Too much solids?

[BlessedKylie]

My DD is almost 9 months. On 3-5, I introduced lunch. She had been eating breakfast and dinner along with four daily bottles (6-8 oz each). On 3-10, she started decreasing her formula intake... she went from 24-30 oz a day to 13-22 oz. Last week we were on vacation and she never finished more than 6 oz in one sitting - usually it was just 3-4 oz. This was regardless of how much solids she ate. I was worried about how much she was eating, so I increased her solids to make sure she was getting enough food (she slept through the night no matter what she ate - I think from pure exhaustion from all of the activity).

This week we are back home and back to our routine, but she is still not eating her formula very well. 

On Saturday she ate:
9:00 (we let her sleep in because we got in late from vaca) 3 oz
10:00 4 tbsp oatmeal, 3 tbsp veggie and 3 tbsp fruit
1:00 3 oz
2:00 4 tbsp oatmeal, 3 tbsp chicken and rice and 3 tbsp fruit
4:30 4 oz
6:15 2 tbsp chicken and rice, 3 tbsp veggie and 3 tbsp fruit
7:45 4 oz

Sunday she ate:
8:30 4 oz
9:45 4 tbsp oatmeal, 3 veggie and rice, 3 tbsp fruit
1:25 4 1/2 oz
2:30 4 tbsp oatmeal, 3 tbsp chicken and rice and 3 tbsp fruit
5:15 1 1/2 oz
6:00 3 tbsp chicken and rice, 3 tbsp veggie and 3 tbsp fruit
7:50 4 oz

Before we went on vacation, I was thinking she was to a point where I could take her down to 3 bottles a day, so I tried reversing solids and formula for lunch today... so far we are at

8:00 6 1/2 oz
9:00 4 tbsp oatmeal, 3 tbsp fruit and 3 tbsp veggie
1:00 4 tbsp oatmeal, 3 tbsp chicken and rice and 3 tbsp fruit
2:20 3 oz

Should I hold back on the solids so that she takes more formula? I know that formula is the main source of nutrition until they are a year old, but that doesn't just happen overnight... I am so confused with the whole feeding thing. I have her 9 month appointment next week, so I plan to ask the doctor about all of this, but I am worried about her nutrition in the mean time. She has gained 1 1/2 pounds in the past month, so she is thriving, but I am definitely worried if I am feeding her too much food and not enough formula.

Also, what's the deal with cheese and yogurt? I read the feeding routines board and saw that a lot of people were feeding their LOs this. I thought they couldn't have milk until they were a year old? Do you feed them low-fat cheese and yogurt made with skim milk?

Thanks!

[taygensmom]

You could try cutting back a little on the solids to see if formula intake increases a bit. On days when she is taking 22 oz. though she is doing just fine! At 9 months she should be taking about 20-24 oz of formula per day, and this should taper off to around 16-18 oz. at 1 year. This 20-24 oz. can include milk products (i.e. yogurts & cheeses) as well.

I started feeding my LO yogurt/cheese/cottage cheese around 8 months. When  you start depends on whose advice you're following, but many start between 8-10 months with these foods, unless of course your LO has allergies or there is a strong history of food allergies in your family (then you may want to be more cautious). Whole milk in yogurts/cheeses is recommended until your Lo is 2 years (not skim milk). Whole milk as a drink is not recommended, however, until 1 year.

[binxyboo]

Have you checked out this post https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=68458.0, it may be helpful.

[BlessedKylie]

So yesterday, we finished out the day as follows:

8:00 6 1/2 oz
9:00 4 tbsp oatmeal, 3 tbsp fruit and 3 tbsp veggie
1:00 4 tbsp oatmeal, 3 tbsp chicken and rice and 3 tbsp fruit
2:20 3 oz
5:30 3 tbsp veggies, 3 tbsp fruit
7:30 5 oz

She only had 14 oz of formula all day. She does get about 4 oz with her oatmeal though...

taygensmom - thanks for the advice, today I will cut down on the food and see if she takes in more formula.

Binxyboo - I have checked that link, but it doesn't list amounts, so I thought I'd post to see if I could get some more details.

[BlessedKylie]

Ok - so I just woke her up and fed her and she only took in 4 oz! She hasn't eaten in 12 1/2 hours! How can she only want 4 oz?  I understand that if she's eating too many solids during the day that those later bottles would be affected, but I'm not understanding how she can be full after 4 ounces for her first bottle of the day?!?

Has anyone else gone through this? 

[taygensmom]

I would just persevere for a while. Just as a FYI there are some kids who's worst feed of the day is the first morning bottle. I know that seems like it should be the opposite, but some babies take a while to really get going and get hungry during the day.