Tell me about your feeding schedule for 15 to 18 month olds

[cherryberrysmash]

We are in the process of weaning off our (now 3) daily bottles. We’ve dropped the morning bottle first, giving our DD a cup of cows milk with her breakfast. We’ve recently tried the same with lunch to get down to just the bedtime bottle. However, she definitely drinks less milk when it is given in a cup versus a bottle (although is that part of the point of trying to get them to eat more solids?)

But now that she doesn’t have a bottle and then breakfast an hour or so later, or one after lunch before her nap, she seems super cranky and fussy. Should we just offer more snacks instead? Is this to be expected during adjustment period?

What do most people’s daily feeding schedules look like around the stage? How many snacks and how long between eachsnack and meal?

Were most other people already off bottles at this point? I’ve seen some MNs who say they kept the bedtime bottle until their children were around two years old.

Any advice appreciated!

Both of mine came off bottles at 12 months. Sippy cup of milk on waking and at bedtime. 3 X meals and then 2 X snacks depending on how hungry they are/what we're doing.

DD is 18 months, we stopped bottles at 12 months (13 or so for the bedtime bottle I think?). Like previous poster we do sippy cow's milk on waking, after nap and at bedtime, but she often doesn't drink it all.

Then three solid meals a day with a small snack at 10amish and at 3pmish, always with water to hand.

I was nervous at first about the reduction in fluid intake but it's fine, just make sure there's a sippy cup or sucky bottle of water around at all times, mine takes random sucks from it throughout the day when she notices it. I also offer water once or twice while we're out.

As long as nappies are wet, it's all fine. She'll be getting fluid from her food too, e.g. porridge.

Schedule for 15-18 month olds

7am breakfast: scrambled egg and toast fingers, or porridge made with full fat milk and blueberries, or weetabix with full fat milk and fruit. Sippy cup of full fat milk and cup of water.

9.30am snack: fruit and yoghurt or a whole banana with a few mini rice cakes. Cup of water.

12 noon: substantial lunch including protein with full fat Greek yogurt for dessert. Plenty of water.

12.30-2.30 or max 3pm nap

3pm sippy cup of milk and some plain biscuits eg rich tea

5pm dinner: again a proper hot meal but less protein than at lunchtime. Fruit purée for dessert. Sippy cup of water

6pm bath

6.30pm you can give a bottle here if needed, dentists and HVs in the UK say to drop bottles at 12 months I think but in Switzerland where I am they keep a bedtime bottle til 2 years. But you must brush teeth afterwards.

7pm bed

DS self weaned from breast milk at 11.5 months when I fell pregnant, we started him on cows milk which he then stopped having in a bottle by 13 months when we switched to a straw cup/open cup.

Currently his schedule is:

Wake up at 8am

Straw cup of cows milk if he asks for it, just water if he doesn't ask for it

Breakfast around 9/9.30am

Snack around 11 (something small, usually just a flapjack, rice cake and peanut butter, a smoothie, some fruit etc)

Lunch at 12/12.15pm

Nap 1pm til 3pm

Snack around 3.30pm (again just usually something small)

Tea around 6.30/6.45pm

Straw cup of milk before bed at around 8pm - sometimes he drinks all of this, other times he doesn't touch much but its always offered as part of Bedtime routine

Bedtime 8.30pm

My 18 month old is still breastfeeding on demand which can be morning, night and 2-6ish times a day depending what he wants 🤷‍♀️ He rarely eats breakfast but then he’s often a late riser, he’ll often pick at lunch and eat his tea 🤔

Yeah we did the dropping feeds before his birthday. Have you tried a cup with a straw? That's a good middle ground. If baby noms the straw then maybe try a bottle with a silicone straw - you can buy from tesco or similar

We filled up on food - he was very keen on his porridge and a nice big cup of milk in the morning, so just bulk it up a bit