What now?!?!

[WheresSpot]

My DD is 29 weeks, she's eating three meals a day (three table spoon portions) of porridge, our dinners mashed up and some lovely recipes from the Topsy Fogg Truuly Scrumptious book, she sometimes has a yoghurt for dessert or some fruit at snack times. She has finger foods as an addition to her purees and she can eat pears and fingers of toast and cheese.

She has a beaker of water with lunch and has four bottles of milk 150ml each day.
Her pattern looks a bit like this ? depending on when she wakes up ? she eats every three hours:

6am breakfast ? porridge + 150 ml bottle
9am 150ml bottle
12am solid lunch + water in beaker
3pm 150ml bottle
6pm solid tea, dessert/fruit + 150ml bottle

Question:
Does this look ok? I?ve already dropped the lunch feed and reduced all her milk to 150ml from 210ml.
What next???
Do babies stop eating/drinking when they are full? My DD can eat and eat, don?t want to over feed her!
Is it okay to still give formula milk, but now using spouted beakers instead of bottles?
Should I give her water with her meals instead?
Or should I replace the snack bottles with real snacks and drinks of water?
Could I give her cow?s milk as a drink if I drop her bottle? Milk seems like the healthiest dairy product.

What is the idea behind weaning anyway ? I know to get LOs onto solid food, but can't they have solid food with milk?

Please help, feel its all going really well s far but worried about how to progress now!

I dont understand why you have dropped a feed and reduced her milk

you really shouldn't do that she needs her milk
weaning is about learning about food not getting off milk

I thought that was the point, to get them off milk in favour of solid food.

That's what HV has advised, that solid food is now more important and to fill her up with those instead of milk.

Is that not right?

No, your hv is talking crap. Milk should still be a huge part of their diet until around 1.

are you in the uk? do you have a health visitor you could talk this through with, or get a copy of the nhs 'birth to five' book?

your dd can have cows milk as a main drink at 1, until then formula in a beaker (dont panic about dropping the bottles but slowly switch to beakers)

I always gave water with meals but that was just me

when did you start weaning, you seem to have moved quite fast/started pre 26 weeks

Weaning is in the long run about getting LOs onto solid food but this is very gradual at 1 yr my ds is now on 2 bfs a day morn and night with solid food and water the rest of the day and dd reached this at about 15 months

Babies generally do stop eating when they are full but as a carer you have balance the milk/solids ratio for them a little so the dont become constipated

((Im sure you are but when you say dd is having family food for tea is this no added salt when cooking?)))

So should I just keep the milk feeds as they are now then and put the milk in a beaker - again isn't the point here to get her off the bottle and onto a proper cup before she's one?

Incedentally, my DD couldn't manage her whole 210ml after food, thats why I reduced the amounts in the bottle.

at this age I think I would still be giving milk first

(might be wonrg there)

but your hv is talking shite

yes she should be off a bottle at 1 but if she is 29 weeks you have plenty of time so you can do it gradually

I would do one or two feeds in a beaker rather than suddenly dropping the bottles

are you ok with her having breakfast at 6 am? If that suits you fine but i would give milk then and breakfast later to try and encourage later waking

Thank you Littleducks - that is really helpful

Yes I'm in UK, my HV is good, I think, but she's very laid back and never gives me any rules just says follow baby's lead and gradually reduce milk as solid food is now more important...so that's why I am here!

So formula feed the same amount in between feeds and try water in beaker with meals.

She's had little tasters since 24 weeks only in between full milk feeds tho and she really likes food so we've moved at her pace really!

Yep, we don't have any salt in our food anyway as DH dosen't like it - I add it to mine seperatley cos I like it!

LD
Yep its usually between 6 and 7, but today she just got up at 8 - I just feed her every three hours from when she wakes up. But I try not to feed her tea any later than 6.30pm.

Going to get some more beakers then and give her milk feeds in those before i switch to water.

Thank you