As parents, we often worry ourselves, many times unnecessarily, over our kids. Are they drinking enough milk? Are they drinking enough water? Are they eating enough? What happens when strangers touch them? Are they developing at the right pace?
About 1.5 months ago, when Baby J was about 10 months old, he suddenly refused to drink milk during his waking hours. He would shove away the bottle, kick and scream, cry loudly. Whatever we did, he would refuse to drink. We had not changed his routine, nor his formula milk brand. He was taking Friso Gold Stage 2 at that time. (Check out this page for Friso’s formula milk samples, plus many others.) So from 10 months, Baby J would go to bed without milk, and the only time he would be willing to drink is when he’s up and groggy early in the morning.
Is Milk Necessary for Babies That Have Started Solids?
Baby J started solids when he was about 5 months old. We gave him very simple stuff: Heinz Sunrise Banana Porridge, which you may purchase in FairPrice. I would like to state as a disclaimer that there is absolutely no rush in starting solids for your baby. In fact, it is much safer to start later, once your baby is able to sit up independently and loses his/her tongue thrust reflex. We introduced solids to Baby J once we saw he was ready, though he did not immediately take a liking to it. So we took our time to increase the serving size and frequency of feeding solids. Baby J was still doing mixed feeding then, i.e. on breastmilk and formula milk. By 8 months, Baby J was completely weaned off breastmilk.
According to multiple sources, milk should still form the basis of nutrition for babies from 6 to 12 months. The frequency of feeds will drop (and will be replaced by solids), though the amount they consume per feed may increase.
So Baby J refuses to drink his milk before turning one. What can I do, as his parent, to ensure he receives proper nutrition for his growth?
What We Gave Baby J Instead of Milk
Because of his refusal to take the bottle when we offered it to him, we ended up wasting a lot of milk. Like, a lot a lot. Full bottles of them. Man, and formula milk sure isn’t cheap in Singapore! Super heart ache. 🙁 (But thankfully, I found an awesome source of cheap authentic branded formula milk in Mums.sg. They even do free delivery for our heavy tins if we purchase more than $50; so easily hit for formula milk!)
So we stopped giving him milk except when he wakes up early in the morning, groggy and thirsty. This means he only consumes a serving of milk per day, which I suppose, isn’t very healthy for a baby who hasn’t turned one yet! He would rather eat solids to satisfy his hunger, like cereal and porridge.
Baby J loves the milk pap from HiPP!
Searching through alternatives, we managed to find really good substitutes for milk, in the form of solids. Since Baby J was taking well to cereal, we decided to get cereal from HiPP Milk Pap series. These products are pretty tasty, at least from what I observed from Baby J’s reaction. He’s tried all of the flavours and so far so good!
Mums.sg is also a good source to get these, as they are cheaper than in FairPrice and Mothercare. Glad they sell HiPP Organic Milk Pap!
Check out these available flavours:
- Banana Peach (Organic)
- Fine Fruits (Organic)
- Forest Fruits (Contains probiotics)
- Fruit Yoghurt (Contains probiotics)
- Oat Apple (Organic, for night time, keeps baby full longer)
HiPP also has cereal pap, which does not contain milk. This means you have to add it in yourself if you are intending to supplement your baby’s solids with milk. My personal preference is the milk pap, as described above, since I want to skip the hassle of having to make milk as I prepare the cereal. Just suggesting it as an alternative. 🙂
You may also wish to consider Heinz brand cereals or porridge as well, as most of them contain fortified milk too. They can easily be found in FairPrice.
Summing It All Up
I’m actually quite chill about my little bub’s diet; it does not have to be particularly clean or healthy. As long as he receives adequate nutrition, I’m happy. So in a way I’m not too concerned about his refusal for milk, because I believe that we can find alternatives for him. He’s doing very well so far! Hitting his milestones well, super active, and always churning up some ideas to outsmart us. Haha!
So I suppose he’s getting pretty good nutrition at this point. 🙂 Hope my sharing has been useful for you. Do feel free to also share your tips in the comments!