13 month old baby not drinking much milk

[SpanielFace]

DS is 13 months, and is now on cows milk. He cut out daytime milk himself at about 10 months, and was just having it in the morning and evening, but he's now refusing his morning bottle. He has a big bottle (250 mls) at bedtime, but I do worry that's it's not enough. He is a very good eater, and I try to include some dairy at every meal - milk on his cereal, cheese, yoghurt etc. Does that sound ok? HV at 12 month check said that they are supposed to have a pint a day at his age, but I can't make him drink it if he doesn't want it!

Also: he is obsessed with tea, and if I have a mug he has to have a mouthful! At what age can a baby have their own cup of very weak tea?

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

300ml is the minimum until he's 2 so if he's having a bottle of 250 ml, it should be easy enough to give him cereal with milk or pancakes/rice pudding/milky jelly/fish pie/cauliflower cheese etc. HV is just wrong on this one sorry and there's no need to include dairy with every meal either, he's getting enough.

Mine don't have tea and DS is 9. Just told them its for grown ups.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Have you tried him with oily fish spaniel? Fish with bones are a good source of calcium and the omega 3 and fat are good for them too, so try tinned salmon or tinned sardines. Nuts are a good source of calcium too so try a smooth nut butter on oatcakes or toast. Ready brek is fortified with calcium, so that might be worth a try. Not that I think he's short of anything but the added calcium might stop you worrying and the fish can only do good

[SpanielFace]

Thanks for the replies, that makes me feel better. He has oily fish once or twice a week - usually tinned salmon, sometimes sardines, occasionally fresh salmon. (I was told tinned tuna doesn't have the omega oils that are found in fresh - is that right? I know there's the mercury issue as well. He does love tuna though!). He does have peanut butter although not that often. But I do a rice pudding/custard fairly often, and he has a yoghurt pretty much every day, so it sounds like we are doing ok.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Sounds like you are doing more than ok Spaniel

Next time you see the HV it might be worth asking her again about the milk, she may have a reason that she thinks your Lo needs more milk than the minimum that she hasn't fully explained

[FoxyRevenger]

God, I've no idea how much milk my 13 month old has. Poor second child just gets handed cups of milk and drinks whatever he wants out of them...

I do use Healthy Start vitamin drops to boost his diet though. Free from the GP in Scotland, no idea about anywhere else though.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

at foxy. My friend has 4 DC, think 3 was weaned by what the other 2 fed it and 4 was weaned on what she could wrestle from the dog . I was so relaxed about number 2 its probably a good job I didn't have anymore.