[Alexa5]

For those of you that your babies are drinking less formula than they did before they started solids....did it just happen all of the sudden?

Nicholas has always loved his formula, and it doesn't matter that he has a couple of solids meals a day, he religiously has 5 - 7oz bottles of formula a day. Yesterday he suddenly stopped finishing his bottles, and only drank maybe 5 oz at a time.

We haven't increased his solids, and he isn't showing interest for more than what he was given. He did have a cold, but was actually better yesterday, and had been eating normally throughout the tough days of his cold. He was teething, but is acting normally, and has had worse teething episodes in the past and still ate normally then.

So, I am trying to figure out if he might be suddenly realizing he doesn't need so much formula since he has solids or if it is going to turn out to be a temporary thing. I think if he ate 25oz a day instead of 35oz a day that would still be fine since he does have some solids, but I am not completely sure of the reason behind the change yet.

What kind of signs did you all get when your babies started taking less? How did the transition take place?

[TheFabJG]

That's so funny you posted this, Alexa...I was going to pose a similar question today...

But for us, Christopher has kind of started to self-wean in a way over the past couple of weeks. He's gone from taking a solid 32+ ounces a day (4x 8oz bottles plus an extra 2 of 4 ounces as needed here and there) to taking only 3 bottles and "sometimes" finishing all 8 ounces, and other times he might take 2 ounces and be done.

He is definitely showing more interest in his solids and I've actually gone from feeding him 1 jar of fruit and 1 jar of veggie at the Stage 2 size to 1 stage 3 and a stage 2 and THEN he takes a "cookie" (aka biter biscuit) to occupy him and let his tummy communicate to his brain that yes, he is infact full! lol

I think I'm actually going to call my doc about this just to confirm my thoughts--but I'm tending to think with you. I know that ultimately the goal is to get them to rely more on the solids and do 3 traditional meals a day and just have the bottles for backup, but I'm not sure exactly when that transition "should" or "typically" takes place...

Wow...that was a huge ramble...sorry it was so long!

[Alexa5]

Well, that is nice to know that we are not alone :-) It is funny that they both just kind of started doing it all of the sudden. If it is the start of transitioning to less formula, in some ways it is good for me, as I was beginning to worry we would never get Nicholas to lower his formula intake. Not so much of a concern now, but as he gets even closer to one year old I didn't know what I would do if he didn't feel the urge to lower it on his own! Didn't want to starve the kid, but at the same time, they eventually have to transition.

I am interested to find out what your doc says.

As for when the transition should/can take place, I do remember his doctor saying something like this: 6mos...they are just starting the solids and it is extra/doesn't impact how much formula they have. 9 mos they might have increased solids enough that they decrease their formula intake to 1/2 what it was, and then by 1 year they could eat pretty much anything (would be on a more normal schedule of eating).

That said...Nicholas has always been a bit behind the above, and that is not a problem either. The PA in the office said that it is still mostly about the experience of eating solids and introducing new things and formula/breastmilk are the main source of nutrition.

[greenchild]

I EP, I know exactly how much BM Kaiden gets. from 2 - 6 mo, he ate 28 oz per day. Exactly 28 oz. 7 - 4oz bottles. If he skipped a little at one feeding, he'd make up for it in the middle of the night!

around 6 mo, he started showing signs he was ready for solids so we started. at first, he kept up with the 28 oz BM (still exactly 28 oz! ) Then with the issues he was having I cut out solids for awhile and he bumped up his BM intake to anywhere from 28 - 34 oz.

Now that we're back on solids, I notice he now takes in about 28 - 30 oz overall, but what he doesn't eat in BM is now the solids portion. He is showing me now that he wants more solids in a setting so I am slowly giving him more food, less BM at those meals. We are now up to 3 - 4 oz food + 1.5 - 2 2/3 oz BM for 2 solids meals per day, the other 5 meals are still 4 oz bottles.

for the solids meals, I started out with the BM then offering the food. I had to give a spoonful or two, give milk, back and forth between the two to help him wash it down. Now if I try to give him a bottle before he thinks he's done with the solids he doesn't want it! Now he likes to finish his solids, then take the bottle.

[mommyof2NY]

Jacob has been doing the same thing for about a month or so. He used to go from eating 4 or 5 8oz bottles to about 2 maybe 3 if I am lucky. Sometimes in the morning he will eat his full 8oz bottle because he is hungry from sleeping so long and hungry from his last feeding of the night. And then I am sometimes lucky if he takes and ounce or two! When he started to do this I just increased his jar food. I will be making the transition from formula to cow's milk at about 11 months. I am interested in what Chris's doctor says!

[Alexa5]

Spoke to a nurse at our doc's office, and she said the timing of it sounds like it is the start of his transition to more solids/less formula, and it is coming at an appropriate time. She said to watch the diapers, as that is a major sign they are getting enough fluids, check with daycare regularly as well re: eating and diapers.... the idea being to make sure everything is going okay, they are gaining weight. As occasionally it could be a sign of the baby not feeling well, and could be a start of weight dropping off...so to not let it go too long if something doesn't seem right.

But if the baby is eating solids, especially showing interest for more, still drinking some formula, has wet diapers, etc, then it is fine for them to do as they are doing.

[Msbasay]

I was told by the doc that when Drayden was 6 months old that I had to really slack off on the formula. Now Drayden usually has one milk bottle in the morning and one for bedtime.

[MyDuckySam]

Originally Posted by SweetFeets

I think I'm actually going to call my doc about this just to confirm my thoughts--but I'm tending to think with you. I know that ultimately the goal is to get them to rely more on the solids and do 3 traditional meals a day and just have the bottles for backup, but I'm not sure exactly when that transition "should" or "typically" takes place...

This is actually what our pedi said at 6 months. Said to try to transition him to three meals around 9 months and to go ahead and include protein by 9 months. Unfortunately, Henry HATES chicken, so we're trying other things.

Henry has pretty much taken the same amount (30 oz) all along, just at varying times. we finally have him taking 4 oz with meals, 6 oz alone.

[ChristinaL]

It was pretty sudden over here. It started with his daytime 7 oz bottles, he would leave 2 to 3 ounces. This was about 6 weeks ago & he's 8 1/2 months. He only gets one big bottle now, 7-9 oz at bedtime. His other 4 throughout the day vary from 3-5 depending on time, how much he ate, etc. & he doesn't always want all 4 of those some days.

[shellito1012]

Naina went from a solid 32 oz a day to 28 oz and now anywhere between 16 to 24 oz. This last drop seemed suden to me, but she does have a HUGE appetite for solids (especially table food - no pureed). I was just telling Walter this past couple of days that I ws worried Naina wasn't getting enough fluids.....we are really working on her water intake as well (but with a straw and she is just not getting the straw concept).....

[BrookeN]

It sounds like he's ready to make the transition to less formula to me! Lena has started not finishing her 4 bottles of 6oz each. I think I'm going to try to drop one bottle and add an oz. of formula to the other 3, so she'll be getting 21oz as opposed to 24.

[ChristinaW]

Abby slacked off on formula months ago. Her ped says she's growing and gaining so we don't worry about it. She drinks about 12-14oz on a really good day. The only meal she takes a bottle well at is breakfast. To get the max amount of formula in her I use it to mix her cereal instead of the water it calls for. Solids wise she is a tiny eater also. She eats only and small jar (quantity wise) at a sitting. I had her on the sippy two weeks ago, but we gave bottle back because she dropped to only 8oz of formula a day.