How much milk and when???

Hi all, just wondered if you could advise, Sam is now 71/2 months and weighs in a 20lb 2. He's recently losing interest in his mid morning bottle and I was just wondering how much milk he should be having, here is what a day looks like now:

7.30 - 8oz formula followed by bowl of readybrek with cow's milk (should he be having cow's milk, it seemed disgusting to make it with formula??)

10.30 - used to be a 5oz bottle but he has been refusing or only taking one oz so today he had banana and pear and some water instead (would normally have had the fruit with breakfast).

12.30 - 2 cubes of meat/fish and veg puree, some organix snacks/bit of pitta and hoummus and a yoghurt. Drink of water.

3pm - 5oz bottle but doesn't always take it all.

4.30 - 1 cube of veg puree and some fruit puree or a rice pudding type dessert. Drink of water.

6.30 - 6 oz bottle.

So in theory he's getting 19 oz milk which should be ok shouldn ... I'm getting myself all confused It does actually look a bit better now i've written it down but any thoughts much appreciated and ideas of what you do.

Thanks lovely ladies

Rach and Sam x x x

Feeding

Hi Rach,

We do the following, however Emily is not a big drinker

7am - 6 oz bottle but she normally has 4oz
8am - Porridge
11.30am - Lunch which is normally veggie cubes and a meaty cube sneaked in, nibbles such as cheese, toast, banana or organix snacks, yoghurt and juice
2.30pm - 5oz bottle, can have anything from 2oz to the whole lot
5pm - Tea which is two fruit cubes with rice mixed with milk
6.30pm - Bedtime milk which is 5oz

Looking at your routines I may sneak in the mid morning milk and make lunch later like 12noon - 12.30pm as this will fit with nursery better and get her milk intake up. Normally Emily drinks from 12oz to 18oz a day but she has never been a big drinker and was weighed a few weeks ago and was 14lb 14oz.

Sounds like Sam is getting enough milk..... If he is happy and contented (and going thru the night) then all is okay!

Have a good day
Natalie & Emily xxx

Hey rach,

all sounds fine to me hun, the guidelines say they should be having around 21oz once you've started weaning but it is only a guide and if you're offering more and he's not taking it he's obviously getting enough for him. They're all different and it used to worry me sick that Kaitlyn wasn't taking quite as much as 'they' said she should but she's doing great, don't have her weighed cos it just used to stress me out but you only have to look at her to see how well she's doing, growing stupidly fast and always full of energy unlike me I' m knackered now she's crawling! Sam's taking near enough the guideline amount anyway so sounds like you're doing fine to me, not too sure about the cows milk question I still make Kaitlyn's cereal with formula but know the guidelines (them again!) say they can have cows milk in cooking and think that does apply to cereal but never been sure enough to risk it, hope someone else can clarify that for both of us cos you're right formula is disgusting! Hope you're both well,

lotsa love,
Clare and Kaitlyn (nearly 11 months eek!) xxx

arrrrgh!

what a minefield this is!

i actually had a chat with my HV about this very subject yesterday as i was a bit concerned about Emilie's weight gain - or lack thereof.

Oliver whacked the weight on like it was going out of fashion. He would take as much milk as you would offer him, seriously, he would have taken an 8oz bottle every 1.5 hours if you let him, and he never ever turned down food or left any. By 8 months he was eating 2 weetabix for breakfast, a full on cooked lunch, meat veg etc, then fruit for dessert, morning and afternoon snacks and a full evening meal, plus 28oz of milk a day. Oink oink! He was never overweight, and always followed the 50th centile nicely.

Emilie on the other hand is stressing me out!! She weighed 7lb 3oz at birth, never lost any birth weight and progressed nicely along the 9th centile until the last 2 times I had her weighed, where she has dropped further and further off the 9th and toward the 0.4th. She is now 27 weeks old and weighs 13lb 9oz, shes a tiddler.

Anyway, after a chat with my HV, where I explained she is not too interested in her milk, never has been, right from birth, she told me to bin off the milk, other than a morning and evening bottle and perhaps one in the day, morning or afternoon, which ever suits us best. She said that as long as she is getting about 15oz a day, and not the 'guideline' 21, with a varied diet, then not to worry. She said give her high calorie foods, so make her food with full fat milk/cheese etc.

So now her day looks like this;

7am - 5oz formula
8.30 - baby porridge, made with full fat milk (yes you can use it on their food, just not as a drink until they are 1 year old)
10.30 - 3oz formula
12 - lunch, mashed avocado or suchlike
3.00 - 3oz formula
4.30 - dinner, puree such as sweet potato, cheese and carrot followed by half a banana and a fromage frais
6pm - 5oz formula

Fingers crossed for next time. The HV did say to me though that as long as she is happy, active, sleeping well and not ill all the time, then I shouldn't worry too much, she is obviously just going to be a little one!

Love Kelly, Oliver almost 20 months and Emilie, 27 weeks today!
xxx