To drop bottle or not?

[Perkin]

Didn't want to hijack the other thread but my little boy has really cut back on his 11 and 3 feeds too - he only ever used to eat 4oz per bottle 4 times a day anyway but he now pushes bottle away at 2oz! Was wondering if it is time to drop the 11 but am worried about his daily intake. He is on 3 solid meals a day and is 6.5 months.

7am - bottle & cereal
9 Nap
1030/11 Botltle
12 solid
1230 Nap
230/3 bottle
5 solid
6 bath
7 bottle/bed

is his routine, but not sure if i should be giving milk with solids. It started out really well but seems to have gone downhill over the last week. he ha been havign food since 16 weeks at hv suggestion due to poor intake of milk! Any words of wisodm?

thanks girls x

[* Paula *]

It is not uncommon for a lo to drop a bottle at this young age, however, I would be worried about dropping a bottle with your lo only taking such a little bit of milk with the other bottles.

At this age, they should be on about 20oz + of Milk.

What size teat are you using?  Do you think your lo could be ready to go up a teat size?  Has your lo always been on the lower end of the milk intake?  Have you tried different bottles?

[Perkin]

Thanks for the reply - he wasnt always, before christmas he was on 30+ oz per day, but then he was quite poorly and since then - which was NYE he has only been 4oz x 4 times a day. He has never lost weight - in fact he is always gaining. We use Avent and have been on fast flow teats (4) since he was 4.5 months anyway, not sure they do a faster one. I was a naughty mummy i made his holes on one teat bigger with a needle (Steralised) as his goodnight milk is so thick he was having trouble getting it out and would be asleep after an ounce. Last night he finished the 6oz feed.

Not sure if Tommee Tippee would be any better - we have Br Drwons too but we put those away, maybe i should get them out again and try a faster teat with those?

[Mashi]

Is he starting teething? Even the shifting of the teeth below his gums can cause lots of discomfort.  Have you tried some teething gel on his gums before a feed?  It could help.

[* Paula *]

I think the #4 teat is the fastest in the Avent bottles.  There is nothing wrong with putting an extra hole in the teat, to make it faster for your lo, it will just make the teat deteriorate a lot quicker than normal, and would need to be replaced sooner.  Avent do a variflow teat thought, so that might be an option.

I agree with Mashi, your lo could be starting to teeth, and if they are moving up in his gums that can be very uncomfortable for him.  I would try some teething gel a few minutes before a feed and see if that makes any difference.

Keep us posted.