How many bottles

[gitinora]

Quick question for a friend regarding formula feeds ( i am no help as breastfeed mine) but thought someone on here would know.
My friends dd is nearly 10 mths old and has 3 bottles a day 8oz in the morning, 7oz in the afternoon and another 8 oz before bed and has 3 meals a day yog and fruit.
Her health visitor has said it is time to cut out afternoon feed now and next month morning feed so that the following month when she is 12 months she is off bottles all together. As at 12 months only needs milk on breakfast and maybe a cup of milk throughout the day. Is this correct? seems a bit quick to me!!!

The HV is right that her DS should be off the bottles at 12 months but her DS is only 10 months now. There is some info here on how much milk he will need at 12 months.

Could she cut out the afternoon bottle nearer to 12 months and offer formula in a cup and a snack instead?

Until he is 12 months though his main nutrition should be coming from the milk.

Thanks for reply, yes she understands about stopping bottle at 12 months due to teeth etc but if she cuts out day bottle now dd will only be having 16 oz a day at 10 months next month if she cuts out morning feed she will only be having 8oz of milk a day at 11 months this is the part that is confusing her.

Agree with your friend, think the advice from the HV regarding amounts isn't correct.

8oz is only 236 ml of milk, which would include any yoghurt, cheese etc in his food. This simply isn't enough and is in fact less than the 300 mls which is recommended from 12 months.

She could try replacing the afternoon milk feed with a drink of milk from a cup and a snack and keep the other feeds in the bottle. Once her dd is taking more than a few ounces from the cup at that feed she can look to replace the breakfast milk feed with milk in a cup while leaving the bedtime milk in a bottle. The last feed to get transferred into a cup would be the bedtime bottle. The hv is right that the bottles should get dropped but they can be replaced by milk from a cup. From 1 year the minimum recommended drops to 300/350mls (approx 12oz) and doesnt all have to be in drink form. There is still plenty of time for her dd to get used to milk in a cup so there is no great rush to drop bottles just yet.

FWIW I dont know anyone who completely stopped bottles at 12 months. As long as they are not being given a bottle as a pacifier and are down to a couple a day the effect on the teeth I dont believe is that bad.

I used bottles for mine between 6 - 12 months. By 10 months they were having same amount as your friend's. Roundabout 10 or 11 months i cut out the afternoon one and then between 11 - 12 months gave them morning milk in a beaker. So by 12 months only using 1 bottle (in evening) which I then stopped just about right on 12 months and also replaced with beaker. Neither of them ever bothered about any of it.