dont know where to post this - how to change ds' milk feedings

[micah'smom]

hi all,

well ds is turning one year old in a couple weeks (where did the time go??) and i have a feeling i should be changing his eating schedule to fit his age. here's his routine

7:00 wake and 6 oz bottle
8:00 breakfast
9:30-11 nap
11:00 water in sippy and/or some fruit slices
12:00 lunch
2:00 small snack of cheerios or raisins, etc.
2:30-4 6 oz bottle and nap
5:00 dinner
6:00 bath
7:00 6 oz bottle and bed

all the routines i see on the boards show that at his age, they're totally off the bottles and distributing formula/milk in the sippy throughout the day. is this "better"? he takes a sippy fine when it's with meals but i haven't tried a full milk feeding.

also at his age, how many total oz of formula should he be drinking?

thanks!

[Leah's Mom]

Hi! Doesn't a year fly by fast? At one year, we were not totally off bottles and I know many people who were not either. I was down to just a morning and night bottle though. It never worked for me to put formula in a sippy. Instead, once my DD turned one I started putting cow's milk in her sippy with breakfast, lunch, and supper and snacks. Once she got the hang of that I cut out the AM and PM bottles. At this age they need 16-18 ounces of formula or milk. I know my DD doesn't get 16 ounces a day, but she gets dairy in the form of cheese and cottage cheese, etc. HTH!

[micah'smom]

christine, thanks for your advice!

so... i'm a dolt. can you suggest a specific way of phasing out the am bottle? i think i'll just try working on that first. ds has his am bottle as soon as he wakes up... so should i give him breakfast instead, and offer the milk in the sippy as his drink? i'm just paranoid he's not getting enough formula. he does have a lot of yogurt and cheese too, so maybe i shouldn't be so worried.

i guess another problem in all of this is that ds doesn't hold his sippy cup on his own for a long time. he'll do it for a couple sips then just bang it around or drop it. is this something i should keep pushing or just wait until he seems more "ready"?

thanks!

[Leah's Mom]

The sippy behavior sounds completely normal. Once you begin cutting out bottles, he should begin to take the sippy cup more seriously because he knows if he's thirsty the sippy will give him what he wants. Right now he knows he will get milk from his bottle, so the sippy is for playing with.  I just completely cut out a bottle. One day I just didn't give it and guess what? It didn't phase her one bit. I was prepared for a really crabby kiddo and a battle, but no such thing. I was amazed. I would do just as you said - not offer the bottle, go right to breakfast and give milk with his sippy. You may also want to offer some milk or water in the sippy right before his morning nap also. You will be amazed at how much better he will adapt than you think. It may take a week or two for him to begin taking more from the sippy. Don't worry, as long as he has a few wet diapers a day, he will not be dehydrated and as long as he is getting cheese etc. His dairy intake is fine! Let me know how things go!