New into solids... new schedule?

[epmoreno]

Hi,

our son is now close to 6 months and a couple of weeks ago we started giving him some solids. We started giving him some spoons after the 7, 11 and 3 milk feeds and we are very pleased because he seems to be taking them very well.

Actually the amount of solid intake has increase so I wonder if we should also adapt his EASY schedule to structure and accommodate the meals and feeds a bit better because I feel that now he is being fed too many times a day and it is a bit disruptive.

Here is his current schedule and the one I think we could move into.... What do you think? anyone who has a similar experience? would the transition make sense and, if so, how can we get there in a progressive way?

Current EASY schedule

7.00      Wake-up & milk
7.15      Activity
8.00      Solids (breakfast)
9.15      Morning nap
11.00      Milk
11.15      Activity
12.00      Solids (lunch)
13.30      Nap
15.00      Milk
15.15      Activity
16.00      Solids (dinner)
17.00      Nap
18.00      Milk
18.15      Activity
19.30      Bath & bedtime routine
20.00      Milk
22.30      Milk & cereal

New schedule

7.00      Wake-up and breakfast (milk & fruit)
7.15      Activity
9.00      Morning nap
11.00      Snack (milk)
11.15      Activity
13.30      Lunch (veggies)
14.00      Activity
14.30      Nap
16.00      Snack (milk)
16.15      Activity
18.00      Dinner (solids)
18.30      Activity
19.00         Bath
19.30         Milk & bedtime routine
22.30      Dream feed

Thanks in advance for your help !

[~Sara~]

At his age, he still needs to have more milk (be it through bfs or formula) than solids.  The milk should be the main meal still at this point.  So, what I would do is just offer solids 1h after his milk...something like this, pretty close to what you posted I think, just the times are a bit different:

E: wake at 7, milk; solids at 8
Nap
E: 11ish, milk; solids at 12
Nap
E: 4, milk
Catnap
E: solids after nap
E: milk feed before bed
DF

[epmoreno]

Thanks a lot !!!

So... should I try to limit the amount of solids he takes? right now he is eating around 3oz. at every meal. I am really not forcing it but he is very eager. He still drinks his milk but I do see that some of his feeds, specially the morning ones have gone down from 7 to 4 oz.

Thanks !

[~Sara~]

I would say that if you see his milk intake dropping drastically, then yes, cut back on the solids a bit.  Have you seen this thread:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=67569.0

I also think that most LOs on the forums take a bit longer to build up to 3 solids meals a day; so your little guy is slightly ahead of the game   Just mentioning that in case it's hard to find routines for LOs of a similar age eating the same amount.  I think my DS was on 3 solids a day by ~7/8 months.  HTH a bit!

[epmoreno]

Hi Sara,

thanks a lot. Hadn't seen the Milk intake post so thanks for sharing it. Very helpful !

So, even if he seems to be a good eater, I will try to keep it easy and watch out for his milk intake. Let's hope his good eating habits will continue but will take one step at the time :-)

Thanks for your help !

[~Sara~]

Definitely enjoy the good eater it sounds like you have!!!

[epmoreno]

Hi everyone,

just bringing the topic back again...

now my LO is 6 months and a half and he is doing great with solid food. He also drinks well but somehow I feel is time to adjust his schedule to better accommodate the eating hours.

Current EASY schedule

7.00      Wake-up & milk
7.15      Activity
8.00      Solids (breakfast)
9.15      Morning nap
11.00      Milk
11.15      Activity
12.00      Solids (lunch)
13.30      Nap
15.00      Milk
15.15      Activity
16.00      Solids (dinner)
17.00      Nap
18.00      Milk
18.15      Activity
19.30      Bath & bedtime routine
20.00      Milk
22.30      Milk & cereal

New schedule

7.00      Wake-up and breakfast (milk & fruit)
7.15      Activity
9.00      Morning nap
11.00      Snack (milk)
11.15      Activity
13.00      Lunch (veggies)
13.30      Activity
14.00      Nap
16.00      Snack (milk)
16.15      Activity
18.00      Dinner (solids)
18.30      Activity
19.00         Bath
19.30         Milk & bedtime routine
22.30      Dream feed

Would this new schedule be appropriate for this age? if so, how can I make the transition? I am a bit worried about that because it looks very different... specially the afternoon.

Thanks

[Buntybear]

Hi, I am not much good with routines but I think the milk feeds at 7, 11, 3/4 and BT are good. Solids tend to be an hourish after that.

[epmoreno]

Thanks a lot for your reply.

I have followed the solids schedule one hour after the milk while it was just a introduction but, now that he is more into solids ... should this be adjusted so that it become more of a meal? should I move toward the new schedule?

[*Kara*]

Not yet... I would leave it as is until closer to 8/9 months... you really don't want milk to be replaced with solids.  Solids before a year are only for learning, not for nutrition.

[epmoreno]

Thank you Kara !

[gooders30]

My LO has literally just started solids in the last 3 days.  She is on the 4hr EASY schedule so feeds are at 7,11,3 & 6:30 (ish) after bath before bed at 7.  As its just her 1st week i am only doing solids / purees at breakfast time.  I decided to feed the solids at 8:30 because often she takes 45 mins to have her 7oz bottle so she wouldnt be hungry for solids at 8. 
Is this ok do you think?

Also when do i progress to 2 solids feeds a day? i think i would do this at about 12:30 to give my LO time to digest but i would like to hear what others think of my timings?
This is a really scary transition and im also not sure when you can stop pureeing and start feeding more 'solid' food to your LO.

Any advice would be so appreciated.
  

 

[*Kara*]

Hey Gooders30  - sounds like you are doing great so far!  Your times are just what mine were with my LO... I added a second offering at lunch time after a couple of weeks... then dinner about a month after that.  Just be sure that LO's milk intake stays above 24 ozs a day... more specifically, you want her milk intake to remain fairly stable overall... it may drop slightly when you first introduce each new solids meal, but it should return to her previous level after a couple of days time.  If she goes below the 24 ozs min or drops below her average and doesn't come back up, offer less in terms of solids.

As for the 45 mins to finish a 7 oz bottle - are you on a fast flow teat?

[gooders30]

Thanks Kara.  Yes we are on a fast flow teat.  Sometimes LO will drink bottle in 15mins but then sometimes she fusses and it takes me an age to get her to finish the bottle. 
I think i will follow you and give it a couple of weeks before introducing lunchtime solids.  Let my LO settle into breakfast first.  I have noticed that her DF has also declined.  Is this normal? Since solids she will sometimes drink 3oz only at her df and sometimes she doesnt want anything at all just wants to be put back in her cot to sleep.  I know they are meant to drop the DF at like 7 months but i worry she is dropping it too quickly. 

[gooders30]

This might sound like a silly question but do you have to burp LO after solids?  We just started this week -s so am on pureed fruit and baby rice cereal

Also when can you try and leave a few lumps in the puree so that baby isnt eating just pureed foods? i just mashing maybe>
thanks

[*Kara*]

No need to burp after solids   I never did a DF, but yes, I would assume that the amount she takes will come down since she is getting those calories from the new solids. 

As for lumps, you can try whenever you like, but many LO's won't take a lumpy puree at all - mine won't.  She will happily eat a puree of almost anything and will eat finger foods that need to be chewed, but gags the second I try to give her a puree with lumps

[gooders30]

thanks Kara. 
We are going to start introducing some veg next week so that LO doesnt just get a taste for sweet things. 

How about introducing gluten? i would quite like to start LO on some porridge for breakfast.  Also some toast although i am worried about her choking on crumbs?

[*Kara*]

What country do you live in Gooders30?  Depending on where you are, there are a few options.  Don't worry too much about the sweet tooth thing... all babies have a sweet tooth   If veg doesn't go over well, try combining with a fruit like pears to sweeten it a little bit... you can always slowly reduce the sweet fruit to get baby used to straight veg.  You might be lucky like me though - mine actually preferred veg to fruit!  Now she is much like a baby goat - she will eat almost anything

[gooders30]

i live in the UK but am in the US at the moment.  I know there is differing opinions about when to introduce wheat and eggs so just wondering what others did? i would like to start my LO on some porridge maybe in the next few weeks. 
Going to start some veggies this week......

[*Kara*]

You can buy baby specific cereals in the USA... Gerber makes them... I personally would avoid wheat until closer to a year (from recent experience!).. but barley, oats are fine now.  Avoid egg white until a year as it can be quite allergenic, but yolk is fine from 6 months - well cooked.

[Buntybear]

Olly had a milk allergy and so we waited to give wheat and eggs - and he had a reaction to both.

I think as long as you don't have any family history of allergies you can give these foods after 6 months old but do it one at a time in case a reaction is provoked.

[b0nni3]

i gave DS egg at around 8 months - he would only eat it scrambled, and wouldn't eat it any other way.
Funny how we forget these things as my DD has just started solids and I can't for the life of me remember what we did with DS!

my DD is 6.5 months and she gets solids 2x /day, at lunch and at dinner, and since she started solids she dropped her night feed, hurrah! If it helps, our routine looks like this. I work 4 mornings a week so my mum watches her during that time and gives her solids before I pick DS up from kindergarten and we're home for lunch.

I think you don't have to worry so much about the exact times/amounts for solids. If you go by the principles of 1) Ensuring LO is taking the plenty of milk, and 2) introducing foods slowly (to watch out for allergic reactions), you will do fine. The goal is to move TOWARDS 3 meals + 2 snacks per day, but each LO is different and they move toward that at different rates. There's no right/wrong way to do it - just what works for you and your family!



7:30am wake + BF
9-ish nap for 1-1.5 hours
11am solids (about 3 tbsp of cereal plus 1 tsp of veg, though she always seems to want more!)
12:30pm BF
1pm nap for 1.5-2 hrs
4pm BF
Sometimes still a catnap around 5pm for 30 mins
6pm dinner with her big brother (3 tbsp cereal plus 2 tsp veg)
8:15pm BF + bed

Yes she's still doing 3 naps but I've been going with cues and it seems to work fine with her bedtime, so I'm not messing with it!