Reducing bottles

[Alibobs]

At my last visit, the health visitor said that by six months dd should be on just 3 bottles a day. Well, she's six months tomorrow and still on 4 bottles. Can anyone tell me how to go about dropping the 4th bottle and which one to drop? Here's when we have them:

6.30 bottle and porridge
11.00 bottle and veg
3.30 bottle and jar of baby food
6.30 bottle, bath and bed by 7ish.

I know that it's suggested to have food, wait a couple of hours, then milk, then a couple of hours later have food, etc, but dd goes to a childminder while I work and that seems a lot of work for her when she has 3 other kids to look after.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[ktmum]

Well my DDs a year and still has 4 bottles As long as they are eating their solids well and still taking water i shouldnt worry :wink:

[Seona1973]

I would go by your lo and not by your hv!! 

If your lo starts to lose interest in a particular bottle and starts to take less, that would be the one to drop first. In my dd's case it was the lunchtime one (11am) that was dropped first.  The next one to go was the 2.30pm one when dd was around 9 months. She then had only 2 bottles a day until she was around 13/14 months old and then we switched to using a cup instead of a bottle.

There is no wrong or right way to wean - do whatever works best for you, your lo and your lifestyle.

take care

Seona

[Mariek]

Hi

When we went down to 3 bottles from 4 we cut out the mid morning one first. I can't remember what age my dd was when we did that though!

The schedule was something like:

7.00am - bottle
9.00am - Solids - cereal/fruit puree
12.00pm - Bottle
2.00pm - Solids - veg and fruit pudding
4.00pm - Solids - veg and fruit pudding
6.00pm - Bottle, bath/bed

We didn't always give a bottle with solids.... but if that's going to cause a problem for you I'd stick to what works. As the other ladies have said, go by your baby not by your HV. You know your lo better than they do.

love

[Alibobs]

Thanks for your replies. Our LO has never beeen much of a morning bottle kind of person. Last month we stopped the dream feed when she started refusing any milk at all in the morning. Last week it went off again which was why I was going to follow the HV's advice. The day I wrote the message she had just 1 oz. However I didn't want to stop the am bottle.

The last two days we have done this (ish) I know I said I didn't want to split it but I couldn't think of another way

6.30 - breakfast
8.30 - bottle
11.30 - lunch
1.30 - bottle
4.30 - dinner
6.30 - bottle

Does that seem ok?

[NKmommy]

That is our schedule also...
How is it going so far?

[Alibobs]

Seems ok. Think we're going to increase the amount of food we give her though as she seems to be eating it very quickly. Thanks for the reply.

[thbriggs]

I think your feeding schedule looks great.  My Bailey was about 7 months when she switched to one that is identical.  I've been trying to up her intake of ounces with an occassional 4 oz. bottle that she can give herself, but she's none too thrilled with that.  How many oz. is she taking at each feeding?

Bailey takes 6-8 per feeding (3 times a day) and is gaining well.  I think that is all that matters!

Tiffany

[Alibobs]

She was on 3 6oz bottles and an 8oz before bed but usually left an oz in each. (I like to prepare more so she can have what she wants). She's had 3 8oz for the last few days, with a little more porridge in the morning. (I had only been giving her a small amount so that she would have more milk). This seems to be fine and very similar to your routine.

I agree with you. Lily has always gained well (sometimes too well maybe!) has what she needs and is happy. Who could ask for more than that?!

[Kiwi]

Hi there

Ok, now i'm freaking out... My 9 month old DD has 5 (yes 5) bottles of 200ml (7 ounces) a day. She also has 2x 120g solids & 1x 60g (roughly) solids.
I tried cutting out the dreamfeed the other night, only to be woken at 3am to a crying, hungry baby (polished off a whole bottle!!).
Can anyone put me on the right track? how do I cut out bottles when she wants them? She drinks all 200ml but wont take anymore.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks Sandie 

[Kiwi]

P.S. I try to give her water but she's not interested.

Thanks Sandie

[micah'smom]

sandie sorry i don't have advice, i'm just butting in with my situation too    can any moms help me as well?

ds is 6 months old and on 4 bottles a day, usually 4-6 oz. each, BF in the middle of the night. losing interest in his 3rd bottle (sometimes will only take 3 oz, tops). he's only on 2 solid meals a day; also his naps are horrible so i brought up his bedtime super-early (per advice of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child). if i did this schedule do you think this would work?

7am cereal and fruit (2oz total)
8am bottle (hopefully 6-8 oz)
11-11:30 fruits and veggies ( 2 oz total)
12pm bottle
5pm bottle

so that 12-5 stretch is really long. should i go ahead and intro a 3rd solid meal? also  sometimes ds still takes 45 min naps, so his feeding schedule and awake times are off kilter. any suggestions?

thanks!
selena