Solid/BF schedule?

[mom-to-4!]

You would think I would know this, being on my third baby, but I have the original BW book and the "Answers all your questions", and I noticed that her recommended methods are different in each book.  I just started giving textbook/angel dd rice cereal 3 days ago.  She will be 6 mos on the 17th, and normally I would have waited that week to start, but she started waking between 3-5 am to eat, instead of the 7 or 7:30 that she usually does.  I thought since it was only a week difference, she might be needing the extra calories that solids would give.  She has taken to it like a duck to water, and seems very disappointed if she is at table and NOT fed.  Anyway, now I am trying to decide if I should feed her solids once or twice a day, and if I should give her the breast after the solids.  Normally our day looks roughly like this, even if she wakes as early as 6 am, which she occasionally does, but is happy to remain in bed for awhile:
7:00 am - bf
9:00 am - nap
11:00 am bf
1:00 pm - nap
3:00 pm - bf
(sometimes) 5:15-6:00 pm - nap
7:00 pm - bf
7:30 or 8 pm - bedtime
10:30 - df

I have given her cereal at around 7:30 or eight am, as her brothers are eating breakfast at that time also.  She likes to be at the table with them.  Today I also gave her some at 5:15 pm (she didn't nap this evening), and then finished off with the breast that she had nursed from at 3:30 pm.  My main concern is that she is getting enough milk and total calories.  If I start nursing her after the cereal, will that cut down on what she normally takes at a regular feed? 
What is wierd is that I used the first BW book weaning suggestions with my other two, and it seemed to go just fine.  They both had no problems learning solids, and after about 3 to 4 weeks even rejected anything pureed and only wanted table food.  (Oldest ds is spirited, next is textbook/spirited.)  Why am I so concerned with it this time?  Possibly the early wakings
Any suggestions or reassurance would be helpful.   Oh, and Happy Mother's Day to all of us!!!

[tylersmommy]

Isn't it amazing how different their little personalities can be? It looks like things are going just fine. It's really up to you when you want to nurse and give solids. I always nursed or gave a bottle and gave solids about 1 hr later so I could make sure Tyler was filling up on breastmilk/formula. Sometimes when you nurse after solids, it can cut down on how much breastmilk she takes, but every baby is different.

It's hard to know when to start the second and third meals. If she's doing well with the solids, then there's no reason why you can't start dinner and keep breakfast for introducing new foods. Good luck!

[Marisa's Mom]

When I first introduced solids (rice or oatmeal baby cereal), it was just a little bit to "get acquainted" with solids & using a spoon. She was breastfeeding like clockwork every 3 hours, so I just added the solids feeding about midway between to breastfeeds ... that way she is neither too full after breastfeed nor too frustrated with the solids experiment while she's hungry. You might try introducing solids about 2 hrs after one of your breastfeeds (as it appears she's on a 4 hr schedule). At this age, she's getting most of her nourishment through breastmilk.  We started the solids feeding in the evening, thinking it would help her settle to sleep.  Don't know if it make a difference, but it was just easier for us to do it at that time. I don't think it matters what time of day you do it, however I think it helps to be consistent so baby knows what to expect. They seem to like routines.

[mom-to-4!]

Thank you ladies!  I appreciate the input.  I'll try to do it about an hour after a feed and see how she takes it.  I know that if I do it right after bf, then she just spits and blows raspberries on the spoon.  The food goes everywhere but in her mouth because she won't open up for it!  I tried it today before a bf, and she ate her tbsp of pears/cereal without problem, and then she seemed really ready to bf.  I think she emptied the breast, but I still have a lingering fear that she may have left an oune or two in there.  Thanks again.