Going Down to 3 Bottles

We are going to try over the next few weeks to get down from 4 to 3 bottles. Currently bottles are at approximately 7, 11, 3 & 6pm. We do solids 3x a day - right after the first two bottles and then around 5pm.

I'm thinking we will start by replacing the 3pm bottle with a sippy and a snackl. The kids do drink from a sippy, but there is NO way they will ever get even close to 4 oz out of a sippy when they usually take at least 6oz out of that bottle.

How did you make it work?
Thanks in advance!
Suzi

 

We did it about a month ago as the kiddos were just not interested in 4 bottles.

Basically this is what I went to and it is working well.

They get up at 8 and eat some breakfast. At 9 they have a VERY large bottle.
At 12 they eat solids. at 2 a bottle.
At 5 they eat solids and at 8Pm a bottle.

Basically it is 6 hours between bottles with solids at regular family meal times.

They get sippies of water with solids and do ok. Elizabeth actually loves drinking from a straw, so I want to get her a straw sippy.

Good Luck!

 

Our schedule was similar to yours. When we went to 3 it was, 7, 1, 6. With solids, snacks, and sippies in between. At 9 months, my ped wanted us to go down to 16-20 oz of formula.

 

When we went to three bottles I did it gradually over a week. They were getting four 7oz bottles at 7, 11, 3, 6. Then I switched them to two 5oz bottles in the middle of the day and started putting a little more in their first and last bottles. And after about a week I just started giving them three 8oz bottles. So now they have 8oz at 7, 12, and 6. And we do breakfast, lunch, and dinner in between.

 

To the OP thanks so much for posting this question. My girls are STILL on 4 bottles a day and I've been trying to figure out a way to decrease to 3, but they really do drink all 4 and eat three times a day (but not a lot). I guess I should just bite the bullet and elimate their 4pm bottle and then maybe they'll eat more. Or maybe I'll decrease the noon and the 4pm bottles and then replace the 4pm small bottle with a sippy and a snack. I don't see how we are going to be off ALL bottles in the next month... which is what the pedi wants... After talking to a lot of my friends, their kiddos still got bottles after a year so I guess I'm not alone in this. Anyway, thanks OP. The pp's have given me some good suggestions too!

 

My doctor suggested going down to 3 bottles at 9 months but my boys weren't ready for it. At 11 months (now) they're ready. We have replaced that late-afternoon bottle with a sippy and a snack. They kind of made the decision for me. They started refusing this bottle, but would happily sit in their high chairs for a snack. At 9 months they still wanted the bottle and they weren't efficient with their sippies yet. It seemed too early to me. I'm glad I waited - just in case you're thinking of doing the same thing.

 

At around 7-8 months, my boys stopped drinking the lunchtime bottle, so with the peds blessing, we stopped offering it. We stayed with the other 3 bottles until we gave up bottles and formula at 11 1/2 months.

 

QUOTE(CHJH @ Feb 11 2008, 11:45 PM) [snapback]617263[/snapback]
My doctor suggested going down to 3 bottles at 9 months but my boys weren't ready for it. At 11 months (now) they're ready. We have replaced that late-afternoon bottle with a sippy and a snack. They kind of made the decision for me. They started refusing this bottle, but would happily sit in their high chairs for a snack. At 9 months they still wanted the bottle and they weren't efficient with their sippies yet. It seemed too early to me. I'm glad I waited - just in case you're thinking of doing the same thing.


Almost exactly my situation...we switched to 3 bottles at 11 months...and offered a snack and sippy in lieu of the early afternoon bottle. I figured they weren't drinking but a couple of ozs so they led the way on that. I also moved the lunch bottle a little later.

10-11 month schedule:
5:30 6oz bottle
6:00 breakfast (usually oatmeal)
10:30 8oz bottle
2:30 6oz (they just quit drinking most of this except maybe 2oz) bottle followed by a little snack
5:30 8 oz bottle
6:30 dinner
7:30 bedtime

11-12 month:
5:30 6oz bottle
6:00 breakfast
8:00 small snack with sippy
11:00 8oz bottle
11:30 lunch
2:30 snack with sippy
5:30 8oz bottle
6:30 dinner

 

OH brother, we are still at 4 bottles and sometimes we flirt with 5. Lily and Jack are 8.5 months. THey will only eat finger foods and refuse spoon fed baby food and I am just not confident they are getting all of the the solids that they need. They grab a lot but miss most of the time. Lily tries to get out of her high chair after about 5 minutes and I try to put her on the floor with her food at that point but again she loses interest after a few.
The only place she eats really well is in a high chair out for dinner. I cannot imagine how you are to drop all of these bottles by one year.

Sorry to post hijack, really just wanting to commiserate!
Amy

 

QUOTE(ahmerl @ Feb 13 2008, 02:17 PM) [snapback]620133[/snapback]
OH brother, we are still at 4 bottles and sometimes we flirt with 5. Lily and Jack are 8.5 months. THey will only eat finger foods and refuse spoon fed baby food and I am just not confident they are getting all of the the solids that they need. They grab a lot but miss most of the time. Lily tries to get out of her high chair after about 5 minutes and I try to put her on the floor with her food at that point but again she loses interest after a few.
The only place she eats really well is in a high chair out for dinner. I cannot imagine how you are to drop all of these bottles by one year.

Sorry to post hijack, really just wanting to commiserate!
Amy


Don't worry! We are JUST NOW dropping the 4th bottle. There is no way we are going to be off all bottles by 1 year and after talking to my other mommy friends, most babies are still on some bottles after a year. Like you I worry about how good they are at self-feeding and how much food they are actually eating vs wearing and storing in their high chairs!