Why 1 hour after milk?

[nelliestar]

When you begin to wean, why does BW suggest giving solids 1 hour after milk feed? Most other advice (NHS etc) say to give a bit of milk then solids then finish milk feed and all my friends have done this too. Also if you use formula from the milk feed to mix the solids, you would have to either save some from the milk feed 1 hour before or make a new bottle just for the feed or make up the next bottle early. Bit confused! Thanks x

[Shiv52]

It all depends on the baby. 

The NHS advises to do it that way so that the baby has some milk so he isn't so hungry that he won't try solids but isn't too full up to take them either.

BW suggests solids an hour after the milk feed so that the baby continues to take a full feed of milk but will also then beable to try solids.  Upto a year, milk is still the most important food in your baby's diet and if you give solids first then what can happen is the baby will be too full up to take a full milk feed after or finish their milk feed and then end up hungry sooner etc.  Its totally up to yourself though.  You'll know once you start weaning what is best for your baby.

When I started weaning and we were on 3 meals our routine was something like this

9.00  Wake up and breast feed (bf)
10.00  Breakfast (toast/cereal/fruit)

1.00  Wake up and bf
2.00  Lunch


5.00  Wake up and bf
6.00  Dinner

8.00  Bf before bed

It worked for us.  I found if I tried to do milk after solids my LO wasn't interested and started cutting down on milk feeds when she really should have been taking them!! 

Good luck!!

[Antoinesmom]

I believe that this is indicated for when your start solid only as a mean of introduction and not have the child fill up on solids and miss on important suckling time and the milk baby still needs to grow. Also, it is suppose to affect your milk less then doing the milk solid milk combo.

I personally BF, diapered then solid so there was approx 15 mins in between BF and solid,

If you want to use some milk with the solids, then I'd put some asside at the beginning before feeding. If you BF you can pump once a day and use the pumped amount to mix with solids throughout the day.

Marty

[Crispy Chick]

Hi

I think you just have to apply your own common sense and do what works for you.  My LO drank formula 6 times a day between 7.30am and 7.30pm, i thought it excessive to continue with 6 bottles a day whilst also feeding solids, so i very quickly dropped the milk at both lunch and tea times and just gave solids instead.  On my routine my LO still drinks 4 bottles of formula a day - some are only 120 ml, but the night time one is almost 240ml, but also eats well at lunch and tea.  My routine looks like this:

7.30 am - formula - he has started to reduce the amount he takes here, so i just put the rest in his porridge
8.30 am - solids - porridge and fruit
10.30 am formula - about 120 ml
12 noon - solids
3 pm - formula about 150ml
5pm - solids
7.30 pm - formula about 210 - 240ml

I found all the advice very confusing, so i bought a recipe book and am just doing what i feel is right.  Just try it and see how you go, you will soon find what is right for you.

[Mashi]

I find the NHS (ie/ health visitors) are VERY pushy in terms of chucking babies full of solid food as soon as possible - just get it into them, as much as your can stuff in. Hence, a bit of milk first, just enough to ease their hunger off while you make a meal, then fill them as much as you can with solids and then some more milk in case they are still a bit hungry. At least that is the way my HV sees it and seems to push it!

The other reason it is hard to do this is because if you are formula feeding then you can't really start a bottle, take it away when LO is only had a few ounces, leave the bottle to sit, and then warm it up again and re-feed from it.  Not to mention that tt totally goes against the guidelines that these same HVs give in the first place!

We have always done things the BW way - milk first, solids about an hour later.  Often it was more like 30 - 45 minutes after milk, depending on naps, etc. Those first few weeks they don't actually "eat" much anyway when they are just learning the concept of taking food from a spoon, that it is "food" and they should swallow it, etc. So, for my son, it made very little difference if it was 30 minutes or 60 minutes after a bottle in how much he took in.  Things like timings will slowly work themselves over time, and you will find when works best for you, routine wise.

So for milk to make cereal with, a few random points that may help --

 -- I found that one ounce of milk made up a ridiculous amount of cereal!  Instead I poured a bit less than half an ounce from the bottle I was going to feed from, into a bowl before I offered his milk, and that made up still more than enough cereal. And without really sacrificing any of his milk.

 -- When we moved onto something other than a few spoonfuls of cereal and I did need more milk (ie/ making porridge for instance) I made up a separate bottle with 2 or 3 ounces of milk in the morning, and kept it in the fridge for the day, to be used for adding to solids.  Even if you have a small measuring tool (ie accurate measuring spoon for instance) that you can measure out two ounces and make it up in a small tupperware bowl, put the lid on it and give it a good shake, that is fine for using for your cereal and things.

 -- I did, and still do the above, although admit that many days that extra milk gets dumped. I make my bottles at bedtime for the next day's breakfast and lunch as well as my mini-bottle with 2 or 3 ounces of milk for cooking.

HTH!

[nelliestar]

Thanks everyone - thats great!! BW way does make sense as my lo had less milk for last 2 days because of having solids halfway through so tomorrow will do it afterwards. Great advice and support as always...xxxx

[Archies mummy]

I agree with pp that it depends on the baby. I give solids straight after the bottle (well maybe 10 mins) because he is a short napper (usually about an hr) so he is often due for his 2nd nap after his lunch!

[nelliestar]

Mashimaro - do you make up bottles of formula in advance and keep them in the fridge? I just make up the bottles of cooled boiled water and then add formula when I am about to use them. I thought you had to do this now but would love to make them all up in advance plus the mini one! I think my HV said you can't keep bottles made up for more than a couple of hours - is this right? My sister made them all in advance but this was a few years ago. What do others do?
Thanks again ,
Nell xxx

[Archies mummy]

The advice is not to make in advance as you say.

Say I need 7 oz of milk

I add 3oz boiling water
add 7 scoops (the milk powder isn't sterile so needs adding to hot water)
add 4 oz of boiled cooled water from the fridge.

hth

[Mashi]

Mashimaro - do you make up bottles of formula in advance and keep them in the fridge? I just make up the bottles of cooled boiled water and then add formula when I am about to use them. I thought you had to do this now but would love to make them all up in advance plus the mini one! I think my HV said you can't keep bottles made up for more than a couple of hours - is this right? My sister made them all in advance but this was a few years ago. What do others do?
Thanks again ,
Nell xxx

If you go through the bottle feeding forum you will find many many posts on this topic and see that it really varies what people do.  The "official" NHS guidelines are that bottles need to be made up immediately before the feed, which is a new thing within the past 2 or 3 years due to one child getting ill, and the only conclusion they could make (for lack of evidence) was that it must have been because the bottle was pre-made.  Now, they tell you that because formula isn't considered sterile, the bottle must be fed instantly.   I had two different community midwives (the ones who come to see you after LO is born), one was strict on this and the other rolled her eyes at it. My HV is of the "store it in the fridge" mentality, pointing out that you have enough going on to worry about making a bottle on the spot when needed so get them done and stick them in the fridge. 

Reading through lots of posts, there are many moms who seem to do it like Archie's Mummy by adding the formula to a smaller amount of boiling water and then topping up with cold water. For me, I don't like this method just because the formula we used didn't mix properly in a small amount of water and it made it more difficult.  But that's just personal choice.  Right now, the formula we use (Nutramigen) doesn't mix in hot water, it needs to be room temperature which means that I *can* just let the boiled water sit for a few hours and then mix when I need it. I just don't, because there's too much going on when I need bottles and I find it easier to just heat a cold one than make a fresh one.  DH and I did have a "12 hour rule" for bottles when DS was young, only letting them stay in the fridge for that long. Now as I said I make them up in the late evening - one gets done while DS is in his bath and that gets used instantly. Then a couple of hours later when the water is cooled, I make two, which is one for 7am (so it's about 12 hours old) and one for noon, so it's about 18 hours old.  Pushing the line on that one, but it's what works best for me. I really do think that when it comes to how and when you prepare and store your feeds is what you are comfortable with and what works with your own schedule and daily routine, chores, lifestyle, etc. 

Hope that is some help!

[nelliestar]

That's great and sounds very sensible to me - thank you!!
N xxx