Weaning at 9 months...How much formula, how often?

Question

Hi. I'm going to start weaning my son from breatfeeding because I have to have surgery. He is 9 months old. Right now he nurses 4 times a day, but the nursing sessions have been getting shorter because he keeps trying to get down. How many bottles/cups each dayhave you given your 9 month olds and how many ounces do you give each time? And do you give those bottles/cups before, during or after solid meals? Thank you.

Answer 1

if your giving him solid food then he should already have been weened. give him 12 ounces of milk after he his done with solid food. he will only drink as much as he wants so don't be afraid of over doing it.

Answer 2

Because formula is heavier than breast milk, your baby may not take as many ounces of formula as he would breast milk.

As far as how often depends on how much solid food he is eating. I would suggest using the bottle/cup between meals of solid food. Take cues from your baby. He will let you know if he isn't getting enough to eat.

Also, do yourself a favor. If you can avoid bottles/cups at bedtime, weaning from the bottle/cup will be much easier on you.

Answer 3

Anywhere from 24-32 oz of formula a day is what is recommended. I found that my daughter will drink more if it's not given at meal times. I offer her 4, 8 oz bottles a day, sometimes she finishes it and sometimes she doesn't. When she wakes up in the a.m. she gets one bottle, an hour later- breakfast, then she goes down for a nap when she wakes up another bottle, she gets another bottle after her afternoon nap and then the last one before she goes to bed.
My recommondation is to see what works best for your son. Good luck with the surgery!

Answer 4

You may not have to completely wean! Remember that the AAP suggests nursing for AT LEAST 12 months. It may be possible to have surgery AND keep nursing.

Obviously your son will need something else to drink while you're in the hospital, but this doesn't mean you need to end your nursing relationship. You can either give him formula or pumped milk while you are having surgery. Then you can pump in the hospital to maintain supply and resume nursing when you are together again.

Is your concern the meds you'll get for your surgery? Keep in mind that many of the anesthetic medications are the same as a mom having a c/s gets. And there are many pain meds that are also acceptable.

The link below has long of information about continuing to breastfeed when mom needs to have surgery.

If you have further questions or would like to have specific meds looked up in Dr. Hale's Medications & Mother's Milk, feel free to contact me.

Answer 5

It really depends on how much your son eats now. My son was a pig so I would give him his solid meals first then I would give him a 4-5 oz bottle/sippy cup. That seemed to fill him up, and make him sleep longer. I would do that for breakfast, lunch and dinner with an 8 oz bottle between lunch and dinner by itself. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

I am a nutritionist

formula intake is based on weight here is the chart

Age Energy Recommendations (kcal/kg/d)

0-6 months / 108

6-12 months / 98

1-3 years / 102


To Provide 98 kcal/kg/d

Infant's Weight Expected Total Daily Intake (in ounces)

Pounds kg 20 kcal/oz

4.5 / 2 / 10
6 / 2.7 / 13
8 / 3.6 / 18
10 / 4.5 / 22
12 / 5.5 / 27
To estimate energy requirements and recommended formula intake for an individual infant:

* Obtain infant's weight in kg. If measurement is taken in pounds, convert ounces to a decimal value of a pound (each ounce is .0625 of a pound) and multiply by .454.
* Multiply weight in kg by 98 kcal/kg to get estimate of total energy needs.
* Divide by 20 to get number of ounces of 20 kcal/oz formula.

Example:

* Infant weighs 7 pounds 6 ounces.
* 6 ounces is equal to 6 x .0625 = .375 pound
* Infant weighs 7.375 pounds or 7.375 x .454 = 3.34 kg
* 3.34 kg x 98 kcal/kg = 327 kcal total daily energy need
* 360 kcal/20 kcal per ounce = 16 ounces of formula a day

for solids:
When introducing solids to baby offer one type of food only and then observe how well it is tolerated. Start with around 1-2 tsp of food and gradually increase up to 6 tsp. How is fed to baby depends entirely on how much they will eat. A rough guide might be a quarter of a very ripe mushy banana for a few days (or for a week) and the following week another soft fruit such as apple sauce. This gives the baby's digestive system time to get used to each new food before the introduction of additional ones. If two or more foods are introduced at the same time and baby has diarrhoea, colic or other digestive problems, it will be difficult to identify the culprit. The foods during this first stage should be bland with a smooth consistency.

Stage 2: (9-12 months)

Try and move gradually from solid food at one feed in the day to solid food at two and then three feeds. Follow baby's appetite and move at baby's pace.

Avoid all baby foods that contain sugar or artificial sweeteners. Sugar contains no vitamins, minerals or protein and can lead to obesity, both now and later in the child's life. Sweetened foods also confuse and seduce the appetite tending to satisfy hunger quickly and displace healthful foods. Do not add salt to foods.

Typical feed for one day at stage 2: (9-12 months)


* 1st feed - breast or bottle
* 2nd feed - breast or bottle followed by 1-2 tsp baby rice mixed with 1 tbs milk from feed or 1-2 tsp unsweetened fruit puree
* 3rd feed - breast or bottle followed by 1-2 tsp vegetable puree or 1-2 tsp pureed fruit
* 4th feed - breast or bottle followed by 1-2 tsp pureed fruit
* 5th feed - breast or bottle

Answer 7

6oz 4-5 times a day.If he is eating baby food 3 times a day he may only take 3-4 bottles a day and may not take the whole 6 oz.Just try until you find out exactly how much and how many he wants.Good Luck w/your surgery!

Answer 8

I believe adding a bottle feeding and cutting out a breast each day uping the bottle by one, it worked for my son. Not sure how much how ever much your baby will eat at a sitting...

Answer 9

At 9 months I'd imagine between 600-800mls of milk is fine. The schedule I was given by my HV was..

Breakfast - cereal with milk
Mid morning - bottle (200mls approx 7oz)
Lunch - puree of whatever + drink of milk (100mls approx 3.5ozs)
Mid afternoon - bottle (200mls approx 7ozs)
Tea - puree of whatever + drink of milk (100mls appeox 3.5ozs)
Night bottle (200mls approx 7ozs)

When initially weaning you'ld offer the milk first - but by 9 months I'd suggest offering food and then milk.

He'll let you know if he wants more.