Weaning from bottle/formula

peregrinefalconx · June 2017

DD just turned 1 a few days ago. She's fine drinking milk and we have been doing 1/2 formula and 1/2 milk at times. No reaction.

We went to the ped for her 1-year and the doc said that it was best to wean from the bottle as quickly as possible after 1 year. And also emphasized that pretty much all of her calories should be from food at this point. DD is a big eater and always has been, but is not in any way chunky (60th overall, 77th for height). She'll eat for about an hour straight if you let her. She'll only feed herself and we give her a very well rounded diet of veggies, proteins, and carbs (finger food and pouches). If you counted all the calories though, it would be very little. She's also a late bloomer on the teething thing (she has gotten 3 in the last month-- her first, and has 5 more coming in--needless to say, a bit rough for all parties).

So my question is this: when did you get your baby off of formula and the bottle? The ped's opinion was clearly an opinion. This baby is HUNGRY and I don't want to take away her major source of calories, and this is obviously not the right time with all the teething. She'll drink water from a sippy cup but is not interested in milk (which she will drink from a bottle). She was both breast and bottle fed and showed no preference until the end, and weaned herself at about 8-9 months.

Experiences?

nackie · June 2017

We started weaning at a year, but did it really slowly, so it took about two months. DS was a really big eater though and has been growing at a faster rate now than before he started on solids. If you're worried about how many calories she's getting, maybe give her a meal/snack first and then let her have a bottle. Maybe she'll start putting away more food that way

Mack2342 · June 2017

I switched to just milk at 11 months but by then he was eating more than getting formula. So we just replaced it with milk and he didn't care that it was milk. At this point he was only getting a bottle at night. So it was pretty easy to wean from that which we did just before 1st birthday.

KaLikeAWind · June 2017

We also started going off of formula at about a year. We probably had it done by 14 months. And my son was (and still is) much lighter in weight (never weighing in over 23rd %, and that being his most recent weigh in at 18m). Your pedi's "opinion" may be rooted in the knowledge that extended time using bottles is bad for your child's developing mouth and teeth. You can call any pediatric dentist's office and ask them. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends babies being off of the bottle by 18m. So it's not outside the realm of possibility to begin formulating a plan for how you'll do that.

I understand your concern for calories. We really struggled with weight gain here. For a time we were getting weight checks every other week, then monthly. My son is now almost two and we are finally at the point where I'm not worried if he is gaining appropriately. But I would recommend if you have concerns about your baby's caloric consumption if weaned off of bottles and formula, this would be a great topic for discussion with your kid's doctor. Something like "I know you recommend he goes off of formula, but I'm concerned about him getting enough calories / plus his teeth / etc" and ask them to work out a plan with you. This is why they're your doctor. To address your health concerns about your kid. If you don't feel like they help you, get another doctor.

Also, just my personal opinion. The longer you let an eating habits persist, the harder it is to break. I personally wouldn't want to create a situation where having a bottle is preferred (because it's so much easier) by your kid, and then they tantrum and won't eat anything but that. Just something to consider, because it's hard enough to make a toddler eat.

peregrinefalconx · June 2017

KaLikeAWind

I did express my concerns about her hunger to her doc. I think when the baby gets more teeth, she may be able to pack more away at a feeding. She's in daycare now 5 days a week and I know her provider doesn't let her eat as much as we would at home--she's not sitting there and letting her chow for 45 minutes (and also thinks she eats and poops more than any other child she's every seen--yes, the lady is a real charmer).

My practice has like 50 docs and I'd never seen her before. The reason I was so skeptical was a) she only had concerns about weaning off the bottle and it getting more difficult over time (and nothing about the baby's actual caloric needs) and b) the links to obesity the longer they take the bottle (and then cited her only family and how her two boys were rail thin and her daughter was 40 pounds overweight and then correlated it with a bottle--it was so utterly and barely even anecdotal and doesn't address a hungry baby!)

Anyway, thanks. I wish I had more control over her life (have just come back from 3/days per week to 5) and I explained to the lady she is very hungry and to feed her as much as she wants. I keep telling myself, only 5 more months until baby 2 is born and we can be back together again, and not with this provider. We'll just tackle this without a "plan".

nackie · June 2017

Any possibility of switching daycare? At my sons daycare they're regularly telling us how much he eats and always give him more when he asks for it.
Also, lack of teeth shouldn't really be limiting how much she can eat. DS only has his 8 front teeth (4 top and bottom), but there's nothing I've given him that he hasn't been able to eat as long as it was cut up small. We feed him everything we eat and unless he doesn't like it, he has no problem with chewing. Teething can make them want to eat less though, hopefully those teeth she's working on pop through soon!

mrsrep123 · June 2017

I, too, was stressed or concerned about weaning DS1 from bottles and formula as our pediatrician and dentist both emphasized to do so by 12 months. He wasn't too interested in solids but did eat some. He had only 8 teeth at the time as well. I talked to my mom about it, and she basically said to pick my battles and thAt he would wean when he was ready. Luckily, he did. At 15 months, one night, he refused his bottle and formula from a sippy cup. It was a scary night and following day as we didn't know what the hell was going on. He just kept refusing. Then, he started eating more solids. So, he totally weaned himself when he was ready to.

Just wanted to share my story. Good luck.

nostalgicgirl · June 2017

I weaned successfully at 12 months, he is very interested in solids. Its tricky to begin the weaning but after that its not a problem. These days he gets one bottle at night. Hope you can manage

rklinge0 · June 2017

At a year we started weaning from breastmilk and she was completely off of it by 16 months.
Not trying to offend you but I wouldn't be stressing out about her being in the 66th percentile; to me that's big. Your one year old weighs relatively the same as my 2year old. (Her doctors aren't concerned about it either)
Weight gain tapers off a lot during the second year too.

doodleoodle · July 2017

DD1 was almost exactly like your 12 month old. She had 4 teeth, would eat for an hour straight, didn't drink much from a sippy cup, refused milk, and she was in the 40th percentile for weight. At 12 months I just put all the bottles away while she slept. She didn't ask for them because she didn't see them. I tried all kinds of sippy cups and found she drank enough water from the kind with a straw, but still refused milk. And at 20 months she MIGHT drink 2-4 ounces of milk a day. The pediatrician said it isn't a big deal and to just give her two servings of dairy a day. I usually make popcicles with plain Greek yogurt and some type of fruit to make sure she gets her dairy. Babies need less calories than adults, but if you're worried you can always give her a few high calorie things such as peanut butter.

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Weaning from bottle/formula

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