BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Feeding Solid Food => Topic started by: jenniferbarr0722 on August 03, 2014, 16:39:50 pm
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Hi, my daughter is 4.5 months and we are just starting solids. I know that for now bottles come first and baby food is more for fun after a bottle if she wants it, but when do we start transitioning to more meals? Do you ever offer food before a bottle or offer both at the same time? Do you ever offer just food? Wouldn't she be thirsty then? Basically what does a regular feeding day look like for an infant that is well established on solids so I know what I am working towards. Are meals a mixture of solids and bottle (and at the same time or what order) or are they one or the other? Thanks!
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In Canada the recommendation is for LOs to start on solid foods around 6 months. You don't really start transitioning to more meals until about 9/10 months I'd say when they are on 3 meals a day. Bottles/milk should always come before solids and solids are not meant to replace milk until after 1yr...formula or BM is still their main source of nutrients until 1yr. We would always do a bottle, and then solids about an hour later, and at first it is just a few tbsp or so (but again, we didn't start until 6 months). We always offered milk before bottle because as I said the bulk of the nutrients comes from milk, so you don't want them to fill up on solids first.
HTH :)
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In Canada the recommendation is for LOs to start on solid foods around 6 months.
In the UK too. Also the WHO recommends waiting until 6 months.
I echo what Lindsay has said. Milk (breast or formula) is higher in calories and nutrients than what your LO can get from solids at this point. There really is no hurry to transition to solids and if there is too much solid food your LO might not get what she needs and become more hungry. Their tummies are so small at this age so you need her to be hungry enough to take a good milk feed.
If you are concerned about thirst I would recommend giving an extra bottle of milk alongside or immediately after the solids feed rather than water at this point, just so she doesn't fill on solids and water.
I never offered food before a bottle. Many LOs will drop one of the day bottles around 9 or 10 months or so and this would be replaced with a solid snack and a drink of water. the other milk feeds would continue as usual with solids coming roughly an hour later.
hope this helps.