How long after giving solids does your infant take a bottle?

Question

My daughter just started taking cereals (oatmeal first, then rice - yes backwards but we were in fear of constipating her) and though the doctor says follow solids with a bottle, in the morning she generally won't take a bottle until an hour or more after solids.... s******g up the rest of the day until at some point she winds up ready to eat one of her limbs. Suggestions?

Answer 1

I think it's strange that the dr. reccommended giving solids first. The main source of nutrition is the bottle.

My son would drink his 6 oz bottle and then Id offer him solids, And normally he will take the whole container of 1st stage foods. And then he will usually go an extra hour between that and the next feeding. Altohugh it varies.

Answer 2

i was told to give a bottle with the cereal

what i did was made a bottle of milk used some for his cereal and then let him drink the rest during and right after his cereal

say baby can eat 8ounces of formula make 6 with the cereal if  baby doesnt drink all the milk make 4 next time you  feed  cereal

Answer 3

When you start giving a baby solids, the solids should be given AFTER the bottle. Solids are not supposed to be a meal, they are an opportunity to experiment with tastes and textures. Initially, a baby should have 1/2-1 tsp once a day, slowly working up to 2 tbsp once a day. Formula provides your baby with the essential nutrients for her development. If she decreases her formula intake, reduce the amount of solids so that she is able to consume more formula again.  

Answer 4

You're really supposed to give the bottle first. Until baby is around 9 months old, solids are just supplements to the milk, so give her regular bottles first (the usual amount of milk) then offer solids immediately after [or an hour or so later] so she doesn't fill up on solids and want less milk.

I'm also a bit confused about your comment abou t's******g up the rest of the day.'  Aren't you feeding her on demand?  When she's hungry, offer a bottle BEFORE she gets desperate enough to chew off a leg!

Answer 5

Do the bottle first. Primary source of nutrients at this stage is still with formula or breast milk. Give a bottle and wait a half hour and feed solids.

Answer 6

Feed only a little bit of cereal, then follow with the bottle.  Sounds like she's getting too full on cereal and having to wait until there's a little more room in there for some formula!  

Some parents will opt for separating bottles from meals -- breakfast early, bottle mid-morning, lunch, bottle mid-afternoon, dinner, bottle between dinner and bedtime.  Above all, there's no hard rules and you have to adjust to your baby's particular needs and personality, and if it doesn't work out to do it just like the doctor says, well, that's a big group you're in!  As long as your sweetie drinks enough formula for good nutrition, regardless of time of day, don't worry; don't expect your baby to know how to tell time already -- it's time to eat when they're hungry, not when the clock says so . . . . it could also be helpful to feed the cereal at bedtime rather than in the morning . . . .

Answer 7

I actually give the bottle first.  I too ran into the issue of her not drinking her bottle when given after solids.  So I flipped them:  I give a bottle shortly after she wakes then her solids about 30 - 45 minutes later.  The only difference is at bedtime.  She eats "dinner" at about 5:45 and then has her last bottle at 7:00 before bed.

Try that and see if it helps.  Good luck!