Confused about dropping bottles. Please help!

[Moxiechick]

Hi my dd is 7 months old and was weaned early as she's always been a very hungry baby. I'm a bit confused as to whether I'm giving her too much or not enough milk and when I should be dropping feeds etc...

Her day looks a bit like this.

7am - 7oz bottle of formula
9:30 - baby porridge made with 1 oz of formula
12.00 - half ellas kitchen stage 2 pouch and half ellas kitchen fruit puree
2:30 - 100g pot of petis filous and a couple snacks (organix finger food etc...)
5:00 - half ellas kitchen stage 2 pouch and half ellas kitchen fruit puree
6:30 bath
7:00 - 7oz bottle of formula then bed
10:00 - I take her out of bed and give a 6oz bottle of formula

She then sleeps till 6/7 occasionally waking up when teething.

Thanks in advance for help :)

[Moxiechick]

Oh I also offer her cooled boiled water in a sippy cup whenever she eats. I usually get between 1 and 2 ozs not sure if this is enough ... :/

[TheScience]

She needs to keep having a minimum of 20oz formula until 12 months, so don't drop any more. A sippy cup of tap water with food is fine.

[VodkaRevelation]

If it's just morning and bedtime milk I would say that all sounds fine. Mine was still breastfeeding until 8.5 months and then I moved to formula; he had morning, mid morning, mid afternoon and evening bottles. He dropped the two daytime feeds after a few weeks but still had morning and bedtime milk until a couple of months ago (he is 2.5). He just has a cup of milk with his breakfast and dinner now and maybe occasionally a little cup through the day.

[VodkaRevelation]

With milk at those times she will soon let you know if she wants more/ less. As she ups her food intake during the day she may take less milk at bedtime but may continue with what she already has.

Mine had 9oz until he was 18 months!! Keep an eye on leaky nappies- they will tell you if she is having too much before bed too!

[VodkaRevelation]

That will all come much later though!!

[PETRONELLAS]

I was told this week to drop mid pm feed so mine has 210ml at 10 and the same at bedtime...and once in the night. DS is 8.5mo and it seems like a big drop when she also said just give finger food - no mush or anything. I was puzzled. And now exhausted as about one rice cake and carrot stick went in for lunch and not much more for tea...so he woke up a lot more than usual.

[Moxiechick]

Thank you everyone. Sounds like ill keep it the same for now then! X

[BotBotticelli]

If she's having that much food I would say she probably doesnt need the 10pm bottle any more.....just not doing it one night. I bet you any money she just sleeps through. DS did when we dropped his 10pm feed at 6mo (we started weaning at 5mo and he was on 3 meals per day by 6mo).

That would mean you LO is not having 20oz of milk per day, but remember that's just a recommendation. A guideline. Not all babies will want/need that much milk, and contrary to what you will read on here, those guidelines are not laws and you are not a bad parent if your baby prefers food to milk!!! If you're worried about baby not getting the vitamins that are in the formula, give her baby vitamin drops. And make sure she has plenty of dairy in her food (i see she's having porridge with milk, and yoghurt as well) - as she gets older you can give cheese sandwiches etc as well.

No one really talks about it but theres's a kind of hysteria on MN about bottle fed babies have 20oz of formula a day until 1 year old as if it;s some kind of LAW where you baby will get ill or something if they don't. i don't know where this comes from (actually, I have a fair idea but can't be arsed to go into it now as will get a proper flaming), but by 7mo my DS was having 6oz milk in the morning, 4oz mid afternoon and 5oz at bedtime. He quickly dropped the afternoon bottle and at 8mo was having just morning and bedtime bottles (6oz).

One day, around 10mo, he woke up and just decided he didn't want/like milk anymore. I tried giving it in cups instead of bottles, warmer, colder, etc etc etc. he just smacked the bottle/cup away. Continued to love his food and eat like a horse. Still does at 15mo. He is 75th centile for weight and 91st for height, a big healthy boisterous boy and always has been. He hasn't dropped any centiles since 2 weeks old and is thriving. He walked at 12mo and all his milestones are bang on. I give him vitamin drops once a day and cook with loads of dairy for him since he dropped all the bottles. he is fine.

Sorry for the rant! Just feel sorry for other mums in my position who thought there was something 'wrong' with their babies, or that they were somehow 'getting it wrong' if their LO prefers food to milk. Some babies are just like this I reckon.

And look: the guidelines also say that babies should be BF'd, not FF. Well, that might be the ideal and what it says in the guideline but it didnt work out for us. And neither did the 20oz of formula recommendation. And we're both fine.

[yellowsnownoteatwillyou]

This actually helps me as well bot, ds is 7 months and has days when he will only drink 6oz morning and night and maybe have a couple of oz during the say then fight to get away, so i just leave him, tried it in a cup different from his water one, but hes not interested.This has started over the last week or so as he's also racked up the amount of food he's getting thru at lunch and dinner so knew something had to change.
But you do have the milk police in your thoughts, I tend to block it out an just see what happens.
I've never drank milk since I stopped breast feeding at 9 months and it didn't make a difference.

[yellowsnownoteatwillyou]

Moxie, to give you an idea on what's going on with my 7month old
7am- 7oz bottle
8:30- half a bagel with cream cheese and a small pear
10- about and oz of milk then refused it
12- bowl of lentil soup with bread to dip, 4 blueberries and some slices of mango
2- tried with another bottle but put it in a cup maybe an oz taken then legged it
Later on he will be having some fish with slices of boiled potatoes, and some yogurt with fruit
If he wants milk he can have some, 6oz before bed, which could be 7 could be 8 then he will sleep till either 6/7am.
He always has access to water in a cup but its just tap water, have never done cooled boiled water. Occasionally if he hasn't poo'd I put a splash of fruit juice in his water.