Don’t feel stressed if you suddenly notice your baby not drinking milk! Instead, try these 4 effective tricks to help your little one take more milk, whether from breast or bottle.
It’s the worry that plagues every mother: what to do when she notices her baby not drinking milk all of a sudden.
Whether breastfed or bottle-fed, you might have noticed that your baby has been drinking less milk than she used to. Sometimes it’s as much as half the amount she normally takes, even after a full 11-12 hours of sleep.
She might refuse and push the bottle away when you offer it, or squirm and wriggle during a nursing session. Any time you offer milk again, she starts crying and screaming. It’s been a few days, and the both of you are feeling stressed, dreading each feeding.
Baby teething isn’t the culprit, nor is she feeling sick with a fever. You haven’t offered any new formula, and she has enough wet diapers. What can you do to encourage your baby’s appetite for milk?
This article will show you how. Hopefully it’ll come in helpful as it did to fellow mom who wrote:
“Awesome article. Such a big help to me. My twins have decreased their formula intake gradually. Thanks for sharing your journey with us.” -Shweta
How to handle your baby not drinking milk
As you can see, you’re definitely not alone. At some point, all three of my kids refused drinking milk, whether with nursing or through a bottle. Despite having always had a healthy appetite for milk, they all entered a stage where they refused to drink it.
I tried offering milk in various ways, from nursing to a bottle, from sippy cup to a regular cup, but even with this switch, they refused them all. In fact, it seemed they preferred to play and do anything else but eat.
I knew this stage was normal and would pass. Still, it’s enough to stress even second- and third-time moms.
So, what do you do if you baby doesn’t want to drink milk? Below are simple but effective tricks that helped me get through this stage and get my babies drink milk again:
1. Feed your baby between longer intervals
One of the best decisions I made was to feed my babies after they woke up, not to feed them to sleep. This helped them learn to self soothe, but it also meant that their feeding times adjusted as they grew up.
You see, as your baby grows up, he’ll take fewer naps, which also means you’ll have fewer feeding sessions. In the beginning, he might’ve taken five naps a day and drank milk five times as well. But as the number of naps decrease, he’ll also have fewer times to feed.
If he isn’t drinking milk, see if you can stretch the times between feedings so he’s hungrier come the next one. He might need more time—and space in his tummy—between feedings to finish a whole bottle or nursing session.
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2. Check how much milk your baby should be getting
In your baby’s first few days and weeks, you were on a race to regain lost baby weight and make sure she’s gaining pounds and ounces from her birth weight. And it’s true—babies grow the most in their first few months.
But they also hit a stage where they don’t need to gain quite as much weight.
Their level of growth isn’t as fast as the newborn stage, and they’re also more interested in hitting other milestones. That’s why you’ll often find a baby would rather spend her time learning to crawl than eating. Eating solid food can also provide some of the calories she used to only get from drinking milk.
So, even though your baby is drinking less milk, she might be reaching a new stage where she doesn’t need as many calories from milk.
The best way to find out is to reach out to your pediatrician to learn more about your baby’s milk intake and how much milk she should be eating. You might be stressing about something that isn’t an issue after all.
Get tips on what to do when your baby refuses to eat.
3. Offer milk before solids (or offer it much later)
Introducing solids is one of my favorite stages. I actually liked blending purees and trying new combinations, and even created a printable to track which foods I introduced.
My babies were also as excited. They were so excited, in fact, that they preferred eating solids over milk. After all, milk was nothing new, whereas eating from a spoon offered a different flavor and experience.
So, I switched things up: I made sure to offer the milk before the solids.
This way, I knew they had the appetite to finish a nursing session or bottle before eating solids. I figured they would finish the solids, even after having drank the milk, whereas they might not drink as much after having eaten solids.
Another option is to offer the milk much later after your baby has eaten solids. It can be too much to drink milk and eat solids in one sitting. You might have better luck giving him milk an hour after eating solids when you know he has the appetite for it.
Learn how to get a breastfed baby to take a bottle of formula.
4. Add milk to your baby’s solid food
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links, which means I will earn a commission—at no extra cost to you—if you make a purchase.
Worried your baby isn’t getting enough calories and nutrients when she doesn’t drink breast milk or infant formula? Try mixing the milk with her solids.
Instead of using water to prepare her oatmeal or rice cereal, mix it with milk so she gets both solids and milk at the same time. This was the cereal I used with my babies.
You can also mix milk with fruits or vegetables “smoothies” you puree, especially if you were already going to water the texture down anyway.
Other moms have also made “momsicles,” or breast milk or formula frozen as an ice pop. Sucking on milk can be a creative way to draw a curious baby to consume her milk. Keep in mind that this can get messy, especially if your baby is new to holding and sucking on an ice pop.
Conclusion
It’s never easy when your baby takes an hour to drink milk, or pushes you or his bottle away when you try to feed him. We get frustrated because we know we’re not supposed to force our babies to drink, but at the same time, we’re stressed they’re not drinking enough.
But as you’ve seen, you’re not stuck. Try these simple tricks to help him start drinking milk regularly. Offer milk before solids so he’s more likely to finish it on an empty stomach (or offer it an hour later after solids).
Feed him between longer intervals, where he’ll have an appetite to finish the bottle or nursing session. Mix milk with purees and cereals to make sure he’s getting calories from milk as well.
And check with your pediatrician how many ounces or how long he should be nursing—it might turn out that you have nothing to worry about after all.
If I can offer one bonus tip, it’s this: relax.
It’s amazing how much our babies can pick up on our moods and reflect the stress we feel. The more stressed and frustrated you feel, the longer it can take to help your baby drink more milk.
When we have babies, it’s easy to overlook how long of a journey we have ahead of us, when every day there’s something to worry about. If anything, you’ll likely forget this stage down the line, or chuckle to yourself about how worked up you got about it.
And who knows—just when you let go, could be when your baby decides to drink his milk again.
Get more tips:
- When to Stop Burping Your Baby
- Baby Refuses to Eat Solids? Simple Hacks for Easier Mealtimes
- Weighing the Real Pros and Cons of Baby Led Weaning
- 5 Reasons Your Baby Wakes Up Crying Hysterically
- Want the Best Transition Sippy Cup? Start with These Options
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“It’s never easy when your baby takes an hour to drink milk, or pushes you or his bottle away when you try to feed him. We get frustrated because we know we’re not supposed to force our babies to drink, but at the same time, we’re stressed they’re not drinking enough.”
This is what I am going through now.Everyday in a great pressure of feeding baby, keep forcing him and he just keep crying to refuses, i felt so much pressure and really unhappy about that.
But to me, my baby doesn’t like spoon feed while i can’t feed him the oatmeal or rice cereal, he just like to eat by himself, so i started BLW feeding method to feed him, actually he can eat well when holding the veggies by himself, but his drinking ounces keeping dropping, maybe its time for him to eat more solid food.
thanks for sharing such skills and teaching me to RELAX, you really says well “When we have babies, it’s easy to overlook just how long of a journey we have ahead of us, when every day there’s something to worry about. If anything, you’ll likely forget this stage down the line, or chuckle to yourself at how worked up you got about it.” i don’t want all my memories with baby is only feeding and pressure.
Thank you so much.
I’m glad the article helped you! And yes, we really do need to relax a lot of the time. And if there truly is an issue, the best place to go is to ask your pediatrician, because then they can see whether the baby is gaining enough weight, and sometimes that reassurance is worth the extra call and trip to the doctor. I know whenever I’m worried, and time hasn’t eased my thoughts, then I simply put them to rest and ask the doctor whether this is something I should even worry about or not. If I need to take action, then I feel better that I know I’m supposed to, and if I don’t, then I also feel better knowing I don’t have to worry 🙂
Thank you for this article and your words of advice!
You’re welcome, Baizura!
My baby is just 3momths old …. He does not take breast milk or formula easily… I hv to put lot of effort to make him drink… He gets irritated and screams louder when I tried to feed him… And it makes me really stressed…. Otherwise everything seems alright..
I’m sorry to hear that, Nadiya! Hopefully you’ll find a solution that works for you and your baby. It can be really stressful when they don’t eat as often or as much as we’d like.
Thank you for your tips. Currently my 10 month old baby refuses his formula most of the time so I add it to his cereal for breakfast and lunch. He drinks 4 ounces of formula st 7am then has another 4 ounces in his cereal at 8am. Then I struggle to give him an ounce at 11am when he wakes up from his nap. He eats his lunch fine an hour later. Then after his second nap, I offer him 4 ounces of formula but I struggle just to get him to drink 2 ounces. At dinner, I add another 4 ounces of formula in his cereal. My question is, is it 9kay for a 10 month old baby to have 15 ounces of formula a day? I also give him water after his three meals and snack, but I also struggle giving him water that I only manage him to drink about 4 to 5 ounces of water a day. Do you think this is healthy and appropriate for a 10 months old baby?
Hi Fatimah! It’s definitely hard when our little ones don’t take their milk all of a sudden. What if you try giving him his formula an hour (or even half an hour) after he wakes up from his nap? I wonder if he’s just too groggy or not that hungry the moment he wakes up, but if he eats his food an hour after, he just might take the formula as well.
Typically, older infants do start to decrease their milk intake, not only because they’re experimenting with solids, but also because their bodies aren’t growing as rapidly as they once were in the earlier months. Also, this is when they’re starting to get mobile and curious about their environment, so the idea of drinking milk isn’t as exciting as, say, practicing how to crawl.
That said, I’d check with your pediatrician to see if he’s gaining enough weight, and let them know how many ounces he’s currently drinking. They’d be the best ones to let you know whether he’s taking in enough a day.
Awesome article. Such a big help to me. My twins have decreased their formula intake gradually. I’ll definitely try mixing the formula in the cereal. Thanks for sharing your journey with us. Much love
Hi Shweta! I’m so glad the article was helpful. Let me know how it goes! All the best, Nina
Really relieved my stress.
I was so worried that my 6 months baby isnt drinking well since past 2 days.
Will surely try out your tips and update you.
Thank u
You’re welcome!
My baby just turned 5 months, since last month I’ve been struggling feeding him or even giving him formula milk. He always refuses it , everytime he’s sleepy that’s the only way I can feed him. after reading your article I realised I was doing wrong. I always force him to drink milk because I am getting stress if he’s not getting enough milk for the day, the usual thing I do before and now is nursing him anytime so he gets enough nutrients. but I was wrong, Thank you for your tips.! I will surely try it. would love to read more article from you. Keep safe ☺️ God bless you!
I’m so glad the article helped, Jane! And yes, keep checking back on the blog—I have plenty of articles to share 🙂
My baby is 5 months aswell she refuses her bottle alot screams pushes it away she was having 6 ounces I’m lucky now if she takes 3 it’s such a battle to feed her
Sometimes she can go 7 hours without a bottle and it really worrys me
My son is 1 year 8 months but he less drinking milk then before during night time he wil refuse to drink when we offering milk ..sometimes he cry for milk but he wil drink only 1 0z milk n.sleeping while drinking.what should i do?im so worried..but day time n morning he will 3oz to 4 oz
Hi there! Maybe you can try offering him milk only during the day so he doesn’t need to drink milk to fall asleep? It’s likely he’s crying not for the milk but for some other reason, which could explain why he hardly drinks anything.
My son is 3 months and I noticed that he has reduced his in take. So I try to dream feed him just after a few minutes before his deep sleep and it works out.
That’s so great to hear, Bwalya!
Very nice tips.
My 3 months old has reduced her milk. She is formula fed. She takes only 1 once or 2 twice or thrice during day. She was good taking it at night but its been a week she has also her night feedings.
I have a five month old who is hitting their mile stones but has dropped from the 60 percentile to the 13. We have had a tongue tie procedure done and just get referred to a GI specialist. He only drinks an oz or two of breast milk at a time. Other nipples don’t seem to work and he’s not very interested in staying solids. Is this happening to anyone else?
-scared new mom
Hi Chloe! I’ve heard that getting a tongue tie fixed can really help with feeding. I think you’re taking all the right steps by consulting with the pediatrician and the specialist. That sudden drop can seem scary, but the good news is that at least he’s still within the range, even if lower than usual. Hopefully it will get sorted out soon!
“It’s never easy when your baby takes an hour to drink milk, or pushes you or his bottle away when you try to feed him. We get frustrated because we know we’re not supposed to force our babies to drink, but at the same time, we’re stressed they’re not drinking enough.”
This is exactly is my baby
Hi Nina, I’m grateful to come across your post. My 6 month-old baby refuses to drink milk lately. Her intake now is almost half lesser than a month ago that made me worry so much. No matter how hungry she is or how long interval between feeds, she still prefers play to drink milk. I’m gonna let her start weaning soon but with little amount of solid food, I’m afraid she’s not getting enough nutrients.
Hi Nina, my 11 month old doesn’t want formula nor breast milk at all. I have tried different formulas, changing the bottle teats but nothing works. He is currently getting milk from his cereals only and that worries me alot.
Been planning to visit his pediatrician for any advice. Being a mother is not easy.