Weaning and Bottles

KillerKity

My baby is 6 months old and we've recently started her on solids. On the plus side she loves and I mean loves eating! She smiles and squeals when she sees food coming and we've been giving her a wide range of things. However, she's lost interest in her bottles which worries me.

She'll generally have her morning and bed time bottle without too much fussing but trying to get anything more into her throughout the day is a battle. Her general routine is as follows:

7.30 ish 7oz bottle
9.00 Baby porridge with pear puree
12.00 Offer bottle from which she might take 2oz. Then eats banana and avocado puree
13.00-16.00 nap
16.00 Offer bottle. Again she will refuse this and eat potatoes and carrots
18.00-18.30 Nap
19.00 Some apple puree
20.00 7oz bottle and asleep before 9

It's probably the case she's eating too much during the day and not hungry enough for the bottles but because she loves her food I let her eat as much as she wants.

She's a happy, bright little girl always laughing and cooing. She has doubled her birth weight and is a great little sleeper but I'd be happier if she took more of her bottle. I was thinking about cutting out her 12pm bottle? I'm reluctant to cut back her food as she refuses her bottle in favour of it.

I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing by her and would love any advise!

Hannibal Smith

Blimey she's eating rings round herself! Lol when you make the purees what ate you wetting them with? For example tge apple puree you could wet it with some formula. That way she's still getting the formula?

I think 14ozs at 6 months seems very little, what does it say at the side of the carton? Maybe she's right on track?

bp

Try the food first and bottle second - she may be waiting for the food and maybe a smaller portion of food?

My little one eats like a horse but still has four bottles and three solid meals - porridge and fruit, fruit and baby rice, spud veg and meat

Moonbeam

my baby is 7 months

He would have a 240ml bottle in the morning
Baby porridge
another 240m bottle
a yogurt and a liga
another 240ml bottle
some food we are still adjusting here but maybe sweet potato and squash or chicken,he prefers food that he can feed himself.
240ml bottle
He loves rice cakes and anything that he can pick up and eat.

Some days he will have a further bottle but most days it is 4.

yellow hen

I remember reading something which said that milk has all a baby's nutrients and therefore you shouldn't allow them to greatly reduce their intake before the age of 1. I can't remember where I read it or the credibility of it so it might be incorrect.

Anyways, ill tell you what my son takes and I'm always wondering if its the right or wrong amount of type of good. I'm actually going to go to public health tomorrow as he is 6 months and I want to get him weighed.

So, his diet is a little like this:
7am: 8oz bottle (might only drink 7)
10am: fruit flavoured porridge & 7oz bottle (might drink 5-6oz)
1pm: fruit purée & 7oz bottle (might take anywhere between 4 and 7iz)
4pm: veg purée & 7oz bottle (again might not take it all)
7pm: 8oz bedtime bottle

KillerKity

Thanks for the feedback guys. I gave her smaller food portions yesterday and she took 5-7 oz in her 4 bottles.

Today hasn't gone too well so far as she only took 2 oz and wolfed into the porridge! I also add her milk to her food so at least that's something. I'm gonna persevere with the bottles so fingers crossed.

YH- I read that somewhere too. These babies aren't easy!

yellow hen

KillerKity wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback guys. I gave her smaller food portions yesterday and she took 5-7 oz in her 4 bottles.

Today hasn't gone too well so far as she only took 2 oz and wolfed into the porridge! I also add her milk to her food so at least that's something. I'm gonna persevere with the bottles so fingers crossed.

YH- I read that somewhere too. These babies aren't easy!

Ok just back from public health and thought I'd update you on what they told me.

Firstly, milk is more important than solids until6 months after which the solids hold the nutrients a baby needs.

At 6 months a baby should have about 21oz of milk per day so I should cut back on the volume of milk I'm giving my boy.

Textured food is important after 6 months but they recommended I stay away from meat until closer to 9 months when he fully sits up and has at least one tooth.

He can now have ready Brek to give him a break from the porridge.

Think that's it.... At any rate my little man is doing great. 18lb 4 today as he just turns 6 months.

KillerKity

yellow hen wrote: »

Ok just back from public health and thought I'd update you on what they told me.

Firstly, milk is more important than solids until6 months after which the solids hold the nutrients a baby needs.

At 6 months a baby should have about 21oz of milk per day so I should cut back on the volume of milk I'm giving my boy.

Textured food is important after 6 months but they recommended I stay away from meat until closer to 9 months when he fully sits up and has at least one tooth.

He can now have ready Brek to give him a break from the porridge.

Think that's it.... At any rate my little man is doing great. 18lb 4 today as he just turns 6 months.

Interesting! Good to know about meat. I wonder is this just due to an increased risk of choking or are there any other reasons? I was going to to try herself on blended steak mince soon but I might hold off for a while yet.

It sounds like your little man is flying! Well done! My little one was 16lb a few weeks ago (well, according to the fruit and veg scales in super quinn!) so it'll be interesting to see what she is now

Alicemoon

My daughter is nearly ten months old now and refusing to use a sippy cup or drink water. She gets 4 7oz bottles of formula a day along with three small.meals. any advice on getting her drinking from a cup

jlm29

Alicemoon wrote: »

My daughter is nearly ten months old now and refusing to use a sippy cup or drink water. She gets 4 7oz bottles of formula a day along with three small.meals. any advice on getting her drinking from a cup

Have you tried more than one cup? As in, is the water or the cup the issue? My boy couldn't grasp sippy cups - I tried a few, but recently tried a straw cup, and he got the hang in no time!

Alicemoon

jlm29 wrote: »

Have you tried more than one cup? As in, is the water or the cup the issue? My boy couldn't grasp sippy cups - I tried a few, but recently tried a straw cup, and he got the hang in no time!

I tried putting water in her bottle and she refused it. I tried both water and formula in two different cups and she was having none of it

spottybananas

You can blend/mash up very well meat fish etc from 6 months, that advice re meat sounds more like its for actual pieces of it.

angeldelight

Have you tried an open cup? We used them very successfully from six months with our little girl - you just need to be prepared for a bit of mess! She prefers straw cups at the moment but at that age she preferred little open ones

mrsWhippy

Have you looked into Baby Led Weaning?

Also, I learned 'Food for fun, until you're 1".