should I be dropping a bottle or cutting back each feed a little?

[clairebear79]

DS is 7.5 months old & currently has the following formula feeds:

6.30am 8oz bottle (drinks 7-8oz)
10.30-11am 8oz bottle (drinks 6-7oz)
2.30-3pm 8oz bottle (drinks 5-7oz)
6.30-7pm 9oz bottle (drinks 8-9oz)

He also has 3 solid meals, usually 1 hour after his milk.

He's always hungry for his breakfast bottle but often leaves a good amount of his breakfast solids.

Also recently he does not seem to be 'asking' for his mid-afternoon milk feed.  However when I offer it to him he will still drink the majority of the feed.  Should I take this to mean he's only drinking it because its being offered in front of him, or do I take it that he still needs it as he's still drinking most of it?

If he does still need it then how much should he be leaving before I can confidently drop the feed?

I'm unsure if I should be dropping a full bottle yet, or just cutting each one back a little to make sure he is hungry enough for his solids???  My Annabel Karmel weaning book suggests I should be doing this around 7/8 months but I do realise solids before 1 are just for fun & so not sure if I should just keep going as we are.

What worries me a little is that he's still consuming quite a lot of milk, and he is a refluxer (currently medicated with Gaviscon & trialling dairy free) so I'm not sure if the high consumption is comfort feeding rather than 'need'.

I'd be really grateful of any advice/thoughts/help if anyone can offer some.

Thanks in advance.xx

[*Liz*]

Usually the sign to drop a bottle is when they start to take less at the 2nd and 3rd bottles, but for now it seems as though you are fine  .

This process happens naturally as their solids increases. At 7.5 mths there really is no need tp lush the process unless they are not hungry for solids at all.

I don't think the milk intake is too high either - my 10+ mth old still has 3 bottles of 8, 8 and 9ozs.

[clairebear79]

thanks for that Liz.  He's taking a little less at the 2nd & 3rd but still having most of it, so I'll keep going as I am.  I think I was just a little concerned that as I'm offering his feeds to a 'schedule' rather than 'on demand' maybe he was taking it when he's not really all that hungry.  I guess he wouldn't drink it if that was the case though.

xx

[*Liz*]

 

AC does seem to expect babies to drop bottles very early, and that is outside of current WHO guidelines really.

[clairebear79]

thanks Liz. 

I have a slight confession - 2 days ago I decided to leave it up to him to 'ask' for his feeds & he had one at breakfast, one at lunch & one at bedtime.  He drank more at each of these feeds than he has been doing, so the total no of oz overall was about the same, just consolidated into 3 feeds instead of 4.  And we had no night wakings for feeds either.  He's done this the last 2 days now though yesterday he did fuss a little at tea time & not sure if this was tiredness or hunger.  I'm really undecided whether to keep going with this or still offer 4 but offer his lunch & tea bottles after his solids instead of before.

[clairebear79]

Probably ought to add that today he is having 4 feeds as usual - he seems rather hungry so not going to push it.

Edited to add: he has cut one of his top teeth today & another is on its way so think the reduction in his feeds may have had something to do with that.  We will stick on 4 feeds for the time being.

[*Liz*]

Teething really does seem to affect bottle fed babies a lot.

Certainly I would leave your feeding routine as it is until the teething is out of the equation. My DD gets very hungry for her bottles when she is teething (mainly as she goes off all her solids), but cries and fusses having them as she bottle hurts her mouth.

[clairebear79]

I agree.  DS is the same - really goes off his solids & I've found the only thing he'll really take well is yoghurt - but as we're now trialling dairy free I haven't even got that to fall back on!!!

[*Liz*]

Megan doesn't like yoghurt!! She is a recovering MSPI so I sometimes wonder if she just knows better  ?