8 month old feeding schedules

Hi. I just found this forum and would like some feedback.

Our boys are almost 8 months. They are still eating 5 bottles a day, including us waking them at 10pm for a nightfeed. The bigger eats 29 oz. plus solids, and the litter eats 27 oz. plus solids. The little guy won't take more than 6.5 oz. at a time, way less when he gets solids, so I just don't see how I can get him down to 4 bottles (24 oz. rather than 27), especially since they wake up at 6:30am already and want to eat.

Here is our typical feeding schedule. Any feedback or suggestions?

6:30 - 6.5 oz bottle
10am - cereal with 2 oz fruit
10:30am - bottle (4.5 oz for little guy, 5 oz for big guy)
2pm - 2 oz. veggie, 0.5 oz fruit, 0.5 oz protein (we are just adding in the proteins)
2:30pm - 5.5 oz bottle
5:45pm - 2 oz. veggie, 1.5 oz fruit
6pm - bottle (5.5 oz for each)
7:30ish bedtime (after feeding and bath)
10pm - bottle (6.5 oz for the big guy, 5 oz for the little guy)

Anyone has any ideas how we can drop that last bottle without cutting them way back? The doc says we can add up to 2 oz protein now, we which are working up to slowly, but that we are maxed out on all the rest of the solids for now (until they hit 9 months). I'm just not sure they can make it for 12 hours without eating - they don't seem staving in the mornings, but they are fairly hungry.

 

Boy do they seem to eat well! And I am highly impressed you know how much they eat! LOL! I could never be bothered with measuring, probably because I would drive myself crazy wondering if they were eating enough, too much, etc. Annabella was TORTURE to feed. I dreaded every moment of feeding her solids, because she was nearly impossible to feed.

I see that you wake them at 10pm. Have you tried NOT to wake them? That would be the very first thing I would do. Based on what you've written for their intake, I don't see how they would need that bottle. And with you waking them, they are going to take it. Would you not eat a filet, or lobster, or cake if you were offered it? So the first thing I would do is get rid of that bottle(especially because it seems like you wake them, not them waking up). Up their bottles to 6/7 oz each. It will take some adjusting. I don't know if you believe in CIO, or if they sttn(after that bottle). But it may be something you might be willing to try if they do wake for a bottle, and you are trying to drop it. It's a personal decision though.

As for feeding schedules, here is a great link put together by other TS members. I hope you are able to get a better idea of what others have done.

8 month schedules

And :welcome: to TS! Take a long around and don't be a stranger!

 

HI !! Mine are 8 months as well -

Both twins eat solids. This is their schedule.

7 - 7 30 am - up and nursing
playtime and nap
10 - cereal (oatmeal, rice, or barley) with fruit - nursing
Playtime
12 - nursing and nap
230 / 3:00 - Solids - Veggies and meat with a little fruit - nursing
Playtime
5 - Veggies and meat with a little fruit - nursing
730 - nursing and bed


They rarely wake up to eat - usually if they wake up - they can be soothed back to sleep. Mine have been sleeping for 12 hours now since 6 months.
They can certainly do it.

I agree with Meaghan - try to not wake them up at 10 - and you will probably be surprised how well they do. I know for me it was hard to stop the late feed - because i was always scared they would wake at 3 am to eat --- but they were totally fine *(and actually slept better because i wasnt waking them up)

 

I would experiment with dropping the 10 pm bottle too.. you can always go back to it if you find they're waking later, but at 8 months if they're good weights and eating a lot during the day they might just be sleeping right through the night! You could also try spacing out the solids/bottles a little differently... try giving a bottle first rather than solids to make sure that they're getting the formula that they need, or maybe just space it out a bit so they're getting solids an hour after their bottle or something. But, I think you're doing great!

 

Thanks for the welcome. :thanks:

The thing is, if I completely drop that bottle, it will drop them to 22 oz. and 23.5 oz., and the doctor tells me they need at least 24 oz. of formula. That's why I've been afraid to drop it completely. Maybe I could do it gradually, or gradually shift a few ounces to the other bottles? Like I said, the little guy just won't eat that much at a time....it's a struggle to get him to 6.5 in the morning and 5.5 after his midday and evening solids - I don't think there's anyway I can get him to eat 7 oz when he's had solids, too. (They used to get 7 and 5.5 at night and I just cut that back yesterday and they didn't seem to mind too much. I think I'm going to go back another 1/2 oz. tonight and see what happens).

They are not STTN right now, but they are cutting their top teeth. They were STTN before that, so I assume the not sleeping is just the teeth.

I could try bottle first and then solids and see what happens. They really love their solid foods, so I do think they would eat them. But DH would love to get them down in the formula if we can. The only thing we can use is Nutramigen RTF, which is KILLING our budget buying for two (and me not working).

I think today I'm going to try giving them their cereal and fruit before their nap rather than waiting until they wake up so that they have a bit of time before their bottle. Maybe they can each eat a bit more if I do that.

Anyway, thanks. It's just so frustrating knowing what to do. I'm trying to keep from going back to a middle of the night feeding for DH's sake, since he already has to get up at 6am to feed them and get ready for work (he has to be at work at 7:15). They are not patient enough in the morning for me to feed one and then the other usually, so we always feed them before DH leaves for work.

 

At this point solids are still mostly for practice...to learn about eating, not to get any significant amount of nutrition. The rule of thumb generally is to do bottle or nursing before solids. It doesn't have to be directly before, but you want their food needs to mainly be fulfilled by their bottles still at this point. I try to do solids within 30 mins to an hour of their last nursing session to make sure that they're not filling up on solids and not leaving room for milk.

I'd try upping your oz a bit and reversing the schedule by putting bottles before solids. They may take in less solids, but that's totally fine at this stage of the game. If they start taking in a bit more from each day time bottle, then you can eventually drop the night time and they will gradually eat more solids as they get older.

 

:welcome: to the First Year and TS!!

The above statement bothers me a bit. And I know that you probably didnt mean it to come out that way. At their age, they should be drinking mainly formula and probably a solids meal or two. So, really they should be going through formula like crazy right now. It's the hazard of having multiples.

Excellent post! Couldnt agree more! :good:

 

You have to understand, he is working 3 jobs so that we can even keep our heads above water. I know that comment doesn't sound good when you take it at face value, but he is under a lot of stress. I won't get into all the details of our situation because it is very personal.

I am going to try doing bottles first and then solids, though. I think that may help. They are definitely getting plenty to eat. The big guy is 90th percentile for height and weight (23 lbs, don't remember the height) and the little guy is just about 50th percentile (20 lbs). The doctor said it would be no problem if they cut back their formula given their growth rate, and she told us the max solids they should be eating. That is why I was thinking I could up the solids and not the formula - we are maxed out on fruits and veggies, but the doctor said we could add 2 oz. of protein a day now. I measure everything very carefully to be sure we are not going over the limits.

The main thing is, I would like to get them to 4 bottles with either the same amount of formula or dropping it just a bit so that we don't have to wake them at 10pm for a feeding. You guys have given me some good ideas, and looking at the different schedules people have has helped, too. I wish I had found this board many months ago when we were struggling so with reflux, sleep, and all those things!!

 

One of the things about formula feeding is that it is expensive. And if you need a specialty formula, it can be super expensive. But an adequate amount of properly prepared formula is the only appropriate substitute for breast milk. This allows for both growth and proper brain development.

A significant part of the reason for the push by physicians' organizations and other groups for breastfeeding is that formula sometimes gets diluted or other foods/drinks are substituted in an attempt to save money. This is unhealthy and can be very dangerous.

So I guess your DH is just going to have to find a way to deal. ardon: I can find you some articles later to show your DH if he is not convinced that is a goof idea.

Also, I wanted to mention that my DS who had severe, violent, painful, "I can only drink Alimentum" reflux, was able to switch to regular formula around 7 months. So you might want to see if they can handle regular formula now.

And I definitely would not be waking them at 10:00pm for a feeding at this age. See how they do through the night and if they aren't STTN after a couple of nights, then maybe go back to the late night bottle. But I would bet they STTN for you. And then they will be hungrier during the day and get their daily intake during daytime hours.

 

I did not come here looking to be lectured. They ARE getting adequate formula. More than adequate, in fact, and our doctor has said she sees no problem with us cutting back since they are getting 29 oz and 27 oz right now and they need 24-32. They are 90th and 50th percentile, so they are clearly not being deprived.

As far as breastfeeding, our guys are adopted and we only had 3 weeks notice before they were born. Breastfeeding was not an option, so please don't lecture me on the benefits of breastfeeding when I didn't have that choice. We are not diluting the formula or any such thing - that is ridiculous that you would imply that. It's not that DH is not convinced. The man is working 3 jobs. Teaching middle school all day, teaching at the local university 2 nights, and teaching 2 online classes. He would like to be able to spend more time with his children, but he can't as long as we need to spend so much money on formula. We tried switching to something else several times, even to the powder form of Nutramigen, and it is a total disaster. Don't judge someone until you walk a mile in their shoes. I doubt I will back to this board if I'm going to be so judged. I think I'll stick to the adoption.com forums where I'm not looked down on for asking for opinions.

I can't just cut out a 6.5 ounce bottle all at once and expect them to sleep, you know. You're so worried about how much formula they get, so you have to see that that would be a horrible idea. If you read my original post, the smaller of the twins will not eat more than 6.5 oz at a time, so I'm not sure he will make it up unless we do it slowly.

 

As you can see from my siggy, I proudly feed my kiddos formula! In fact, I have been pretty vocal on this board as a pro-formula feeder mommy and I strongly disagree with the assertion that "Breast is Best." My only regret about bf is not having stopped sooner! I would never lecture someone about not bfing, but I do encourage moms all the time to stop bf'ing when it isn't working for them!

However, you expressed that your DH wanted to cut out their formula to save money. I was merely responding to that. Formula feeding is expensive--that is one of the downsides.

It sounds like you already tried to switch off the specialty formula without success. Let me share with you are experience. At 6 months, we tried switching DS off the specialty formula--the result was not good. So we tried again at 7 months--WOW, what a difference just a month made. He was totally 100% fine on it. So--you may want to keep trying to make the switch and see how it goes. Cause eventually, they should be OK with it. It's just a matter of trial and error.

Also, yes, I do think you have a good chance with simply cutting out that final feed, letting them sleep, and then feeding them in the morning. IF they are willing to sttn, I think they will make up for the feeds during the day. It may take them a couple of days to get used to the new routine and to drink more during the day. But I bet even the smaller one will make up for it.

But if you don't want to do that, you could try giving them a smaller bottle when you wake them up. I don't know how hungry they are at that point and that may backfire cause they would think "oooh, I'm up, feed me! feed me!" and want to eat more. Maybe this would work better for the smaller guy since you think he needs something more gradual? My smaller twin took several months longer to drop his middle of the night bottle, but we never encouraged him to do so, as he had some medical problems and needed extra calories. Otherwise, I think we would have worked with him to get him sttn sooner.

 

Yes, formula is expensive - I wish I had had a choice in the matter. It was SO horrible last time we tried to switch, which was at about 6-6.5 months. They went from sttn to being up every 30 minutes and it took a month (literally) to get back on track. I'm not sure I can through that again! Plus they are teething their top teeth, so they aren't sleeping well anyway right now. I guess I just hate to throw another reason not to sleep on top of it. Maybe when we get a break from teething (if that happens....we got a good break between the two bottom teeth and these).

Sometimes at that 10pm feed, they are starving. Other times, they are groggy, but they do usually finish it. I just don't want to go cold turkey for DH sake. He is so tired already with the three jobs and if he has to get up with two babies screaming in hunger again, it will be hard on him. Yes, he would do it, but I'd like to avoid it if we can. I think I'm going to shift a 1/2 oz or 1 oz out at a time from that bottle until we're down to about 3 ounces, and then try to go without it. That seems less drastic to me. They are early risers - usually awake by 6am (6:30 if we are lucky), but they don't seem all that hungry. So maybe the shifting will work. I guess they will let me know if they don't like it!! ^_^

 

6.30am 7 oz bottle each

8.50am 1 container gerber/earth's best (3.5oz or 4 oz)
fruit with either oat or mixed grains, each

nap time

10.30am 6oz bottle each

11.50am 2oz turkey/chicken each
2oz veggie each
2oz fruit or gerber yoghurt each
juice

long nap

2.30pm 6oz bottle each

4.50pm cereal (I warm up 3.5oz water and mix in the rice/oatmeal cereal.
I usually make it thinner, like the consistency of baby food)
1 jar of veggie or fruit (4oz) - they share this
juice, some gerber puffs or teething cookie

6.30pm 6-7oz bottle

And sometimes they drank even less formula. They avaraged at like 22 oz a day.

I just wanted to post my schedule at 7-8 months. It seems pretty similar to yours. Even in the amount of formula.

Try not to worry about it. You could try to drop a bottle and see if it works. They'll be up at the crack of dawn if they are hungry...- Good luck to you!

 

Thanks - that is fairly similar to us. The thing I noticed is that you do the bottles first usually and the solids after with more time in between. That is probably what I am going to try soon. That makes it difficult on days that I need to go out, but I guess those days I will just do them together like I have been - I CANNOT stay home all the time or I will go crazy. :silly:

They are already up at the crack of dawn, so no bigger there. They have been up at 5:15 for the last week for some reason (they weren't hungry, overly wet, or anything - just AWAKE). Today they slept til 6 again, thank goodness.

 

I know what you mean about using less formula! We were on Alimentum and also couldn't wait until we didn't need as much. We were so excited when we tried Good Start at 6 months and Claire was fine.

This is our schedule:

7:00 6 oz bottle
8:30 4 oz solids
9:30 nap
11:00 6 oz bottle
12:30 4 oz solids
2:00 nap
3:30 6 oz bottle
4:30 2 oz solids
7:00 6 oz bottle

They drink about 24 oz a day and that's fine. Mine have never been the 32 oz a day type. Both babies usually sleep around 11 hours at night. I also vote for skipping the 10:00 pm feeding and seeing what happens! I bet they do fine. If they wanted to eat, they would wake up on their own at this point. If they are sleeping, I personally would just let them go.

 

Yeah, I have to admit I did a little dance when we were all done with Alimentum. :FIFblush:

One thing to try is to wake them, let them eat, and if they are starving, then they eat the whole bottle (or as much as they will eat with gusto) but if they are groggy, just let them eat a little bit and see if they will go back to sleep. Again, this may backfire--depending on the kid--but it may be a good way to gradually get rid of that meal.

 

You know, I was wondering earlier-have you contacted your pedi's office about the formula? I don't know who puts out Alimentum, but if the pedi's office could contact the rep for Alimentum, maybe they'd help you out? When I had the boys, I was told to contact Enfamil for some free formula. But instead, the pedi needs to do it. They had a offer for parents of multiples, for a free case of formula. We lucked out big time, and ended up getting SIX cases of formula. Granted, it was the 8oz size vs 12oz, but it was a HUGE help! Just thought I would mention something else to try! I know how expensive formula can be, and that's just regualr formula!

Oh-and I agree-bottles first THEN solids. That way they are getting all they need from the formula first. Make sure once you try some new ideas, to let us know how things have worked out.

 

We actually are using Nutramigen. The doctor's office only gives out powder samples, not samples of the ready to feed, which is the only thing our guys will take. We have tried switching to powder a couple of times, and for whatever reason, it gives them horrible stomach pain. Thanks for the idea. The doctor's office did give out name to the Enfamil rep, and they sent us TONS of coupons for the first few months (once we got $13 in coupons in one day!). They have stopped coming recently, though, so I'm going to ask again next time we go in.

 

Yeah-definitely ask again! I hope they can be of some help! Are the Enfamil coupons good for ANY formula? I get some periodically, I could always send some your way!

 

I am really impressed with how organized your schedule is...we are slowly working towards adding our third solid food meal. Our little guys have been on Neosure from the NICU, but at first they too would only take the ready made stuff. We recently made the switch to powder...we kept trying each month and eventually they were ready. Maybe your little guys will tolerate powder some day and save you some $$. Keep up the great work!

 

Our boys are 8 months adjusted, 11 actual.

Our schedule typically goes like this:

7 or 7:30 - wake up and 7 oz. bottle then play, etc..
9 or 9:30 - nap (usually an hour, max)
10 or 10:30 - 1/4 cup cereal w/ 1-2 oz. fruit then play, etc..
11:30ish - finish bottle (I use 2-3 oz. in their cereal and they finish the other 4-5 oz. at this time)
12:00 or 12:30 - nap (avg. 1 1/2 hours)
3:00 - 7 oz. bottle w/ vitamins (sometimes one or both will take a short nap after this feeding)
5:00 - about 5 oz. solids (I make their food and offer many different fruits and veg and have recently started chicken) (sometimes one or both will take a short nap after this feeding)
6:30 - bath, if bath night
7 or 7:30 - 7 oz. bottle and bed

We usually hear from them once or twice between 8-11pm. I really think they're just trying to get into a deep sleep; patting, and sometimes rocking, will do the trick. We usually do not hear from them between 11pm-5am. After 5 they will start babbling here and there. Sometimes we let it go, sometimes we go in and give a pacifier or pat back to sleep. We get up, on avg., 7:30 am.

I struggled a lot with discontinuing feedings for my littler guy. But, in the end, it always worked out. My bigger guy discontinued on his own. Give it a try and you will know what is right and what is not. Your LO's will let you know. Good luck!

 

Regarding the Pedi and the Enfamil rep...we had to contact the Office Manager at the Doc's office and she knew exactly the form to fax to the Enfamil rep. We received 2 cases of formula within a couple weeks. It was the 8 oz liquid cans...I would try again and tell them other twin moms have told you about this. If the Office Manager isn't sure, get the reps name/phone again and ask them about the process to apply for the multiples program in which you are speaking. You can also dial the Enfamil 1-800 number and have them fax the form to your pedi's office if they don't know what you are talking about.

 

The ones that look like checks are usually good for any formula....the others you have to look and see what they say. Most that come out in the newspaper or whatever are only for powder or only for the regular Enfamil.

 

Alrighty-I will keep an eye out for them!

 

I can send too. PM me your address. I hate tossing out coupons. I used to send to a triplet mother who posted on Craigslist but her kids are done with formula...I can't even imagine!