Switching to Step 2 and Sterilizing

[Lindsay27]

I think I get paranoid a little too quickly LOL.  He slept last night from 7:30pm - 3am and I fed 4oz, then he slept until 7am. I probably should have just tried settling him back to sleep because I waited until 8:30am to feed him this morning, and he still only took 4oz - NF always messes up the AM bottle, especially when it is so late in the night.

Yesterday for lunch I fed 2 cubes of sweet potatoes and 1 cube of fruit, and for dinner 2 cubes of carrots & broccoli, 1 cube of beef stew, and 1 of fruit.  He had some cheerios and a bit of a muffin I baked yesterday after dinner.  I usually feed a bit more for dinner and he does fine with his BT bottle, so I will probably go back to that tonight.

[*Kara*]

Sounds like a good plan

[Lindsay27]

We are still having a hard time getting 20oz into him during the day.  Overall I think he reaches that point with the NF, but not with only daytime feeds.  Today was 5oz, 7oz, 5oz.  I would say our daytime bottles are usually 16 - 18 oz, and then I've been trying to to reduce his NF (I did 3oz last night), but I feel guilty trying to wean the NF if he's taking so little during the day.

I am wondering if maybe I went to 3 bottles too soon?  He is a small baby, only in the 10th percentile for weight and length, so I am wondering if it is just hard for him to take an 8oz bottle all in one shot?  He seems content and happy, he's never crying because of hunger or anything, so I don't know if what we are doing is okay, or if we should try going back to 4 feeds?  I don't think he's taking too much solids either, so...hmmm.  I'm a conflicted Mama! 

[*Kara*]

This is one of those momma instinct things   Since he is still not taking too much, I would be tempted to go back to four bottles for a few days to see if he picks up a bit, KWIM?

Maybe try 6, 6, 6, 8?

[Lindsay27]

I think I am going to try 4 bottles today just to see.  My problem with 4 is that because of higher A times, the last 2 are always pretty close together, so he doesn't normally end up taking a large one before bed.  In any case, I'll see how it goes.

I wasn't really counting the ounces when he was on 4 bottles, but I suspect he was taking in more than he is now.

[Lindsay27]

So the 4 bottles today was a bust.  It was going great at first, but he completely refused the 3rd (4pm ish) bottle, so in the end he took 17oz for the day, which is no better than what we were doing with 3 bottles.

I'm really not sure what to do - I don't think his solid intake is enough to be affecting his bottles this much.  I think prior to this I wasn't counting the ounces, and he seemed to be happy and healthy so I wasn't concerned about it too much, but now that I know that he should be getting 20oz...

I mean, I guess he does get 20oz because he takes 3 or 4 at his NF, but I would rather those be during the day.  Maybe because he is small it just means that he needs those ounces in the night a little longer than others until he is able to take 3 x 8oz?  Like I said, he seems perfectly happy.

[*Kara*]

Given that he takes it at his night feed, I wouldn't really worry right now.. some kids don't take as much as they are "supposed" to.  If he is happy, things are good.

Does he have any cheese, yogurt, etc as part of his solids?  What about cereal? 

[Lindsay27]

Given that he takes it at his night feed, I wouldn't really worry right now.. some kids don't take as much as they are "supposed" to.  If he is happy, things are good.

This is pretty well the conclusion I've come to.  There is not much else I can do at this point, and he's still happy and gaining weight.

I do give him water in a sippy cup with lunch and dinner - he doesn't take much, a few sips here and there, and certainly not enough to affect his formula intake, but my mom suggested putting formula in it instead of water to try to get a little more into him.  I'm not sure if it's worth it?

He gets cereal with breakfast, about 1.5 tbls, I've given yogurt a few times, but no more than maybe 2 or 3 times a week and only with 1 meal (breakfast or lunch).  I've given cheese twice, both times he was up all night, so we cut that out.

[*Kara*]

I would follow mom's advice

[Lindsay27]

Okay sounds good   At least it would be adding a little something, and at this age I don't think not having water is an issue.  Thanks!

[Lindsay27]

Last question, I was getting formula today and we have been using the Enfamil formula, first the Enfamil Gentlease A+ and now Enfapro A+ (6 - 18months).  I noticed that the difference between the A+ line and the regular Enfapro is that the A+ has DHA (Omega 3 & 6) in it.  Is this something that is necessary in a formula?  I mean, I understand that it is beneficial, but not sure if it is necessary?  I've always gotten the A+ stuff, and this sounds horrible, but the regular Enfapro is half the price! 

He has his 9 month appt next week so I can talk to his doctor about it too.

[*Kara*]

Not at all needed.  All formulas sold in Canada have to meet the same regulations.  I bought the omega added GoodStart for a few months then actually discovered it was causing a bit of tummy upset for DD.. did some Googling and found that it can be a little harder to digest so I stopped buying it

I always offered a sippy of water throughout the whole day to encourage DD to use it and like water