When did you switch to 3 feeds?

[flutie]

Hello,'
DS is 7 months and has been on 4 hour easy since 4 months.   He is currently eating solids 2 times a day.  Recently, we are having a HUGE struggle with his milk feeds.  Normally, he drinks between 6 and 8 oz of expressed breast milk 4 times a day.  For the past week, he has been eating the first part of his bottle fine and then stopping after 3 or 4 oz and refusing the rest.  I am wondering if it is too early to move to 3 feeds a day?   What age did you move to three feeds?

[flutie]

Just another quick question. If we did move to 3...what would his routine look like?  We are currently on an 8-8 day.
Thanks so much!

[*Natasha*]

How much solids is he eating? You may need to cut back on that a little as his milk is more important still at this age generally babies don't drop to 3 milk feeds until around 9months.

[brenda2]

we dropped to 3 milk feeds recently - 8.5 months, but sometimes she still has 4 bottles, depending what the day is like.

[* Paula *]

I agree with Natasha, I would definitely think that it is too soon to drop down to 3 bottles per day.

Is your lo teeting?  Do you think this could be causing him any discomfort and this is why he is not taking much of his bottle?

Also what size teat are you using?  Do you think he could be bored with the flow?

[*Nicola*]

Our DD is the same, although she is still having a night feed so there is that to factor in.

TBH, I think that even when the night feed is gone (working on it at the moment) she still won't be a big milk drinker! 

We really don't give that much solids and even if I cut back on them she still isn't that interested in bottles.  Counting down the days until bottles are gone!!

ETA: she almost 7 months

[*Natasha*]

Counting down the days until bottles are gone!!

So am i. My first DD wasn't a big milk drinker either until we changed her to cows milk then she couldn't get enough of it.

[flutie]

Thanks everyone for your replies!
Nicola and Natasha...I too cant wait for the bottles to be gone.  I dread feedings right now and am tired of worrying about the amount of milk he is drinking!
Paula....Eli is teething right now....in fact there hasn't been a minute he hasn't been since the time he was 4 months!  He already has 5 teeth and two more on the way down!  I have been rubbing gel on them but that doesnt seem to make a difference.  We are on a level 2 teat (born free)  He also has reflux so I am hesitant to move to level 3.  I guess we'll just keep trying and hopefully things get better.

[* Paula *]

 5 Teeth, oh my, poor lo.

With regards to going up on the next stage teat, my DD also has reflux and has been on the fast flow teat from abou 3-4 months old.  This has never really affected her spit up.  Just a thought in case you were wonderinga bout trying it.

Is he on reflux meds or on a reflux formula?

[flutie]

Hi Paula,
Thanks for the info.  Maybe I will give the level 3 a try...we can always switch back if it is a problem!  He is not on any meds, as his reflux has been deemed "mild", although somedays it certainly doesn't seem that way!  We have found though, that once we started solids, his feeds stay down better.  I dont know whether it is actually the food or if he is growing out of it.  I will keep my fingrs crossed that it is the later.  Have you started your lo on solids yet?

[* Paula *]

Our DD's reflux was also mild and we were prescribed a reflux formula called Enfamil AR.

Yes she has started solids, although does not take much.  She prefers her milk way more than solids.  To be honest, once starting the prescription formula, she has not had any problems with her reflux.  We did have to switch back to a normal formula when we came back from holiday, as we had run out of formula and had to wait for her prescription to come in, and it was a nightmare, so am very hesitant with weaning her from the formula.

[~Jamie]

my son was a reflux baby. he was on meds for it. he went of the meds about a month after we started cereal.
he's six months old now.
i read that apples help tremendoulsy with reflux. you could try that.
i have the same problem with the milk feeds. he's eating solids 2 times a day also.
i was told by a friend that their milk is still the most important thing and you don't drop to 3 milk feeds a day til around 9 months or so. sometimes i think he holds out on the bottle to save room for his solids.
his dr said at his six month checkup that i could try switching him to a breakfast lunch dinner schedule. that at this age it's hard to deprive them of nutrients,b/c they get other food besides formula or breasmilk. (but she did emphasize that the milk was still the important part of the meal.
she told me to experament and see how he did. some babeis are ready earlier than others to drop that last feeding.though i haven't tried it b/c i think that's what gets him all the way thru the night.
you might try solids once a day, or cut back.
i give tj 2 tbsp of cereal with a tbsp of fruit in the morning.
and then at dinner i give him about 3 tbsp of different veggies.
he has 4 5 oz bottles a day.
i cant get him to take more that at a time. i think his tummy is little.(mom said mine was when i was a baby.)
i've had to give him his bottle in a quiet room before too, with NO distractions. otherwise he gets interested in something else and doesn't want to eat.

good luck!!!

[newmum27]

Hi,

My son is 8 months now and for the last 2 weeks he has been taking less of his bottle feeds. In a day he as 700ml (23-24oz), but he doesn't refuse a particular feed outright. I read the FAQs and it says to wait until they refuse the 11am feed consistently, but DS starts off each feed well and then about 3-4oz in and he begins to refuse it outright and sometimes needs quite a bit of coaxing to take a little more. We give him 3  solids meals a day where breakfast is 2Tbs of cereal and 4tsp of fruit, lunch is 3-4 cubes of veges and then dinner is finger foods of what we are eating. He has reduced his milk intake from 960ml a day down to 700ml and most of the time I am still offering him 240ml bottles and it is going to waste. Last night at his bedtime feed he took 60ml and then refused the rest. Is this where we drop to 3 bottles? Maybe if he only took 3 bottles he would have a better feed at night time? What would a routine look like if we run 7-7pm?

[mommy2mason]

We went to 3 bottles right about when my LO turned 9 months. We battled trying to 'force' him to drink his 11 and 3pm bottles for a few weeks before dropping to 3. Once we went down to 3 it was so much more pleasant to feed him his bottles. He actually wants them now and drinks a full bottle every time. He also still takes in the same amount of ounces with the 3 bottles that he was getting with 4 bottles. Our routine with 3 bottles looks like this and has been working really well:

7:00-Bottle
8:30-Breakfast solids
9:45-10:45-Nap
12:00pm-Lunch solids
1:30pm-Bottle
2:15-3:45-Nap
3:45-Snack and sippy with water
5:00-Dinner solids
6:30-Bottle
7/7:30-Bed

[brenda2]

we went to 3 bottles at about 8.5 months after she was only drinking half of her mid day bottles and i was chasing her around with a bottle - sounds like what you're experiencing newmum, as she never outright refused a bottle.  she still has between 20-25 oz a day with the 3 bottles.  we do similar to what mommy2mason does but were also having trouble with her taking a bottle first thing too so i switched to order of bottle/solids :

6:30 awake
7 solids
9:30-11 sleep
12 solids
1:30 bottle
2:30-4 sleep
4:30 solids
6:30 bottle
7 bed
 
HTH