I am weaning my 7 month old daughter from the breast onto formula. I will be doing 1 bottle every few days with only a 1\2 scoop full of formula to 1 ounce of water with 5 ounces of breastmilk. That is what the nurse said to start with if I was weaning. It sounds right. Doesn't it? Then eventually increase the amount of formula. I'm even going to mix it in he cereal everyday. I also will be starting meats next week. I would like to know what some of your feeding schedulesa are for your babies? I am a first time mom with alot of questions. Also , I started to give her 2tbs of cereal with fruit in the morning instead of at night becuase she'll have her meat and fruit and bottle at night. Does this sound okay? But today she did not want to eather fruit and her cereal. I think it might be becuase this was the first time she had cereal in the morning. Could this be why??? i need all the advice I can get. Also my pediatrician said not to even start a sippy cup until she's 9 months old. I diasagree,don't you all??? Any other tips on how to wean would be appreciated? Thanks alot, N. K
She might just have a full tummy if she didn't want her cereal or fruit. The digestive adjustment to cereal can be tough on their tummy and she might just be a little constipated. I weaned my kids off of the breast pretty much the same way you're doing it right now. My only advice would be to not try everything at one time (new bottle, cereal, fruit, sippy cup). There is no rush whatsoever. Be patient!
My Oldest is the only one who ever got formula. I was told not to mix formula and breastmilk together because should the baby not finish the bottle you have to dump out the breastmilk along with the formula wasting it. I was told to feed breastmilk first and then top off with Formula (and I always had to do it watered down slightly or my Son would get sick)
It doesn't matter when she eats her solids...my kids weren't on solids at 7months I waited for them to be ready for table foods (between 8-10months) nothing wrong with waiting for them to be ready.
Sippy cup...some kids are ready at 6months some aren't ready until they are a year or older. There is a learning curve to a sippy cup. I'd probably start with the soft top Nubby or an Avent Sippy.
relax... dont worry- there are many ways to do things and they are all fine.. she doesnt have to have certain foods at certain times of the day any more than you do.
It is fine to start mixing your breast milk with formula. You can add one ounce of formula to your milk- then in a couple of days or a week add 2 ounces of formula- keep doing it until your daughter is on 100% formula. If you wean her slowly you will not be uncomfortable. At the end of breastfeeding my daughter was nursing morning and evening. Then just evening and then we just stopped. It took at least a month to wean. She didnt miss nursing at all. she prefered bottles.
whether your daughter gets cereal in the morning or evening does not matter- she is too young to know what time it is. Babies have eating days and othe days when they hardly eat. It all balances out.
So if one day - or for several days in arow your daughter will not eat solid food -- dont stress- this is normal- some days my duaghter will eat anything you put in front of her- other days she will throw all food off of her high chair tray.
You can try giving her a sippy cup- nothing bad will happen if you give it to her. She might be able to handle it.. she might not. My duaghter could not manage a cup at that age. She could drink out of a regular cup if you held it for her. But it took several more months for her to manage lifting the cup and tilting it up and drinking independently.
So try the cup- but if she cant doit yet wait a week or two and try again. Babies do things at their own pace.
I introduced the veggies before the meat baby food- but agian it doesnt matter.
at 7 months my daughter only got cereal once a day with fruit- I think we added the 2nd meal at 8 months and the 3rd meal at around 9 months.
For the first year- all of the baby's nutrition comes from the breast milk or formula. The solid food is not important- it is just practice for learning how to eat solid food on a spoon and swallow. After 12 month the solids are more important and the milk is secondary.
Ba
N.,
You don't have to do everything perfect... trust me! I've had 3 babies and they are growing healthy as can be. I did what I thought was best and you should too!! Take everything the doctors tell you and what you read and decide for yourself what you think is the best thing to do. Everyone's baby is different. Only the Mom knows best! It sounds like you are doing great..Keep it up and don't stress if she doesn't follow a perfect schedule.. Its normal and you its fine. Just give her a little bit of this and a little bit of that and see how she does then you can try to do a schedule and follow it the best you can. My youngest son is 9 months now and I feed him cereal in the morning with some formula and fruit and then a bottle shortly after that of about 8 ounces. Then he'll have lunch usually a veggie then a bottle 8 ounces, then dinner usually a meat and veggie either from a jar of baby food or else something I made for my other children. He is already beginning to feed himself. Good Luck!
Hi - I can offer a couple of thoughts... The first is to not overlook vegetables. If you only include fruits and meats in your daughter's diet she'll be missing out on important nutrients and won't develop an as extensive taste pallet. My son loves vegetables best, which I think bodes well for his future health! As far as the sippy cup in concerned, we let our son - now 8 months - play with one at every meal. We gave it to him for the first time about two months ago, and while he still doesn't understand what he's supposed to do with it, he enjoys having it as part of the mealtime routine. I figure that he'll grasp the concept of the cup around 9 months, and since we've let him become familiar with it over the course of the last couple of months I think he'll do well at getting his formula/water/juice this way. Good luck!
Hello N.,
I breastfeed all three of my children and never mixed the forumla with my breastmilk. I just introduced my children to one bottle a week until eventually they were on only formula. It was an easy transition for them. I also gave them a sippy cup as early as six months. I started by putting their juice in the cup so they would acknowledge that is where the juice came from, not a bottle. And when they went to milk I never gave it to them in a bottle. The bottle was only related to formula. It worked great with my kids. I believe you are right about the cereal. Sounds like your daughter has a ritual and you are changing it on her so it might take a little time for her to get used to it.
A little about me. I am S.'s mom. I am 43, have 3 children (ages 21,16 and 6) and a grandbaby who is 2 months old. I am a stay at home mom and a realtor which allows me to have flex time for my children.
I wish you the best of luck. Sounds like you are a wonderful mom.
With my son, I also started mixing formula with breast milk. It worked really well and I did it with every feeding except the nighttime and 4am. Those were the last to go. There's no right or wrong way. If you're ready to wean, then do it as slowly or quickly as possible. Babies adjust to new routines - the thing is just to make new routines. I would bet it was just because she didn't have cereal in the morning before, but try it tomorrow and Friday and by then she'll probably be fine with it. Just take your cues from her. She'll tell you if she needs more or if she's had enough. I always did a bottle first thing in the morning, cereal and a bottle mid-morning, then, fruit and cereal and a bottle about 1 and then veggies and (then added meats) about 5pm and then a bottle before bed.
