Food is for Fun until One - but then what?

[drivingmisscrazy]

just looking for some tips/guidance in advance. DD is 10.5 months and not exactly an enthusiastic eater (e.g more goes on the floor than into her) - she does eat a reasonable range of foods but in very small quantities. I've tried not to worry too much as she (usually) takes plenty of milk and is a good weight (maintained 50% percentile give or take since birth). But I am a bit concerned/confused about what happens as she approaches her 1st birthday and we drop her milk down to the recommended level.

Will she just work out that she needs food to make up the deficit? Should we gradually reduce her milk feeds leading up to her birthday? I just think that if she isn't a bit keener on eating by then she can't possibly gain weight on the kinds of amounts she's currently eating without the calories from her milk.

Any experiences, tips, advice?
TIA

"Food is for fun until they are One"

Who actually said this? I see it repeated on MN all the time but have never read it anywhere. I'm personally not convinced.

If she is the right weight she is obviously taking in enough calories. I would gradually reduce her milk intake but if she doesn't eat more food I would increase it again.

How much milk does she actually have? At 9 months ds was having a beaker of milk at breakfast plus milk on cereal. I used to make a lot of milk based dishes e.g. fish in milk for lunch and yoghurt. Then he would have a bottle of milk before bed. I dropped the bottle at around 14 months. He did have quite a big appetite though.

not sure dollshouse! she has about 600-700ml a day - hv said it should be around 800 at this point, but it's obviously enough for her - we'll leave it for now as she has had a virus and is also teething, but when her appetite picks up a bit I'll reduce her milk

thanks for replying

do you definitely need to reduce her milk? won't she just gradually want less and less naturally?

I don't know much about bottlefeeding admittedly, but I continued breastfeeding on demand and DD1 just gradually had less. Can't see why it would be different for bottles??

Hi, I haven't quite reached this point with dd yet (7mths) but will share what happened with ds. Due to a medical condition he found solids a very difficult transition and was well over one year old when he finally got established. We were told that we should be led by him and only reduce his feeds as he gradually increased food intake. This I think applies whether there is a medical reason or not. Continue to offer food and let her play and explore with it. As she gains confidence and interest she will probably reduce her milk intake herself. It is really hard not to worry but I thought I would be feeding ds for ever and he would never eat real food but he is 5 now and is doing great.

thanks yawning - not planning on doing anything yet but that's good to know. She is our first, so don't really know what we're at but I'm going to assume that she's eating what's right for her. She's a good weight, lively and healthy. titfertat (was going to abbreviate, but that seemed rude ) no need at the moment, and assume that she will just pick up the pace as it were when she's ready. She's mobile now which I think will probably make a difference. We'll see

thanks to all