Feeding FAQ: 6-9 months – Formula Feeding

How can I increase my almost 7 month son’s milk intake now he is on solids?

My son of almost 7 months old is refusing nearly all milk. He loves food but will not drink from a bottle or beaker. His weight is static as the health visitors say he is not drinking enough milk. I add milk into his food but he only gets about 400mls a day and that is a battle. Should I cut out solids and go back to milk and baby rice, or restructure the feeds so he doesn’t expect solids after the milk? He doesn’t wake in the morning screaming for his bottle and he is not fussed by his bedtime bottle either.
He has always slept well, 7pm till 6.30/7am but is lot more restless at the moment; he doesn’t really get into a deep sleep. I am terrified that he is going to start waking in the night for the milk he needs. Is it true that 1 oz of cheese = 7 oz of formula? How much is in a yoghurt? I am getting so paranoid that I am tempted to give him lunch every day in a cheese sauce in order to get the milk into him – this can’t be good!?
Would moving him onto SMA White help him get more vitamins in smaller quantities of milk? I cut the 3pm feed as he wasn’t taking anything; would it be better to cut milk with his lunch and offer it at 3pm instead? I didn’t want him to not be hungry for dinner at 5pm. In addition he refuses water and juice from a beaker and bottle.
At present he takes 30mls at 7am followed by 3/4tbsp baby porridge mixed with 100mls milk and cube of apple or pear. 11.30am 30mls followed by 4 cubes cod in cheese sauce/ chicken casserole or lentils, yoghurt. 5pm 40mls milk,4 cubes vegetables or cauliflower cheese and yoghurt. 6.30pm 50-100mls. He weighs 17lbs 4ozs.
My son naps at 9.30-10am, 12.30-2.30pm and 4.40-5pm. He is settled by 7pm.

It appears for your notes that your son weaned at 6mths. In the space of a month he has increased his solids quite a lot and this could be a reason why he has dropped his milk intake so much.
He is now preferring solids to milk, but does still need a minimum of 600mls in the day inclusive of all that he receives in cooking and other forms. To help you boost his milk intake a little, try splitting his feeds. A lot of babies of this age are not desperately hungry as soon as they wake. Allow him 15-20mins to come around before offering him his bottle, so he is having it around 7.20/7.30am. Don’t expect him to take a full bottle, aim for 60-90mls. Using the tier method at breakfast will mean you offer him milk after his cereal as well. Give him a break until 8am and then offer him his cereal. As he enjoys solids you have increased his cereal, knowing this will get another 100mls of milk into him but he is eating quite a large amount. Try cutting back slightly on the cereal, but continuing to add a cube or two of fruit. Then offer him another 60mls of milk once he has finished.
Now that he is established on a protein meal at lunchtime it would be better to cut out the milk given at this time. Milk can prevent the absorption of iron by up to 50% when given alongside protein.
Until your son is beginning to gain weight, try offering him a small formula feed at 10.30am and wait until 11.30am before offering him his lunchtime solids. After he has eaten at least half of his solids offer him water from an open cup rather than a beaker. Put a very small amount of cooled, boiled water into a baby cup and help him to lift it to his lips. He needs to learn how to sip at it. Keep offering this on a daily basis as it can take several weeks for a baby to learn how to drink as opposed to sucking.
Re-instate a small feed no later than 2.30pm and then offer tea at 5pm. This again should be given with water rather than milk, as he still is not drinking a full feed before bedtime. Watch that he does not fill himself up too much at teatime. Again it is difficult to cut back on the yoghurt when you are desperately trying to increase the overall intake. But with less solids at 5pm he will be more likely to drink 180-240mls before settling for the night. Getting the balance between milk and solids can be difficult, especially when you have a baby who decides he likes solids in preference to milk. Trying to give him a wide range of foods, whilst not always relying on milk substitutes, will take some thought. You can always use 30ml of milk to mash a potato or add milk to a vegetable based soup so your son doesn’t get used to always having cheese based sauces. Looking for ways to sneak in an extra 30mls here and there, combined with watching his solid intake and offering milk feeds in between solids should see him increase his daily amount.
Using cheese and milk in some of your cooking and offering yoghurt will certainly help.1oz hard cheese can be a substitute for 7ozs of milk and a 125gr pot of full fat yoghurt is also worth about 7ozs of milk. Making milky puddings and fruit mousses is another way to boost his intake. Moving onto SMA White will only fill your son up for longer; it is a casein-based formula which takes longer to digest.
Discuss moving onto a Follow on Milk with your health visitor. This does contain added vitamins and minerals including iron, which helps with fussy feeders but again is casein based, so denser. This will provide more calories, but could have the down side of taking longer to digest.