6 month eating lots but won't drink anything but breast milk

[m79]

Help I'm up ever 2 hours in the night still at 6.5 months old and now she won't take any juice , I am mixing formula in some meals preparing her for it so I can start giving a bedtime feed to help her sleep longer . I have a 22 month old as well and now both have chicken pox :-/ . I need to get some sleep eventually we are just getting no further forward .
1. Is it ok for a 6 month on 4/5 good meals a day to only survive in breast milk for fluid ( this maybe something to do with the fact she's ill she stopped taking juice when she came down with it)
2. Any tips for getting her on formula at night apart from putting in good and mixing with breast milk ( I rarely have enough to express and when I did this she still spat it out I can only express about 1-2 oz even now! This maybe why she's feeding so often????)thanks in advance

 

[Noo]

There is no need to give any other fluid than breastmilk

 

[missk1989]

Babies are fine on bm. My lo has never had juice and didnt start drinking water until about 7 months with 3 meals a day.

 

[m79]

Thanks so what age should she start some water or juice? She will be. 7 months in 2 weeks .

 

[m79]

I should also mention my low production may be because of exhaustion but I also produce drastically less on the right ( most produce more from the right apparently) I think his could be do to my nerve damage on this side affecting lots if different nerves including the sympathetic nerve and causing some muscle wastage .

 

[CandyDay]

There is no "need" to start LO any water or juice while you are breastfeeding. As long as you getting enough wet diapers in a day then your LO is getting enough liquid. Your breast milk will have more water in it when it is hot out and have more fat in it when it is cold. Breast milk adjusts to your climate and to your LO.
I would hold off on juice as long as possible as there is not a lot of nutritional value in it.

 

[m79]

Thanks she's eating very very well now , I just didn't want her getting dehydrated , and as I know my milk production is low she's feeding constantly , we got to about 3 months and she started going 5-6 hours at night this lasted 3 weeks and then suddenly she is feeding constantly again as though trying to up my supply but I know it's not increasing at all I'm so exhausts and run down now we are every 2 hours since every night . I'm not even driving my car as I'm so exhausted not sure how to get out of this. Cycle

 

[missk1989]

I wouldnt bother with juice but you could always start to offer water in a sippy cup. It takes a while for them to get the hang of them anyway so no harm in offering but dont worry if she only has a few sips. My lo loves water and will drink it all day long but even then I think he only had 5oz and that is plenty for a 14month old. At your los age she sounds like she is doing great as she is.
If you are exhausted definitely try a bottle. Hopefully she will get the amount she needs to give you both a good night sleep.

 

[m79]

Thanks I'm taking a bottle to bed for a night feed , I desperately want to just bf but I'm now getting quite ill to the point I think I have chicke pox for the second time I can hardly stand up feverish spots and sore throat I'm a mess I think my immune system is just so low I'm no use to any one in this state I have 2 babies under 23 months on my own with no support practically no sleep for 6.5 months I also have several dogs and a litter of pups to look after as well :-/ I don't see any other option with 2 sick babies as well . And this is the only place I can talk about it

 

[Here_we_go]

I introduced a sippy cup that has a soft spout that had to be compressed before fluid would come out. (made by Avent) She had trouble with constipation not long after starting solids (started them after 6 months of age, just fruits, veggies, no cereal at all) so I tried my best to push water (she refused anything else but still breastfed).

I made a sort of game out of it to get to encourage her to drink from it. When I'd place it in her mouth and see that she'd take a small sip, I'd make a big "AAaaaahhh!" sound like it was just the best stuff in the world! It would make her grin at me and then she'd want to do it again and again I'd make that big "AAaaaahhh!!" sound like it was just soooooo satisfying

Never had any problems after that getting her to drink from a sippy. She never would take formula. I tried it when she was younger because I wasn't able to successfully pump with son (had better luck expressing by hand and even THEN it wasn't much ) but after finding out DD flat out refused formula, I didn't have a choice. Fortunately the pump I now have (Lansinoh manual pump) is wonderful

I hope you feel better soon. It's awful being sick and having to take care of LOs.

 

[sunnylove]

6 month olds do not need to be drinking juice. I personally won't introduce juice until my LO is 1 year old. I'm sorry you're having such a rough time at night. My LO was a great sleeper, sometimes sleeping 8 hours straight and now he's up twice a night. It may not have to do with being hungry; some babies just change up their sleep cycle, especially if they are about to hit a big developmental milestone. Good luck!

 

[SarahBear]

Breastmilk is certainly better for her to be drinking than juice! Why do you want her drinking juice? Violet is 13 months old and is just now starting to take more than a couple sips of water a day. The real indicator of whether or not she's getting enough liquid is the amount and color of her urine. If she's having plenty of wet diapers, don't worry.

 

[CandyDay]

you could try giving your LO food just before bedtime and see if that helps her to get a longer sleep.

 

[m79]

Thanks , I will try that I'm just worried she's not getting enough of my milk and by feeding all night when I'm producing it she's topping herself up , so I do t want to stop this really but also I can t carry on like this thinking of a co sleeper to help ??? Anyone have any suggestions on these ?