Son won't drink from anything but the breast, solutions??

Florida - posted on 01/03/2011

Are you giving him rice baby cereal ? Is he on an ron supplement ? Does he eat a lot of wheat or cheese ?
Rice cereal definitely doesn't help- I'd consider barley instead. And no more cheese ? Just thinking...
I wish you luck- doesn't sound like fun for the cutie pie...
Happy New Year,
Florida.

Daniela - posted on 12/26/2010

My nearly 12 month old loves to eat or drink anythink his parents do. So I give him water straight from my glass or cup. He loves the sensation of cold water and ends up wanting more and more from mummy's cup. My son is also exclusively bf. Good luck :-)

Jen - posted on 12/22/2010

THank you so much for the advice Alisa! I appreciate it so much. My ped. suggested giving him Karo syrup but I didn't want to so I tried water and then added some apple juice. He likes it okay but can't seem to get passed drinking it in a sippy cup. Since we have been using a water bottle he seems to be getting more regular which is a huge blessing. I have a friend who has the same problem with her 5 year old as you do with your 6 year old. I am so sorry. I am hoping that my LO doesn't have the same problem but at least there is something that will help him if he does. We have been giving him warm baths and that doesn't really seem to help but he loves them so can't do any harm. Thank you so much for the encouragement. I feel I am doing everything I know I can do so I am just hoping that other mothers have advice that will help as well. Thank you for chiming in. The more the merrier!

Alisa - posted on 12/21/2010

oh and i just remembered one other thing, with my 6 yr old they said a warm bath might help relax him and help. and it is going to be something you will want to keep and eye on because if kids know it hurts when they poop they will hold it and then it will get to be a bad problem. and kids learn this very early. sorry I am just learning all about this right now and its at that bad point for us. I want to help anyone i can!

Alisa - posted on 12/21/2010

I have an 11 month old son that ONLY nurses as well, my 3 yrs old was the same way. I tryed and tryed and nothing! But to tell you the truth I LOVE it! I dont mind it and I love the interaction! But I do and to agree on a couple of thing, not being home/in the same room and have someone else does help! And I know its not a good habit but we had a period were when my 3 yr old was sick and needed more water and wouldnt eat my ped said to do this, I either just gave it to him or I put him a bath, but give him a wet rag. He will most likely suck on it. The down side is he might think its ok to suck on a dirty one. BUT its all about doing it at the right time thats why I did it at bath time. And if its not an all the time thing they wont think to do it. Also playing around with the temp helps they are used to their drink being warm! But its fun to have really cold water! Just depends on what they like! And Juice is a great thing to give kids, let them have it! If you brush their teeth and if you are giving it to them as a snack its well deserved! What is good for your teeth?!? LOL I am not trying to be mean, I just think you sound like a very good mother and juice is a great thing to give your children. I would say giving your child soda is something that should not be done! But one more thing, if he is already having a hard time with this now I would watch him, I have a 6 year old that we just found out is so constipated that he has LBS of poop in him. (its harder for me know know how my 6 yrs old is doing in that habit) but he had a little bit of a problem when he was little. So if it keeps happening look into meralax and I believe it is little tummys. I believe he is too small to have it now but i could be wrong. And sorry I have one other suggestion it could be from something that is in your diet... things like whole wheat, cheese, and sugars can do that to a baby. so i would look into that! Good luck I hope that helps!

Jen - posted on 12/21/2010

Melissa...we never had any issues with constipation until he started on solids. The ped. said to work on getting more liquids in him so that he would go easier and we have found that giving him water from a water bottle helps a lot. We had a foster kid that LOVED drinking from straws and we have found that our son loves straws but I don't think he knows yet how to suck from them so I am hoping that a sippy cup with a straw in it will help him learn quickly :>

Melissa - posted on 12/20/2010

We got our 11 month to drink from a sippy cup, but we use the kind that can spill so there isn't any sucking involved. Also, bf babies don't get constipated when all they are getting is breast milk. Once you introduce foods, baby can get constipated. Good luck!

Erin - posted on 12/20/2010

Hi Jen
Glad to know I wasn't the only one. I got a straw cup but he couldn't suck hard enough. I may have gotten the wrong kind though. Hope it goes well.

Jen - posted on 12/19/2010

Erin...I have tried that with a straw a couple of times and he does enjoy it. It just takes forever to get enough liquids in him but I have done it several times and am looking at getting a sippy cup with a straw so that he can hopefully learn how to get liquids that way. Thanks for the advice and good luck with your little one.

Erin - posted on 12/19/2010

I tried something different with a straw. I put the straw in the water and trapped the water by putting my finger on top. Then I put the end in my babies mouth and he eventually learned to swallow. Good luck, believe me she will learn eventually.

Kirsty - posted on 12/19/2010

my 11month old son is the same with only wanting breast milk although he does drink my milk from a bottle now and then, and he does drink water and cordial from his soft spout sippy cup. but i had to go out one day and my friend baby sat for me and i just put cows milk with pentavite drops ( vitimans)( i did get this advise from my doctor before trying though) and told her to warm it up so it was the same temp as my body heat. AND because i wasnt here for him to smell my milk he drank it YAY its a start. hopefully, you get the result your searching for soon :)

Jen - posted on 12/19/2010

Charlotte, thanks for the info. I believe it is constipation as he has to strain and then when he finally goes it is usually pretty firm and he usually cries. We've found that he enjoys drinking water from a small spouted water bottle so he's been enjoying that. I am very happy that he is purely BF. I have given up with bottles and he refuses to drink from them no matter what is in them. We are slowly learning new techniques to get water in him so that is helping some but I just wish he would go more than once a week. The ped. was definitely concerned that he doesn't go to the bathroom more often and said he just needs more liquids in his diet. I am trying harder to make sure he gets some water each day to help. Usually if I can get him at least an ounce or two a day that makes a big difference. Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I greatly appreciate learning from other moms who have done research as well.

Charlotte - posted on 12/19/2010

hi, ive heard breastfed babies don't get constipated, or at least very rarely do, and if prunes and high fiber foods dont help i wouldn't of said it wasn't constipation. its normal for bf babies to go days without pooping, is this why you think he's constipated? also, when i researched this over the net i got lots of info saying babies dont need anything but bm and maybe some water as bm is 80% water anyway. juice is very bad for their teeth and can enoucarge bad eating habbits later on in life so i would avoid giving him that ! my nearly 11 month is also bf and enjoys food.we give her a cup with water and either without a lid on and i help her or with a lid that she doesnt have to suck too hard from or she gets frustrated and wont take it. it sounds like he is doing great, is it definatly pain he is in when he poops or is it him straining? if he's eating solids fine and bfing lots still and you can get water in him by giving him a straw or normal cup it sounds like you are doing a great job and maybe its not constipation? has your peadiatrition said anything else about him being constipated? good luck and well done for breastfeeding :D

Kim - posted on 12/18/2010

When my 6 year old was a baby, she had a period where she didn't poop for 6 days, and my husband got a little nervous. For a breastfed baby to not poop for this long is not a big deal, but if he/she is in pain, you want to do whatever they need you to do. I took my daughter to our chiropractor, and she pooped in the car on the way home. She didn't have the same problem again. My son is now 10 months old, and he has gone to the chiro since birth, and he has never had trouble.

Jen - posted on 12/18/2010

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't thought about that. I'll definitely give it a try. I'll let you know if I come across any other advice that works.

Jacalyn - posted on 12/18/2010

my 11 month old daughter is the same, i have recently found soft spout sippy cups and she is learning to drink from it, it helps if you have someone who baby feels comfortable with and they can give baby the water or juice while your out of the house because they won't drink anything if they can still smell your milk. if you get any advice from elsewhere can you let me know to?