help :/ idk what im doing!

[amandah507]

my dd is 8 months. we delayed solids until 6.5 months, and no baby cereal! she is FF and has been since birth.

right now this is her eating schedule:
12pm- 6oz formula
4pm- 6oz formula and 4oz veggie
8pm- 6oz formula
1130pm- 8oz formula and 4oz fruit

WIC keeps telling me less formula, more food, but i dont know where to begin. she loves her formula and i know she still needs it. so my question is, where should i make changes, or should i even be making changes yet, at 8 months?

 

[staceylou]

I would maybe do some fruit as well as milk at 12pm if she will take it. then add in a meat with the veggies at 4pm (if you eat meat, if not then alternative). If she wont eat it though, she doesn't need it and I think she should have all her formula if she wants it! Obviously im not an expert, just saying thats what I would probably do (no idea as I started mostly BLW at 6 months and haven't got a great milk drinker, so I offer more food)

 

[MummyMana]

I'd probably think about the kind of meals you have and at what times, and base it around that I don't know what your routine consists of, but 11:30 seems pretty late for the last meal of the day... Maybe do breakfast with the morning bottle (porridge or erratic or something), some fruit around lunchtime or some fingerfoods if your doing.g them yet, then something st Stanfield for dinnertime (veg, maybe some meat like pp said... Imogen likes my homemade vegetable soup which makes a good meal for dinner) then a bottle on it's own before bed

 

[Rachel_C]

You're right, you shouldn't be reducing her milk intake - her main source of nutrition will be milk until at least a year old so don't worry about that. At 8 months, we were giving breakfast, lunch and dinner with snacks if we were having them. Is there a reason you're giving food at such unusual times? I'd always say start as you mean to go on, or you have another thing to change later on (I assume you won't always be giving dinner at 11.30pm?!). As suggested by a PP, I'd base what you give and when around what you're eating, so something like toast or normal cereal (Weetabix, porridge etc) for breakfast, a lunch in the middle of the day and a dinner in the evening. We did BLW so just gave some of our food but if you're pureeing, you can give pureed versions of your meals. There's no need to stick to fruit and veg past 6 months and LO can have finger foods. Then I'd just follow LO's lead with milk/solids. Give the main meals, perhaps give half a milk feed before solids, then offer the rest afterwards. When she's a bit older and enjoying her solids and eating more, you can offer milk after solids instead.

 

[amandah507]

our schedule is really unconventional. my husband is a paramedic and works crazy shifts, so dd normally doesnt go to bed until around 1230am (awake around 1130am), thats why she eats so late. but should i only be doing a bottle at 1130, and not solids? or does it not matter? also, because of our crazy schedules, we (dh and i) have no sort of meal schedule for ourselves, some days we have dinner at 5 and some days 9. so i was expecting a challenge getting her on a schedule that is semi-normal. i havent introduced any meats yet. we did a month of orange veggies, 2 weeks of green and about a week of fruits. she will begin getting meats next though.

im glad you guys dont think im crazy for not wanting to cut back on her formula yet. i hear is that it should be her primary nutrition until a year, and now at 8 months WIC is telling me she is getting "too much" so annoying.

 

[Beccaboop]

This is my 7 and a half month olds routine:
He has a milk allergy so cant eat any diary also so far hes only tried chicken and no other meat yet but it might help to show you his routine.

6am 5/6oz of neocate milk
9am a whole weetabix with 3oz of milk
10am 5/6oz milk
1pm lunch chichen mixed with veg puree then fruit puree for pudding
2pm 5/6oz of milk
5.30 dinner more veg and fruit puree
7/7.30 5/6oz milk

It feels like we're feeding him all day long but atm he wont drink more than 6oz at a time. I wish he would so then he could only have 3 bottles a day instead of 4 but i cant force him!

 

[MummyMana]

It feels like we're feeding him all day long but atm he wont drink more than 6oz at a time. I wish he would so then he could only have 3 bottles a day instead of 4 but i cant force him!

Imogen has 9oz per bottle and still has 4!

 

[Feebster1]

Cant be easy trying to get a routine with such erratic shifts!!

My lo wouldnt/couldnt take more than 6oz for a long time till i put her on the schedule we have now then she gradually over a few days realised she needed to take more to stop her getting to hungry between meals.
For the last month we have been doing this:

Wake Up about 6.30-7 ...... Porridge made with her milk
9am......Full 9oz bottle (takes what she wants)
12-12.30....lunch (spoon fed lumpy and finger food)
2-2.30....Full 9oz bottle (again takes what she wants)
5-5.30....Dinner (generally what we eat whizzed and finger food)
Bath 6.30 and bed at 7 with another full bottle.

Not sure she has ever taken a full bottle, anywhere between 5oz to 8oz is more likely just depends how she feels i guess but i like to know its there if she wants it.

Maybe you could try different things from everyones suggestions and make up your own loose routine and just make breakfast/lunch and dinner times when suits you. But i would always make a bottle the last meal of the day.
Dont think you should cut back either, even if grace is fussy and doesnt eat well at mealtimes i know she is getting what she needs from the milk to grow which is peace of mind for a mummy!

 

[amandah507]

thank you everyone for your input! it is very much appreciated!!

 

[SarahBear]

my dd is 8 months. we delayed solids until 6.5 months, and no baby cereal! she is FF and has been since birth.

right now this is her eating schedule:
12pm- 6oz formula
4pm- 6oz formula and 4oz veggie
8pm- 6oz formula
1130pm- 8oz formula and 4oz fruit

WIC keeps telling me less formula, more food, but i dont know where to begin. she loves her formula and i know she still needs it. so my question is, where should i make changes, or should i even be making changes yet, at 8 months?

Follow your baby's lead! I know Violet made it clear when she wanted more solids...

 

[weejenb]

I think you're right, theres no reason to reduce your formula intake. When we introduced food my LO dropped from 5 bottles to 4, but our routine is usually like this (he's intolerant to cows milk fyi):

6am wake up and 8oz nutramigen
7.30 half a weetabix and 2oz formula, sometimes fruit puree or mashed banana mixed in
10/10.30am another 8oz bottle - he usually only drinks 4-6oz of this but I always offer 8
11.30/12 half an Ella's kitchen pouch or homemade mashed veg/puree
2pm 8oz bottle
4/4.30pm half an Ella's kitchen pouch or homemade mashed veg, fruit puree or soya yoghurt for dessert
5.30pm 8oz bottle

I also offer things like baby rice cakes for snacks throughout the day, and water with each meal.
I read that as long as baby is getting at last 21oz of formula each day, thats enough to get their calcium/nutritional recommended intake.
I would just try offering different foods, maybe trying more snack type things throughout the day.