Author Topic: 8mo - introducing formula, solids schedule question  (Read 2025 times)

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Offline ThomasTheTank

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8mo - introducing formula, solids schedule question
« on: January 22, 2014, 21:23:01 pm »
Hi,

My almost 8mo son is EBF. We introduced solids at 5 1/2 mos and he is a great eater. Our routine goes something like this:

WU: breast
1 1/2 hrs later: solids - oatmeal with fruit puree and fruit finger foods
breast after 1st nap
1 1/2 hrs later: solids - veg/meat/dairy puree (fairly chunky at this point) w finger foods
breast after 2nd nap
5:30pm: solids - all finger foods, including dairy, bread, lots of veggies, and sometimes meat
BT: breast

I hope the above all makes sense. Basically, he's still doing breast feeds 4 times a day, solids 3 times a day.

I'm going back to work when my LO is 10/11 months so would like to get him off breast milk during the day (I can't pump anymore). I'm happy to BF him at morning and night. I'm trying to understand how to go about weaning him off the 2 day feeds - when should it happen? Should I plan to introduce formula for those two feeds now before I go back to work? If I do introduce formula, should I put it in a sippy cup or in a bottle? Should I be giving him solids before the milk at this point?

My current thinking is to replace the two day milk feeds with formula in a sippy cup then wait for him to wean himself off these feeds.. I'm very unsure..

Thanks for any advice!



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Re: 8mo - introducing formula, solids schedule question
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2014, 11:25:38 am »
Hi.
Lots of change can happen between 8months and 11 months so what may seem impossible or unlikely now might seem perfectly normal and natural in a couple of months.  Many people find LO is less interested in one of those day feeds by then anyway, if the over all milk intake seems to drop off a bit you can switch first one day milk to a healthy solids snack with a sippy of water (often it is the mid morning milk that switches to a solids snack but it could be the mid afternoon one if you find that more natural) and then switch the other a little while later (just do them at the same time the bf would have been so E continues but becomes a solid).  So, the issue of whether to switch to formula or not might not even be an issue by the time you go to work.  So long as the morning and evening bf is a good feed you wouldn't necessarily need to introduce formula - at the same time though it would be ok to do so, there isn't a strict rule only that the overall milk intake needs to be sufficient.
By 10/11 months mine had 2 milk feeds only (WU and BT), plus dairy solids which also count towards daily intake, cheese, yoghurt, milky sauces or puddings.  At 12 months I dropped the BT bottle (moved to a sippy of milk and supper solids snack before bath and just water after bath) and at 13 months dropped the WU bottle (switched to a straw) but it's up to you how long you continue to bf.

Should I be giving him solids before the milk at this point?
There's no need to ever change the order of milk and solids. Milk first, solids about an hour or so later.  Milk is still the priority until 12 months old so although solids intake will increase you don't want LO to get full on solids and not take the milk.  I'm sure it will make sense when you come to it.
Some people do find dropping to 3 milk feeds around 8 months increases the overall milk intake 3 larger feeds rather than 4 smaller ones but there is no need to rush towards this at all so I would continue as you are just now.  It's nice to have a plan in your head though isn't it? :)
hth


Offline ThomasTheTank

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Re: 8mo - introducing formula, solids schedule question
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2014, 10:52:20 am »
This is so helpful! Thank you so much!

Funny thing is, as I was writing the first post, I was going to mention that starting at about 7 1/2 months he seemed less interested in his 2nd milk feed of the day, but I thought that maybe it was just a phase. But he had to move from 3hourly to 4hourly feeds a few weeks earlier than normal, so no surprise that maybe he's ready for this move a bit early too. We just flew from the US to the UK so I'll be working the next few days to switch his body clock, but once that finished, I'll try cutting his 2nd feed and doing solids instead. If that goes well, I'll hold at 3 milk feeds a day until he seems disinterested in his afternoon milk feed and switch that one too.

So he'll be in the high chair 4 times a day! But hopefully once he gets better at eating less messily we can do the 'snacks' out and about in the pram or at least at home in the high chair with less clean-up involved for me? Is that right? Lately I feel like I spend all my time preparing, feeding, or cleaning up food.

Thanks again. I'm quite the planner, so it definitely feels better to have the next few steps mapped out in my head!

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Re: 8mo - introducing formula, solids schedule question
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2014, 13:41:48 pm »
Lately I feel like I spend all my time preparing, feeding, or cleaning up food.
Mine took to solids straight away so we were rapidly onto 3 proper meals plus 4 milk feeds (later switched to snacks as you are planning in the future) and I also had a thread worrying that E took up all our A and we didn't do any other activity at all! Then I realised that the exploration of food, learning all about it, is a massive learning activity in itself so it didn't matter it took up so much of our day and DS was getting so much experience from it.  it does eventually settle down though, I promise!
I did snacks and meals out and about quite a lot from early on, just chose relatively clean-ish foods. oaty chews, fruit/veg mini muffins, pancakes, things like firmly cooked omelet aren't too bad for out and about (can also have cheese and veg in it) or a pitta or tortilla wrap with cheese inside and heated on a dry frying pan so the cheese melts then the two halves of bread stick together so when it cools it's sort of solid and the cheese doesn't fall out, baked wedges of veg are easy to take out too. All depends what your LO likes really.


Offline ThomasTheTank

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Re: 8mo - introducing formula, solids schedule question
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2014, 20:11:04 pm »
That's exactly where we're at! Thank you so much for the advice!!!

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Re: 8mo - introducing formula, solids schedule question
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2014, 22:22:09 pm »
No problem :)