Should 10 month old be dropping a milk feed?

[matana]

I've always been very led by what my DS 'tells me' he needs as he's always pretty much done what he should be doing when he should be doing it. And it's suited us well. I was never one to worry that he wasn't yet sleeping through at 6 months, for example, and he got there on his own without sleep training at 7.5 months. This is very typical of him.

However, i am now doubting myself because my CM said he should by now be dropping his afternoon feed and he shows no sign of doing so. He eats 3 very good sized, varied solid meals per day, will try anything you put in front of him and is a great little eater. But he still loves his milk too. He's completely normal as far as weight is concerned - 50th centile.

He was EBF until 6 months, but is now mostly BF - x4 bottles (4-5oz) per day.

Do i need to do anything to encourage him to drop a feed or will he do it when he's ready?

Nah , will do it when he's ready. He's only having small bottles - 20 oz per day is about spot on what's recommended to complement weaning.

Sounds fine. DD dropped her afternoon bottle a while ago and i would have rather she kept it as now she is starving for her dinner by about 4.30pm. She has 8oz in the morning and 8 oz in the evening (and lots of milk on cereal etc) so a similar amount but a different routine.

CM has now suggested we try dropping his morning bottle because he's not that interested in breakfast and is also quite sick during the day. She wonders if he's got too much milk in his tummy. I was unsure about this suggestion as normally the morning and bedtime feeds are the last to go (plus he generally eats most of his breakfast for me but does muck around a bit), but decided to give it a go today as i don't like the thought that something i'm doing wrong is making my DS sick. Within 15 minutes of waking he was getting whingey for his bottle and he did the same all the way to the CM's. I am now thinking that he still needs that morning one but perhaps i should reduce the amount of milk and instead be trying to cut out his mid-morning bottle and upping the oz of the other bottles a bit to make up for lost milk. But then surely that will have an impact on how much he eats for dinner?

Anyone?

The CM said to me yesterday 'X baby (also 10 months) isn't having any milk at all during the day'. I replied by saying i certainly hoped he was getting 8-10 oz for a morning and bedtime feed instead then. Part of me wonders whether it's just more convenient for her not to have to give him milk when he's there....

I have to say that thought did cross my mind about the childminder. She should really be doing what you ask her to do on the feeding front, within limits of course. How many babies is she looking after??

Stand your ground - it's no good your DS being hungry and giving a bottle is hardly any hassle, is it??

Your childminder should also know that milk is the main source of nutrition for babies until one year of age. Food is fun until one, don't they say??