I'm not really in a rush to take James off the bottle, but as I was feeding him tonight I realized that I'm going to have to do that soon! Ack! I'm SO used to giving him the bottle, I don't even know where to start taking him off of one. Would he suddenly (well, I would wean him over time, but you know what I mean) just NOT get bottles anymore - and just get a sippy cup of milk at each meal/snack? I am CLUELESS!
I know some of you are thinking right now, "Oh Heather, just trust your instincts". Well, bear with me, okay? I just want to know what others have done.
Also, in the book I have it talks about a child needing so-and-so many tablespoons of meat, fruit and veggies each day. Do I really need to keep track? Again, I feel CLUELESS! For example, we were at a restaurant for lunch today and James only ate a couple of spoonfuls of his food. So, I gave him little pieces of my food, chicken and french fries, and he ate it all up. Is that sufficient for a meal? Or, do I need to be making sure he is getting more than that? Right now I still always think he's fine, because he is also still getting formula every day. But once he is off the formula, then what?
To end off, here is a cute picture of James watching Uncle Matt play guitar...
Matt is moving to Calgary this week. If any of you are from Calgary, and know of a house or apartment he could rent, or a good church to attend, let me know!
13 comments :
Hey Heather - I don't think there's a big rush getting James to wean from the bottle. I haven't even thought of it for Keziah yet :) I think I'm going to just get her used to a sippy cup (which I really need to be more intentional about) and start offering that for one or two feedings a day and go from there. She's eating three meals a day but can also be finicky about how much she eats - especially when we're out.
When Micah was 11 months I had to wean him (from the breast) cold turkey and he refused any bottles or sippy cups. He actually didn't drink any milk for THREE WHOLE DAYS and I thought he was going to starve. Of course he didn't and he was eating enough solids by then that it didn't matter. I eventually got him to drink milk smoothies from a straw and I think from then on I just gave him milk a few times a day - morning, afternoon and evening. But I knew he would be OK if we weren't on a strict schedule b/c by that point milk was secondary to solids. Now we're still in the habit of giving him milk when he wakes up and again before bed, but it's just become our routine.
You can definitely trust your instincts though. I think our little ones are probably going to be ready to switch to just three bottles (or cups) of milk a day pretty soon and then it will mostly coincide with mealtimes anyway...
Oh and another thing - James will let you know if he's hungry. I have spent WAY too much time stressing out about how much Micah eats and I've come to realize that he will NOT starve himself!
I agree with Jamie, plus I think a lot of it has to do with the child's interest in solids and sippy cups :) I got my son used to a sippy cup (and you may need to try different kinds, my son didn't like any of them that you have to tip, he like the ones with straws) with water and fruit juice before trying to wean him from the bottle. With eating solids, I wouldn't be too worried about how many teaspoons of what he is eating - just think of what a healthy or balanced meal would be and you'll do fine. And you'll know if he's still hungry cuz he won't be happy until he gets more food - they'll eat when they want to :) There are a few things to remember with the babe eating solids, teething can really affect their appetite, he might not want to eat anything and also once he starts really running around their meltabolism really changes from day to day and sometimes they eat lots and sometimes not - but again, they will let you know when they are hungry :) hope that was a little helpful - and don't worry I had the same questions when I was at that stage!!
you of all people should know very well, there is no "right thing". You can read all the books and listen to all the advice in the world, but what it comes down to is little James. He will not voluntarily starve himself. He will let you know when he's hungry, when he's done, when he's a bit more hungry then "usual", or when he's not as hungry as other days. He's a little person, and just like you and I, some days we eat "this" much, and other days we eat "that" much. This is the way I feed Daniel.
And as far as weaning them off the bottle, I have not even thought of that yet (ahh! but now I am! lol), and the last time I weaned a baby was 6 years ago, and since I can barely remember what I did yesterday, I don't remember how I did it.
Blessings!
Nin - I definately know that there will be no "right" way, the title was somewhat tongue-in-cheek. :) I am curious though to know what others have done, as I really don't know when I should or would start. James still drinks a bottle every 3 hours or so - so I keep wondering when I need to cut that down, or what?!
Heather- I know you know...I was trying to compliment you on your easy going peace with not always following the book.....haha, I guess it didn't come out that way. Sorry!
Anyways, you're awesome :)
Hey Heather! I just wanted to tell you that there is actually a Springs Church opening in Calgary, I believe their first service will be on September 16th! I believe that the church is in the north part of Calgary somewhere (not very helpful am I?? Lol)
When you think about it, if James is having a bottle every three hours it's like having breakfast(9am), lunch(12pm), snack(3pm), supper(6pm), and snack(9pm)~roughly, that is. Instead of "cutting down", see first if he'd like some food, then finish with a bottle. You may see his drinking decrease, you may not. It sets him up for eating meals though.
With taking him off the bottle, most kids (at least from what I know) don't come off the bottle until they're about 1 year. Mine were both a bit older than that. I did it at the same time that I put them on whole milk. It took a few days for them to switch over, but they did it. I hung onto that bedtime bottle for a bit though. It was probably more for me than them (I can't resist a good snuggle!).
With food, have fun with it. Make it an adventure for you and James. Let him try a cup with a little water if he wants, or little bits off your plate, try a smoothie through a straw (like someone else mentioned), have fun! And remember, all those books and charts are just a guide. Just eyeball it. Kids are like us, if they like it, they'll gobble it down, if they don't, they won't eat as much. Plus they're affected but outside issues too, wet bum, too hot, sore gums, what ever.
As always, you're doin' great! How could you not, you love your boy and that's more important than anything!!!
Thanks for pointing that out Jobina - you are totally right. Although, James' feedings are more like 7am, 10am, 1am, 5pm, and then bedtime. But I could probably manipulate those feedings so that they would begin with a meal, and then end with a bottle. Great insight - thank you!
Hi Heather,
Well, Taeya's still on the bottle...one when she wakes up and one when she goes to bed. She gets a sippy cup of milk after her nap (around 2:30/3) with a snack, and water during dinner or any other time of the day she wants water. Sometimes I'll give her water out of a plastic cup - she LOVES that, but still enjoys dribbling it out (on purpose).
Because I don't let her linger over her bottle, i'm not too worried about her teeth yet, but I"ll probably try to get her off the bottle and more on the sippy cup and regular cup by 18 months.
As far as feeding him solids, let him be your guide. FEed him until he doesn't want to eat anymore. Try giving a few different kinds of foods in the day (ie. fruit at breakfast, veggies at lunch/dinner with his cereal), and if he's interested in your food, by all means, let him eat it, in my opinion.
Just be careful not to try and appease him with food. for example, if he's not interested in eating what you're serving, don't try tons of different things until you find what he's interested in at that meal. I've had to stop doing that with Taeya, and started teaching her that these are her 3 or 4 options for the meal (like bread with jam, cottage cheese and fruit), and if she's not interested in those, she can wait until her next meal. But I won't keep trying to find something she wants to eat, otherwise she's the one in charge!
anyway, hope that helps a bit. Not saying my way is the right way, but i know you're asking for answers from experience, and this is what we do :)
The one thing that I have to add is advice a friend of mine gave me that because kids have different appetites over different days, just like adults, as long as things are balanced over the entire week, they are happy and growing, all is good.
I started giving my son Henry a sippy cup at lunch at about 10 months old. He was in part-time day care, and he was watching the older kids use cups and was fascinated. By 11 months he was having 3 meals and 3 cups a day with one snack after his afternoon nap. I offered him about 3/4 cup total food (veggie, fruit, crackers, bits of chicken for example) at each meal and somedays he gobbled it all, somedays he picked at it. It worked for us, but as most everyone has already said, every child is different.
Hey Heather,
I'm sorry if it came off as rude because I live in Calgary that I didn't comment on some place for your bro. We live in the deep south (totally impractical for a singleton - perfect for families)and although we like the church we attend we're "shopping" around for something that suits us a bit more - so I'm not much help there (although I hear Centre Street is good, but MASSIVE).
As for place to live I hope he's found something. The housing rate is something like .5% vacancy I heard recently so again, I have NO IDEA of places that have actual places to rent. Either way, I hope he's settled in well!
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