starting solids - when to nap? when do i reduce bottle feeds?

[lindyloo]

my boy is almost 6 months and I have already started weaning him onto solids.  He takes it brilliant now so im ready to start introducing it at all meal times (just now its only at dinner).

My only worry is at the moment he naps 1 hour after every feed so im worried he will want to nap after every bottle and then after every solid feed.

I give him a bottle approx 6:30/7am and he usually goes back to sleep (if he doesnt then he's crabby and ready for bed at 6pm!! which is far too early) He then wakes at 8/8:30 to start his day - im thinking this would be a good time to introduce breakfast.
I will then give him lunch at 12/12:30pm and dinner at 4pm.  Just now he gets a dinner (takes about 1/3 of a jar approx and is then offered the bottle which he takes approx 5oz) but as weaning is all about phasing out the bottle and uping the food and reducing the ounces, I am just wondering at what point I offer formula feeds if its not supposed to be directly after meals? Are bottles still as important if he's eating solids really well?

I have heard and read that babies from 6 months should take a breakfast, lunch and dinner and be given 3 bottles (early morning, snack and bedtime) so at what point do I offer the bottle once he is taking all 3 solid meals? And then at which point should he nap, as EASY is all about napping after eat and activity - im worried he will need to nap after every solid and bottle feed?!

I have read on this forum that I should offer solids 1hour after bottle but my DS is already tired by this point and displays signs of needing a nap so this would be impossible.

Quite confused at how to tackle this, as it stand im thinking that our routine after introducing solids would look like this:

0630 - bottle feed and back to bed
0800 - wake up & day starts.  Given breakfast (solids)   Should I offer formula after breakfast as a drink and to sustain him?
0830 - dressed and play
0915 - sleep
1030 - awake (if he sleeps anything more than 45 mins!!) play until next feed
1200 - Lunch (solids) Again, should i offer the bottle and gradually reduce the ounces as I up the solid intake?
1230 - activity
1345 - sleep
1445 - awake and activity
1600 - Dinner (which he already gets at the moment & is followed by approx 5oz formula)
1630 - activity
          he doesnt nap in the evening
1930 - ready for bed, bottle and put to bed.


Can anyone let me know if this is ok or what is best to do.
Also, on an unrelated issue, how many naps and how long should a 6 month old be having?


Thank you thank you thank you to anyone who responds.

Lx

[besjoux]

For me, I would aim to get rid of the 6:30 bottle. formula after solids probably won't go over to well, however, it's best to get the nutrition from the formula. Solids do not contain enough calories to sustain the high level of growth for the first 10 months (at least). Would you feel comfortable with extending bedtime to 20:30 or is that impossible? Maybe feed a little extra at that time (bottle) to see if you can get him past 6:30? Maybe this isn't a schedule that will work for you but the below could work with feeds, if it fits your schedule.

0800 - wake up & day starts.  bottle
0830 -  solids dressed and play
0915 - sleep (is it possible he needs a bit more A time to get past 45 minutes)
1030 - awake (if he sleeps anything more than 45 mins!!) play until next feed
1200 -bottle (may even give a bottle at 11:30)
1230 - activity and solids
1345 - sleep
1445 - awake and activity
1600 -bottle
1630 - activity - solids (dinner)
          maybe try a catnap to get to a little later bedtime
1930 - ready for bed, bottle and put to bed.

If that does not work for your schedule I would still try a bottle first and then solids. You can do solids anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour after bottle. Solids are really more of an activity. Until you get into full meals (meat, veggie and starch) you will need a full bottle to keep up with growth....plus then you avoid horrible constipation (which we ran into with DS1) that can occur with a lack of formula/BM.

HTH's.

[~inbalance~]

Hey there   At 6mos old most babies are having 3 naps, 1.5-2hrs in the am and the pm, and a 30/45min catnap in the late afternoon.  Between 6-7mos he might start being ready to drop the catnap and have only two naps.

I think you need to tweak your routine a bit to make it more age appropriate and to fit solid food in.

An easy way to look at EASY when introducing solids is to think of your babies milk/bottle as the E part of EASY, and solids are part of the A time.  It's important to remember that solid food up until a year is mainly for fun, and that milk or formula until that point will still be the main source of your baby's nutrition.  So with that point, you don't want to start decreasing milk intake, especially not so early.  I'm not too familiar with bottle feeding routines (some on the bottle feeding forum could help you figure out when it's time to start dropping bottles), but your baby should be getting 24-30oz of milk in a day.  I guess how you spead that out is up to you and your baby.  You want to make sure he maintains that amount.  It is a good idea to offer the bottle an hour before solids so that he is getting his milk first and not filling up on solids.

I do suspect that you need to start working towards increasing your LO's A time to fit in solids feeds and to also make EASY more appropriate for his age.  Here are some sample routines if you'd like to see what other 6 month olds are up to:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=164253.0
This link might help you figure out what A times your LO should be doing:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=84884.0
And some more helpful links about solids:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=68458.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=57483.0

It looks like your LO isn't getting quite as much naptime as he should, especially with only two naps.  I suspect the first nap is undertired and the second nap is overtired.  I would visit the EASY and/or Naps boards to help you sort out his routine and sleep.

I think once you work out a few kinks in your EASY, you will find it easier to slot in time for solids.

PP has given you a pretty good idea for a routine to work towards.

HTH