feeding confusion

we're in the final countdown to 1 year and i'm totally bamboozled by where we should go with feeding.

we're currently doing 4 bottles and 3 meals a day:
6:00 - bottle, about 5 oz
8:00 - breakfast (cereal and fruit, 3-4 oz)
10:00 - bottle, about 8 or 9 oz
12:00 - lunch (meat, veg, fruit & pasta, 3-4 oz)
2:00 - 9 oz bottle - this one is the troublemaker
4:00 - dinner (veg, fruit & cheese, 2-3 oz)
6:00 - bottle, about 5 oz

they also get sippy cups in the afternoon, along with a bit of teething biscuit or mummum around 5. they're really uninterested in self-feeding at this point.

so we're still doing 4 bottles. maybe we'd be better off at 3 but i have no idea how to drop a bottle at this point. they still act edgy and hungry at each of these feeding times so i know they want something. however, they're fighting the 2:00 bottle. yesterday jacob drank 3 ounces of a 9 ounce bottle and fought off any attempts to give him more like a rabid wolverine.

the folks at daycare look at me like i'm crazy for bringing so much food every day. am i really overfeeding them? everyone says you can't overfeed them, they'll let you know when they don't want any more.

basically i know the next step in the process is to get them on more solids and fewer bottles. however, they're not experts at sippy cups yet so i worry that reducing their formula intake will mean they won't be as well hydrated. they drink, but not enough to make up for the formula they'd lose if i dropped a bottle. plus, how do i drop a bottle when they're still acting cranky and hungry at 2?

i'm totally bamboozled by this. i have no idea how i got this far if this was going to trip me up, but here i am, totally confused by what i'm supposed to be doing with their feedings as we approach a year.

 

I would drop the 2:00 p.m. bottle. At 11 months, I actually dropped from 3 to 2, and then at a year dropped to one, and then in a couple weeks dropped them all. As I dropped bottles, they naturally increased their solid intake as necessary to compensate. I also offered water in sippies with solids so that they were practicing sippies. I would just drop it cold turkey. I think you will be shocked how easily it goes.

ETA: On the "how", I'd offer a snack instead of the 2:00 bottle. With regard to the hydration, I just wouldn't have any worry about it. They are getting plenty of hydration from formula and solid foods.

 

I would transition them to a schedule where you replace the bottle with snacks/milk. When my oldest was transitioning we basically went to a schedule where he got breakfast then a snack about 2-2.5 hours later, then lunch at about 11, then snack about 2/3 and dinner at 5pm and an evening snack before bed.

 

:laughing:

Here was our 10 month schedule, 3 bottles:

7 wake and bottle(8oz)
830 breakfast(usually waffles, pancakes or toast, with some type of fruit)
930 nap
12 lunch(veggie, and whatever I can think of to go with)
1 bottle(8oz) and nap
330 snack(puffs, crackers)
5 dinner(fruit, veggie, and some of what we are eating for dinner)
530 bath
630 bottle(8oz) and bed

I was offering the sippy throughout the day as well, so they were getting a few more oz that way. I say go for it, drop a bottle.

ETA...shortly after they turned 10 months, we dropped ALL bottles. They just weren't interested in sitting still to drink a whole bottle, so they went to sippies and actually started drinking more!

 

ITA. I stressed MAJORLY about the transition from bottles to sippies and to milk, but it has gone swimmingly. My guys get sippies of milk with meals, and also with snacks. They have turned into ravaging beasts when it comes to solids to compensate for drinking less calories.

Nate was pretty much refusing bottles by the time we transitioned to sippies. He likes milk so much better than formula that he's drinking more and we don't have to fight him about it. It took him a bit to get used to the sippies (had to tip it up for him), but he's doing great. Jack took to the sippies like a natural.

I feed my guys a LOT of yogurt and other full-fat foods to boost the calories/nutrition. They eat so much sometimes I can't seem to put food on their trays fast enough! And with all the milk they're drinking, I really think they are getting more calories now than they were a month ago. Maybe at their next WBV they'll finally be on the weight chart....

 

The first bottle I dropped was the early morning one. They would get up & immediately have breakfast (cereal, fruit, etc.) and a bit of milk in a sippy, then a bottle before nap, lunch, then a bottle before nap, dinner, then a bottle before bed. They were only getting bottles before they slept.

 

i think i would drop the 2:00 bottle too, replace with a snack and a sippy of formula. it they are thirsty for it, it will encourage them to get better at drinking out of the sippy.

i don't think that you are overfeeding them, but i do feel like i am constantly cramming food into my babies, so it is amazing the quantity that they can consume. all babies are different and have different needs so maybe a lot of the kids at daycare just eat less... i know that my SIL would freak if she saw what my kids eat, hers can somehow get by on tiny meals..

 

thanks to everyone for the input. i don't know why i'm having such a tough time conceptually with this transition.

 

will they eat avocados? i swear that is my safety food! it is so high in calories and fat that they get it almost every day, it just makes me feel better about their solid intake, like they are actually getting something nutritious.. crazy, i know...

 

I've said it a million times, I'm sure: Feeding is the hardest thing about having babies, I swear!!! Especially when you have small ones you are constantly trying to "catch up".

Man, that's rough. My guys get yogurt at every meal. Have you tried soy yogurt? I started making whole milk pudding (instant, of course :blush: ) and offering that for dessert. My boys don't really like it unless it's mixed with yogurt, but you could try it. Joy is right about avocados; you could puree some with bananas for a tasty treat.

Like I said previously, I majorly stressed about transitioning to milk/solids, but it has been very easy. I started giving sippies one meal at a time, and it only took about 2 weeks to get rid of bottles. I think they're eating so much better that I almost wish I had transitioned them earlier! I'm really hoping it goes as well for you. There was a good thread in the SY forum recently about snacks. Take a look and see if there's anything that might appeal to your guys and offer it to them instead of a bottle.

Here is our schedule (approximately):

7:30 wake, milk sippy, breakfast (Cheerios, pancakes, waffles, ham, eggs, Nutrigrain bar, yogurt, oatmeal, etc.)
9:30 nap
11:00 milk sippy (200ml)
12:00 snack (with milk or juice/water)
1:00 milk sippy and lunch
2:00 nap
3:30 milk sippy (200ml)
4:30 snack (with milk or juice/water)
5:30 DH usually gives them another snack before I get home to keep them quiet!!
6:30-7 dinner
8:00 bed

As you can see, we're feeding them *constantly*, but they're eating well, so I'm not complaining. I swear, Jack has a belly on him for the first time!! I'm really hoping he'll hit 20lbs at the next WBV so he can have his surgery (a whole separate topic in itself); we go on the 8th and I'm optimistic.

Hope this helps, and best of luck!!

 

it's very helpful, thank you! we were doing great progressing on solids and i think i kind of stalled out at some point and stopped letting them move forward. it's time for mommy to be brave and let these little boys move on from bottles and formula.

i'm going to try modifying their schedule this weekend and see how they do. i'm also considering trying yogurt earlier in the day. it was causing a lot of refluxes but we were also giving it to them at dinner, and they frequently spit more later in the day. i'm wondering if it's earlier in the day if they'll keep it down better.

 

I had a similar schedule at that age. 4 bottles, 3 meals - bottles spaced 4 hours apart. I decided to make the formula to milk in a sippy cup transition all at once around 11.5 mos. I went half and half on the formula/milk for awhile. And instead of dropping bottles I replaced the middle two bottles with a sippy and a snack in their highchair. At first they hardly drank anything. But since I knew they were at least getting 16 oz with their morning and bedtime bottle, I didn't stress too much. It took about a week for them to adjust, and then they did really well with the cups and didn't miss the bottles. A couple weeks later I put their morning bottle in a straw sippy and they didn't miss a beat. I did the same with their evening bottle just after their first birthday.

One mistake I think I made was I really pushed the sippies on them, gave them with all meals, and they turned into huge milk drinkers. They were drinking more than they were eating, and their weight gain really slowed. I had to let go of my fear of them not getting enough fluids and hold back on the sippies until the end of meals to make sure they were eating enough.

 

Hi with my first, I was sent to a dietician and found out some interesting info. A snack should be 2 hour before a meal (apples and cheese for example) to increase the child's appetite. Milk should be offered in a cup with snack and meals, water the rest of the time for thirst, and only 4oz of juice once a day (it can cause chronic diahrea and make the child not feel hungry). If you are worried about an underweight or lower weight baby, remember carbs and protein are really important for weight gain. They also told me sauces, sauces, sauces for getting fats into the baby's diet. My son was addicted to milk but remember a toddler this age needs 3 cups (8oz) milk or the equivalent calcium each day. If they don't like milk, make sure they have a vitamin D suppliament so their body can use the protein they take in and grow bigger/stronger. Plus the dietician told me to expect messy and offer all the food for a meal at once and let the child decide how much and what they want to eat. Still encourage them to eat one mor bite and to try new foods but don't make it a fight ( a new food takes up to 15 introductions before a child may even taste it or touch it!!) Anyway, I hope some of this is helpful. I'm expecting twins, if you have any advice for survival I'd love it!

 

this sounds like the kind of transition that i can get behind. i've been fretting about dropping a bottle and worrying how they'd handle the sudden change.