Author Topic: Down to 2 bottles??  (Read 6498 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline *Kara*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 184
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11802
  • So little!
  • Location: BC, Canada
Down to 2 bottles??
« on: November 16, 2011, 21:28:04 pm »
DD is just a year old now and is still taking 3 bottles a day... first two are 7 ozs formula with an extra ounce of water (to keep that pooper going!), bedtime is a 9 oz offering...

She has been draining her bottles for a couple of months but in the last week is starting to leave an ounce or so in each one... some days she finishes them all! 

Thinking she might be ready to go down to 2 bottles... I know most "normal" babies drop the mid day first, then morning, the bedtime... but DD is also no longer eating a good breakfast!  I am thinking I might cut down the volume of each of the first two bottles down to 5 ozs each??

Thoughts?

LOL - just a thought, maybe it's me that doesn't want to give up these bottles - I don't wanna think that my baby is growing up ;)



Offline Lolly

  • Bottle Feeding, Discipline and Socialization
  • Forum Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 318
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11227
  • Location: Neath, South Wales
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2011, 21:45:48 pm »
We found that by the time DD was 13 months she wasn't eating breakfast so I swapped the morning bottle to a mid-morning drink in a cup. It worked much better, she started eating her milky cereal and then would have a 6oz cup of milk with a piece of toast later on. We also offered a drink of milk with lunch and tea which she didn't take much of really but she then had her bedtime bottle.

They only need about 12-14oz of dairy from 1 and it doesn't need to come from their milk any more either but it is the easiest way!

Laura


Offline *Kara*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 184
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11802
  • So little!
  • Location: BC, Canada
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2011, 03:54:36 am »
Thanks Laura - my only worry is that she still doesn't take any real volume from a cup... she uses her sippy really well, but only drinks about 2 ozs through the entire day from it...

Kinda a catch-22... if I drop a bottle, will she take more fluid to make up for it... or will she remain the same and get horribly constipated... if only my crystal ball wasn't broken ;)



Offline Lemonthyme

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 29
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1224
  • Location: UK
    • Mamacook
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2011, 16:47:38 pm »
Yes but if you think about it, you don't need all the ounces she's getting from a bottle.  It might take some time to adjust to a bottle but actually it's not a problem. 

I was told 1 pint of milk per day (but not more than that as they need calories from other sources) but this includes milk in meals too, e.g. on cereal, in milk sauces, in yoghurt etc.  So when my son was weaning off breastfeeds around 13 months, I just made him lots of milky based foods, e.g. fish pie, cauliflower cheese, panna cotta etc.  If you're stuck for recipes, I have some here:

http://mamacook.blogspot.com/2011/09/cod-and-prawn-chowder-for-babies-on.html
http://mamacook.blogspot.com/2011/05/yoghurt-panna-cotta-ok-for-babies-if.html
http://mamacook.blogspot.com/2011/08/cauliflower-cheese.html
http://mamacook.blogspot.com/2011/09/cheese-and-onion-muffins-for-babies-and.html
http://mamacook.blogspot.com/2011/02/fish-pie-for-everyone.html
http://mamacook.blogspot.com/2011/11/creamy-mustard-chicken-for-babies-and.html
Here's my blog which is focussed on simple food for babies, toddlers and families http://mamacook.blogspot.com/

Offline *jazzberry*

  • The Lounge
  • Forum Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 119
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 10705
  • Location:
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #4 on: November 17, 2011, 20:12:14 pm »
I'm sure 2 bottles a day is fine for that age, could you give her breakfast first and then the bottle an hour later? That's what I did with ds1 as otherwise he hardly ate any brekkie.. Then another bottle just before bedtime?

Offline *Kara*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 184
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11802
  • So little!
  • Location: BC, Canada
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #5 on: November 17, 2011, 20:24:04 pm »
Thanks so much for the links Lemonthyme - I have your blog bookmarked already, just needed to do some searching :)

I tried doing a 4 oz bottle this morning and guess what - still wouldn't eat breakkie... ugh.  Tomorrow we will do breakfast first!

What should I do if she doesn't really start upping her water intake from her sippy?  She has a tendency to get backed up as it is...

When do we stop stressing about these kids and their eating and sleeping?!?!  ::)



Offline *jazzberry*

  • The Lounge
  • Forum Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 119
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 10705
  • Location:
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #6 on: November 17, 2011, 20:40:48 pm »
When do we stop stressing about these kids and their eating and sleeping?!?!
Ummmm...... never??!

I'd wait and see if she ups her intake from the sippy, I guess if you were really worried you could try giving her water in the bottle? What I did with all mine was to add a little juice to the water in the sippy so that they were keen to take it, then gradually watered it down until it was just water. Don't know if that's a route you want to go down though.
DS1 wouldn't eat his breakfast even after a small bottle either - I just had to grit my teeth and give him breakfast first - it worked surprisingly fine. Good luck!

Offline *Kara*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 184
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11802
  • So little!
  • Location: BC, Canada
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #7 on: November 17, 2011, 20:45:56 pm »
Thanks Jackie!  I have tried water in her bottle - won't take it.  Also prefers plain water to watered down juice - weird kid.  Most are all keen for a bit of juice in there for flavour :)

I will give it a shot tomorrow and see what happens!



Offline Lemonthyme

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 29
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1224
  • Location: UK
    • Mamacook
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #8 on: November 17, 2011, 21:06:14 pm »
If she gets backed up, have you tried including more fruit and dried fruit in her diet?
Here's my blog which is focussed on simple food for babies, toddlers and families http://mamacook.blogspot.com/

Offline *Kara*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 184
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11802
  • So little!
  • Location: BC, Canada
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #9 on: November 17, 2011, 21:13:02 pm »
I have...  She is just really starting to be a pill when it comes to purees and I am not comfortable giving her raw fruits yet :/



Offline Lolly

  • Bottle Feeding, Discipline and Socialization
  • Forum Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 318
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11227
  • Location: Neath, South Wales
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #10 on: November 17, 2011, 21:13:58 pm »
Don't forget milk can be quite consitpating so if she is taking less formula it may not be so much of a problem!

Laura


Offline Lemonthyme

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 29
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1224
  • Location: UK
    • Mamacook
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #11 on: November 17, 2011, 21:18:21 pm »
Why not comfortable giving raw fruits?  She could be having halved grapes, raspberries, pieces of banana, peaches, plum, dried fruit like raisins etc, etc?  Absolutely no need for purees at her age!
Here's my blog which is focussed on simple food for babies, toddlers and families http://mamacook.blogspot.com/

Offline Lolly

  • Bottle Feeding, Discipline and Socialization
  • Forum Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 318
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11227
  • Location: Neath, South Wales
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #12 on: November 17, 2011, 21:22:41 pm »
Softs fruits are good to give - DS used to love the plums and nectarines he had from about 6/7 months, he used to suck the flesh of the skin! Won't touch them now mind ::). Raisins can be a bit tricky but you can soak them in hot water for a while to let them soften a bit and give them when they have cooled. I find that a good handful of raisins keeps DD regular, she is prone to getting a bit bunged up too.

Laura


Offline *Kara*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 184
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11802
  • So little!
  • Location: BC, Canada
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #13 on: November 17, 2011, 21:23:51 pm »
Raisins/dried fruits are not recommended here until age 3 for choking reasons...   She does eat pieces of banana and ripe pears...  I read somewhere that you shouldn't give them anything that you can't mush on the roof of your mouth and it seems to have made me a paranoid nightmare!  Ugh.

I have an irrational fear of choking ;)  And I do know what to do if she does choke... totally just a paranoid momma!

ETA: We don't have most of those lovely fruits right now - I live in Northern Canada.




Offline Hedgehog17

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 71
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 3697
  • Location: UK
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #14 on: November 18, 2011, 13:08:42 pm »
Definitely give solids breakfast first!

We did this with DS who was refusing to eat much after milk, and now he's eating a good breakfast AND a good lunch  ;D

He gets solids at 8.30am, bottle at 10am, nap 11.30 - 2 (ish) and lunch at 2pm. You will need her to play for a while after the mid-morning milk so that she digests it and is good and hungry for lunch  :)

I was amazed at what a difference it made to DS, and quickly too  :D

Dried fruits such as raisins and apricots go down pretty well here, and have done since he was 6mo. He doesn't choke on them as he knows to chew then swallow. He could even manage them before he had any teeth! The worst that's likely to happen is that she'll gag and bring some bits back up. This is fine as it's how they learn to chew, and what size bits are ok to swallow. DS is even managing moist oaty fruit bars now  :D

Offline Lolly

  • Bottle Feeding, Discipline and Socialization
  • Forum Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 318
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11227
  • Location: Neath, South Wales
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #15 on: November 18, 2011, 16:03:15 pm »
Raisins/dried fruits are not recommended here until age 3 for choking reasons...

Really :o

I think that's a bit over cautious to be honest and it's not a rec that's given in the UK! Both mine have had raisins since they were able to pick them up and they had dried apricots at times too. I really went with the BLW philosophy - if they have the motor skills to pick it up and put it in their mouth they have the oral skills to cope with it! They do need to be able to mush foods but their gums are a lot harder than your tongue against the roof of your mouth is and they can always suck what they can't mush. The only choking incident I have ever had was DD with a coin ::) - lots of gagging with food and some gagging til they vomit but that's all good!

Laura


Offline Lemonthyme

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 29
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1224
  • Location: UK
    • Mamacook
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #16 on: November 18, 2011, 17:57:01 pm »
We've never had problems with dried fruits here.  I'd just learn what to do if they do choke and be a bit cautious but not go ridiculously overboard.  My son has properly choked once and that was on raw apple.  Your child could choke on anything, a button, a coin.  You don't ban money or clothes from the house!
Here's my blog which is focussed on simple food for babies, toddlers and families http://mamacook.blogspot.com/

Offline *jazzberry*

  • The Lounge
  • Forum Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 119
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 10705
  • Location:
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #17 on: November 18, 2011, 18:41:43 pm »
My DH is a paramedic and reckons raisins are not a good idea whilst so young. And he says ALWAYS to chop grapes in half. I don't ask what he's seen (would rather not know) but I always go with his advice :-\

Offline *Kara*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 184
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11802
  • So little!
  • Location: BC, Canada
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #18 on: November 18, 2011, 21:53:42 pm »
Well, I got brave this morning and gave her some grapes cut into quarters (they were fairly big to begin with)... and she happily gobbled them up - no gagging at all.. next, we try grated apple?

Yeesh, why is it so hard to be a mom?!



Offline Lolly

  • Bottle Feeding, Discipline and Socialization
  • Forum Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 318
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11227
  • Location: Neath, South Wales
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #19 on: November 18, 2011, 22:03:47 pm »
Yeah brave mummy!

Mine used to like apple cut into wedges (still do really!) - at first I used to micro or steam them slightly to soften a little bit and let them cool. I've never tried grated apple but I wonder if that would be more likely to make her cough on the little bits rather than a chunk she can control herself :-\

Laura


Offline *Kara*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 184
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11802
  • So little!
  • Location: BC, Canada
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #20 on: November 18, 2011, 22:07:16 pm »
That was my thought after I typed it out LOL!  Maybe would be better to micro to soften them first...



Offline Lolly

  • Bottle Feeding, Discipline and Socialization
  • Forum Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 318
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11227
  • Location: Neath, South Wales
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #21 on: November 18, 2011, 22:09:17 pm »
Lol!

I'm way to free and easy with the solids I let them have - it's a wonder my kids survived weaning ;) :P

Laura


Offline *Kara*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 184
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11802
  • So little!
  • Location: BC, Canada
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #22 on: November 18, 2011, 22:20:01 pm »
LOL!  Good thing they are so resilient to some of the things we do to them at times ;)



Offline Lemonthyme

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 29
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1224
  • Location: UK
    • Mamacook
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #23 on: November 19, 2011, 03:18:31 am »
I'm sanguine about it; after all you can choke on water! Some foods are riskier than others, grapes, cherry tomatoes, sausages and apples are common culpits from what I've heard so we always cut into small pieces and he has thin slices of apple.  Some babies cope better with a whole apple where they'll only bite off very small chunks but thats the only one I'm very wary of since he did choke once.   
Here's my blog which is focussed on simple food for babies, toddlers and families http://mamacook.blogspot.com/

Offline *Kara*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 184
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11802
  • So little!
  • Location: BC, Canada
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #24 on: November 19, 2011, 04:21:16 am »
So true - I have seen her gag something terrible on her own spit ;)



Offline *jazzberry*

  • The Lounge
  • Forum Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 119
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 10705
  • Location:
Re: Down to 2 bottles??
« Reply #25 on: November 19, 2011, 09:51:26 am »
Gagging is a good sign though - itt means they are bringing it back up. Real choking is silent which is why they should be closely supervised.