BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Eating For Toddlers => Topic started by: Sam-n-Max's Mommy on April 06, 2011, 19:29:22 pm
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Hi Ladies,
I am trying to scale down DS's milk intake (formula at this point, currently transitioning to cow's milk) in favor of eating more solids. I have always given the bottle and solids together -- the bottle first to ensure that he hit around 24oz of formula per day (as per ped). He currently takes a bottle with formula at wake up, a tiny one at breakfast (with Zantac in it), one at lunch, and one at dinner. I give him two snacks and give him juice or water, but it is really hit or miss as to whether he'll take it or not. In addition to making his bottles smaller, I tried something new today by giving him his solids first at lunch and he ate more than he usually does. However, he wouldn't touch the bottle right afterwards (assuming because he was already full). I put him down for his nap a little later and he woke after 45 minutes, and downed 6 oz. He probably wasn't starving, but probably really thirsty. With dinner coming up, I don't know if I should do what I usually do by giving the bottle first and then his meal or try the other way again. I think I would probably need to push dinner up a little bit and then give him the bottle right before bed so he was hungry/thirsty to take some. He currently does not take a bottle at bedtime since dinner is so close to it. Does anybody have any recommendations on how to space out the bottles and meals and snacks so I can make this work better? TIA!!!!
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Now he is a toddler milk is a drink not for food so he needs half of what he was having before. From 1 most toddlers are only having milk at bedtime and wakeup and maybe once in the day.
My DD was only on 3 bottles from 8 months so we only needed a bit of tweaking. She was having her bottle first then breakfast but she wasn't eating breakfast so at 13 months we did breakfast first then gave her milk in a sippy about an hour after. I started offering milk in a sippy with meals instead of between and water inbetween - her drink cup is always around. She had her bedtime milk in a bottle until just over a month ago when we switched to a sippy.
So for the last 8 months + the routine has been
7.30 (depending on wake time) cereal
9.30/10 6oz sippy of milk and toast or fruit
12 lunch
3 ish small snack after nap (fruit or sweet treat)
5 tea with sippy of milk
7 6oz sippy of reflux formula
Her intake varies from day to day, some days 12+oz some days half of that (or less ::)) but she STTN so she is taking what she needs!
HTH!
Laura
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hi, this is my 13 month old lo's feeding regime
bottle of formula on waking 7am
breakfast 8-8:30am
small snack 10-10:30am
lunch 12-1230 midday
snack 3pm
dinner 5-5:30pm
bottle of formula at bedtime
hope this helps. He generally takes water as a normal drink throughout the day when he wants it, and after meals x
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Thanks, ladies, that really helps. He isn't big on water or juice although he will drink it sometimes, so I guess I just have to take that leap of faith that when he's thirsty, he'll drink it, right? :) He hates the sippy cup and has so far refused to drink out of one, so I think for now I'll just offer the sippy throughout the day and stick to bottles in the morning and evening. Once he starts using the sippy regularly, I'll convert those bottles to sippy cup drinks.
If I move his dinner up from 6 to 5:30 (so that he'll take a bottle before bed), that shouldn't impact his wake up time should it? It's more about the # of calories he takes throughout the day, not necessarily the timing of his last meal?
Thanks again, have been pretty unsettled and stressed about this whole thing.
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He should be fine with an earlier tea and a bedtime bottle. To be honest we have plenty of days when DD eats literally nothing at tea, has a few sips of milk at bedtime and still sleeps through - got to love toddlers ::)
Your bottle/ sippy plan sounds good too!
Laura
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would say the same. that sounds just fine
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Hi Ladies,
We tried this last night and he ate a ton for dinner! It was great! The only thing was that he wouldn't take his bottle before bed. He ate (started) at 5:30 and then I tried the bottle at 6:30. So maybe I need to move dinner to 5. Or could I try to give him the bottle at 4 and then dinner at 6? Not sure if it matters. Not sure if he just doesn't want the bottle before bed (since he had stopped taking one awhile ago) or if he just wasn't hungry. If that's the case, I can just move dinner even earlier.
I was so happy with what he ate for dinner though and he even tried new things (he spit them out, but I was encouraged that he even picked them up and tried them. :))
This morning he took an 8 oz bottle (where he usually takes 5-6oz), so that is great if he makes that a big one.
Thanks so much for your help!!
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I would leave tea at 5/5.30 to be honest. Remember you are moving away from bottles and the "baby" way of feeding so the more he eats the better really! You can offer milk in a cup when he wakes after his nap, but I would do tea a bit earleir then bed bottle.
He needs 12/14oz of dairy to get his nutrient requirement but that doesn't need to be liquid milk, dairy foods like cheese and yoghurt count.
Laura
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i would asume he was still full from his 5:30pm dinner. i'd leave things as you are atm i let him adjust. kian sometimes won't drink his whole bottle but he gets the calcium and vitamins from other foods i.e youghats, cheese etc x
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Thanks, ladies. See I guess I was just confused about the amount of liquid he needs to stay hydrated and that's why I guess I got concerned that he didn't take the evening bottle. If the bottles are more about getting him the dairy he needs, then we are ok over here...Sam eats cheese and yogurt like it's going out of style. :) I was able to get him to drink some juice at snack time and some water with his meals. It wasn't a huge amount, but I guess I am still in the mindset of counting oz. So if it's ok that he's just taking a little bit of water or juice at snack time and meals plus the morning bottle and plus what if anything he takes at bedtime, I think we are going to be ok. :) Thanks!!!
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yes, sound fine to me :)
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I was reading this thread and I just thought I would suggest if he hates the sippy (mine do too)- have you tried a sippy with a straw? My guys take it no problem and they drink a ton of water now during meals and snack and sometime in between. btw- mine are also still doing 3 bottles of milk a day (waking, snack, then before bed).
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I was reading this thread and I just thought I would suggest if he hates the sippy (mine do too)- have you tried a sippy with a straw? My guys take it no problem and they drink a ton of water now during meals and snack and sometime in between. btw- mine are also still doing 3 bottles of milk a day (waking, snack, then before bed).
My dd hated sippy's until I gave her one with a straw as well. We went through so many different kinds of sippy's. I would definitely give it a try.
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Thanks, ladies. We have tried it and he actually seemed into it for awhile (not actually drinking from it, but holding it and biting the straw), but it never progressed so I tried another one.
How long did you try with one cup before giving up and moving on to the next? Wonder if I don't give them enough time!
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Which type of cup are you using? We tried all sorts with DS but eventually just stuck to the tommee tippee first cup. It's a free flow cup so it's not spill proof but I found that DS just couldn't work out how to use the non-spill valved cups. The trouble is they have to squeeze and suck which is really hard to do - I couldn't do it either!
With DD we didn't really bother with any other type of cup until she was able to use a straw cup, we still use the TT cups for DD's milk (easy to clean and they have a lid so although not totally spill proof better than an open cup!) and for DS sometimes.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tommee-Tippee-First-Cup-Cyan/dp/B002C1ATCY/ref=sr_1_13?s=baby&ie=UTF8&qid=1302849656&sr=1-13
Laura
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Thanks, Laura! I have so far tried a Nuk sippy cup, Dr. Browns, Nuby, and a straw cup (not sure which brand it is, but it has Elmo on it which I thought could be enticing haha). I end up taking the spill proof valve out (of the Dr. Browns) because I didn't think he was getting it. And I felt like even if he doesn't put it to his mouth, if he turns it over (which he does quite a bit), at least he'll see water coming out of it and maybe understand.
I have the Tommee Tippee cups actually - they are in a bag unopened, so I can try them. I don't think I posted it in this thread, but one day, I became extremely stressed about getting him to use a sippy cup and I bought way too many of them and just figured I would keep trying different ones. (DH truly thought I lost it (maybe I did!) and thought I was completely insane!) When I regained my sanity a few days later, I thought that maybe I should chill out a bit and give him a little time with each one before trying a new one. :) Still not having much luck, so maybe it's time to try a new one.
DS only started holding his bottled and drinking from it around 11 months (according to my mother that is because he knew I would do it for him and why do it if mom will), so it could be that he'll just be a little late to develop with the sippy cup. We'll see. I can at least take comfort in knowing that I am armed and dangerous with the multitude of sippy cups in my closet. :)
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I did the same with DS - bought one of every cup on the market I think ;D ::). I learnt my lesson by the time we had DD though! I don't think there is much connection between holding bottles and drinking from cups, both mine had a sippy from 5/6 months and caught on pretty quickly but neither held their bottles for themselves until they were over 1.
The thing about the TT cups is that they can have fun with them. If they blow into it all the water comes shooting back into their mouths and then they can just open up and let it dribble out everywhere. Funny how both mine learnt to do this with no help whatsoever ::). Plastic backed bibs were my best friend for a while ;)
Laura