silly question re amounts of solid food to start with

[trimbler]

Just to say I found the FAQ board on here really helpful and informative - thanks everyone who's contributed to that! Quick question though - for starting solids, when it suggests giving 1tsp - 2tbsp, does that mean for each 'meal' or over the whole day, ie up to 6tbsp if having 2tbsp at each of 3 meals?? I'm thinking of starting DS on solids a bit early, maybe in the next 2-3 weeks, since he's doubled his birth weight a few weeks ago and has always been above the 75th percentile for his age; sitting well when supported; seems to have lost the tongue reflex going by how he now takes his infacol - (which I'm too scared to stop yet just in case!); loves chewing things and is REALLY interested in our food! He doesn't seem desperate for more sustenance yet, so I'm not in a hurry, and I'm thinking if I just start with 1tsp of pears or something an hour after his first breastfeed then that shouldn't interfere with his milk consumption too much. But then if he takes that well and I start introducing a second 'meal' then would I reduce the amount given in the first 'meal' or just double his total intake of solids per day? If he seems to want more, would I then increase the total daily solids intake to 2tbsp or potentially 6tbsp before 7 months? I don't want him to fill up on solids at the expense of his milk, but since he's EBF I guess it'll be hard to keep track of how much milk he's getting... Sorry what a ramble - hope that makes sense to someone!

[GingerNut]

I started at 5.5 months with a couple of spoons of puree at breakfast. At 6 months or so I introduced lunch and each meal was a couple of spoons; then later dinner was a couple of spoons (though at that stage the other meals had increased a bit). It's really a question of experimenting, really. Take it slowly and you'll get to know what your baba needs.

As for the question of when to wean - recommendations aside because I'm sure you know about those - don't be in a hurry if he's happy on milk. Solids can be quite stressful (gagging, vomiting, worry about whether they're getting enough or too much) and don't make life any easier (for a while you're giving them either milk or bottles for practically all their waking hours!), next time I won't be in a hurry to rush into weaning!

[Casseopea]

All of my kiddos started around 5mo (for different reasons).  I started with one meal- usually lunch or dinner because it was the easiest.  I gave about 1Tb at first and then added a little more when it looked like they wanted more.  After a week or two (or whenever you feel comfortable) I added a second meal- still offering about 1-2Tb.  And then another week or so later I added the last meal- again offering about 1-2Tb.  At that point I begin to increase each solids meal as much as the little one wants it until it gets to the point where it is interfeering with the bottle.  I offer the bottle first and then solids about an hour later until somewhere around 9 months. 

My current *baby* is almost 6 months and he eats 3 solids meals a day- ranging from 1-5oz a meal.  I try to follow his lead as much as possible but I also remember that I am the mommy and know some things better than him.

[~inbalance~]

The other ladies have given some pretty good advice already. 

Usually you would not start by offering 3 meals a day, rather you would want to work up to that.  Depending on you and your baby it could take 1-2mos to get up to 3 meals.  Start by offering 1-2 tbsp once a day for a week or even a few weeks, then as your baby gets used to solids you can add more meals and larger quantities as needed.

[trimbler]

Ok thanks for all that! We're not starting imminently, just trying to get ready... I guess my main concern is that solids might start to interfere with the breastmilk too soon, any ideas of how to keep track of how much breastmilk he's consuming? He's never taken a bottle so I'm hoping to get him started on a cup at around 6mo, but don't want to have to give him expressed milk in that for all his feeds just to keep track of how much he's getting! How can I tell whether his milk intake is being sufficiently maintained?

[~inbalance~]

With BFing you obviously can't measure amounts so really it's about using mama instinct to know if your LO is nursing enough.  Just make sure you are offering BFs before solids.  Here is a link with more info:  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=57483.0