Hi A.,
I adopted my children and had to learn really quick feeding schedules, etc. I got my children at four days old and five weeks old. I had three hours to get ready for their arrival. I asked my pediatrician to guide me along the way and learned a lot.
First of all, it's time to switch your daughter to Vitamin D milk.(Take her formula and slowly cut back on it, adding Vitamin D milk in the formula) Ex. 4oz. Formula, 2 oz.formula, 2 oz. vit D milk. Next 3 oz. Vit. D milk, 1 oz. formula. Then go to straight Vit. D. Milk. She will get all of the nutrients she needs with this milk. She really should be having two-3 ounces of milk at each meal. It does not mean she will drink all of it, but that's how much should be in her sippy cup. She should be on table food by now.
Schedule for meals
Breakfast--- meal, fruit, 2-3 oz. milk (remember she is eating table food which is a lot more filling so she does not need as much milk)
Snack ----- Fruit/puffs/vegetable/yogurt/ or whatever she likes, 1-2 ounces juice (start off with pear juice and half it with water) Pear juice is easiest on the stomach. Ex. 1 ounce pear juice/ 1 ounce water equals 2 ounces. Or two ounces juice/ 2 ounces water.
Lunch ----- meal, 2-3 ounces Vit. D milk, fruit/vegetable
(she is only thirteen months, so the pediatrician said to judge how much they should eat use their age) For example: she is one she should eat a tablespoon of each of whatever is on her plate. Note: Sometimes depending on what you serve them, they get full faster.
*****************Nap*************************************
Give her a little time to wake up, then give her snack
Snack ----- Fruit, puffs, crackers, etc., 1-2 ounces juice (remember 1/2 it with water) **Juice needs to be halved with water till they are two years old because its harsh on their little stomachs***
Dinner ---- meal, 2-3 ounces Vit. D milk, fruit/vegetable
Snack ----- fruit/yogurt/puffs/etc. whatever she likes. We normally would feed them fruit or yogurt, 2-3 ounces Vit. D Milk.
*** It will seem like she's eating all day long, but you are teaching her to eat 6 small meals which gives them all the calories they need.
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Now let's talk about naptimes.
She should not be taking two naps anymore. Do whatever it takes to keep her up in the morning. Get on the floor and play with her, go walk outside, etc. It will be rough at first to break that morning nap, but it will be well worth it. She should only take one nap a day for about two hours, after lunch. My children sleep from 12-2-30. Try and have a set time to put her down. I always put mines down by 12-12:30. and they are now two and three and they still go down at that time.
Before bedtime, try and bath her no later than 6:30-7:00, give her a snack around 7:30, and put her down for 8:00. She may not need a full snack, she may just want her milk, if so, give her up to 4 ounces of milk and this should hold her up through the night. She may even fall asleep on her sippy cup.
**** Put her down for the night******* Try and keep her sleeping in her room, not yours. This will help her in the long run to be a more independent child. If she wakes during the night, go and quietly give her, her pacifier. or if she doesn't use that, go and lay her back down, and re-tuck her in. It may take a little while for her to get use to this, but trust me you/her will have a much more peaceful rest at night. You will know that her tummy is full and she just needs to get used to this routine.
** Try your hardest to go in her room and re-tuck her without talking to her*** Give her a gentle kiss and walk out of the room.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
A.
If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at ____@____.com
****Having a routine is very important.*** You will see there will be less chaos with a routine.