Switching to Step 2 and Sterilizing

[Lindsay27]

Hello ladies,

Quick question, is it necessary to switch to a Step 2 (6 - 18 month) formula or does it really matter?  I got some of the Step 2 and DS likes it fine, and I figured it would be better because he is low on the weight scale and the step 2 has more iron in it.  Just curious if it really matters or not?

Also, I use the Playtex drop-ins so his actual bottles don't need to be sterilized because the drop-in bags come pre-sterilized, but I still sterilize the nipples.  He is 8 months now - is it necessary to still sterilize the nipples?  He is fully crawling and (as you know) puts everything in his mouth.  It seems kind of pointless.  I don't mind doing it - it literally takes 5 mins, I was just thinking that at this point a good wash in hot soapy water might suffice.

Thanks!

[*Kara*]

Hey Lindsay - I live in Canada as well and have actually never sterilized bottles or nipples - bad mommy!

That said, here is a link to the WHO current guidelines for powdered formula prep and sterilising of bottle and nipples-

http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/micro/pif2007/en/index.html

The WHO do recommend sterilising though so best to read all your info and guidelines and make your own decision.


And as for the stage 2 formula - not needed at all.  It has double the iron and double the calcium when compared to a stage 1... neither of these two things will put weight on him   Balanced diet should be starting now... so start with trying to have a variety of foods at each meal if you aren't already

[Lindsay27]

Okay, I figured that hot soapy water would suffice now that everything goes in the mouth

As for the formula, he is doing fine with the stage 2 so I think I'll stick with it, even though it doesn't matter.  As for diet, he is eating 3 meals a day of fruits, veggies, meat (chicken & beef), and a little cereal with breakfast.  I am thinking of starting more finger foods this week, or rather finely chopped foods to get him used to more textures

[*Kara*]

Sounds good to me!  Just be careful with Stage 2 if he is eating a good balanced diet... could be too much iron and he will get backed up!  One serving of meat a day (about an ounce) is enough to meet his iron reqs for the day.  If he is eating baby cereal, it's also fortified... I know that Heinz brand has 100% of iron needs in 1/3 cup

[Lindsay27]

Okay, I'll make sure to watch his poops

I don't necessarily give meat every day, usually every other day and only with dinner.  I make the meat into stews where I cook it together with veggies so it balances and I only give 1 cube which I think is about an ounce, so I think he is okay in that dept   As for the cereal, it is with breakfast and only about 2 tbls.  I try to give him lots of fruit for breakfast first and I give the cereal after the fruit.  I think I have the Nestle/Gerber brand so I am not sure of the iron content in it?

My doctor had actually told me to give cereal and meat twice a day!  I think she's bonkers

[Lindsay27]

I also tried going to 3 bottles today, his first was about 7oz, but he only took 6oz for his second, and 8oz at BT.  I was worried about the gap between bottle #2 and #3 because he only took 6oz, but I think I may have given the 2nd bottle too soon after lunch.  I think it might take him a few days to get used to it and then perhaps he will increase all to 7-8oz for each feed.  I also think I should switch from medium flow to fast flow nipples and it will help him take an 8oz bottle faster and he won't get bored along the way.

He still usually takes a NF too, but I only give 5oz.  He did STTN twice this week so didn't get NFs on those nights.

[*Kara*]

My doctor had actually told me to give cereal and meat twice a day!  I think she's bonkers

I agree with you  

You could intro some pasta/rice though... I used to buy a tiny pasta like stars or little dot type ones to add to purees for texture around this age... lentils are easy to add in too!  Walmart sells a pasta for babies in the baby food aisle - it's more fortified that standard pasta.  I can't remember the brand but the box is blue and it has a baby on it

As for formula intake, as long as he stays above 20 ozs, you are fine   I used to give first bottle at wake up... then second one about 10 mins before PM nap, and then last at BT   The second one was generally about 2.5 hrs after lunch.

Gerber/Nestle cereals are also fortified with 100% of daily iron needs - they measure a serving in tablespoons.  A serving is 5 tbsp... same as 1/3 cup

If he STTN a couple times, I would think about maybe actively weaning the NF too   Reduce to 4 ozs...

[Lindsay27]

As for formula intake, as long as he stays above 20 ozs, you are fine

Okay, good to know! The drop from 4 bottles to 3 freaks me out a little.  It seems like such a long time in between!  He usually wakes up around 6:30am and takes a 1.5hr nap around 9:30am, so if his second bottle was right before his PM nap at  around 2pm, it would be about 7 hours between bottles.  Does that seem right!?  It seems long to me.  That said, I think the 3 bottles worked out well for us yesterday because he took 8oz before bed and STTN from 7:30pm - 6:30am

Thanks for the tip about the pasta and rice, I'm going to try it!  Up until now he's had mostly purées, but I think he's okay to try chunkier things - I have to make some more fruit today so I am just going to try mashing it instead of blending.  Time to retire the baby bullet!   I gave him a few small pieces of cheese last night to try and he liked it and didn't have any issues with swallowing.

If he STTN a couple times, I would think about maybe actively weaning the NF too   Reduce to 4 ozs...

Will do!  I wasn't entirely sure if it was something I should be weaning or if he would do it on his own.  But up until this week he was still waking once, but now that he has STTN 3 times this week I'll be sure to start actively reducing the NF if he does wake.

[*Kara*]

For sure you can start to wean the NF at this age - he is eating well so it's fine to try... he will either keep waking (and you have to feed) or he will shift the calories to daytime and STTN

He usually wakes up around 6:30am and takes a 1.5hr nap around 9:30am, so if his second bottle was right before his PM nap at  around 2pm, it would be about 7 hours between bottles.  Does that seem right!?  It seems long to me.

We were much the same   First bottle was generally around 630/7am and second at 2/230pm.. BT bottle at 745pm   At this age, I was giving 8 ozs at wake up, 8 ozs at nap and 8.5ozs at BT.  She had a sippy of water at all times during the day...

[Lindsay27]

The last 2 nights have been crazy.  I'm sure it's teething, but his naps have gone to complete hell, and his nights...don't even get me started!  2 nights ago I ended up feeding twice, once at 1am for a 5oz feed, and then he woke at 4am screaming bloody murder.  He screamed for an hour and a half until I finally decided to feed him again and he took an additional 6oz then finally fell asleep.  Growth spurt?  Seems like an odd time for that, or maybe just not reacting well to 3 bottles instead of 4?  Last night he woke at 12:45am and I settled him back to sleep, but he woke again about an hour later so I fed 5oz.  He then woke every 1.5 - 2hrs for the rest of the night.

To top it off, on Saturday morning he woke up absolutely covered in a red rash all over his tummy and back.  I was not sure if it was related to the Stage 2 formula as he had only been on it for about 2 days, so I switched him back to the Stage 1 immediately.  I wouldn't think that a formula switch would do that, but I certainly am not an expert in these things, so I just went back to what we knew.  The only other change was that I had given him a little bit of cheese the day before, so it could be a reaction to that.

I am a little worried that he isn't getting enough formula, I can usually get him to take 8oz at BT, and about 7oz for his wake up feed, but the middle bottle is the tricky one.  I think I am giving it to him too soon after lunch, but I'm not sure how else to space it out?

6:30am - wake up (7oz)
8am - breakfast
AM Nap - 9:30am - 10:45am

12pm - lunch
1:30pm - bottle (varies between 6 - 7oz)
PM Nap - 1:45 - 3:45 (except for the last few days, it's been closer to 1hr 15mins)

5pm - dinner
7pm - bottle (8oz)

[Lindsay27]

I recognize that he probably needs a bit of an A time increase - the 3hr A time worked really well for a good month and he was taking a 1.5hr nap in the morning and 2hrs in the afternoon like clockwork.  His wonky nights have made it difficult to extend because he is pretty tired when he gets up, but I'll need to work on it.

[amayzie]

Just wanted to say that i stopped sterilising at about that point too- i think our recommendations here are to do so till 12 months- but like you i figured everything was in the mouth- so i skipped it! BUT my guy was a biggish boy with no existing health issues- so i thought a good wash would suffice...

[*Kara*]

I think the A time thing might be your biggest issue right now actually... the NWing could well be OT from the short naps

I would push him out to 3.5 hrs for the first one and see what happens

That will push your naps later and allow his middle bottle to be a little further after lunch

He only needs about 20 ozs a day hun... so he is fine where he is.  Have you added in some protein and more carbs?

[Lindsay27]

I know, I think I am getting overly paranoid about his formula intake, when in reality he is getting enough.

I tried pushing his A time this morning by about 20/25mins - he fell asleep for his AM nap within about 30 seconds (literally), but he woke after 30mins but I was able to settle him easily and he's been down for another 1.15hr and is still sleeping.  So maybe it will just take a few days to adjust to the new A time?

In terms of protein and carbs, I have added in rice and I got the dot pasta you were talking about, but it's yet to make its way into a meal    It's just been so crazy with the holiday's, parties, family visits, and bad naps that I haven't had much time to make some good meals for him other than fruits, veggies, and stews.  For protein, what do you recommend?  Lentils, beans - that sort of thing?  I saw a great black bean purée recipe with onions, garlic, broth, and a few light spices - it said that black beans mix easily with avocado (which he loves), carrots, sweet potato, so I am going to make that this week.  I added in broccoli yesterday for the first time which I was worried about him liking, but I mixed it with carrots and he enjoyed it  

[*Kara*]

For protein, I found that the easiest thing was quinoa!  You cook it like rice but it contains complete protein!  Super little too so it would be great for adding a bit of texture to his purees.  Other than that, DD loves cheese and yogurt so those were good protein too.  Greek yogurt has a tonne of protein as well.

For veggie mixtures - DD loved broccoli/zucchini together!  Or carrot and zucchini...