she didn't want the bottle.

DS is now averaging about 16 ounces a day..after 4 ounces he just swats it away.

I called the nurse at the pedi's office and she does not think its a big deal, especially since we are likely to get advice in a month (at our 12 month appt) to wean off bottles entirely.

Sigh -- still, it is rather defeating as a mommy to refuse all those bottles.

40+mom
Carter and Fiona -- 11 months


Seriously, try the solids first then the bottle after. I had tried this when we first introduced solids and it failed miserably, but it stirred up their appetite a whole lot when I tried it again starting about 3-4 weeks ago.

 

I've heard (from my friend's ped, not mine, but I think it makes sense) that 18-24 ounces is reasonable at this age with 3 meals. My girls drink about 20 ounces of EBM along with 3 (mostly self-fed) meals. I was worried for a while but they are growing just fine and once I heard 18-24 I figured we were fine. They'll let you know if they are still hungry. Some nights if they really don't have much during the day they wake up and want a bottle, so I give it to them, but it's not every night so I think they're doing fine with that amount.

 

My two have never been big drinkers...(hopefully that trend will continue in their teenage years???) ... We offer 3 8oz bottles and 1 4oz bottles - but the most they ever drink is between 20 - 24 ounces total...The only time we offer a bottle before solids is their morning wake-up bottle (they still only drink around 5 -6 oz of it) - the rest we give solids an hour before the bottle....

 

quote:
Originally posted by Babies4Susan:

1. Fed them solids first, when it was time for the next bottle, but before the next bottle. This works for us - they eat all their solids plus all of their bottle.

2. Sit with them to eat (eat with them). This did wonders for my girls' appetites.

3. I give them a sippy with formula at each meal, and they take in anywhere from 2-5 ounces with their meal. I had to find the right sippy cup - what works for us are the short straw nuby sippies. Lily quite often takes 4 ounces with her meal then half an hour later 8 ounces in her bottle.

I mix their formula to 22 cal/ounce.

I also recommend the book "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" by Ellyn Satter. It is very helpful.


Thanks so much for all of the info. Sorry, but I have a few questions that I am hoping you will see.

1. I will try this tomorrow. Do you give them their first bottle after breakfast, or bottle first on that one?
2. Do you just kind of give them a bite and then take a bite yourself? Are they in highchairs?
3. We just got the nuby with the straws (I think we have two of every type out there!) They don't do very well with any of the others, and only one DD has figured out how to suck through the straw. The other one just chews on it and smiles like she is so proud of herself. I just sit and watch, waiting for milk to come up so I can make a big deal - but, nothin'! Any tips to get them to suck on it? I tried showing her, but man, that stuff is digusting!
4. What formula do you use? We just switched from Similac Advance to Enfamil Lipil just to see if they liked the taste better. We used to mix the Similac to be high calorie, but the pedi had us stop??? Do you happen to know the mixture for Enfamil?

I will look for that book. I was wondering if there was something good out there for feeding. Thanks so much for all of your help. Stephanie

 

quote:
Originally posted by steph-andy:
quote:
Originally posted by Babies4Susan:

1. Fed them solids first, when it was time for the next bottle, but before the next bottle. This works for us - they eat all their solids plus all of their bottle.

2. Sit with them to eat (eat with them). This did wonders for my girls' appetites.

3. I give them a sippy with formula at each meal, and they take in anywhere from 2-5 ounces with their meal. I had to find the right sippy cup - what works for us are the short straw nuby sippies. Lily quite often takes 4 ounces with her meal then half an hour later 8 ounces in her bottle.

I mix their formula to 22 cal/ounce.

I also recommend the book "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" by Ellyn Satter. It is very helpful.


Thanks so much for all of the info. Sorry, but I have a few questions that I am hoping you will see.

1. I will try this tomorrow. Do you give them their first bottle after breakfast, or bottle first on that one?
2. Do you just kind of give them a bite and then take a bite yourself? Are they in highchairs?
3. We just got the nuby with the straws (I think we have two of every type out there!) They don't do very well with any of the others, and only one DD has figured out how to suck through the straw. The other one just chews on it and smiles like she is so proud of herself. I just sit and watch, waiting for milk to come up so I can make a big deal - but, nothin'! Any tips to get them to suck on it? I tried showing her, but man, that stuff is digusting!
4. What formula do you use? We just switched from Similac Advance to Enfamil Lipil just to see if they liked the taste better. We used to mix the Similac to be high calorie, but the pedi had us stop??? Do you happen to know the mixture for Enfamil?

I will look for that book. I was wondering if there was something good out there for feeding. Thanks so much for all of your help. Stephanie

Hi Stephanie,

1. I was giving them their first morning bottle before solids, then everything else solids before bottle. Starting this past weekend though, I started doing breakfast solids before the bottle - they take a little less in than they used to with that morning bottle now, but not enough to get concerned over.

2. We normally feed them what we are eating. So I dish up a plate for myself with enough for them on it too. Cut up their pieces and have them over to the side of the plate to cool off a bit. Then I dish up DH's (if it is dinner) and we sit down (the girls are normally already in their high chair eating a cracker, cheese, puffs, etc.) I put their pieces I cut up on their tray. Sometimes they manage to get the pieces to their mouths themselves, but still more often we feed them in between our eating.

We're not as strict on the eating with them thing for breakfast and lunch. I do eat lunch with them when I can, and we eat breakfast together on the weekends. Otherwise they are normally eating just the two of them for those meals. But I do think the consistency of eating dinner together is what got their appetites kicked up and them more into eating table food.

3. I had tried letting them drink from a straw earlier in January and they didn't get it. Then we went out to lunch in late January and I tried the straw again. They both got it! So I went right out and bought straw sippies. They weren't getting the tipping action required for regular sippies, so we'd always end up holding it and they would get mad. I think that they just one day get the straw though, not sure if there's anything to do to get them to learn it faster.

4. I use Costco/Kirkland brand formula (2 large cans for $19.79). They handle this much better than the Neosure. Here is the recipe to mix any brand of powdered formula to 22 calories. I know my pedi is okay with the 22, but also said we could go down to the regular mix if we wanted. I figured the extra 2 calories per ounce were fine - mine are 25-50th percentile so I'm not making them obese with the extra calories.

water : formula : approx. final volume
5.5 ounces : 3 scoops : 6 ounces
9 ounces : 5 scoops : 10 ounces
18 ounces : 10 scoops : 20 ounces
24 ounces : 13 scoops : 27 ounces

HTH!!

 

Susan - Thank you so much for all of the info. Did bottle first this morning because they woke up SO early!!! Will try solids first at lunch. They are just starting to take to small pieces of table food, so we will try the dinner thing tonight. I really appreciate all of your (and everybody elses) help. Stephanie

 

quote:
Originally posted by steph-andy:
3. Any tips to get them to suck on it?


Suck on their finger. I know it sounds weird, but that's how we taught my brother to drink from a straw when he was little. He was a bit older...and incredibly mad/frustrated that he couldn't get it to work...so maybe they have to be motivated first?

 

We just had our 10mth check up and the doc mentioned that right about now, their appetites will start to decline a bit, so don't be nervous. As we increased solids, their interest in bottles has decreased considerably. They might so 21 ounces a day.

We have also introduced whole milk (just a few ounces) but maybe that will peak their interest again?

I also try to sit them on my lap for bottles as opposed to high chairs. They seem to stay more "focused" and I really enjoy that one on one time with each baby. I do have a "batter" but I just keep putting the bottle right back in until she's done!

 

quote:
Originally posted by SweetpeaG:
quote:
Originally posted by steph-andy:
3. Any tips to get them to suck on it?


Suck on their finger. I know it sounds weird, but that's how we taught my brother to drink from a straw when he was little. He was a bit older...and incredibly mad/frustrated that he couldn't get it to work...so maybe they have to be motivated first?

I tried it at dinner tonight...it was too cute! At first she just kept looking at me like I was crazy and pulled her hand away. Then, I think she was just really enjoying having her fingers sucked on!!! Every time I put the cup up to her mouth she would hold her hand up...I was just cracking up! She did suck a couple of times, but I had put water in it this time, so I couldn't tell if anything came up. We'll try again in the morning.

 

I'm curious to see if the finger sucking gets you anywhere. We've tried darn near every sippy out there without much success...the boys just think it's a really cool teething toy. I've considered trying the straw sippies, but keep telling myself it will just be another pair to add to the sippy graveyard.

Let me know if it really works (and I'll break down and buy yet another set of sippies. Even if it doesn't, how cute that she started associating your finger sucking with the cup so quickly.

 

SweetpeaG- Sorry I haven't updated you on the 'finger sucking' trick, but we have all been sick for the last 3 days. Some kind of bug going around pretty bad I guess. Wow, I have always hated being sick - but with two babies to take care, that's insane! So, needless to say, we haven't been trying anything new around here. It's been hard enough just to get everybody fed! Sorry. Stephanie