should i change bottle feeds?

[micah'smom]

hi all,

i don't know where to post this. ds is almost 1 yr old and his schedule is:

7:00 wake and 6 oz bottle
8:00 breakfast
9:30-11:00 nap
12:00 lunch
2:00 small snack
2:30-4 6 oz bottle and nap
5:00 dinner
6:00 bath
7 6 oz bottle and sleep

i'm noticing on the boards that other kids his age have a "big kid" schedule - they have breakfast first, and some formula or milk after. and it seems like parents are giving milk in sippies in more frequent intervals throughout the day instead of in 3 bottles like i'm doing.

should i be doing the same with ds? i've never tried giving him a full milk feed in a sippy, although he takes a few sips at meals.

thanks!

[HeatherC]

Hi there.  It is not unheard of for babes to take a bottle up to 2 yrs of age.  My opinion, however, would be to start introducing whole milk in a sippy cup now.  It took my dd a full month before she would drink enough to fully replace the bottle with the sippy.  I think, though, that I actually started putting her formula in the sippy, then whatever she didn't finish I'd put in the bottle and let her finish that way.  It can take some time, so don't give up.  Babies form an association with things, and he might not understand why his milk is coming from a different source.
My suggestion is to start trying it with every meal b/c the more practice he gets the faster he might catch on.  Eventually, you'll have him taking his milk with his meals rather than at a separate time.  Then, you'll offer snacks with water or water-down juice in between meals.
Also, keep in mind that some kids never develop a taste for regular milk, but you can still give him other forms of calcium like yogurt and cheese.
Oh, and I still give whole milk in a bottle before bed.  Some drop that one at the same time as dropping the other bottles and offer a bedtime snack.  I haven't done that yet, but plan to within a month or so.  I just realize that my dd still likes to have a bedtime bottle and we're fine with giving her one.

[micah'smom]

heather,

thanks for your reply!

can i ask for an example schedule of how to integrate the milk/sippy during meals? for example, ds always expects a morning bottle right when he wakes up. should i still give it to him, but half of what he usually has, and give the rest during breakfast in a sippy? he's also used to taking a bottle right before his PM nap and bedtime - not as a prop but as part of winding down. do i start working on phasing those out? also, how do i know that he's getting enough ounces in him? thanks again!

[HeatherC]

For many, the afternoon/mid day bottle is the easiest to drop.  You can start offering milk or formula in a sippy with his lunch, and then offer a snack before his nap instead of the bottle.  The hard thing for me was not just taking away the bottle that many lo's get attached to, but keeping the nourishment in another form.  Most babes aren't going to drink as much milk in a sippy as they do formula in a bottle, but it's not completely unheard of.  Anyway, try one bottle at a time.  He may surprise you as my dd did and not blink an eye over not having the bottle. 
Does that help at all?  I got most of my advice from the Bottle Feeding Forum and I'm sure you can find several posts about this exact topic.  However, I'm still here to help all that I can!

[micah'smom]

thanks, all this is definitely helpful!  i posted in the bottle feeding forum too, and i'm hearing similar advice. you're right, my exact concern is wondering whether ds is getting enough nutrition. so is it that after baby turns one year old, the main reason for milk is the calcium, and the nutrients they used to get from formula should be coming mainly from solids now? is there a chart floating around the boards on how many servings of calcium, etc they need? ( i guess i shoudl browse the feeding section)

so tomorrow, i'll cut out the afternoon bottle and offer him lunch with formula in a sippy, then an hour or so later offer a snack of yogurt or cheese or something. i'm just wondering, if he drinks 2 oz of formula with lunch, and he usually has a 4-6 oz bottle before his nap, where will he get those 4-6 oz? oy.

thanks again heather! i love that i can come here and get great advice from other mamas.

[HeatherC]

My understanding of it all is that before they are 12mos, a baby's tummy can't tolerate whole milk.  Therefore, formula is designed to mimic bmilk which is ultimately the best for them, and have broken down proteins that a baby can digest.  Once their systems are thought to be mature around 12 mos, they are allowed to drink whole milk, and has benefits of calcium and fat for brain development.  After 2 yrs old, however, they don't need all the fat anymore and should transfer to 2 % or skim milk.  Yes, the majority of the nutrients from the formula will now be received from foods, but an average of 16 oz of milk or milk product is recommended for a day.  Check the Toddler Boards (after 12 mos seems to be considered a toddler I think) for great tips on feeding and milk intake.
My dd gets a sippy of milk, 3-4 oz, with each meal (8, 12:30, 6).  Then, I offer watered-down juice during play and with snacks (10, 3:30), and her pm snack is usually 4 oz yogurt.  And for now she's still getting 6 oz of milk in a bottle before bed.  My next step, this month actually, is to convert the bedtime bottle into a light snack, such as crackers, with some milk.