8mo eating sleeping

[Adelheid]

Not sure which folder to put this in.

My 8mo is healthy little guy who loves his food. We do a 4hr EAS (4 bottles of formula plus 3 meals). When do I start removing a bottle feed?

An other question is about naps: He generally does three a day. Currently we start our day at 5am because he likes to poop then. Argh. So his first nap happens pretty early in the morning (8ish).
Three days a week, I take his older two siblings to preschool. We leave the house at 8:30, so unless he slept until 6am, its pushing his nap, right? He also doesn't fall asleep until our walk home around 9:10.
Late morning (11;30ish) I'll try for an other nap before we leave to pick the kids up (They are done at 2pm).
What I'm wondering is when I can officially just do two naps? These three naps are driving me crazy. Often he doesn't get his third catnap. He's asleep between 6-6:30pm, so its definitely early.

Advice?

[becj86]

Usually around 6-7 months, LOs are able to do 3hr+ A time which then gives two long naps. If he's in bed for the night at 6, then you can just not worry about the third nap if he's doing ok with that. You could shift the 2nd nap later if were able to logistically with the school pickup.

[Adelheid]

Ah ok! A longer A is definitely doable. He will often go that long or longer and fight the last nap. Thanks!

[creations]

My 8mo is healthy little guy who loves his food. We do a 4hr EAS (4 bottles of formula plus 3 meals). When do I start removing a bottle feed?

Often when A times extend and naps are good the E naturally extends to beyond 4hrs, it is easier for them to go longer between the milk feeds because of the solids meals between too.
You can continue with the 4 bottles for a few months yet.  Eventually you might see less interest in one or more milk feeds (maybe 10 months?) and at that point you can switch 1 milk feed for a solids snack with cup of water and continue with 3 milk, 3 meals and 1 snack for a while.
After that you can switch another bottle for a solids snack with water making 2 milk feeds, 3 solids meals, 2 snacks.
When I switched a milk feed for a solids snack I left it at exactly the same time I would have done the milk feed - so easy that way, both you and LO are expecting an E time and you just change what you offer.
The WU and BT milk can remain long after turning 1yo although it's advised to drop bottles at 1yo - but they still need milk/dairy so many people keep 1 or 2 milk feeds with a bottle if LO isn't ready to take a good milk drink in a cup yet.

hope that helps

[Adelheid]

Thank you for the E advice! I'm struggling a bit with figuring out when to do meals/ naps.
Until now, his schedule has been:
6:00am WU+ 8oz Formula
7:00am Solids
8:30/9am nap (depending on if I had to go to preschool with the others) 1hr
10am 8oz Formula
11am Solids
12:30 nap 1-1.5hr
2pm 8oz Formula
4pm Solids
6pm 8-9oz Formula
6:30 asleep

Sometimes there has been a catnap in the late afternoon too. But no more than 30

For the past week he's been up at 5am!! Nooooooo. This morning it was 4:30 but I managed after about 45min to get him back to sleep. Not fun! I wondering if his bed time is too early? Today, he had two good naps 1.5 & 1hr but was soooo sleepy at bedtime, he barely made it to 6:20pm.

Also, you said that I keep up the bottles until 10months? I was under the impression that drinking four full bottles was more than enough. But maybe it won't hurt to keep it up. Right?

[becj86]

For the past week he's been up at 5am!! Nooooooo. This morning it was 4:30 but I managed after about 45min to get him back to sleep. Not fun! I wondering if his bed time is too early?

More likely that first A time being pretty short. Not sure how you'd go keeping him awake on the school run but worth trying to get that first nap not earlier than 9:30 or so - that should pull that WU in the morning a bit later for you.

[creations]

Also, you said that I keep up the bottles until 10months? I was under the impression that drinking four full bottles was more than enough. But maybe it won't hurt to keep it up. Right?

Sorry I'm not sure what you mean here.
i was answering your original question which was when to start removing a bottle feed and the answer is that 4 bottle feeds per day at this age and for a few months yet is normal and needed.