Now what? [confused FTM alert]

Jnmac83 · July 2013

After I transition to WCM and stop breast feeding next month I literally have zero idea what happens.

I see people say no bottles after 12 mos. So, at 12 months do you just offer cups? How do I go about that? Do I still give a bottle at night? How do I know how much to give him? Should WCM still be the bulk of his nutrition like my BM is now?

Basically now that the newborn and infant phase is over [pretty much] I have to learn a whole new system and schedule? I want my newborn back!! Waaaahhh!!

MrsWhipple · July 2013

I feel like this too. Some days, Landen is still taking 4 bottles. At this point, I don't see him giving up bottles anytime soon. I'm trying to push food more and more, but he normally gets a bottle when he wakes up, sometimes one before a morning nap, one in the afternoon and one before bed. I tried putting formula in a sippy one day and he looked at me like I was crazy.

jessalynn521 · July 2013

From what I understand the reason for BM or formula is that it is fortified with many nutrients. When the transition happens they will get the bulk of those nutrients from the food they eat. My plan (which I will go over with my pedi at his 1 year wellness check) is to offer a sippy of milk 3 times a day with base meals. I will offer snacks in between meals, and maybe a sippy of juice a day. The rest of what I offer will be water. As I said this is just my current plan that I will address with his pediatrician to make sure it makes sense.

CRey13 · July 2013

I was going to ask the same question! I feel like once I get the hang of something it changes on me! We have D's 1 year appointment on the 30th but I think we will start offering WCM sometime this week. His pedi gave us the go ahead at 10 months when we were in for ear infections.

rp-chicago-mom · July 2013

My understanding is it's viewed like snacks or supplements to meals after a year and the bulk of nutrition is from food. They only need like 16-24 ounces and that's not a ton of calories. I will offer it in cups, I think but I haven't tried.

austenfan919 · July 2013

I weaned DD from BFing fairly gradually. She was down to 4 feedings a day when she turned one. That's when I started giving her WCM in a cup with meals. Over the next couple of weeks, I replaced the two middle of the day BF sessions with a snack and cup of milk. At 15 months, she gave up the morning and evening BFing.

I do think after a year, food becomes the biggest source of nutrients. WCM is important, but I don't think they need as much of it as they were having of BM or formula (I seem to remember 2 to 3 (8oz) cups of WCM a day as a recommendation, though DD never did that much).

But I would start trying a cup now, esp. if you are planning on weaning fairly quickly after starting WCM. That way LO has time to figure the cup out before they are dependent on it. DD liked the straw cups the best. She was probably almost 2 before she figured out sippys.

You'll figure this out as you go, just like with the newborn and infant phases.

nopegoat · July 2013

We just did wcm with 3 meals a day (in a sippy cup). He had a sippy of water always available to him and 2 snacks a day as well.

mamahawk12 · July 2013

I would pull the bottles at 12 months. Offer the sippy with milk at meal times and throughout the day with snacks. By 12 months he should be getting three regular meals a day, so he'll be getting most of his nutrients through food, with WCM as a supplement. It happens pretty naturally, actually. You'll notice his interest in food increase and need for bottle decrease as you wean.

mollyxcate · July 2013

I'm pretty much freaking out about this. Chloe is doing really well drinking out of a bendy straw if I hold it for her, so I ordered sippy's with straws to try but food... well right now she eats stage 2 purees, puffs, and crunchies and small bits of things like banana but she is not good at chewing things and she is not good at picking anything up that isn't a crunchie or a puff. I'm terrified shes not going to be eating enough.

smile50208 · July 2013

Thank you! I totally agree. Every time I get something down routine, it all changes again!

Tula214 · July 2013

I'm kind of glad that J is down to 2 or 3 bottles of formula a day because it's going to make the transition easier. He gets at least one of his "bottles" in a sippy, plus water in it at snack times.

From what I remember wih my nephews, milk supplements food. You're only supposed to give a certain amount a day. Other than that I guess water is recommended. I think juice is either not recommended, or supposed to be extremely limited.

We aren't going to let J have his sippy when he's playing. Just when he's in his chair, or outside.

gracie__r · July 2013

We went to sippys before going to cups. Sheesh, when the girls were three and four we still had spilled milk at almost every meal. Now that no one has spilled milk in about a year (knock on wood) I am not feeling too compelled to give DS a real cup!

As for how much, I gave it with most meals/snacks. If not milk, they got water. Never juice.

rainedrops117 · July 2013

We will start weaning the bottle at a year but highly doubt he'll be off it anytime soon. He loves his bottle. I don't think it's a big deal as long as they're getting good food nutrition and only using the bottle as a supplement. NBD.

latnprincess · July 2013

Would you believe that I've been worried about this myself?! And I've gone through this, but I feel like with BF its completely different ball game. Like with formula I just transitioned from bottle to sippy and that was that. But I feel like now I need to start carrying sippy's with me and milk and food... I'm overwhelmed thinking about it. I had it easy for 12 months... lol!

I'm gonna go to the www.gerber.com site where I initially went when i was feeling overwhelmed about starting solid with BF. Maybe try that site cause they have great suggestions as to what their diet should be looking like by now. A good guideline to follow!

jillybean7582 · July 2013

From what I've read most Pedi's recommend starting to wean at a year but don't necessarily expect bottles to just disappear over night. I believe the "normal" [said with a grain of salt because all kids are different] recommendation is wean at 12 months gone completely by 15 months.

We will most like give up all but his bedtime bottle at a year and gradually decrease the amount of that bottle over 1 to 2 months.

However, my son has already began to self wean off bottles starting at about 9 months which was when my supply tanked and he switched to formula so that may have factored into the equation. He started by taking only half of each of his day time bottles then just outright refused his daytime bottles.

He is and has always been an great eater and is way more interested in solids than bottles. He currently takes a 6oz bottle first thing in the morning and a 6oz bottle right before bed. He gets a sippy with 2oz of WCM at all 3 meals and water with his 2 snacks and anytime else during the day he wants his sippy.

bigbootyjudi · July 2013

I feel the same way. I doubt we'll be off bottles, as he has absolutely no interest in sippys and turns a year old in a month. I'll probably just buy the grow up cups and call it a day.

I'm just going to stick with the 4oz he has been getting. I got this Gerber "guide to your toddler" thing and that's what it says - four 4oz cups/bottles of WCM.

I'm confused as to whether WCM fills them up like BM does. This Gerber thing says the cups/bottles are WITH their meals, so I'm guessing not.

lady_tytah · July 2013

We're completely on table food and WCM in sippies. He's my easier baby on this aspect.
Our schedule looks like this.
9/930: wake up
10/1030: breakfast, with sippy of milk
1145/12: morning/midday nap
2/3: lunch with sippy of milk
4/5: nap, sometimes......
730/8: dinner, sippy with water
9/930: bed, sippy with milk
Between meals he'll have cereal, crackers, grapes/fruit. Soppy with water or milk is offered. No juice, he's not a big fan.

You'll notice he'll prefer more food. Some babies get there before others. Nene was walking, talking machine at 1 but still wanted bottles and not a big table food person. She like gerber toddler meals.
Amir loves food, sippies, and binkies. No walking and baby babble.

latnprincess · July 2013

bigbootyjudi:
I feel the same way. I doubt we'll be off bottles, as he has absolutely no interest in sippys and turns a year old in a month. I'll probably just buy the grow up cups and call it a day.
I'm just going to stick with the 4oz he has been getting. I got this Gerber "guide to your toddler" thing and that's what it says - four 4oz cups/bottles of WCM.
I'm confused as to whether WCM fills them up like BM does. This Gerber thing says the cups/bottles are WITH their meals, so I'm guessing not.

I think it will be the same as having a drink with the meal. I was looking at the same menu today. 4 oz of milk with every meal. Its pretty much what he's doing now. He BF or bottle at daycare then eats.

LoveLo2010 · July 2013

I am super confused with what I want to do as well, and sooooo torn on wanting to and not wanting to wean. Right now Addie still nurses about 5 times a day and she eats three solid meals. We give her a straw sippy with water. I keep saying im going to try almond & coconut milk in her sippy soon to get her use to it but I havent. She eats solids really well but I stress so much about giving her balanced meals and I have no clue what to give her as snacks???

jillybean7582 · July 2013

bigbootyjudi:
I feel the same way. I doubt we'll be off bottles, as he has absolutely no interest in sippys and turns a year old in a month. I'll probably just buy the grow up cups and call it a day.I'm just going to stick with the 4oz he has been getting. I got this Gerber "guide to your toddler" thing and that's what it says four 4oz cups/bottles of WCM.I'm confused as to whether WCM fills them up like BM does. This Gerber thing says the cups/bottles are WITH their meals, so I'm guessing not.

Have you tried sippy's with WCM and not BM or formula? I just ask because my son wanted nothing to do with a sippy with BM or formula in it but guzzled down the WCM the first time I offered it. He wouldn't do water much either till after we introduced WCM. Now he does both no problem.

PaisleyRuth · July 2013

Scout2005:
My STM advice is not to stress out about any of it.
But you will feel like all you do is make, serve and clean up meals. That goes on...well, for us it's still going on. My whole day is feeding children lol

This. I give DS a sippy cup of milk at breakfast and dinner generally. Water any other time. I do my best to give him healthy foods with nutrients, but I'm not sitting there measuring calories & milligrams of vitamin C and stuff.

xxbabycakesxx · July 2013

So even though I just went through this with DS1, I really have forgotten everything so we'll see how this goes. But from what I remember:

So, at 12 months do you just offer cups? I think I slowly transitioned from bottles to sippy cups. It didn't just happen overnight. And it was a transition from 11 to 12 and maybe to 13 months.

Do I still give a bottle at night? The bedtime bottle was the last one that I got rid of.

How do I know how much to give him? As I weaned bottles, I also weaned formula. So if I took away one bottle, then that was that much less formula as well. After all the bottle/formula was gone, I was basically just giving 1 or 2 sippy cups of water a day. Oh, and water too.

Should WCM still be the bulk of his nutrition like my BM is now? Umm...I don't remember lol. I don't think so. I think LOs should start getting more of their nutrition now from real food. But I'm not 100% so maybe check with your pedi.

AprilAngie · July 2013

meaknigh:
I would pull the bottles at 12 months. Offer the sippy with milk at meal times and throughout the day with snacks. By 12 months he should be getting three regular meals a day, so he'll be getting most of his nutrients through food, with WCM as a supplement. It happens pretty naturally, actually. You'll notice his interest in food increase and need for bottle decrease as you wean.

this is what happens. For all the later babies whose LO's don't at as much -- dd was like that until recently and all of a sudden, she is an endless food pit monster. I EBF and she just eats non-stop

Toni79 · July 2013

I'm so glad someone asked this! I'm not ready to make this transition, and I feel so clueless! I'm not ready to wean! :-(

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