Routine advice please...getting in a muddle!

[baby D]

Can i ask how you ladies juggle milk and food feeds over the day?

Amelia is losing intrest in her morning AND bedtime bottle - i think the morning feed is due to her feeding during the night still - which i am beginning to think is habit rather then hunger - not sure how to 'fix' this! The bedtime bottle is due to her just not being hungry - she has a bottle and solids around 4pm so just doesn't want another feed at 7pm - problem is i can't keep her up latter as she is so tired by then and just won't stay awake much longer - and if she does, she falls asleep so quickly on her bottle that she ends up not 'eating' it anyway really don't want her to drop this feed as she already wakes to feed once during the night - surely she'll wake up for two night feeds then?

Oh and she isn't really eating that much in the way of solids - i'd say about one tablespoon twice a day -she shuts her mouth after this so i know she has had enough -does enjoy her solid meals, though.

 

[Blah11]

Amelie is greedy and takes plenty of milk feeds AND food feeds sorry I cant help

 

[rach321]

Have you tried reducing the amount she gets at night - we had a similar problem and I slowly reduced the amount of each feed till it got to 3oz then cut it out completely - it does take a bit of time but at least this way she will take more food during the day. I think your breakfast bottle will sort itself out once the night feeds are gone. For the bedtime one - how about not giving her a full bottle with her food just give her 3-4oz - if she is eating well then this should work - then she should be hungry for her bedtime bottle. Does she have a milk feed every 3 hours or 4? Switching to 4hr feeds might help then you can space the solids in between. For example our routine looks like
6am bottle
7am breakfast
10am bottle
11.30 lunch
2pm bottle
5pm tea snack bottle (3oz) just to get us to bed time
6.30 bath,massage,bottle
7pm bed

Hope that helps!

 

[daisyday]

I found that i had to stop the middle of the night feed because this was stopping Jake wanting his morning feed.

The HV told me to not feed him during the night and if he does wake give him a bottle if you really need to but make it mostly water so for example 5oz water and just 2 scoops of milk. This has seemed to of worked. He soon stopped wanting the night feed as it wasnt satisfying and started having his morning feed again.


My day goes like this:

7-8am Bottle then cereal

12pm lunch and fruit

3pm bottle

4-5pm dinner and fruit

7pm bottle

He has started going off his 3pm bottle now so if he doesnt finish it i make something for his dinner that i can mix the left milk in so atleast he's getting it somehow.

Hope this helps.

 

[Blah11]

Um, shes 5 months old... Milk is FAR more important than solids at her age. Do not cut any bottles out

 

[baby D]

Um, shes 5 months old... Milk is FAR more important than solids at her age. Do not cut any bottles out

This is my worry - she is still tiny - i am only weaning due ti her prediatrician wanting her weaned - she has acid reflux!

Maybe giving a little less milk with her tea might help - she would then drink her bedtime bottle amd maybe make up the oz here - i don't know

When you say about not droping milk feeds (of which i agree) do you mean the night feed too - really starting to think it is just habit as she doesn't seem overly hungry - just awake and expecting a bottle - sometimes she takes it all and sometimes, especially lately, she only takes about 3 oz ????

Maybe i should cut her soilds back to once a day - maybe that will help her up her milk intake again - but how am i meant to get her to 3 meals a day like this? I am so confused

 

[rach321]

How much does she weigh honey? She should be drinking roughly 1.5-2oz per lb of body weight so for example my LO weighs about 20lb so he should drink between 30-40oz of milk a day. The solid food is extra and is not their main source of nutrition - don't forget that until they are 1 solid food is just for fun and learning about different textures and how to chew and move food around in their mouths. If you know she is getting enough milk during the day then there is no reason for her to wake at night for a feed. If she wakes at the same time every night then it is probably habit if she wakes at random times then it may be hunger. Have you tried offering her water instead of milk during the night?
SHe's only 5 months so no need to worry about dropping bottles or anything like that. When she is eating enough solid food then she will do this naturally on her own. I think you're doing a great job, we were in a similar situation and were struggling to fit 3 meals and milk into a day. So always offer her milk first since that's the most important bit then maybe an hour later offer her solids - she may not eat as much but that's ok she will eat more as she gets bigger. I was getting really stressed about weaning especially since my LO now refuses to eat anything but yogurt off a spoon but I have decided not to worry about it too much now - he will eat when he is ready!
Its hard to not be really confused about weaning - Ive spent so many hours researching but do what works best for you and if at 5 months she isn't ready for 3 meals a day then don't worry about it too much - try it again in a few weeks - you have plenty of time.

 

[Blah11]

Um, shes 5 months old... Milk is FAR more important than solids at her age. Do not cut any bottles out

This is my worry - she is still tiny - i am only weaning due ti her prediatrician wanting her weaned - she has acid reflux!

Maybe giving a little less milk with her tea might help - she would then drink her bedtime bottle amd maybe make up the oz here - i don't know

When you say about not droping milk feeds (of which i agree) do you mean the night feed too - really starting to think it is just habit as she doesn't seem overly hungry - just awake and expecting a bottle - sometimes she takes it all and sometimes, especially lately, she only takes about 3 oz ????

Maybe i should cut her soilds back to once a day - maybe that will help her up her milk intake again - but how am i meant to get her to 3 meals a day like this? I am so confused

She could be just waking for a bottle. I remember Emas jacob was doing this and she just didnt give in when he woke and eventually he figured out he wasnt getting it and went back to sleep. I think his sleep schedule is so much better now. Maybe tonight when she wakes for a bottle, just give her a cuddle instead and put her back down? Or give her a drink of water like above poster suggested?

 

[LuluBee]

Could you try giving her more solids at lunch time and not any at the afternoon feed? Then she's more likely to be hungry for her last bottle?

 

[baby D]

Could you try giving her more solids at lunch time and not any at the afternoon feed? Then she's more likely to be hungry for her last bottle?

Was thinking maybe solids at breakfast and luch rather then breakfast and tea - will give it a try tomorrow. Thanks