how do you know when to drop a bottle?

[BeachyBronzer]

my lo is 8 months old. he is not a big milk drinker lately and only manages to drink about 16 oz. i know he should be on 21 oz according to the formula box, but he just doesnt want anymore.

i leave at least an hour if not two between his milk feeds and his solid meals.

currently his day is like something like this,
8am 5oz bottle
9.30am breakfast
nap
12pm 4oz bottle
1pm lunch
short nap
4pm 4oz bottle
6pm dinner
7.30pm 2oz bottle

i offer him 6 or 7oz in each bottle in case he wants more, but he rarely does. which bottle should i drop? or should i keep offering what i am?

 

[Rabbittchild]

As long as he's growing well and having plenty of wet and dirty nappies I'd try not to worry. My DD went off milk at about 5-7m and then loved it again from 8m so much so we had to cut her right down. She's now on 5oz after breakfast and 8oz before bed and she doesn't always drink all of those.

does he have other sources of dairy in his diet ie cheese, yoghurt, milk in food? Is he drinking water?

You could try doing lunch before the bottle, then keeping the mid afternoon one and the morning and night ones Or replacing the afternoon one with a snack and see how you get on.

 

[MrsNorthman]

Hey, i'm in the same boat but last week I just bit the bullet and cut out his 11am bottle, so his day is like this:

7am - porridge
8am - 6 oz bottle
11am - youghurt (tried it with banana but he was having none of it)

1pm - dinner (potatoes & veg)
2pm - 6oz bottle

4pm - yoghurt

5.30pm - bowl of the baby cereal

6.30 - 7 oz bottle

Plenty of water as well from his cup throughout the day!!

I wouldnt worry about it too much, I just wanted to drop the 11 bottle as I just wanted him on the 3 bottles, he still loves his bottles and I was afraid he would be too hungary as I am struggling with what food to give him for his tea, still not great with the lumps, but he seems to be doing fine!! x

 

[Amy2701]

When Lily turned 8 months I was advised by my HV to drop the lunchtime bottle and just offer juice with lunch. Her routine looked like this:-

8:30am - 8oz bottle
9:30am - breakfast
12:30pm - lunch with juice
4:30pm - 8oz bottle
5:30pm - dinner
7:30pm - bath
8:30pm - 8oz bottle

This routine worked great, until about 2 weeks ago. She was taking 1-2oz of her teatime bottle before wasting the rest. So I took it upon myself to cut out the teatime bottle too, and increased her morning and bedtime bottles to 9oz each. She sleeps through the night, eats lots of healthy snacks throughout the day and I no longer waste milk... Works for me!

 

[BeachyBronzer]

As long as he's growing well and having plenty of wet and dirty nappies I'd try not to worry. My DD went off milk at about 5-7m and then loved it again from 8m so much so we had to cut her right down. She's now on 5oz after breakfast and 8oz before bed and she doesn't always drink all of those.

does he have other sources of dairy in his diet ie cheese, yoghurt, milk in food? Is he drinking water?

You could try doing lunch before the bottle, then keeping the mid afternoon one and the morning and night ones Or replacing the afternoon one with a snack and see how you get on.

yes he has plenty wet and dirty nappies and hes growing well.
regarding other dairy, i give him a yoghurt every other day, and he has cheese on toast or in an omelette a few times a week. is that enough?!

 

[BeachyBronzer]

Hey, i'm in the same boat but last week I just bit the bullet and cut out his 11am bottle, so his day is like this:

7am - porridge
8am - 6 oz bottle
11am - youghurt (tried it with banana but he was having none of it)

1pm - dinner (potatoes & veg)
2pm - 6oz bottle

4pm - yoghurt

5.30pm - bowl of the baby cereal

6.30 - 7 oz bottle

Plenty of water as well from his cup throughout the day!!

I wouldnt worry about it too much, I just wanted to drop the 11 bottle as I just wanted him on the 3 bottles, he still loves his bottles and I was afraid he would be too hungary as I am struggling with what food to give him for his tea, still not great with the lumps, but he seems to be doing fine!! x

thanks thats really helpful!
i see you give the dinner during the day, i give it in the evening. maybe my lo is still too full from his dinner to drink his bedtime bottle. i think il give a bigger portion at 12 or 1pm today, and a lighter portion in the evening. maybe then he will drink more of his bedtime bottle.
he has been waking at 5 or 6am some mornings hungry. and i know its cos he is only drinking 2oz before he goes to sleep!

 

[BeachyBronzer]

When Lily turned 8 months I was advised by my HV to drop the lunchtime bottle and just offer juice with lunch. Her routine looked like this:-

8:30am - 8oz bottle
9:30am - breakfast
12:30pm - lunch with juice
4:30pm - 8oz bottle
5:30pm - dinner
7:30pm - bath
8:30pm - 8oz bottle

This routine worked great, until about 2 weeks ago. She was taking 1-2oz of her teatime bottle before wasting the rest. So I took it upon myself to cut out the teatime bottle too, and increased her morning and bedtime bottles to 9oz each. She sleeps through the night, eats lots of healthy snacks throughout the day and I no longer waste milk... Works for me!

what kind of snacks do you offer?
and i see you leave 3 hours after dinner before the bedtime bottle, i think il bring los dinner a bit earlier. i really want him to have a good feed of milk before bedtime! so he will sleep to 8am or so! he was such a good sleeper til about a month ago /sigh!
im kind of reluctant to cut out the bedtime bottle, but it looks like thats the one he is trying to drop! today il try cutting out the mid morning bottle and see how it goes.
i did try it once or twice a couple weeks ago, but it didnt work out so i gave it to him again. now hes a bit bigger it may work.