Weaning at 10 months: when to reduce bottles and formula?

[SUZSORTED]

Baby daughter is just turned 10 months. We have a few feeding problems because she wasn't eating much. We took a break and started again after 1 week. She is eating a mixture of stage 3 textured and finger foods and eating x 3 a day now.
She is on 4 bottles a day.
Around these times:

6am - 180ml

8:30 - Breakfast Yoghurt, Fruit/Peanut butter/egg veg muffins/cheese spread on toast on rotation

9:30am - 180ml

12:30 - lunch savory veg dal, beef veg bolinaise, salmon potato veg, cottage pie, veg and lentil dal with rice, Persian chicken and rice, Persian beef and her stew

2pm - 180ml

16:30 - hipp organic porridge with fruit or actimal Berry and bannana flavour

18:30 Bedtime bottle

I know I should drop to 3 bottles and will be dropping the 9:30am Bottle.

I'm stuck thinking about when she turns 12 months I need to transition of formula but what if she doesn't eat well. yes she is eating now but we went through weeks of her refusing. Im thinking of dropping to 3 at 11 months because she finishes her bottles and we only dropped to 4 2 weeks ago.
I will then drop to 2 morning and bedtime for a few weeks even if its past 12 month mark.

what do you do on days she eats little or if she is teething or poorly?

You really don’t need to stop formula at 12 months.
In the UK they recommend switching to cows’ milk at 12 months and to start using a cup (could be a covered cup or a sippy cup if an open cup is too messy to start with) rather than bottles. But it’s normal for babies / toddlers to need milk (breastmilk, formula or whole cows milk) until at least 2 years and often beyond that. The quantities of food should gradually increase and milk decrease but there is nothing wrong with a 2 or 3 year old toddler having milk in the morning and evening for example. A child who enjoys lots of dairy products like yogurt and cheese might not need as much milk as one who doesn’t.
There is no medical reason why you need to switch from formula to cows milk. It is recommendation based on cost and also on not pandering to formula companies’ marketing techniques. In many countries it’s recommended to keep giving formula or breastmilk until 2 or 3 and cows milk is treated as the acceptable option but not the one that is pushed.
The no bottles thing is a UK recommendation designed to avoid tooth decay. But again, other countries don’t worry about this. You’re already not giving bottles throughout the night which is one risk factor for tooth decay. And you’re not putting anything but milk in the bottles which is another risk factor. It really doesn’t matter if the transition from bottles to cups happens or finishes a little while after 12 months.

On the days she eats little you let her take the lead @SUZSORTED.

It’s unusual for babies to consistently eat well every day.

Some days they will eat well and others they can eat very little.

Under 5 years DC are very good at regulating how many calories they need so if she only eats a little you accept that.

She is having an awful lot of formula.

As mentioned on your other thread the daily recommended amount for a DC of 10 months is 450 ml.

If she’s having over that, which it looks like she is, then she’s simply not going to be hungry for food.

she is eating and is hungry for food?
I only just dropped to 4 bottles and want to get her settled well for a few more weeks into that routine before dropping to 3 bottles. When I drop to 3 she will have 180ml x 3. If she is drinking her milk and eating well I don't want to pressure her with a change. once I see she is settled on 3 I may well drop the amount down to 150ml x 3 then I will try to go to 2 bottles. Its only UK that say don't give formula after 1. I want to make sure she has something if she has an off day where she doesn't want to eat.

It’s really interesting that you say it’s only in the UK that they recommend stopping formula at 1. I’ve genuinely never heard of this until I’ve seen it on here today.

Have you got any links on that please as I’d be interested in reading them

I do feel it’s a bit irrelevant when the guidelines are on stopping formula anyway.

At 12 months the absolutely phenomenal rate of growth that babies go through will have slowed down so. They’ll be eating a variety of foods and once you drop the daily formula amount below 600 ml it’s recommended to give a daily vitamin anyway so there isn’t any point in continuing with the formula after 12 months, unless you really like giving your money to the formula companies?

Milk is protein. That’s why babies need it. They can have water as well. You don’t have to drop formula if baby likes it. I’m not sure worrying about the minute details helps. Just keep going with food and milk and check her weight!

Do you read French? Here’s an infographique from the French government’s nutrition website which says that between 1 and 3 years toddlers need either breastmilk or 3rd stage formula (lait de croissance) or a mix of lait de croissance and whole milk.
www.mangerbouger.fr/content/show/1498/file/Tableau_diversification_alimentaire_jusqu%27a_3_ans.pdf

Unfortunately my French isn’t as fluent as I’d like it to be.

Having had a look at the milk I can see it’s higher fat which is good but could easily be replaced with healthy fats such as oily fish?

It’s also high iron which I understand can be beneficial but I wonder how bio available that iron is? I think if you’re conscious of offering some foods during the week that are good sources of iron then it’s fine to give cow’s milk after 12 months personally.

I'd drop a bottle soonish, and then at 12 months switch to cups and just do two - one at breakfast one as an afternoon snack.

Sorry I hadn’t even clicked on your link as I was expecting a research paper for some reason 🤦‍♀️

I’ve read that along with an English summary of a French study. Previously I’ve also read a research summary about the high levels of iron contained in some formulas and the potential for it to harm brain development. It’s a tricky balance isn’t it?

I think that’s been the consensus over all of the OPs threads but I’m not sure she’s that keen.

gosh this is very scientific OP!

I am a bit more go with the flow. My 10month old eats a bit like this:

7am weetabix with cows milk
8am bottle 150ml
10 toast and eggs
lunch at some point 12ish. Bottle 1ish
snack 3ish bottle
dinner 4:30
bottle at bed 6:30 ish

but it’s all very very flex! I just look at her and if she’s cranky and had some proper food recently I offer a bottle. She’s my third baby (I have a 5yo and 2yo) my eldest were both breastfed and this baby was til 5 months or so. I suppose I bottle feed as I did boob, just when I vibe she needs it.

i was surprised to see your baby’s dinner was porridge or something sweet. Would you consider giving them an adult dinner eg shepherds pie or stir fry? Thats what I would give ours. Yours sounds like breakfast or pudding

You can give cows milk as a main drink after 12 months, you don’t have to stop formula immediately. Both mine kept having a bottle of formula before bed probably for a couple of months after they turned 1. Neither of mine were that keen on drinking much cows milk.

The main thing is not to stress about it, just take things as they come. Yes if she’s poorly / teething and doesn’t eat much that day she might need an extra bottle - that’s fine.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I felt so different with my second baby. With my first I was very much like you, planning ahead and waiting for the next milestone/stage, whereas with my second I was just enjoying the stage we were at in that moment. Sorry for the unsolicited advice, but don’t worry you’ll work it out when you get there.

yeah I know that the porridge is a breakfast thing and want to phase that out and give some. savory foods for dinner.

My understanding is that drs in France recommend it because of the iron and everything else is not relevant. But the advice is still inconsistent with itself because breastmilk doesn’t have anywhere near the same quantity of iron in it and I breastfed my eldest until 24 months with a cup of whole cows’ milk added in from 15 months when I was working and no Dr ever suggested my toddler needs an iron supplement. That kid loved meat even as a toddler and ate plenty of it so I didn’t worry about it.