Dropping a Feed

[redheadhollie]

My son is 11 and a half months old and still taking 4 bottles a day. From what I've read most babies are down to 3 or even 2 bottles a day by now. I'm trying to drop it to 3 and eventually 2 bottles, but when I try to drop it to 3 he wakes up early and is hungry and downs a bottle. He gets three pretty solid meals and 2 snacks during the day and he's already down to 1 nap. Here's what our usual day consists of.

Wakes up around 7:00
Eats an 8 oz bottle right after he wakes up.
Breakfast around 8:00
He has another bottle right before his nap.
Nap around 12:00 for at least 2 hours
Lunch when he wakes up
Bottle around 4:00
Dinner around 5:00
Bath/ Bottle and bed around 7:00

Most people tell me he doesn't sleep much since he's already down to 1 nap, but he seems to do just fine with it. He moved to one nap all by himself. He fought his catnap for over a week and his morning nap got shorter and shorter so I tried 1 nap and he does great.

Any suggestions for going down to three bottles and eventually two would be great. Oh, and he takes a sippy cup fine and I just barely started introducing him to milk.

[*Liz*]

How big are the bottles and how is his appetite for his solids?

Is he on all foods now - so proteins, carbs, dairy etc?

I think 1 nap is just fine if it is suiting you both.

Have you tried doing solids before the nap and then just one bottle after at 2-3pm (ie whenever he wakes), then a small snack to bridge the gap until dinner?

[redheadhollie]

His bottles are all 8 oz. bottles  and he's got a pretty good appetite for solids. Yes he's on all foods now and I make sure he gets a good variety. I've tried giving him solids before his nap, but it hasn't seemed to make much of a difference. We keep trying. Should I offer his bottle before bed and slowly make it less and less. I was also thinking about trying to get a different sippy cup to see if he would take more milk at his meals. Thanks for the help and any more ideas would be great.