9.5 mo bottle and solids questions

[Sarah O]

Hey guys,

I'm wondering what you all do....I always offer my two their 8 oz bottle, which lately they take 4-6oz from and then when I feed them solids usually an hour or so later, they often want the rest of their bottles.  The Super Baby Food book says not to offer 'milk' with solids because it affects the absorption of nutrients (or something along those lines).  Do you think I should just consider the bottle finished and not offer it again with their solids and offer only water?  Right now I offer both, figuring that the babies know what they need but should I be encouraging solids and holding back a bit on formula at this stage?  They are 1 week away from 10 months.

Also...what do you all do if your LO doesn't want what you offer in terms of solids and refuses to eat it?  Do you offer something else that you know they'll eat (possibly even the bottle) or do you consider the meal to be 'skipped'.  I am SO afraid of night wakings caused by hunger.  I can't stand the thought of going down that path again.

Thanks!!

Sarah

[tylersmommy]

I know exactly what you're talking about in Super Baby Food...she's referring to actual cow's milk. The calcium in dairy products can inhibit the body's absorption of iron. So formula and breastmilk are fine to offer with solids meals, and when you offer cow's milk, you can offer it with meals where you aren't serving an iron food if you'd like. At this point, it's fine to offer the bottle again if you want so you can keep their formula intakes up.

As for refused meals...hmmm...at that age, I'd just offer something else I knew Tyler liked and mix it with what he didn't want to eat. If he flat out refused the meal, well, I had to respect his appetite and cross my fingers that he wouldn't wake that night. You could also offer the bottle instead, it's up to you. I never did because we had to limit Tyler's formula intake, but it just depends on your LO!