When did you start reducing daytime bottles?

[Oh Little One]

Hi guys

This is my first post on here but I have used this forum quite a bit recently and you all seem to be really helpful at sharing your experiences so I'm hoping you can help me! 

My son is 7 months old who's on 4 bottles a day (none through the night) and 3 solid meals a day.  I'm starting to think about when to drop the mid morning bottle and bring the mid afternoon one forwards but I'm not sure when to do this and if he will give me any signs.

6:30 - 7:00 Wake up (but happily stays in his cot until 7am)
7:15 - 7oz (started to take less over the last week, took 5oz this am)
8:30 - solids
11:00 - 7oz (only took 5oz today)
12:00 - solids
3:00 - 7oz (only took 5oz today)
4:30 - solids
6:15 - bathtime
6:30 - 7oz
7:00 - bedtime with no more feeds or night wakenings

Thanks!

[Oh Little One]

Just an afterthought.  As you can see feeding seems pretty relentless and none stop as I don't have much time between bottles and solids.  Could I offer lunchtime solids immediately after milk or vice versa or would he be too full up both one after each other?

Thanks again

[*Liz*]

Hi and welcome  .

Most FF babies drop to 3 feeds at about 7/8 mths once solids are going well.

If your 2nd and 3rd amounts are falling, and your LO is doing well with solids it may be time  .

My DS dropped at 10 mths, and DD 9 mths. But they were later than average for FF babies.

You really need about an hour after a bottle for solids else they will be too full and not take any.

[Oh Little One]

Thank you for your speedy reply.  He's taking about 4 ice cube's for each meal and then some yoghurt or baby rice cakes or something for dessert or very small amounts of finger food.  How do I know what's sufficient? I'm really scared he'll wake up hungry in the night!

He is a large baby for his age, generally just above the 75th percentile for weight.

Thanks again, really appreciated ;-)

[jesie]

I personally moved the breakfast bottle into a cup, he had it (and still has it) as a drink with his breakfast.
Milk at 10 and 2 as snack then in a few months with his snack (again moving into cup)
Then one at bed time.

Also meant we were bottle free at 11 months including bed time bottle.

My DS is also a big boy, and he's never woken hungry, my advice isif he always his bowl next time add an extra cube. Always offer more aiming to have a little left over, that way you know he's had enough 

[*Liz*]

4 ice cubes per meal is a LOT more than either of my 2 ever ate, so I would say your LO is eating really well.

The dog or floor sees more of DDs meals then her mouth (unless it is fruit pieces  ), and she still STTN and at her age is only on 2 bottles now (at 11am and 7pm). Oddly my DD will not have a morning bottle  .

[Oh Little One]

Thanks both.

That's food for thought Jesie giving him milk in a cup with solids.  My only issue of late with that one is that he seems to be too independant with his cup and won't let me hold it for him to drink and he has to do it himself.  The result is that only a limited amount gets drunk!  So you're still on 4 milk feeds a day at 11 months?  He does tend to leave some (50% of the time) but I'll increase when he starts scraping the bowl!

I didn't think 4 ice cubes was much and he wasn't really taking well to solids but that makes me feel much better Liz.  :-)  It's so hard as there's no guidelines with solids and milk combinations for age/weight like there is with milk so I don't know what to do.  I'll maybe monitor his milk for the next few days and see if I dare brave it, he's always loved his milk to much you see.

[jesie]

DS is now 17 months and still has 4 6oz cups of milk LOL but having said that DS has a milk allergy, so he doesn't have his yogurt or cheese etc throughout the day, he only has his prescription milk. But even if he didn't, I think I would still give him his milk cos its good for bones etc.

DS was also very independent with his cup. But once you are one 3 meals milk should be an extra, the meals should be the balanced diet, therefore I think if he drinks it he drinks it. If he doesn't, he's not hungry. 

[Lolly]

We dropped to 3 bottles around 8 months because my refluxing DD was refusing milk so it was the only way to get it into her! Keep in mind that until 1 year milk is more important than solids and they need a minimum of 20oz from 6 months but this can include the milk in their food.

Laura

[Oh Little One]

Thanks Jesie I think I will do the cup thing with milk definitely before he's a year as I want to get rid of bottles around that time ;-)

Thank you Laura, the last few days he is leaving an oz or 2 in each of his 4 bottles but I don't know if it's a one-off and he'll get back into it or it's a sign to remove a bottle in the hope that he'll drain his other 4 bottles?

He does have weetabix or porridge for breakfast and sometimes part of a yoghurt in the day (hopefully a full one when I remove a bottle).

Do you think I should hang on in there or try if for a few days and see?  I'm terrified he'll wake up hungry.

Thanks in anticipation.

[Lolly]

I'd hang in for a few more days yet and see what happens. They do have these glitches where they drink less for a few days or so then pick the quantity back up again.

What flow teat are you using - if it's not the fastest it may be worth switching to see if that helps too! Is he teethinjg at all at the moment, that can also make them reduce their milk a bit and again if it's teeth it should pick up again in a few days.

Laura

[Oh Little One]

Hi again.  Thanks again. He's on the fast flow teats but he does suck the life out of them a few times during a feed.  He spits the bottle out with about 3 or 4 oz left but I manage to force it back in after a bit of winding (sounds awful I know) and he takes at least another oz to the lot then.

He may well be teething a little, he has had the 2 bottom teeth since 26 weeks and he has had teething days/weeks since but they don't seem to be playing him up other than him gnagging on things he's not been whining or upset but he is very content so always hard to tell.

[sunshine29]

Thanks, this post has been helpful. I too was going to post about my 8mo DS who has started dropping the amount he'll take in his 1100 and 300 bottles. He used to be maxing out his bottles, but is well established on solids for the past month or so. 

I am today in the process of moving towards 3 bottles in the day. So far, he still only took 5oz in his mid-day bottle. Did you find that you lo didn't fill up until they realized it was only going be offered 3 times a day?

[Oh Little One]

Hi sunshine29,  I'm still hanging on in there with the 4 bottles as he's teething so I thought I'd wait til this phase passes so please let me know how you get on.....good luck ;-)

I have had the same question going around my head too while I've been thinking about dropping a bottle, hopefully one of the others can shed some light on that.  I didn't know whether to slowly reduce the 11am down each day rather than completely eliminate it and then he goes hungry if he still reduces all the other 3 bottles by 2oz like he has been doing.

[sunshine29]

Just a quick update, this is day 2 of moving to the bottle, breakfast, lunch, bottle, dinner, bottle. I think there are supposed to be snacks in there too, but hard to fit them in with naps right now.

He took more at his bedtime bottle last night and a bit more at his first bottle in the morning. He wanted to stop at 5oz again on bottle number 2, but we just waited a couple minutes and he drank the rest.

We've done everything pretty much cold turkey rather than slowly with DS, it seems to work fine for him, but usually we haven't made any changes until he's made it clear he's ready.

[Oh Little One]

Hi,

I think I'm going to have to drop the mid morning bottle from now on; he left 3 to 3 1/2 oz of all four of his bottles today and he has progressively been doing this over the last week or two.  I am a little sceptical as he has drank a full 7oz of some of his bottles or just left an oz but my instinct is telling me now is the time.  He may well be teething as he has been of late however the last few days he seems fine on the teething front.

On the other hand however my instinct is telling me otherwise, but it could just be fear of change on my part.  We dropped the swaddle 2 days ago (although he has had both arms out for over a week now) due to the heat.  He is also starting nursery 3 days a week starting next week and he may not take to the food there and go hungry and wake at night?  I wouldn't know if it was because of the swaddle, teething or hungry? Arrrghh.

What do you guys think?  Would be grateful for your thoughts.

[*Kara*]

You will know if he wakes from hunger   Trust your momma instincts!!!  Does the daycare have to provide info on what he ate while there each day?  I know that they do in Canada

I agree that it is time to drop to 3 bottles

[Oh Little One]

Thanks Kara, I started today.  I wiped the 11 am bottle out completely and brought his 3pm one forwards to 2pm.  He drank 6oz of his 2pm one and not quite 7oz of his bedtime bottle so hopefully it's done the trick and that it's not because he's been hungry today anyway and mummy's starved him of his 11am aswell!

Hopefully he won't wake hungry, sure he won't else he would have had all of his BT bottle.  I did give him his favourite foods today though so he would eat a few more solids as he still left 3 1/2 of his morning bottle.

Yes daycare complete his book each day saying what he's been up to, when he's slept and what he's eaten and drank and in what quantities so I should be able to still keep a beady eye on him!

[*Kara*]

Good!  Let us know how it all works out

[Oh Little One]

Hiya.  Just a quick update.  We've had 5 days of just the 3 bottles and it's going really well.  He's eaten more solids and drank more of his bottles so all in all he's probably consuming about the same milk as he was previously over 4 bottles. He's having cows milk in his cereals and usually has one yoghurt a day so he's having his calcium.

I'm also less restricted with the feeding schedule as I am one bottle less and can flex the afternoon one a little bit too although I have been doing this at the same time each day.

Fingers crossed he'll eat and drink at daycare!