reducing amount of milk

[frogslegs]

Before we started weaning he was on 5 bottles a day of between 6 and 7ozs. I am now struggling to come to terms that he needs less. My Dr really harps on the fact that milk should be their primary food until the age of 2!!! So now I am worried that as he eats more he needs less milk.

Did you totally cut out a milk feed (feeds)? At the moment he has a bottle at 7am - since weaning he is less and less interested in this. Porridge and fruit at 11am and vegetable puree and fruit at 3pm followed by bottle at 7pm and dream feed at 10pm. I still try to get him to have some milk at around 11am and 3pm either before or after his feed. Do I still need to do this? He has started to get quite fussy with his milk but this could be because he is full, what do you think?

 

[ColtonsMom]

I think at his age you should feed him the milk he wants. My doctor said 4 bottles at 9mo (of 8oz), so if he is only on 5 then thats fine. There is no need to reduce it. Colton is still on 4 8oz bottles (was on 5 until about 2 weeks ago) and he's almost one!! I think the general rule is after 6mo they need AT LEAST 17oz plus their food; so try not to worry to much if he drops some.

I'm kinda shocked they want him on mostly milk until 2 years. Once you switch him over to cows milk he wont need near as much because cows milk doesn't have the nutrients and vitamins that formula has, and as a matter of fact cows milk will make you gain alot of weight. BUT, you still have awhile until then so I wouldn't stress it. For now, I would just go with what he wants.

 

[Angelica]

if ur lo is over 6 months and being weaned they still need to be having between 18-28fl oz of milk a day as this is still where they get most of the required iron from..

This will prob mean cutting out some milk feeds but dont worry it will just sort of work itself out.. Mine did..

My lo now has a feed at 5am
then breakfast around 9am(cereal, fruit puree etc)
lunch around 12.30
milk around 3pm
dinner around 5pm
last feed of day before bed around 7pm

This works well for us as this way she has around 24fl oz of milk & actually finshes her bottle as opposed to when i was giving her a bottle after feeds when she was having a bit then wasting the rest!

 

[isil]

I'd just do what he wants generally. Alasdair isn't getting the recommended amount of milk (our HV says 20oz, Ally has about 15) but because he is having whole milk and yoghurts they aren't as worried. Also he's still putting on weight. Next time I see them though I'm going to ask if it's better to give him some vitamin drops as a kind of preventative measure.

I'd try to give your LO solids at meal times instead of putting them at 11 and 3. I wasn't sure what to do with Alasdair but now he has:
6.30am - bottle
7.30am - breakfast
11am-12pm - lunch
2pm - bottle (this i the bottle he never drinks much of, although sometimes he drinks all of this but none of his morning one!)
5pm - dinner
6pm - bottle

When Alasdair was a little younger I gave him milk at 11 too. Maybe you could give milk at 11 instead of solids then try solids between 12-1 and then see if he'd have solids later THEN milk before bed? I just think that in a couple of years you're going to want his set meal times to be around the same time as yours so it might be better to start off with that now?

 

[jenstar]

When my baby was born I remember being told about milk being their primary source of nutrition for 1 or 2 yrs or something, but now he is being weaned the HV and doctors seem to have forgotten that earlier bit of advice

Yes I cut out 2 milk feeds within a couple of weeks of starting weaning.

Prior to being weaned my baby was a big milk drinker (45 oz or equivalent a day) and when I mentioned to my HV that some days he was interested in his food and some days he wasn't she said that he really was getting a lot of milk and that it would need to be cut down in the next couple of months. So I just cut it down that day. I did it by offering a snack in th afternoon instead of milk and he would be happy with something small like 2 grapes or one mini ricecake rather than a 9oz bottle or a 45min breastfeed!

My HV recommended 4 milk a day (breakfast, lunch, afternoon and bedtime) but my baby only gets 3 (breakfast, afternoon and bedtime) as he is not hungry straight after lunch. The HV also recommended not giving him the bottle straight after his solids if you think he is just messing around with the olids because he knows he'll get his belly filled with milk anyway just to get him in the habit of eating a decent amount.

 

[Vickie]

Hannah barely drank 24 ounces a day before weaning, it's dropped now to around 20 ounces although it varies greatly day to day. I did drop a feed but she was getting fed at 2 a.m. and we got rid of that. I also moved her dream feed forward. She no longer gets a dream feed but gets fed right before she goes to bed (6:30 most nights). She actually has done really well with this and for the most part sleeps through

 

[frogslegs]

Thanks for all your advice, it's really comforting to hear what you other mums are doing. I don't have any young mums or mother and baby groups here in france so I find myself doing this alone (or with the help of google). I just find it so frustrating not knowing what's best for archie, if only they came with instructions, tailor made to their exacting requirements!!!!!!

I think I will start to give him his solids around meal times, I have always been scared to feed him later in the day for fear of windy tummy pains in the night but as his system has matured that bit more think I will try the 5pm feed. I'll also try to loosen up if he doesn't want to finish his milk, he'll have it when he wants it!

Thanks

 

[reallytinyamy]

I'm not reducing chloes milk intake- she has what she wants of everything

 

[Ratty]

Try also giving him water. The take less formula once on solids, but they do still need liquid. My boy drinks quite a bit of water in between feeds and loves it.

 

[1st_baby]

my son still drinks about 26-30 oz of milk per day when he dosent want any i wont force him

 

[Tegans Mama]

My Lo has :

about 7am - 8oz bottle
9am - breakfast (normally fruit + half a yogurt or something)
12pm - 8oz bottle
1pm - lunch - something savoury
4pm - 8oz bottle
5pm - dinner savoury plus fruit after
8pm - 5-6oz bottle
12pm - 4oz bottle

So I guess she's on about 30-34 oz a day plus three meals, but some days I really struggle to get any milk down her - but she does have days when she drinks a ton of milk and doesn't want solids. I would follow your own instincts and give what you think he needs and everything should be fine

 

[bigbelly2]

tommy still has between 28 and 32oz of milk a day

8am 8oz bottle
9-10am jar of porridge
12 half jar of dinner and 7oz bottle aswell as a biscotti/crisps/rusk etc
4pm 8oz bottle and jar of fruit/pudding
7pm 7 oz bottle

he also picks at bits of our food through out the day lol

id give your little one as much milk as he wants

h x