When your baby just won't take milk anymore...

Look familiar to any other mums out there? You know your baby needs some milk, you know she hasn't had any for nearly 6 hours, yet she just refuses to take it! I was having this problem with Alice for about a month! It was so frustrating and annoying and worrying. I knew she had to have it, she just wouldn't drink.

I started weaning Alice at 4 and a half months because I felt she needed it. She had doubled her birth weight and was showing all the signs, and she took to it beautifully. As the weeks went by, she started to take more spoons of solid and less milk. Suddenly though, I began to worry as her milk intake dropped from nearly 30oz a day to around 12oz. I know babies are supposed to cut down on milk when they go on solids, but I also know they should be taking nearer to 20oz a day (give or take a few. I don't stress about going by the book. As long as it's somewhere between 16-25 oz a day I know I'm on the right track!)

I have spent the past couple of weeks doing everything I can to increase her milk intake and finally we are up near the 20oz a day! What's more, she is happy about drinking her milk and we are no longer in a milk battle! So I thought I would share with you what worked for us, in case you are having the same problem and I suggest something you haven't tied!

• I offered Alice solids before milk. All the books say "milk first, milk first!" but she just wasn't taking it. So one day, I did it the other way round and voila! Happy milk drinking baby!
• Move the bottle teats up!!! If you are bottle feeding (like me) then you may have (like me) forgotten to move the teats up as your baby grows!! Woops. The second I moved Alice up to a number 4 teat, I found she was taking more ounces a time. Babies get tired of sucking and if you have the wrong bottle teat, they can fall asleep on the bottle, or get frustrated that they can't get the milk out quick enough!
• Adjust the time between milk feeds. 2-3 hours may work for a newborn, but by 2 months Alice was easily going 4-4.5 hours between feeds. If your not sure how long your little one can go, try doing what I did and just waiting until the actually cry for milk! That should give you a good idea!
• Adjust the temperature of the milk. Alice started on warm bottles, but now that she's teething, she will take more if the milk is slightly cooler.
• Change positions, or just put them down! I don't hold Alice to feed her anymore because she squirms and gets hot and wants to get away from me! Now I sit her in her chair or buggy, making sure she's in a more upright position to stop any wind!
• Check the nappy. Most stupid mistake that I keep making, to check she doesn't have a dirty bum! She will not drink if she does!

Anyway. These are just some of the things that worked for me! I thought this post may interest someone as I know I spent ages trawling the internet trying to find the solution! Like I said, Alice is drinking nearer to 20 oz a day now, still sleeping through the night and is almost taking 3 meals a day too! 

xx