Formula and weaning

[Pinkstuffs]

DS is 8 months old, we’ve been weaning since 6 months and he has solids 3 timers per day now. Example day; breakfast porridge and banana, lunch Ella’s kitchen pouch, dinner homemade chilli with rice.

However I’m struggling to maintain/balance it with his formula. I offer solids before milk but then he’s not hungry for the milk. Today he’s only had 7 oz mid morning then 7 oz at bedtime. I’ve made other bottles and he’s refused them but I’m worried he’s not getting enough. Am I doing it wrong?

I'd try offering a bottle around a hour before food. So if he wakes at 7 am offer a bottle then and food at 8?

You can always knock off one of the meals for a couple of weeks too.

I'd be tempted to drop the pouch for now and my lunch whilst they napped.

So for instance if they're having a bottle at 7 and breakfast at 8, then try another bottle at 11 and 2 and then dinner at 4 and a bottle at 7?

My daughter is 7 months and eats similar to your son. She has 8oz when she gets up, 5 oz after her porridge mid morning and 7oz before bed. I think it’s enough and she’s gaining weight.

He’s gaining weight but his nappies aren’t as full as they used to be. In fact he’s always been below the 1st centile but when I had him weighed last week he’s up to the 5th centile for the first time since he was born! Hes been unsettled tonight and just guzzled down 7 oz, but he’s barely been interested in any milk today which is worrying me.

If he's having less milk are you giving him a daily vitamin? I think you're supposed to once they have less than 20 Floz a day?

It sounds fine if he’s gaining weight and moving up the centile. My daughter eats and drinks similar to him and she’s 59 on the centile. Just keep offering him it and he will either drink it or he won’t. My health visitor said when she’s drinking less than 16oz a day to add the vitamins to one of his bottles. In my area they give you the vitamins for free.

Sounds like you're winning at weaning! Just give a multivit if he's under the recommended formula intake for his age (cannot remember off the top of my head!) I'm sure you are but make cereals/ porridge with formula too as it all counts towards the intake goal. Putting on weight and eating 3 meals a day is where you want to be really!

I always gave milk an hour or so before food so milk at 7, 11, 3 and 7 and food at 8, 12 and 5.

Advice is definitely formula after food when weaning but the opposite for breastfeeding so that can be confusing if you speak to other mums.

If just sounds like he's enjoying food, I'm not sure why you want him to have more formula- it's essentially a liquid food and he's just moving over to solids. If he's not showing any signs of dehydration or losing weight then I wouldn't worry. Definitely get a multivitamin to make sure he's getting all the nutrients.

Weaning can be quite up and down so you might find in a couple of weeks he eats a lot less and want more milk for a while and then goes back to more food.

There is no set way to do it
I formula fed and gave milk milk before food. As they increased food the milk dropped. I never swapped the order.
At 8 months around 600mls is still advised and that drops to around 400mls at 10months

I didn’t know about the multivitamin so that’s great advice! He’s always been hit and miss with milk so I’ve been so pleased that he’s eating and gaining weight, it’s just support seems to drop off after the first weeks and it’s hard to know what’s right.

Also yes I make his porridge and weetabix with formula and use it in cooking etc where I can.

There's a bit in vitamins here