Can anyone help me with how to cut down milk feeds for my 11m DD? Am floundering!

[emeraldgirl1]

Everyone else I know with same-aged babies have drastically reduced milk feeds, usually just one a day of 250ml or thereabouts.

DD is still having 3 milk feeds a day, approx 550ml in total, because I thought they were meant to have a pint a day until they were 1.

But is this too much in conjunction with the regular milk she is having on cereal and yogurt/cheese etc?

My NEW plan for her for the next couple of weeks looks something like this:

7am Breakfast (Weetabix with milk then scrambled egg), followed by 150ml formula (in bottle)

10am - Snack of eg cheese, water

12pm - Lunch, then yogurt followed by 90ml formula (in bottle)

3pm - small snack of fruit, water

5pm - dinner, followed by cheese or yogurt

6pm - 200ml Formula (in bottle)

Obviously offering water with meals and throughout day (she drinks very little water though and has a tendency to get constipated, hence why I have been reluctant to take away too much milk as it gives her vital liquid! But I recognise that she will carry on not drinking water if she gets enough milk to slake her thirst...)

Is this still too much formula? Should I be taking away the post-lunch feed entirely?

And though I am aiming to phase out bottles as the drinking vessel, I am reluctant to do too much too soon (the constipation thing lurking in my mind again). However should I be trying to offer at least one of the milk feeds in a cup? I am fairly sure she will spurn any formula given in a cup...

Any advice hugely appreciated, I feel as if everyone else knows what they are doing and that I am screwing up. :( Don't want to overfeed her but dont want her to lack nutrients!!

Her food is all freshly cooked and I try to give her as much fruit and veg as possible.

[DoItTooJulia]

I wouldn't worry about it at all. She will drop feeds on her own, honestly.

If you are worried, why not reduce them by an ounce at a feed?

You're not screwing up, but you're stressing over things that you don't need to. Babies bodies are awesome, and they, generally speaking, do a good job of self regulating. If you want her to use a cup for milk, just keep offering it without pressure. When she's ready she'll take it!

Relax and enjoy your baby!

[emeraldgirl1]

Thank you Julia!
I am a bit of a worrier... :)
She tends to turn down the post lunch feed several times but I keep offering and then eventually she drinks it around an hour later. Is this a sign that I should just stop offering it after a couple of attempts?

[DoItTooJulia]

Yep, I'd stop offering that one. After all, if she wants it, you can always go and get one warming quickly enough!
Try it and see how she goes?!

[JRmumma]

I was just coming on here to post something quite similar so hope you don't mind if i gatecrash your thread a bit?

DS is 28 weeks and ive been weaning for 4 weeks now. I'm trying to do breakfast and lunch at reasonable breakfast and lunch times, but I'm struggling with this as after his morning bottle (which he wants about 45-60 mins after waking) he wants to sleep before i can get his breakfast into him. This means that breakfast doesn't get done till 10-10:30 and so then by the time he has a second bottle lunch is mid afternoon.

I'm wondering if i can tweak his milk feeds so that i can do food at suitable times? Should i maybe give half a normal milk feed and then breakfast almost straight away? Then a bottle on waking and then hopefully lunch will fall at lunchtime? He has his formula in his porridge so would still get a reasonable amount, just not a full bottle and some would be in the form.of food.

He is still on 4 bottles during the day and one during the night so he is still having plenty of milk, probably 35oz per day. So reducing one feed not the end of the world.

I'm just confused as to whether this is the right way to go to get him into the routine of eating at the proper times.

Sorry for gatecrashing but i didn't want to start a v similar thread.

[meerschweinchen]

I think your suggestion would be fine, but I'm no expert! Alternatively, if he doesn't normally have his first bottle until nearly an hour after waling, why don't you just offer breakfast first, say half an hour after waking, and follow it with a bottle straight afterwards? Then he might drink a little less, bit if he's having milk in his porridge anyway, it should be OK?

[JRmumma]

Thanks. I don't really want to do breakfast first, as when he goes nursery he will have breakfast there so a bottle first thing then breakfast after. Although this is 6 months away so I'm probably worrying for nothing about that at this point!

[TheScience]

They need 500-600ml minimum a day until 12 months, so she is just right at the moment. From 12 months it's about 350ml full fat cows milk, and you can include cheese and yoghurt in that total.

[emeraldgirl1]

Thanks everyone!
So the cutting-down part can wait another month, from when I can perhaps just phase out a feed gradually or cut them down and down bit by bit?
For now it sounds as if it's too early to phase anything out.