Weaning Question

[Playthegameout]

Hi all, Ds is 7 months and has taken to weaning really well. We are doing a mixture of BLW and spoon feeding, we mainly make our own stuff, but do use the odd jar/pouch when out and about.

Ds is a BIG baby, he is very tall (as tall as most 1 year olds at baby group) over 100th centile for height and is a chunky monkey, 89th centile for weight. He is quite active, desperately trying to crawl and pull himself up all the time!

So how much should he be eating? Because I'll be honest we have no idea! A typical day goes like this

7 am wake & bottle
10 am (after nap) pieces of fruit eg piece of melon and mango or a strawberry. Porridge. Some water, though he never drinks much.
12 pm bottle
1 pm lunch (something like a small
Veg omelette, pita and hummus etc.
4pm bottle
5pm dinner, whatever we have mushed slightly.
7pm bed with bottle.
During the night he can wake for 2 bottles, sometimes one, sometimes none!

I have no idea if this is ok? Would ask HV at baby clinic but ours is over run, and I feel a bit daft asking. People always comment that Ds is a chubby baby and I am worried I'm over feeding him. Any advice welcome!

I'm no expert but it does sound like a lot of milk if he has the 2 bottles during the night. My DS is between the 75-85 centile and has 6/7 feeds in 24 hours with a tiny bit of puree etc-he's 5 1/2 months.If he's following his centile ok and is otherwise well I wouldn't worry too much though.I think all babies turn into little chubsters just before they become mobile!!!
His diet sounds lovely.

Thanks Nicky, I think it's too many bottles, I've tried replacing bottles with water but little game just screams the house down when I do, and will not settle for anything other than milk.

If anyone has any tips for cutting down on the bottles please share!

If he's over 100th centile for height and 89th for weight then I wouldn't worry. He's not fat for his height. Also if he's active that's a good sign too.

The only thing I would consider changing is to give him breakfast at 8am rather than 10am.

How big are his bottles?

As minipie says he's not fat for his height, why would you try to cut back on his food? Most babies are good at regulating what they eat and will stop when full (unlike adults). Could you give him more to eat during the day? Hes obviously hungry if he is still waking for two bottles a night.

If I had to guess I'd say that HV will almost certainly tell you to start giving him water but if he won't settle for anything other than milk then I'd give him it!! If he's finishing the bottles rather than just having an oz to go to sleep then he's probably hungry. I suspect my DS is going to be the same.

Yes he finishes all his bottles they are 6oz. I guess he's just a hungry boy! He doesn't always wake up, and can go through spells of sleeping through, but he does seem to get a lot of colds and coughs and that kick starts the two bottles at night again.

Smoke I never said I wanted to cut back his food, I was asking more experienced mums for their opinion on the amount of food he is currently eating.

Mini thank you for your suggestions, I would give him breakfast at 8 but he has a mammoth morning nap that he is down for at 7.45! No idea why, we've desperately tried to get him to stay in bed, changing him and feeding him in the dark (he has black out blinds)!but he point blank refuses to go to sleep so we get up, then he's yawning like crackers by 7.45!

Up the first bottle to 8oz
Breakfast at ten (keep.offering water even if he doesnt want it yet)
Smaller bottle at 12- 5oz
Lunch at one
Dinner at four (I know its early but leaves time for....)
Bowl of porridge at six (hopefully will keep him fuller through the night)
Bottle just before bed 8oz

If he wakes before midnight, try some sshhh pat type stuff. If he wales after midnught - offer bottle but smaller (5oz) woth a view to gradually reduce the amount

I would make the 7pm bottle 8oz.

What time does he go down for the night?

Giving breakfast at 8- you can't because of mammoth nap. I've just been reading an NCT sleep book and they talk about these long naps shortly after waking (my DS does this) and they call it an attached sleep. They suggest that you delay the nap by say 5-10 minutes every day so it's very gradually later. When it "detaches" from night sleep then the baby will automatically sleep a bit later().

My dd is in the top centiles too. She fed a lot at 7 months, getting steadily chubbier, and then suddenly shot up. Now at 9 months the feeding has steadied although we have the odd night of feeding. If your ds is eating it all I would assume he needs it for now. re napping, she now naps for around 2 hours morning and afternoon but used to fall asleep quite soon after waking.

Thank you so much for the advice everyone! Minipie, that's really interesting about the nap, I'll definitely give that a go. Also thanks for the advice on bottle sizes, will definitely give all that a try also earlier tea time and some bedtime porridge! Thanks all it's a bit if a minefield when you have no idea what you're doing!

My 8mo is a big eater and very active, I think he eats a lot more than your lo, though obviously a lot can change in a month! His days food looks like:
7.30 breakfast - toast fingers, porridge with prunes
10.30 snack (oat cakes, cheese)
12 lunch - eg spag bol, few rice cakes
3pm milk
5pm dinner - finger foods, a main, then natural yog and fruit
6.30 milk
Night time - 2 x milk feeds

I've found weaning to be so confusing, but DS happily eats this lot and sometimes more, and is still tracking the same centile.

Good luck!

I've a 9 month old - big chap not crawling yet. At 7 month's he was eating similar amounts but bottles were 8 oz and he had porridge instead of the last bottle in the evening. He rarely woke for night feeds.

If he was being particularly fussy with lunch I would also offer porridge after lunch.

Thank you purple and working. I just want to get it right, think I'm a bit paranoid as MIL commented that she thinks I over feed him (this from the woman who shoved a Jaffa cake in his mouth at 11 weeks!).

Little game was a reflux baby and is just coming through it and is so much happier, so I want so much to make sure things are enjoyable for him now. He loves food and has a very adventurous pallet, he's also about to cut his first two teeth (I'm so excited - sad I know!).

I really appreciate the guidance, tried the bed time porridge and Ds only woke once so that's great going!

Mine was very refluxy. I found around 2 months into weaning he had a bit of a backwards slide with wind and shesickness, but things are settling down again now. Stick with it if you get the same.

Thanks for the tip, I've been amazed how quickly the food seems to have helped his reflux, but I'll keep an eye out and persevere if it comes back!

I have a big 7 month old too (98th percentile since birth) who thankfully sleeps through.
8am. Breakfast first followed by bottle
12ish Lunch first followed by bottle
5pm. Tea followed by bottle
8pm. Bedtime bottle and sleep

So just 4 bottles which the HV said was about right.