Oh a spirited baby, yes I have one of those too! There are some threads that offer support for "raising spirited children" and you may find some help in them!
When you say that sticking to four bottles is taking the book too literally, that is one thing that I have noticed that Tracy doesn't touch a lot on (or that I've never found) - the transition from a 4 hourly feeding of milk only to the timings for milk feeds and solids. If you read in BWSAYP in the section on solid foods there is a chart that generalizes some things but doesn't spell things out in the same way that it does for younger babies on a 3hourly milk feed and 4 hourly milk feeds. Or maybe it does and I've just never noticed it! But those things you will find lots of support here on the boards for, as your LO gets older feedings may vary from baby to baby and moms have to find routines that work more with everyone's lifestyle, personality etc. As I said though, generally most moms do seem to find that dropping a bottle at about 8 months results in lots of better eating. I was worried about doing it but it worked out really well - DS started taking MORE milk and more at his meals as well. It took 2 or 3 days, wasn't overnight, but it did us wonders.
We also have a "baby safe feeder" - they are plastic hand-held thingamabobs with a mesh net on the end. Cut up some food, put it in the mesh and give it to your LO to gnaw on. My LO **hated** banana. On a spoon, in a chunk in his own hand, in little bits for him to pick up, gagged, wretched, etc. Some nanner in the mesh and he ate it all! I give him lots of new foods in the feeder, mostly fruits, and there is no worry if him choking. It's also something to amuse and entertain him for a few minutes if needed. And, I do'nt have the stress of feeding him and getting annoyed if he doesn't eat it.
As for how much formula, at this age she should have about 24 ounces of formula per day - so three 8 ounce bottles would be great. That amount includes any formula she gets in cereal you make, cooking, etc but for me, I use formula in cereal to be a bonus rather than a part of the 24 ounces. But, that's because my DS sucks his 3x8oz dry! I make a bottle each day with 3 or 4 ounces in it and just pour from it over the day into any food like cereal. OH sorry, just noticing you are BFing - so harder to judge I suppose and I only BFd for a few weeks so I am not much help on that front, so you may have to read through the BFing boards for more answers on that one.
Naps - lots of help in that area as well. We still do go through that here! There's always something, but really, there is lots of help, advice, support, and love on the BW forum and I really hope we can help you sort things out with your DD.
