16 month old doesn’t eat solids. Just stopped the formula bottle cold turkey and I’m going insane with the crying. Anyone else go through this?

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pastorbenjohnson

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I started introducing food when she was 6 months old. She would eat purées here and there but okay around with the solid food.

I offer her different foods so that she gets used to textures. Sometimes she’ll put things in her mouth but she’ll usually spit it back out.

Just recently I noticed she’ll eat a few bites of her pancake or muffin. The doctor say I had to completely cut out the bottle because she’s not hungry enough for food.

This is day 3 of no bottle. She gets 3 meals and 2 snacks and I offer whole milk in a cup with meals and water with snacks. She will eat a yogurt pouch and drink maybe 4-6 oz of milk. She will eat a total of 3-5 bites of food a day.

She wakes scream crying because she’s hungry and wants a bottle and I offer her food and she just cries.

We’re at hour 2 of crying and she won’t eat or drink either now.

Anyone else go though this? I’m so mentally exhausted. I don’t know what to do anymore.
 
@pastorbenjohnson This sounds so hard but if she’s only drank a few oz of milk the past few days I’m worried about her being dehydrated. I slowly weaned my kid off bottles (5 a day -> 4 a day -> etc etc) and it seemed to help. I also leaned hard into whatever foods she liked and offered those a bunch.
 
Reading this again, does she use a straw at all? My daughter still uses straws at 16 months along with open cups but majority is straw drinking, if you’re doing only open cup that may be hard for her
 
@alfons So I give her a straw with an open cup and she’s OK drinking that way. I think I’m going to start the formula again, but give it in a cup with a straw and slowly wean off that way. At least she won’t be hungry going to bed.
 
@pastorbenjohnson This is what I did. I slowly incorporated the straw during daytime feedings and eventually just ended up replacing all the bottles with a straw. I also gave 50/50 milk and formula and steadily changed the ratio until it was all milk. Just take your time and keep at it, you’re doing great!
 
@alfons I agree with trying both straws and different types of open and sippy cups. My baby hated bottles for a long time and I had luck with both straws and helping her with an open cup at different times. Like even from 4 months or so with the open cup.
 
@pastorbenjohnson Might be worth talking to her ped again about the possibility of ARFID, or getting a second opinion. I know there’s lots of different levels of it and of similar food avoidance/texture issues.
 
@scienceaf We have an appointment with an OT for feeding therapy. I’m hoping that helps. She was born premature and I’ve been reading that sometimes premature babies have issues with feeding.
 
@scienceaf I just wanted to mention ARFID too. Our son has ARFID (he’s also got a chromosomal deletion), and OP, I’m not saying your daughter definitely has ARFID, but keep it on the radar and perhaps consider the likelihood of ARFID with your feeding approaches (to avoid any further anxiety around food). It sounds like you’re already being very supportive though. I would actually keep going with the formula until your daughter is eating more foods (from a nutrient standpoint). Perhaps always try food before formula?
The other medical condition that is becoming more common and presents like this sometimes is EoE (Eosinophilic esophagitis), but the test is carried out via endoscopy.
Im not a medical professional (just a mum that’s read everything to try to help my 7 year old be able to eat), but definitely keep researching and be kind to yourself throughout this journey. Keep offering different things and perhaps as your daughter starts communicating more, she’ll be able to tell you why she doesn’t want to eat or what she feels she can eat.
Wishing you lots of luck, and don’t feel guilty if you need to keep offering formula for the time being.
 
@pastorbenjohnson Not a doctor.
In my opinion, you're just creating a negative association with food. Reduce the number of bottles/quantity, but do not quit cold turkey.
Make milk her side drink to wash down solid foods. Offer it with a straw.
No sane grown up human relies on milk on a bottle, and neither with your kiddo. She needs time, and you should give it to her, gently nudging her towards solids
 
@pastorbenjohnson Can you slowly wean her from the bottle while also offering the food option first? Upon waking, offer yogurt, whole milk, fruit…see how she does. Offer bottle if little intake. Lunch/snack same thing…etc.
And then slowly decrease bottle volumes each day in hopes she will increase solids? Has she had troubles eating solids since starting at 6 months or was she previously eating a lot of table foods and now is not? Have you considered food therapy as an option possibly?
 
@aniko Previously when she was drinking her bottle if she was interested enough while we were eating, she would come by for a bite or grab something off the table and eat it but since cutting her off her bottle, that’s all she wants.
 
@pastorbenjohnson I was told to wean back slowly with the formula. So basically, water it down, a bit at a time, until it's more water than anything else. Start with an extra ounce of water, and over the process of a couple of weeks increase the water content an ounce at a time, every few days.

It still gets her the taste she's looking for without filling her up on liquids. Definitely wait a day or two after you reintroduce it, though. That way, she gets the comfort of what she's used to immediately to help soothe her rumpled nerves.
 
@pastorbenjohnson Have you checked for lip/tongue/cheek ties? My son refused all solids until our speech pathologist referred us for tie release. Turns out he had 5 ties and couldn’t move his mouth enough to eat solids. Had the ties released, and after a few weeks of speech therapy to relearn how to move his mouth muscles, he is off formula.
Sorry you’re going through this! I know it’s so hard, hoping you get some answers soon
 
@pastorbenjohnson How many bottles was she getting a day prior to This? If it was just one I could see the cold turkey advice but if it was multiple I would do it gradually dropping one bottle every few days. My only concern is now that you’ve done two days of no bottle could be confusing for you to give it back to her for a short period.

Will she take cow’s milk in the bottle? Formula is more filling than whole cow’s milk but calorie wise they are similar. She may eat more solids alongside cow’s milk as a result. A big reason they want babies off formula at 12 months is how filling it is. Ideally she’d take more cows milk in a regular cup. Have you tried warming it in the cup?

I would also try to pack whatever solids she eats with fat. My toddler is picky so I do things like make him oatmeal with heavy cream, lots of butter, coconut milk to cook grains in, nut butters etc. so he is getting the most calories possible per bite.
 
@ezzeking She was taking formula in the bottle which is why the doctor said to stop because it was too filling. I did milk in a cup with a straw with breakfast today and she actually ate a good amount and used the milk to wash down food. I added half a scoop of formula so she got the taste of it and I’m going to gradually decrease it.
 
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