Amount of food/milk and follow on milk

[nelliestar]

Hi! Posting lots at the mo - lots of changes!
My DS is 6 mths today and on solids since 5 mths 1 week. He has 5 - 7 ozs of milk at breakfast, lunch, dinner and bed time plus at breakfast porridge/cereal and some of bottle, at lunch veg and chicken/pasta or similar then bit of fruit, at dinner similar to lunch. Amount wise he has approx 2 tblspns of solids at each meal and solids is 45ish mins after milk. Is this ok or do you think he is having too much? My mum seems to think he should have less milk and even asks when I will be dropping a bottle.DS weighs about 22 pounds now.
Also we started on follow on milk a couple of days ago as I was worried about iron levels and it has constipated DS a bit and he seems to have less and is more windy and bit more unsettled. This has calmed down a bit but my DH thinks we should go back to first milk as DS has a good balanced diet and eats well. Could we mix it e.g - 4 scoops of follow on and 3 scoops of first milk in each bottle? Does he need it at all if he eats well?
Thanks in anticipation!
N xxxxxx

[~*Nicole*~]

Your lo seems to be doing well. He takes the milk and the solids and is a good weight, even a bit on the bigger side! If I were you I would let him guide you. As long as you offer the milk feeds first and the solids afterwards and he is getting his recommended amount of formula for the day then I wouldn't worry. Solids are not important until about a year. The formula is moreso. My doctor also told me the follow on formula is unnecessary and a marketing ploy. He said as long as lo doesn't need it for some medical reason for extra calories/iron -- which your lo shouldn't considering he has cereal and solids and formula and is eating well so should be getting enough iron, then I would actually just stick with the regular formula. Don't worry about what your mom says. He should be getting a lot of milk still. I think it is recommended to get anywhere from 24-32 oz a day still? I am not positive, but there is a section that tells you in the fAQs I think.

I think that too much iron and solids will constipate him and are unnecessary. He may drop a bottle between 7-9 months or so. My DD did around 7.5/8 months, so you have nothing to worry about and you are doing fantastic!