how much formula and solids

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

Hi. I am trying to get rid of the darn middle of night feeds, and I am wondering how much solids should my bub be eating. I realize that every baby is different, but it seems that is not eating (both solids and formula) as much as he used to. We are down to one feed a night except for last night, and I have been watering down his formula. I have been doing this for about a week and he is still waking. Last night he ate 6oz at 1am ( this tells me his hungry), and 2.5 oz at 4:45 (telling me he is not).

Also timing the solids has been a struggle. Giving them too close to formula feed and he will not eat as much, but giving too close to

[~Angie~]

What is your routine like and how much formula does he eat in a day (not counting night wakings)? Do you dream feed?

Concerning the middle of the night feed-I took my LO to the doctor Friday for her 4 month chekup and asked about night wakings. He said that he recommended stretching out the time of night feedings over the course of a few weeks. For example, my LO usually wakes at 2-3 for a bottle. So, he said to gradually extend that time out. So, she might wake at 2 and instead of feeding right away, I would try to resettle and get back to sleep. Next time she wakes try to resettle if she won't then feed. So, every couple of days you are helping your baby go a longer stretch. Does that make sense? We tried it last night. She woke at 12 am last night. I fed b/c we had a low calorie day. She woke again at 5 am. I resettled her and she slept until 7:45. So, she went almost 8 hours w/o a bottle.

When we started my son on solids, we were told that formula or BM was still the main portion of his diet. So, he was still supposed to get around 32 oz. a day plus his solids. I can't remember, but it seems at that age, he was eating solids twice maybe three times a day. Probably about 1-2 T. at each time.(I could be wrong, but I think that is what he did.  ) He has always been a larger baby though. Always in the 90th percentile for height and weight. I think really we just followed his cues. When we offered solids as soon as he started turning his head away from the spoon or closing his mouth we stopped. They will usually let you know when they have had enough. Sometimes he would only take one or two bites, sometimes alot more.

About timing, I can't really remember. I have been trying to remember the order when we first started, but can't seem to.  I hope others can answer that for you b/c I am interested to know also. We are going to be going down that road again in a few months. 

[Lªuren]

Hiya
Gage should still be having at least a pint of milk a day. Do you use a bottle or sippy to feed him?

My DS used to take on avergage 4 x 8oz bottles per day, I have found recently that he is happy to take 4oz from his bottle and the rest I have to put in his sippy cup where he hungrily takes another 1 - 2oz on his own. The remainer of the milk gets added to his food if neccessary. I feed him cereal mixed with fruit about 30mins after his 0730 bottle, then veggies 4 small icecubes 30-60 mins after his 1130/1200 milk. He then get more milk at 1600 followed by yogurt mixed with fruit, then his final bottle at 1900 (this is bottle only not sippy cup, because he is more relaxed he takes it no problems).

In a few weeks I will probably give him veggies & protien for his tea and give him veggies & yogurt for lunch. Not decided yet, but there is no right or wrong answer, I feed Calum solids until he tells me to stop - sometimes its a lot, sometimes its not.

Let your babies appetite determine how much he eats. He can now eat protein foods like; eggs, cheese, pulses, chicken & fish. Limit foods that might be indegestable such as; spinich, lentils, cheese, berry or citrus fruits. You can also try bread, pasta & rice. Annabel Karmel - Baby & Toddler meal planner

Also, from about six months, offer 2 or 3 servings each day of starchy foods (such as bread, cereals, potatoes) and 2 servings of fruit & veg. Remember, though, babies develop & grow at different rates. Some of the daily servings for your baby may be very small indeed - while other babies will eats much larger helpings. - taken from http://www.hebs.com

What types of food are you giving him?
How much milk does he consume each day?
How much has has total milk intake dropped?

HTH
Lauren

I have also just attached a 'guide' for you, sorry about the quality.

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

Hi, thanks ladies for all of your replies. We are now on a 4hr EASY from 7am ish to 7:30pm ish. Our A time is a little over 2hrs (FINALLY) and naps are doing well at the moment (cross my fingers) 2x 1.5-2hrs and a 40 min catnap.

Our problem is that Gage will wake once or twice to eat in the middle of the night. Once out of hunger and the other out of habit. Without these feeds he is eating about 20-25 oz with me really pushing it. Often he will just want to eat 4oz and then I will wait an hour and give a 2-3 more oz. I hate pushing him to eat, but I need to stop these wakenings they are threatening our routine. I have tried dream feeding in the past, but it never seemed to help. I hate to develop the habit now as Tracy says that it should stop around 7-8 mths.

This is what he ate today.

2:30am 5oz (not watered)
5am usual wants to eat, but woke and then fell back to sleep We have been watering down this feed to get him to eat breakfast.

7:25am 5oz
8:15 Very little cereal
9:05 2oz

11:30 4oz
12:30 Peas/cereal fair amount

3:30 4oz
4:30 squash a great amount
5:30 4oz

7:30pm bedtime 5oz

I used to just let him eat 4oz, but then he was not making it to the 4 hr mark and at the end of the day only eating about 18oz and waking every 3 hrs. I just dont know what to do.

[colenliam]

hi,
   i am gonna follow your posts as I am in the same boat.

[Lªuren]

Hi Gages mom, have you tried putting the remainder to the milk feed in a sippy cup and getting him to take it that way? I still make up an 8 oz bottle and anything he doesn't take get transferred to the sippy for him to take, either with my help or without.  Have you tried giving him a break for 5-10mins then trying to feed again?   

5oz seems a lot to be giving as a night feed Have you tried water down this feed at all, or have you just consentrated on the 5am feed? It is excellent he managed to go back to sleep himself  did you hold off going to him a little longer when he woke, I let Calum fuss for 1 - 5 mins at this time and he falls back asleep.

Just a thought, what size of teat are you using on the bottle? Could it be he needs a faster one?

[Mom2katiebug]

Just want to lurk - having similar issues. 

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

I have only been feeding him so often for the last couple of days because he was not eating very much and waking at night. He does a great job of eating every 4 hrs., it is just not very much. You are right about the 4 hr. EASY though, once we switched the night wakenings lessened. We are now down to 2 feeds. I know that he is hungry for the first between 1-3am and then the 4-6am is just out of habit. I was watering both feeds, but I figured if I watered the first there would definately be a second feed. Now, I am offering less each night with the first feed and watering the second. 

I am also giving him more of a wait time before I respond. I think DH and I created a prop by responding too quickly before because we wanted to avoid him waking totally. Well he is waking totally now so a lot of good that did

Last night was horrible, Gage woke at 2am so I reswaddled to try to comfort before the bottle. As a result, he woke fully, I fed him, and he stayed awake moaning/mantra in his crib until 4am. Then woke up at 6am for the day He is waking earlier and earlier each morning! i am so not a morning person so he didnt get that from me

I will try the bigger nipple. I forgot this happened about 4 mths and we upgraded and Gage ate more. I will also try feeding more after 10-15 min. that sounds better than 1 hr later. We have just learned to use the sippy straw, but he seems to only want water of it. Tracy's says to nip in the bud, but I am unsure how. I have been holding off on using it as much until I can figure out how to get him to drink milk from it. Any ideas?  Also, Gage sleeps between 3 and 4 hrs during the day, but I think we do need to work on dropping the catnap as that is becoming a problem.

[Mom2katiebug]

Had another thought - it's a bit more drastic though.  A few weeks ago I was reading BWSAYP and there was a 5MO who was still waking at night to eat (beyond the DF).  Tracy held off all nighttime feeds beyond the DF, using PU/PD to resettle the LO.  As you can imagine it was a terrible night, but the LO woke and ate breakfast (instead of snacking) and the rest of the feeds were then better.  I think they did it for 3 nights - only giving the DF - and the LO adjusted the calories to daytime and stopped waking at night.  I posted the pages for another topic - I think it was 120 or so.  If you want me to pull the book out and look up the pages, let me know. 

We sort of tried this with DD (4.5MO), but instead of PU/PD we popped her in the swing.  She can actually go 9 hours between feeds with the swing and we're pros at breaking that habit!  But, she still wakes at night.  We just don't feed her a second overnight bottle.  It's been over a week and she's still waking, so it could be habit or something else - like to get in the swing.  Not really sure but I'm really getting tired of it. 

Also, some have used water or watered down formula successfully if Tracy's method is a bit too harsh. I just couldn't even imagine doing PU/PD with a baby that expects food.  I'd be up ALL night long!  (I think you said you tried watered down formula). 

Also, in the first BW book, there is a chart about which solids to introduce (Tracy starts with fruits, specifically pears, as they are the easiest to digest).  She sticks with a single food for a week or more before introducing others (depending on the food).  I think she said to give the solids an hour or so after the bottle so the main calories are still coming from the bottle.

Sorry if the duplicates other posts.  Good luck!  Let me know what ultimately works for you.  I'm VERY interested!

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

Well last night was another disaster! I think you are right Stacy, I think Gage is really just hungry. It just feels right to stop watering his feeds down. I just don't know how I will pack in all of his calories during the day though. I think he needs something like 35 oz   He is a big baby though.... weighing about 23 ish lbs.

However, the faster nipple and the 10 min intermission did the trick today Thanks gals for the tips! He did eat 8oz at all of his feeds except for the last one. I did try giving food later in the evening and he would only drink 6oz of his bottle. I fed him kind of late though (not on purpose) as he went to bed sooner than anticipated. He was crabby due to the yesterday's all nighter. I hope he doesn't get a tummy ache. Anyway, I will keep you posted. Thanks for the advice!

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

HOT DOG! Stacy the cereal trick worked last night! He didnt get up until 5:30 which is waaaay to early, but I will take it! I worried that he would get a tummy ache, but he seemed to be fine. I just hope it wasnt a fluke. I tried again tonight. Now I just have to figure out what is causing the 5:30 feed and party.

[CharlotteandCharlie]

Our health region provides a pamphlet for feeding solids as a guideline between 4-6 months.  My dd DOES NOT sleep through the night at 7.5 months old so I am not offering this tidbit as a solution but more of a "what do you think" kinda post. 

Anyway, for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner it suggests a portion size of fruit, veggie and protein rich food.  It seems to suggest protein mid-day and for dinner.  My dd does not like any of the jarred baby foods with meat but I have been able to get her to eat moderate amounts by mixing it with carrots or sweet potatoes.  I also just recently discovered tofu.  I can buy it flavoured in mango, almond, vanilla, very berry and others.  When I checked the amount of protein per serving it has way more protein than the jarred baby food.  My dd loves the mango tofu and is very similar to yogurt in texture. 

So ... by loading our lo's up with calories would it follow that foods higher in protein mid-day and dinner would keep their tummy's fuller longer?  I have been relying on the protein diddy in hopes that it would help the nightwakings or at least give me confidence that I can put her back to sleep without having to bf everytime and that I am not being cruel.  So far it helps my confidence but not the nightwakings.

Sorry if I stole your post but I had hoped it would be related.

[colenliam]

Hi,
I just wanted to post that I have been following this thread, as was having simular problems.
Well Last night was the first night in 8 months, ds slept completely though the night, no df, no resettling, no crying, prefect. I had kept activity time more low key then normal(like 1 toy at a time etc)Went to bed at between 7-7:30 and woke this am around 7:30. ;DI hope I don't jinx myself with it though.
Today also Ds went from only taking 10-15oz/day(for the past couple weeks) to 24oz.  All I think it was, was the good nights sleep, and He would take 4-5oz and a little break then finish.  What an awsome day we had today.  No stressing from me, no fussiness from him.  Amazing.  I do now believe there may be hope and wanted to post this to say Thank you and to let you(gage's mom) know thee is light at the end of the tunnel.  

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

Oh I am sooooo happy for you colenliam! Have you tried getting a faster nipple and the 10 minute intermission? It does the trick for us. Gage ate 33oz today. Holy Mama!  Hopefully this will help his sleep tonight.

[Lªuren]

Congrat Colenliam, long may it continue for you!!

Gages mom how are you getting on?

I have managed to get Calum back up to 30 -33oz per day instead of 26/28oz, as he started walking early for feeds (5am!!). I laso managed to sneak in more solids, but it didn't take much because he loves them.