Some thoughts on my E - 11 month old girl

[ladymugg]

Hi there

My baby girl's EASY looks like this at the moment:

6/6.30 am - wake and bottle
7.30/8 am - breakfast (toast, cereal, fruit etc)
9.30/10.30 bottle, some activity then sleep
11.30 wake
12.00 pm solids lunch
2.30/3.30 pm bottle, some activity then sleep
4.30 pm wake
4.45/5 pm solids dinner
6 pm most of her bottle, then bath before 6.30 pm
6.30/6.45 pm bed time

If she hasn't finished her bottle we go in and top her up with the rest of the bottle at about 8 pm.  We gave up the dream feed at about 7 months but find ourselves giving her the last 50-100ml of her bottle if she doesn't have it at bed time.

Just wanted your thoughts... questions:

- Should we stop doing that bedtime top up?
- Should we drop that 3 pm ish bottle?  She drinks it all, but then maybe she just has it because it is offered.  Maybe I need to up the snacks?
- I have decided to decrease the amount of formula I make up in each bottle.  Currently 4 bottles of around 180ml of water each a day, which is 720ml / 24 oz if she has it all.  Do you think she has too much formula for her age?

Always appreciate your thoughts.

And as always I have checked the board for info and have read up on the main help topics before posting.  Just keen for some specific insight here.

ETA: As of today I have made up smaller bottle amounts (150ml of water x 3 and 180ml of water x 1) but decided before her mid morning nap to try morning tea/snacks instead.  Might make up a larger bottle for her when she wakes and try dropping the 3 pm ish bottle, and swap for afternoon tea.

In addition, we didn't top her up with whatever she didn't drink last night after bedtime, she slept fine til 6/6.30 am.

Still appreciate your thoughts despite my edit!

[Lolly]

Sorry I missed your post!

I would say you can cut most of those bottle out to be honest and offer fewer larger bottles rather than lots of smaller feeds. Most formula fed babies drop to 3 bottles around 9 months and then 2 bottles around the year mark to prepare for phasing bottles out altogether one the pass one. Between 6 months and 1 they need a minimum of  600ml (20oz) of milk but this can include the milk in their solids, from 1 they only need around 360ml (12oz) of dairy and this doesn't have to be liquid milk.

If she wakes at 6/6.30 I would offer her a 180ml bottle and then a snack and drink in a sippy before her nap rather than a bottle. The bottle before her afternoon nap is what most people do so offer another 180ml bottle there. She will then have her bedtime bottle which can be another 180ml bottle. That gives 540ml over the day so you can either put a bit more in the bedtime bottle or offer some cow's milk in a sippy with meals or a snack to start her getting used to that. If she is eating cheese and yoghurts that adds to the 540ml as well.

We always offered the bedtime bottle after bath as they took it better, you may find that by swapping your bedtime bottle she will take more. I wouldn't bother with the top up, just let her take what she wants and be done!

Once she hits 1 you can swap the afternoon bottle for a snack and keep the morning and bedtime milk. You are then into the transition to cow's milk and swapping the bottles for sippy cups/ open cups.

What do you think?

Laura

[ladymugg]

Thanks Laura... I have been doing this since Wednesday (3 days) and it's been working fine.  I guess I was always told that the baby would naturally drop a bottle out themselves so kind of had been waiting for that to happen. Anyway I am now on 3 x 200ml ish bottles a day for her which is working fine, and not topping her up after bed.

I find if I feed her straight before bed she is just so over it and wants to sleep (she flakes pretty quickly after bath, it's kind of cute, and she isn't OT just knows when it's bedtime)... So tend to offer bottle about 30 mins before BT.

Thanks so much! . Was great to get reassurance.

[Lolly]

Sounds like things are going well for you! That's great!

Laura