Weaning: should my 10 month old be having less bottles?

[giggleandhoot]

Hello everyone

Just hoping I can get some advice about how much food my 10 month old is eating and how many bottles she is having.

DD has never changed the amount of formula she is drinks even after increasing meals to 3 per day. She drinks 6-7 bottles (120ml) in 24 hours. That probably doesn't sound like much but she is on Neocate (a special formula I get on script) which seems to prescribe a lesser amount than over the counter formulas. However she still drinks less than what is recommended for her age (5x 240ml). She always has drunk less. I haven't weighed her recently but last time she was on the 75th percentile for both height and weight. She still looks pretty healthy.

As far as solid foods go I have been doing a combination of BLW and spoon feeding. I let her choose how much she wants to eat and never force feed her with the spoon. Sometimes she eats all her mushy food. Other times she won't eat any of it. Until recently I didn't think she swallowed any of the chunky foods she was given to suck on but thought it was important for her to have so she could play with it and feel the different textures. I also wanted to make meal times a fun time for her. She has about 3 meals a day sometimes with snacks. She also always has a formula bottle on the go. I offer her water in a sippy cup at meal times.

How do I get her to eat more food and drink less bottles?

[headoverfeet]

Food before 1 is just for fun, regardless of how they get their milk :)

[Elijahs Mum]

At ten months I started offering food before his lunch bottle, are you offering food or bottle first?

[giggleandhoot]

At ten months I started offering food before his lunch bottle, are you offering food or bottle first?

She has breakfast first and then a bottle. She usually has 1 and a half during the morning and I always give her a bottle after her meals. She does drink 2-3 bottles during the night though and the last one is often around 5 or 6 in the morning. If she has one at that time she'll go back to sleep til 7/7.30. I am hoping if she eats more during the day I'll be able to get rid of the night bottles (which is another problem all together)

[larazie]

maybe u might have to cut her bottle feeds down...u could try cutting 1 bottle down by half the amount so she only getting half the amount in that 1 bottle just to give her something but not filling her right up (if that make sense) & that way she shouldnt be starving hungry either & do that for a week then cut the other half of the bottle out & see how u go from there. Hopefully she will want to eat some more solids then even if its just that 1 more spoon full at the start.

[captainscaptain]

I wouldn't, as a PP said "food before 1 is just for fun." At 10months, she should preferably be having more milk than solids.

[larazie]

I wouldn't, as a PP said "food before 1 is just for fun." At 10months, she should preferably be having more milk than solids.

when i was weaning my DS (will be 3 in few weeks) the Doctor told me to get him off the bottle by 12months. I wasn't saying cut out 2 or more bottles just a little bit even if cutting out half a bottle fora month or so then the other half bottle the next month or so.

[captainscaptain]

when i was weaning my DS (will be 3 in few weeks) the Doctor told me to get him off the bottle by 12months. I wasn't saying cut out 2 or more bottles just a little bit even if cutting out half a bottle fora month or so then the other half bottle the next month or so.

Yeah I getcha. There isn't anything wrong with that - I'm trying to reduce my nearly 1yo's breastfeeds so that he's on more solids sometime in the near furture....but 12 months is certainly not the age to cut milk out completely! And at 10months his diet was probably 99% milk, haha.

:goodvibes:

[Kimberleygal1]

My bub has been having 3 meals of solids plus snacks in between and has 2-3 180ml bottles of formula during the day. He has a bottle before bed too. He has pretty much been on that regime for the past 3 mths or so. He turned 1 yesterday. At 12mths food becomes more important than milk but I'm happy to continue with things as they are, he gets a good variety and isn't a fussy eater. He did get into the habit of waking through the night sometimes twice for a bottle but I now don't give him milk through the night, I keep a bottle of water in his cot instead which he can reach if he wants. He grizzled the first few nights I didn't give him a bottle but soon settled when he knew he wasn't going to get his way. He sleeps much better now.

[giggleandhoot]

when i was weaning my DS (will be 3 in few weeks) the Doctor told me to get him off the bottle by 12months. I wasn't saying cut out 2 or more bottles just a little bit even if cutting out half a bottle fora month or so then the other half bottle the next month or so.

Thanks Larazie. I'm definitely going to try that. The dr wants her off the Neocate by 12 months but I think I'm then meant to put her onto a over the counter formula which are all cows milk based. Once she does that I font really want her having too many bottles

[giggleandhoot]

He did get into the habit of waking through the night sometimes twice for a bottle but I now don't give him milk through the night, I keep a bottle of water in his cot instead which he can reach if he wants. He grizzled the first few nights I didn't give him a bottle but soon settled when he knew he wasn't going to get his way. He sleeps much better now.

This is a great idea. I have tried to give her water in the past but she just continues to scream with her eyes closed as though she is still asleep until I replace it with milk. If I leave it long enough she wakes up completely. But if I brace myself for a few sleepless nights I might be able to get her to take it instead of the milk. She may even sleep through again and eat more during the day

[giggleandhoot]

Yeah I getcha. There isn't anything wrong with that - I'm trying to reduce my nearly 1yo's breastfeeds so that he's on more solids sometime in the near furture....but 12 months is certainly not the age to cut milk out completely! And at 10months his diet was probably 99% milk, haha.

:goodvibes:

You're so lucky to still be breast feeding. Unfortunately it didn't work out do well for dd and I.

When do they stop having milk altogether? I am finding so much conflicting information out there. I was told to start solids at 4 months. I tried this but DD didn't really respond to it. I tried again at 5 months and then again around 6. I later found out that starting before 6 months has no beneficial effects and if anything can be more harmful as food isn't as nutrient rich as milk. I also found spoonfeeding a nightmare and so preferred to let her have chunks of food to taste and play with. This worked really well but she didn't really seem to eat too much of it. I have just recently found out that it's called baby led weaning and there are heaps of books out there about it.

I am finding the whole food thing a difficult concept. I'm not sure if she's getting enough nutrients or if she's hungry at night so that's why she wakes up.

Sometimes I think work was soooo much easier

[SugarSkull]

Subscribing.

[Guest]

Ive found taking their lead to be a good way of doing things. Both mine have naturally dropped bottles and increased solids and every baby is different. If she's demanding the milk I'd keep offering, but just offer food first. Having 3 meals sounds pretty good to me though, my dd didn't even start solids till 8months, at 13months she's down to 3bottles and sometimes 1 overnight. My ds still has a bottle, he's 2.5yrs old.
But yeah at 10months I wouldn't force much change yet. (except trying the water, I'd actually try that if those feeds are more for comfort)

[giggleandhoot]

Thanks so much everyone. I was starting to think I wasn't giving her enough nutrients. All the mothers and aunties were telling me that she should be fully weaned by 12 months and that I had left it too late in starting solids. She definitely prefers to munch on food by herself than to be spoon fed. I am definitely going to do the water thing, probably over Easter as things will be a little more settled then. She has some teeth now and so I am worrying that the night bottles will start decaying them

[captainscaptain]

You're so lucky to still be breast feeding. Unfortunately it didn't work out do well for dd and I.

When do they stop having milk altogether? I am finding so much conflicting information out there. I was told to start solids at 4 months. I tried this but DD didn't really respond to it. I tried again at 5 months and then again around 6. I later found out that starting before 6 months has no beneficial effects and if anything can be more harmful as food isn't as nutrient rich as milk. I also found spoonfeeding a nightmare and so preferred to let her have chunks of food to taste and play with. This worked really well but she didn't really seem to eat too much of it. I have just recently found out that it's called baby led weaning and there are heaps of books out there about it.

I am finding the whole food thing a difficult concept. I'm not sure if she's getting enough nutrients or if she's hungry at night so that's why she wakes up.

Sometimes I think work was soooo much easier

It's all so confusing isn't it? I started BLW on DS when he was 7 or 8 months old and at first I stressed out about how little he was eating too, but just kept telling myslef that he's getting lots of milk and that's the most important thing ATM. He still doesn't eat much but he eats more than back then (quantity and variety) so I know that there is a slow improvement happening. I'll only stress again if he hits 13/14 months and is still pecking at his plate like a sparrow, haha. He still feeds at night once or twice too, but it's for comfort not for hunger.

Oh, and I don't think there's a rule on when to cut out milk but I'd think the minimum is 2 years?

Good luck with the night time water bottles! Hope it works. :fingerscrossed:

[insanity]

I was going to post the exact same thread a few days ago!

DS is also on Neocate... he has 4 bottles a day and will drink anywhere between 120-180mls as well as 3 solid meals

[giggleandhoot]

It's all so confusing isn't it? I started BLW on DS when he was 7 or 8 months old and at first I stressed out about how little he was eating too, but just kept telling myslef that he's getting lots of milk and that's the most important thing ATM. He still doesn't eat much but he eats more than back then (quantity and variety) so I know that there is a slow improvement happening. I'll only stress again if he hits 13/14 months and is still pecking at his plate like a sparrow, haha. He still feeds at night once or twice too, but it's for comfort not for hunger.

Oh, and I don't think there's a rule on when to cut out milk but I'd think the minimum is 2 years?

Good luck with the night time water bottles! Hope it works. :fingerscrossed:

It's good to know that the not eating much food thing is normal and that they are still getting most of what they need from their milk. I'll let you know how the water bottles go. I'm hoping it works too!!

[giggleandhoot]

I was going to post the exact same thread a few days ago!

DS is also on Neocate... he has 4 bottles a day and will drink anywhere between 120-180mls as well as 3 solid meals

How old is he? Was he put on Neocate for food allergies? DD was put on it because of reflux, very bad wind, diarrhoea and hunger (apparently I wasn't producing enough even after natural therapies, mollitium and expressing). They thought the cause of all the tummy problems was a lactose intolerance. She seems to be handling the tiny bits of dairy I have given her and hasn't shown any side of food allergies. I wonder whether she had been put on it a bit prematurely