1 year old and bottle, new routine, and table food

[addymommy]

 I need help...my baby is about to be 1 and currently she eats her solids very good- but she is still on stage 2 foods. she doesnt care much for the stage 3. she has had some table food, like chicken, fish, goldfish, crackers, and cheese. but she doesnt like things like oatmeal- she still eats baby cereal.  she eats a jar of fruit and cereal for breakfast, a jar of fruit and veggie for lunch, a fruit or yogurt for snack and 2 jars of veggies for dinner- currently our schedule is like this.

6am- wake and bottle 6oz
730am- breakfast
10am-4oz bottle
1130am-lunch
2pm-4oz bottle
3pm-snack
5pm-dinner
6pm-6oz bottle then bed

she also still takes a bottle- she has reduced the amount she has during the day, and we have been working on her taking it (formula) out of a sippy cup.

I am worried because i know we need to start preparing for dropping the bottle, but how do i do that? should i change her routine and when she wakes up give her solids? she wakes now and is ready for her bottle. she only has 3 teeth ( other top one is close)  she doesnt have alot of teeth for chewing, so thats why we still on baby food ( she doesnt like it when i make home made food to be eaten off of a spoon, finger food she is OK )

also worried about what she will take at bed time- a sippy cup?

Please help with some suggestions 

[addymommy]

please help calm my nerves!!

[creations]

I would
- keep the morning and night bottle just for now as I wouldn't want to shake everything up at once (lots of people keep the bottles a little longer, especially the BT one.  Tackle this at a later date)
- introduce a sippy cup for the day milks alongside a snack, then reduce the amount of milk and eventually replace with water alongside the snack.
- replace each of the jarred meals with finger foods.  I'd offer finger food alongside jarred food at every meal straight away, then after a week pick one meal to completely remove the jarred food and only offer the finger foods, after a few days or a week replace another meal, then the third.
- if you find it a big struggle and she refuses the finger foods try toast with the jarred purée spread across it (I'd do this as a last resort as you want to stop the jars and encourage family meals really)

You say she is good with finger food so when you take the jarred food away don't try to spoon feed her with home made food, just make things she can pick up with her fingers and let her get on with it.  I'd offer a spoon for her to hold rather than eat off.

They don't need teeth to chew, their gums are really tough and can munch anything including meat and fish, crunchy bread sticks and crackers, toast.

They love to eat the same as the rest of the family and at the same time.  Copying mummy is great.  Show her and tell her you have exactly the same items on your plate too.

There are some great finger food ideas and recipes on the solids boards.

Good luck x

[addymommy]

thanks!