HELP - 12 month old not drinking enough?

[DianeCourt]

In the past week, my one year old has started drinking HALF (if I'm lucky) of what she normally does. She used to drink four 5-7 ounce bottles/sippy cups a day. We're in the process of introducing whole milk and have been mixing half formula, half milk for the past week. We started with 1/4 whole milk mixed for a week before that. But it doesn't matter if it's a sippy or a bottle, or what's in it (water, formula, milk) - we're lucky if we can get her to drink even half. I offer her drinks all the time. Many times she'll take just a sip or just plain shove it away without drinking. I've tried sitting her on my lap like when she used to take bottles. That doesn't work, either - she just shoves it away & wants to get up. I'm really worried about this. I don't want her to become dehydrated. Why would she suddenly do this? Has anybody gone through a similar rejection and have any tips to get to her to drink more? I'm freaking out.

[Sophia]

Sounds to me like she doesn't like the taste of whole milk. Is she generally picky?

[NYN]

do you give her lots of fruit? it might be that she is getting her water in other ways and just isn't thirsty.

[DianeCourt]

Sounds to me like she doesn't like the taste of whole milk. Is she generally picky?

She IS picky, and your suggestion was my first thought as to what was wrong. But it doesn't matter what's in the cup - if I give her 100% formula, she does the same thing! SO frustrating!

[DianeCourt]

do you give her lots of fruit? it might be that she is getting her water in other ways and just isn't thirsty.

She does eat a lot of fruit. But she always has, even before this happened. I'm hoping you're right & that she'll just drink when she's thirsty, but it's such a sudden change that I'm concerned. Plus, when I change her diapers, they're BARELY wet!

[Sophia]

The fact she's also refusing 100% formula (which she should take if mere pickiness is the issue, since that's what she's used to) and having dry diapers concerns me. I would call my ped and most likely ask to take her in. Is she showing any signs of dehydration? Is she producing tears and saliva? Are her lips dry? Do her eyes look sunken in?

[Sophia]

I found this on the AskDrSears site (http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T081300.asp):

WHEN NOT TO WORRY

SIGNS OF ADEQUATE HYDRATION – if your child has most or all of the following signs, then you can be reasonably sure he is not significantly dehydrated:

Moist, shiny mouth from saliva, pools of saliva under tongue or lips
Moisture present in eyes, tears dripping out when crying
Urinating at least every 4 hours
Active, playful, running around tearing up the toy room

MILD DEHYDRATION – most children will become mildly dehydrated during the course of any illness simply due to the fact that they won't drink as much as usual. This is not dangerous. Common signs of mild dehydration include:

Less active than usual, but still alert and playful
Lips slightly dry
Urinating slightly less frequently

WHEN TO BE CONCERNED

MODERATE DEHYDRATION – many children will progress to this stage during a gastrointestinal illness. In general, this stage is not dangerous either. Signs include:

Less active and playful, but still alert.
Will make eye contact and respond to you
Lips are dry and chapped, inside of mouth is slightly dry
No tears when crying, but eyes still appear moist
Urinating about half as often as usual
Urine concentrated like apple juice

WHEN TO SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION

SEVERE DEHYDRATION – seek medical attention if your child shows these signs:

Limp, inactive, makes minimal eye contact and not response to your voice or touch. This is the definition of lethargic.
Lips chapped, inside of mouth is dry and sticky with no saliva
No tears, eyes are dry and sunken in
No urination for 12 – 18 hours
Extremely unusual fussiness along with the other symptoms
Pale
Very fast heartbeat
NOTE: A child is more likely to get severely dehydrated with vomiting and diarrhea – dubbed a "double-ender" than with either alone


Additional info at link.

[DianeCourt]

Thanks, Sophia! I'm not freaking out anymore.