8 1/2mths - gone off solids, not finishing bottles, still not sleeping thru

[Spencer's Mum]

Wondering if someone could please help us . . . our little man is now 8.5mths and has done a couple of sleep throughs, but nothing consistant.  He has been through the wars lately and has this hidious cough still, and seems to have sniffles 24/7 (all seemed to start when he started at nursery    )

He is going off his solids too and we have to distract him with things to chew on and when he opens his mouth we'll give him some food.  Have tried him on finger foods, but the only things that he doesn't seem to gag on is these corn snacks.  He now has 6 teeth

Here's his routine

6:30am/7am  Wake
7am Bottle, 180ml
8am Breakfast    90ml formula mixed with powdered cereal (he's gluten free for now)
9am/9:30am  Nap for 1-1.5hrs
11am Bottle, 180ml
12pm Lunch   Offer meat and veg or just mixed veg, then offer fruit puree or yoghurt for dessert
1pm/1:30pm  Nap  1-1.5hrs
After nap      Bottle, 180ml
4pmish         Offer juice and some snacks
5:45pm        Dinner which is similar to lunch
Bedtime routine
6:30pm
Wakes anywhere between 2:30-4:30am for a bottle.  We are trying to reduce this to 90ml

He doesn't seem to be finishing all of his bottles, but there is no consistancy on when he does/doesn't.  He is also at nursery for two half days each week, and when he is there he rarely touches his bottle, but eats well for lunch.

Questions
Should I reduce his bottles to say 150ml ?
Do you think his feeds are well spaced during the day ?
He is still in our room and I have been telling my hubby we should move into the back room ASAP, but he doesn't see the point until he learns to sleep through - what do you think ?
He seems to be teething 24/7 but it's hard to get your fingers into his mouth to put on any teething gel - any suggestions ?  He'll chew on anything he can lay his hands on though 
He has had quite a few milestones of late : can sit himself up from lying down, is crawling and is now pulling himself up into a standing position - is this affecting everything ?
When do they start to sleep through ?

Any advice is very much appreciated, and I know that every bub is different, but it would be nice to get some feedback and some ideas !!!  We're still writing our baby manual as our little man didn't come with one   

Thanks heaps guys

Cherie

[Freya'sMum]

Hello Cherie,

I'll have a copy of the manual when you're done please!

Firstly, your routine looks fine, if it works for you guys in terms of fitting in all the naps, bottles, solid foods, and activities then it's fine! The only thing I would say is that you might want to combine the 4pm snack and dinner at around 4.30/5pm, leaving ds a longer gap between eating a solid meal and his bedtime milk (you didn't post a bedtime milk feed in the schedule, but I'm assuming ds has one ) so he drinks more of it.

I wouldn't reduce his milk intake, it is the most important part of ds's nutrition as it has all the fats and calories that properly fill him up and help him to grow and develop. At 8.5 months he is nearing the point where the quantities of milk and solid foods tend to even out, but I wouldn't rush to drop the milk to encourage a bigger solid food intake, it'll happen naturally.

In my experience, babies don't starve themselve, so if ds's appetite (for milk or solid foods) has decreased then accept that as his choice - teething, milestones, illness, routine changes, tiredness can all impact on appetite and interest in eating - but they do eat when they're hungry, so don't worry too much - as long as he's still gaining weight steadily at his clinic appts there's no cause for concern !

Sleeping thru is a tricky one, and not directly related to solid foods at all - my dd2 has only slept thru the night less than a dozen times in her 16 month life , she still had a night feed until 14 months when she dropped it naturally, she still has her pre-solids quantity of milk each day and an enormous amount of solid food - they're all so different!

As for finger foods, gagging is ok, it's a natural reflex that helps prevent choking, it can happen with liquids as well as lumps, so I would continue to offer the finger foods, there is a thread for finger foods for young babies in the recipes section with some really yummy recipes in which might encourage him to have a go - if he eats at the same time as you it can seem much more normal too, doing the same as mum and dad!

Anyway, I don't know if this has helped much, but I hope it has reassured you that what ds is doing won't harm him, even if it's frustrating for you!

Ax