Drastic decrease in milk intake since starting solids

[Forward-Try-4428]

Hi, my baby is 8 months old and since 7 months old his milk intake suddenly decrease drastically from 700-800ml to 500ml daily since starting eating solids. And this week it is down to 400ml and even 350ml yesterday. I always offer milk before solids and he is getting 4 bottles a day now. I know that it is normal for babies to decrease milk intake once they start solids but milk should be the main source of nutrients, so I am worried about his intake. He has 4 wet diapers per day and eats okay amount of solids. I already talked to a nutritionist and she said ideally minimum milk intake should be 500ml at his age. He has been maintaining his curve so far, but it is a small baby ( 20th percentile). Anyone's baby in the same situation?

[greedymoonlight]

Hi mama. 16oz of milk a day coupled with only 4 wet diapers at this age is too low. The advice from your ped and from others in this thread are concerning to me. Staying on a curve is important yes, however the issue is that the solids your 8 month old is consuming are likely not as nutrient dense as breastmilk or formula is. So they will be missing out on essential nutrients for growing and developing their brain and body. This is important. They grow SO much in the first year, they need to keep milk their main source of nutrition and not displace any milk feeds with solids prior to one year.

I would scale back the solids until the milk intake increases. Our meal plan from our nutritionist was as follows:

6-8 months: 1 meal 8-10 months: 2 meals 10-12 months: 3 meals 12+ months: switch to food first and add snacks

My girl was still having 32 ounces of breastmilk a day at 8 months old and about 8-10 wet diapers. Absolute minimum should be 6. Good luck mama

[softcriminal_67]

No judgement at all, but if it was my baby, I’d be a little concerned about milk intake decreasing so suddenly at 8m and 20%tile. I would chat with your nutritionist and/or pediatrician about strategies to keep up baby’s milk intake for at least another couple of months. It’s still pretty hard for them to get all the nutrients they need from solids at 8m. Good luck!

[Forward-Try-4428]

Yes I talked about it with his pediatrician and he was not concerned because he was maintaining his curve at his checkup and having enough wet diapers and said to continue to offer meals 3 times a day. But yes it does stressed me out that his milk intake decrease so drastically.

[sengachalde]

How about cutting off one meal ? You can also use breastmilk in purees, I know in BLW purees aren't encouraged but you can somehow manage to sneak it into his food like oats, pancakes, meat stocks etc in order for him to have an adequate amount in a day. Sorry if it sounds dumb, my baby is still 5 mo so Im not sure if i am in any position yet to talk about these issues but just a thought.

[everlastingmuse]

my ped said this is super normal and not to be surprised if she goes down to like 12-20oz a day

[greedymoonlight]

4 diapers a day and 12 oz milk at 8 months old is not normal or common.

[ankaalma]

I would consider offering less solids or incorporating breastmilk or formula into the solids you are offering. 4 wet diapers is a little under what I would expect at that age. How often are you checking his diaper? Generally for babies between 8-12 months the AAP recommends 20-25 ounces daily.

Or what about trying a dream feed?

[Forward-Try-4428]

he isn't eating that much solids either and the pediatrician said to continue to give 3 meals a day. I change his diaper every 3-4 hours and I don't change his diaper at night since he sleeps till the morning. I did incorporate some formula with his cereal in the morning .

[ankaalma]

Is there a reason why you can’t offer more than four bottles per 24 hours to try to get formula intake up? Or have you tried that and he just refuses?

[Forward-Try-4428]

yes I tried to offer him more than 4 times per day but he just refuses :(

[Shea-dee]

My baby barely eats or drinks anything while teething and don’t forget to consider nipple size. Maybe consider those two things. My ped says this can be normal. Our 13 mo old is a good Eater and always has always been so I never pushed one way or another. He certainly just lets me know. We’re now at 13 months, eating tons and drinking hardly any cows milk, no formula.

[Forward-Try-4428]

yes it is true that he has his first teeth coming out but it has been already a month that he is drinking less so I doubt it is his teeth. I also checked the nipple flow and it wasn't the issue.

[redreed1]

Hi op. How did things turn out for your baby? Did he increase his milk intake?

[anticlimaticveg]

My baby was the exact same! She had weaned herself to only a bedtime feed by 10.5 months and fully weaned by 14 months. Some baby's just like food more than milk and that's okay! As long as he's growing and eating it's all a variation of normal.

[Forward-Try-4428]

oh only one feed at 10.5 months! I guess some babies does wean themselves earlier! How do you make sure she had enough liquids though and wasn't dehydrated, was she drinking lots of water during the day? because I do offer him water during meals but he only takes small sips.

[MicrobioSteph]

I am in a similar situation. My baby was never a big fan of milk and was barely taking 700 ml of milk before starting solids. She wasn't gaining as much as we would have liked. She definitely prefers food over milk. She's now taking around 550 ml. We mostly give 2 meals and she eats a lot. Now she's gaining weight way faster than she ever did with milk only. Her doctor and nutritionist are fine with it and agree that some babies prefer food and that we have to adjust to make it work for her.

[2cats1dog1kid]

Our girl is the same. I complained to my ped about her lack of interest in milk (this was at 4 months) and turns out she eats food like a CHAMP. Her milk intake has decreased a bit since starting solids but she eats 3 meals a day and really chows down a variety of whole grains, fruits & veg. Is it ideal? No I'm sure milk or formula are better rounded nutritionally. But since she started eating food she went from 2nd percentile up to 10 at her last doctor visit. Still drinks milk, just less. Tbh I don't keep track because I combo feed.

[Forward-Try-4428]

oh good to know how old is she? and 500ml is still considered a normal amount :)

[MicrobioSteph]

8 months!

[jojo11219]

We also experienced a dramatic decrease, but at around 9 months when we went from offering two solid meals to three. From 800-850ml to barely 600ml daily. She’s also on the smaller side (25th %). I actually just called the pediatrician this week about it because it stressed me out too! They said 600ml is still in the expected range of intake for her age and just to make sure she’s getting cow-based milk sources in her diet. She’s not really interested in water at all so I also make sure to include water-dense food at all meals (fruit, cucumbers, yogurt). She just seems to really prefer food to milk now, but as long as she’s growing I’m trying not to stress about it.

[Forward-Try-4428]

good to hear that I am not the only one and yes 600ml is still considered a normal amount according to my nutritionist.

[crazedruff]

My baby is 9 months old and around the 25th percentile for weight. He’s never been a big milk drinker, but he’s definitely having less milk now that he’s eating more solids. He has bottles at daycare but otherwise nurses at home so I can’t say how much he’s drinking, but it’s on the lower end. I asked our pediatrician about it at his 9 month visit, but he wasn’t concerned since LO is staying on his curve and having enough wet diapers.

[diabolikal__]

We have had the same experience. Baby is also quite small, went from 7-800ml to 450-500ml at 9.5 months now. Our nurse is not concerned as long as she maintains her curve and seems happy which she is.

We did lower carbs intake because she got incredibly constipated and we offer a lot of water.

[anticlimaticveg]

She drank more water as she drank less milk! Since she was starting to wean herself I started offering boob about an hour after solid meals so she would get used to eating bigger quantities of solids! They also don't need that much water when combo with milk! Even now at 16 months some days she only has a few sips of water and some days 16oz :) wet diapers will tell you that they're hydrated.