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Expert Q&A:
How can I get my recently weaned baby to drink more?

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Answered by Suzanne Dixon MD, MPH

"I love this job!" says Suzanne Dixon. "I believe I can bring the best of information to families by the thousands every day. I'm not shy about tapping my colleagues and friends all around the country so that we can get the latest, best, and most sensible advice on every issue."

Suzanne Dixon, MD, MPH, was born and raised in Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota, School of Medicine. She did her paediatric training at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and then completed a fellowship in Child Development at Boston's Children's Hospital. Dr Dixon joined the faculty at the University of California, San Diego, and did patient care, teaching, and research for 20 years. She ran a large newborn service, performed research in early child development, and was involved in many community outreach activities in maternal child health. Throughout her entire professional life she has maintained an interest in cross-cultural activities, living and working in many parts of the world, including Mexico, India, Kenya, Indonesia, and several countries from the former USSR.

Dr. Dixon is the author of numerous research articles, review articles, and textbook chapters in paediatrics, child and family development, and public health. Her textbook, written with Dr. Martin Stein, Encounters With Children: Pediatric Behavior and Development, has become a classic in child health education andis just coming out in its third edition. She has served as an associate editor for Infant Mental Health and currently reviews for several major paediatric journals.

Dr Dixon is a fellow of the American Academy of Paediatrics and served in national positions in that organization. She is a member of the Society for Paediatric Research, the Society for Research in Child Development, the American Public Health Association, and the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Paediatrics.

Dr. Dixon continues to lecture and consult worldwide on aspects of maternal, child, and family health. She practices behavioral and developmental paediatrics in Montana and works with local advocacy groups on education and women's health. Dr Dixon has been married for 25 years and has three sons. She and her husband travel frequently and enjoy being amateur anthropologists.

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Question


I have just weaned my 11-month-old baby and I'm concerned he isn't eating enough - he only drinks about 4 ounces of milk and 4 ounces of diluted juice a day. I offer him liquids all the time, but he refuses to drink. In the past, you've suggested numerous ways to sneak high-calorie foods into a reluctant eater's diet, but do you have any suggestions for a reluctant drinker?

Answer


You have a discriminating and determined infant! But he does need to get more calories and calcium so I think it's worth coaxing him to drink about 16 ounces of milk per day. (He should drink formula until he's a year old.) Try giving him formula or milk in a cup to see if the novelty increases his interest, and add extra milk to his cereal and other dishes. Also try getting someone else to offer him a bottle - he probably associates you with breast milk. Skip the juice - it's sweeter and may make him even more reluctant to drink milk - and try enticing your reluctant drinker with smoothies. Mix fruit, yoghurt, sugar and crushed ice in a blender. You can use formula instead, or blend a can of evaporated milk with orange juice and fresh apricot juice. For other recipes, see Feed Me! I'm Yours by Vicki Lansky or the Yale Guide to Children's Nutrition, edited by William V. Tamborlane. If your child's urine is normal - it doesn't smell too strong and isn't dark yellow - and he isn't constipated, then he's getting enough to drink. You'll have to watch your child's calcium intake and growth after trying some calorie-packed, calcium-rich foods. Add dry milk solids to his food if he isn't getting enough. My best guess is that your little boy will start to drink formula or milk when he gets used to being weaned. I bet it's hard for both of you to give up breastfeeding. Don't push too hard or too obviously - he'll just resist even more.
 
 
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