Can I Add Seasoning to Baby Formula? My Baby Hates Formula!

What if a baby just refuses regular formula and isn’t gaining weight? How creative can a mom be? This mom wants to make formula shakes for her baby. Here is my view on it.

Mom’s question:

My question is whether it’s alright to replace normal bottle feeds with formula-made milkshakes because my 8-month-old daughter is refusing the bottle and is not gaining weight. I noticed that when I was drinking banana shake today she was constantly trying to get that in her mouth and when I let her have a sip she was not letting the mug away, so it made me think whether it’s ok to replace bottle feeds with formula-made milkshakes at least this way she will get her portion of milk that she is supposed to have. Any tips on healthy seasoning of the formula? Plz comment and let me know.

Thanks in advance,
Fatima Mohsin

How to Add Seasoning to Baby Formula For Picky Baby

Babies don’t always agree with us on what is good for them. At 8-month-old, milk (breastmilk or formula) is and should be your daughter’s main source of nutrition for months to come.

Since you are asking about whether it is OK to mix in a bit of fruit or similar into the formula to make her accept it, I assume you might have heard that adding foods to formula is not OK, while adding formula to foods is fine. The general idea with that statement is to make sure baby gets all the milk she needs!

However, your situation is slightly different, I think. Since your daughter is refusing her formula and not gaining weight, there is a need for some creativity!

I think it is great that you have found a way to get your daughter to drink her formula! I’d say if you can get her interested in eating and drinking by mixing her formula with for example a little bit of fruit, then definitely go ahead. But choose with care what you put in the shake.

Do not add sugar, since that is both unhealthy and can create cavities. If you need to sweeten the shake, add some ripe banana or some fruit juice. Don’t add cow’s milk, ice cream or anything like that.

Here are some seasoning ideas:

A few pieces of mashed banana
avocado
carrot juice
apple juice
other fruit juices without sugar
sometimes a dash of cinnamon
canned baby food fruit or veggie purees

While experimenting to help your daughter enjoy her formula again, consider the following:

Mix and try different varieties for your daughter, and not all super-sweet. But remember to not add sugar, salt or honey. Don’t always think that you have to make the formula shake sweet. It might be that she simply doesn’t like the taste of the formula.
Remember that she is still young, and really needs her formula, so try to minimize the share of other stuff put in the shake – just add enough to make her like it. On the other hand, at her age, if she enjoys it, small portions of “real food”, can also be on her menu. You’ll find lots of tips, recipes, and feeding schedules in our baby feeding section.
You can of course also see if she enjoys drinking plain formula in a cup instead of a bottle – it might actually be your cup she wanted! :-)
Also, test another formula brand! When my daughter was around 8-months-old, I tried to introduce formula to her. She completely refused for several weeks – until I tested another brand. Then she took the whole bottle immediately.
8 months old is also a great time to start with finger foods, and you’ll find plenty of ideas here. Maybe some fun finger foods and a mug with aanother brand of formula will be her favorite meal… :-)

Trying to make the meal an enjoyable moment by being creative and offering exciting, yet healthy foods to the baby can sometimes be hard, but is really worth the effort! Power struggles, whether over formula or solid foods is the worst possible way to get a baby to eat!

Have fun mixing the shakes and slowly teaching your daughter about solid foods!

For tips on some really great baby food cookbooks, read this post.

I hope this helps,
Paula

Comments

Dec 21, 2018

cries when not eating
by: georgia ppg

Our son Timothy cries wheen he is sitting in his highchair but we are not feeding him. He is 6 months old and eats on a normal diet. He also cries when we try to give him the third jar of baby food. He seems to want it, is this ok?

Dec 21, 2018

Hungry baby…

by: Paula (Easy Baby Life)

Hi Georgia,
Do I understand correctly what you mean – your baby still cries for his third can of baby food after you just fed him two cans? That’s a hungry baby! How often do you feed him? Young babies need to eat often and you can take a look at this feeding schedule here.

In general, if a baby is hungry, you should let him eat. Babies grow fast and know when they are hungry and not. Just make sure you provide healthy foods, such as vegetables for such a young fellow. Not too much fruit purées, since they are full of sugar (fruit sugar), which can lead to cavities and obesity in the future.

Maybe, if you are quite certain that your baby is full, it can be that he simply enjoys eating because it is fun and tastes good. In such case, try to distract him with playing a game together while in the high chair, or give him a little bit of the baby food to play with, i.e. practising on feeding himself. You can, for example, give him cooked rice or green peas – a lot of babies enjoy trying to pick these up. It will be a bit messy, but it is still great practising and fun!

Warm wishes,
Paula

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Paula Dennholt

Paula Dennholt founded Easy Baby Life in 2006 and has been a passionate parenting and pregnancy writer since then. Her parenting approach and writing are based on studies in cognitive-behavioral models and therapy for children and her experience as a mother and stepmother. Life as a parent has convinced her of how crucial it is to put relationships before rules. She strongly believes in positive parenting and a science-based approach.

Paula cooperates with a team of pediatricians who assist in reviewing and writing articles.