Getting started

[Mommyjenny]

Hello my baby us almost six months and I want a plan of action before introducing solids. I didn't cKe accross a typical routine for a 6 month old in the bw book, only the 3 and 4 hour easy routines. Please help me figure out what my day should look like with a 6 month old. He is currently on the 4 hour easy with 2 naps 9-11 and 1-3 and cat nap 5-5:30. At 6 months does this change and do I adjust to eliminate cat nap or when does that happen and when should my naps be later like at 10 and 2 for example. My friend said she would have her baby wake at 7 then give bottle then solids at 8 for breakfast and then a bottle at 10 before nap and then after nap at 12 give solids and then bottle again at 2 before nap and then dinner solids at 4/5 ish after that nap and then bottle to bed at 7. So she is feeding bottle at every sleep time which I thought went against the bw advise so the baby isn't dependent on a bottle to sleep but she said she is doing it purposely as it makes him nap great for a full 2 hours.

Also I am currently breastfeeding and want to ween my baby over to formula before solids, so far I have given him one bottle of formula at 7 at bed time. He drinks a full 8oz then dream feed at 11 by breast and then wakes again at 7. I want to intoruduce a second bottle but an not sure how much he should be drinking at this age as he has always just breast fed. How many oz and how often should a baby be drinking a bottle at 6 mths? Also is it best to give an 8oz bottle at morning and night and smaller bottles in the day? I am really not sure what to do. Please help with my 6 mth transition to formula and solids! Thanks you  

[creations]

Hi there
WRT naps and increasing A times, you would follow LOs signs that he is ready for the A increase and dropping the CN. It's a question more suited to the sleep boards but I will say if you are getting two 2hr naps plus a CN and a good night length then I wouldn't change a thing right now - it is ain't broke - if things start to go off track that the time to tweak your routine and move towards the CN drop.

Solids then. Here's some BW info
Introducing Solid Foods the Baby Whispering Way
Weaning Guidelines from Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

An example of where the milk and solid feeds fit into the day
Routines for Solids and Bottles/BF's 6-12months
amounts of milk
Amount of Formula/Bottles/BFs when having Solids

and lots of other info on solids here
FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions & Related Information

In general offer some tastes of solids about an hour after a milk feed, and where it fits with your routine.  Let your LO guide you in how much solids he would like to taste and also how much milk he'd like in those bottles. All babies take a different amount of milk so really it's a case of offering and seeing if he drains the bottle, if he does then increase the amount so that there is roughly an oz or so left in the bottle at each feed, this way you know he is feeding to his fill.

Your routine (going on the times you've given for naps) will look something like
WU (not sure when your WU is looks like 7am?)
E 7.00 milk
E 8.00 solids
A 2hr
S 9 - 11
E 11.00 milk
E 12.00 solids if/when you choose to offer 2 meals
A 2hr
S 1 - 3
E 3.00 milk
E 4.00 solids if/when you choose to offer 3 meals
A
S CN 5-5.30
BT milk

There is no strict rule as to how  many meals to offer initially, no need to offer 3 unless your LO is super interested in solids. Most people start with breakfast or lunch just so there is plenty of time through the day for LO to digest the food and for any reaction to show.

There is also info in the FAQs on BLW (baby led weaning) which is increasingly popular and the advised method of weaning in some areas, this skips the puree/mashed stage and goes directly onto finger foods. Often you can offer just a little of your own meal if you have cooked appropriately (ie without sugar, salt, honey) and LO shares the family meal from the start rather than having separate meals. You might want to read up on it if you think it sounds like something you'd be interested in.
You can get support and advice on either the BLW or the traditional weaning method here

I think that's everything. Do ask if you have more questions there are plenty of people here with lots of different experiences

[Mommyjenny]

Thank you so much for your reply! His naps are sometimes 2 hours long but not always. Often he wakes up in between and I intervene by giving him his soother back to get him to sleep the full 2 hours or as close as possible. Today he stayed up until 1:30 instead of napping at 1 and then slept until 3. And then a few times he has just skipped the car nap all together but gets pretty grouchy if he does so it seems to me like he's ready for a new routine with only 2 naps but I'm not sure how to structure it especially with introducing solids.

From your reply I suppose you don't recommend feeding solids after waking and then giving a bottle at bed time?

[creations]

TBH when the routine starts to change you need to go with the flow a bit, milk feeds might end up a bit longer apart than the 4hrs if he is napping, that's ok, some find they end up giving the milk feed before the nap when A times get longer and a feed is going to be due during the nap time, this is ok too just watch you don't feed to sleep, a few mins A time between E and S can avoid this.
Starting solids can feel a bit hectic in the early days, if your LO enjoys the solids the meal can take a long time, 45 mins even, it can feel like all you do is food prep and meal time then nap. And LOs can also have a bigger appetite at different times of the day, at one point mine had 'lunch' solids at around 10.30am which for an adult is a bit odd but he was super hungry at that time and it fit his nap routine so we just went with it. Eventually it all settles down into a nice routine.

From your reply I suppose you don't recommend feeding solids after waking and then giving a bottle at bed time?

I wouldn't recommend that. At this age and until (close to) 12 months milk is the primary food so the focus in on keeping those milk feeds at regular times (it's ok if it's a bit early or late due to naps) and the milk intake steady, no reduction in milk at all. So 4 full milk feeds in the day (WU, mid morning, mid afternoon, BT) and a DF or NF if you are doing one.  The solids are in addition to the milk, not instead of the milk.  When your LO is ready to drop the DF you might see an increase in the daytime milk intake.  Later (maybe 8-10 months ish) you might see 1 or more of the milk feeds dropping, at that point you could switch 1 milk feed to a solids snack but you would keep the other milks and solids meals going too. It may also depend if you are BF or fully FF by that stage.
By 12 months LO will be established on solids meals and still taking 2 good milk feeds per day. At this point you can look at switching the bottles to a sippy cup or open cup, although many choose to keep 1 bottle for much longer to ensure 1 good milk drink each day.

If you are unsure how to go ahead with the nap changes please do post for support on the naps board.  There is a 3-2 support thread here
Anyone want to talk about the 3-2 Nap transition? Part 2
or post to the main naps board for individual support on your own particular routine and questions.  There are also some helpful FAQs over there
All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months

hth