Bottle feeding in a 4hr EASY with short naps and solids

[rayasunshine]

Looking to get some feedback with regards to 6.5mo ds's feeding routine.  He's been on solids for about 2 weeks now and fully on formula for about 5 days.  I feel like the routine I have is working but I don't want to over feed him with either formula or solids.  I follow his eating cues and when he doesn't want to drink or eat he lets me know so I don't push it.  One thing to know is that he is used to getting his bottle before naps so I push his bottle where I need to in order to match his naps.  Another question I had was with his first E being bottle, solids and then a full bottle where do I start to count my 4 hours from- 6 or 8am?  Anyways here's what our eating routine looks like:

Usually wakes about 5/515 and yaps about and I don't get him until he starts to whine/cry
E: 6am (3/4oz), 7 (2tbsp cereal with 1tbsp fruit or veggie), 8 (4-6oz top-up)
S: 8-930
E: 1145am (2tbsp veggie, 1tbsp fruit), 1pm (6oz)
S: 107-150pm
E: 4pm (4oz)
S: 410-450pm (sometimes I can get this catnap and sometimes I can't)
E: 515 (2tbsp veggies, 1tbsp fruit), 7pm (6oz)
S: 715
E: 11pm DF (4-6oz but usually 6oz)

I'm thinking his morning bottle is only usually 4oz because he is still full from the night and also because he is fully awake and has better things to do than sit in my lap and drink milk. I get a feeling he just takes what makes him feel full and then goes on with his day and hence he downs 6oz before his nap when he is sleepy.  Make any sense?  Anyways any thoughts on this would be very much appreciated.  I feel so lost with ds, dd just seemed so much easier lol!

[Lolly]

The amount of milk he is getting seems fine to me. The MINIMUM they need is 20oz with solids although most babies seem to fall somewhere between 24 and 32oz.

I would count your E from the time of the 8am full feed if that works. The only thing I would say about the bottle before naps is that it could become a prop for sleep which can be really hard to turn around - especially overenight.

If you feel the routine is working for you then I would leave things as they are, be guided by him and let him tell you how much he wants to eat. If you get to a point closer to 1 where his solids aren't increasing then you can look at reducing milk feeds.

Laura

[rayasunshine]

Hi Laura,

Thanks so much for your response! I am just going by what he wants but because of his wonky routine and the fact that he has his bottle at nap time, I have to push him past 4hrs sometimes.  Overall, he's still getting the same number of bottles but 1 or 2 bottles are more than 4hrs from his previous feed.  Any issues with that?  He's not starving and if he showed signs I would obviously feed him.  I guess that's what happens when his feeds are 4hrs apart but his sleep doesn't fit in the 4hr EASY.  TIA

[Lolly]

I wouldn't worry about bottles being more than 4 hours apart now - things change a lot when solids are in the mix. By the time my DD was 8 months she was on 3 bottles to get her to drink more (refluxer) so she had 5-6 hours between bottles.

Keep following his hunger cues!

Laura