Adding second solids meal

[SarahE]

Hi there,

My Lo is 7 months next week and started solids at 6 months. We are just about to add second solids meal. Below is our current schedule

6.30/7am - wake
7.15/7.30 ish - BF
9.30 - BF top up pre nap
9.45- nap
11.15 -  wake
11.30 - BF
12 - solids - meat and veggies
1.30-BF top up pre nap
1.45 - nap
3.15 -wake
5pm - Expressed bottle 100-120ml and offer breast (going to daycare in a few months hence bottle)
6.30 - top up pre bed
6.45-7pm bed

No night wakings or feeds.

Her routine has just changed in the last week as her A time has increased, not sure we are 100 percent there with it but getting consistent 2x 1.5 hr naps and approx 11-12 hrs at night. Prior to the routine change she was BF at 4.30pm expressed bottle at 5.30pm and pre BT top up at 6.30.
Ful of milk = great night sleeping!

I know people will prob think she has a lot of milk feeds. We trialled dropping one but it led to a nit waking due to hunger so it was quickly added back in.

So thoughts for adding dinner are either

4.30 - expressed bottle
5pm - solids
5.30 - finish expressed bottle is taken less than norm or offer BF
6.30 - pre BT BF

Or

5 - expressed bottle
5.30 - solids
6.30 - pre BT BF

Would 5.30 solids be a bit late for a 6.45/7pm BT?

Any other suggestions welcome 

[creations]

HI have you considered a breakfast solids rather than the dinner solids?  I'm just thinking if you are all happy with the evening routine as it stands and she is tanking up for the night on milk and sleeping through, maybe you don't want to mess with that just now?
Breakfast could come at 8-8.30 and you might find she then doesn't need the BF top up pre nap (unless it's a prop for sleep) as she will have some additional calories from the breakfast (you could still top up after the solids which Tracy suggested when introducing solids, if you wanted to in addition to the solids).
Breakfast can be any kind of food so if you were thinking dinner is a better time to offer because you cook lovely meals at that time then you could always put aside a portion for her to have for breakfast - LOs are not in the habit of social-norms of cereal etc for breakfast and can quite happily munch away on some veggies or meat if that's what you'd prefer she had.

Otherwise I think I'd go with the earlier dinner option with the milk at 4.30pm and solids at 5pm.
Or
Drop the afternoon pre-nap BF (lunch is in there for additional calories between milk feeds) and do a big milk after the nap, so:
12 - solids - meat and veggies
1.30-BF top up pre nap [drop this]
1.45 - nap
3.15 -wake [do big milk feed here]
[introduce dinner here 4.30 solids feed roughly 1 hour after milk]
5pm - Expressed bottle 100-120ml and offer breast (going to daycare in a few months hence bottle) [make this a small top up milk instead after solids]
6.30 - top up pre bed [make this a good BT feed]
6.45-7pm bed

There area a few different options really depending what you think will suit best.  I liked there to be a good 2hrs between solids and BT, I think we got as close as 1.5hrs but early dinner and really good milk at BT worked for us. Also it gave a good amount of time for any reaction to the food to show up before BT and for the gas to have a chance to come out otherwise there can be gas disturbance in the night or even poo disturbance in the night.
Hope this helps some

[SarahE]

Hi Creations,

Yes it does help. I was thinking as I typed it whether brekkie was a better idea then dinner for now. My only concerns with dropping the pre nap milk is that despite going 12-13hrs between feeds overnight and seeming very hungry 15 mins after wake up she often feeds one side and has a reasonable sized spill. Her pre nap feed is one side and the second side is offered which more often then not she takes.

I don't think the pre nap milk is a prop, though I guess it could be, we feed, read a story, sleep bag and bed. Sometimes she starts falling asleep during story other times as I'm doing her sleep bag up but more often she just rolls on her side, has a little grizzle then on to her tummy little more of a grizzle then if flat out asleep.

I'm also conscious of meal timings...my Lo is going to daycare two days a week in 2.5 months so she will be 9.5 months old. She will be dropped off at approx 8.30 and picked up at 4.30-5pm. I guess by then her bed time maybe a touch later so a 5.30 dinner would be fine at that stage if she had a 7.30 bedtime...and brekkie could be 8am as she'd be getting up at 6.30 and having first feed then.

[creations]

I agree, the pre-nap milk does not sound like a prop, more like a part of the wind down routine.

Have you asked Day Care about meals and snack timings they offer?
I've known babies have a milk then breakfast at home and then tuck right into a second breakfast on arrival at day care!
Some day cares also do a snack/afternoon tea at 4pm ish which your LO might consider her dinner and tuck right into meaning she may not be hungry at 5.30pm or might just like to join in the family meal and have a couple of bits f finger food to hold or chew on but without being properly hungry, more for the social aspect of meal times.

[SarahE]

Yes, I did ask about meals at day care. They try to follow what's done at home but obv diff with timings...but if say I preordered her to have milk mid morning pre nap she wouldn't have a snack. They also tend to do and afternoon snack again just before 5...I'm hoping to be picking her up at 4.30 so hopefully will miss that if she does see it as dinner, although she can opt out of that too. Meals and snacks are given in a different room to the babies room to avoid difficulties e.g. Some babies just having solid meals and no snacks yet seeing others with snacks but not getting any.

I will though closer to the time double check with them as I'll have more of an idea where my Lo is up to eating wise then.

Overall the daycare seems pretty good at following parents wishes/routine. It's quite a small place with only 10-12 under 2s and 38-40 2-5 yr olds max. Capacity.

Thanks again!

[creations]

Your day care sounds lovely

How do you feel about introducing the second meal now and timings etc?  OK?

[SarahE]

Yes, feeling confident thanks! She seems to be changing her milk feeds herself the last couple of days. Her morning wake up feeds is bigger, pre nap smaller, pre lunch bigger, pre arvo nap smaller, pre dinner big (no bottle given as she had a big BF then 1/4 cup of solids - didn't eat all), then smaller pre BT BF. Fingers crossed she still STTN...as that's one milk feed dropped and a smaller BF before bed (though bed was 1 hr after dinner as she was shattered so may explain short BF).

Just going to continue to offer in usual schedule as she may just be dropping a feed herself with increased solids? She's still getting 3 full feeds and three smaller ones which I think seems about right for her age and where she is up to in terms of her solids.

When would I be looking to add a third meal? And then when would I be thinking about snacks?

Thanks for the help!

[creations]

Usually a third meal would be around 8 months but also to follow LOs lead too. Mine was on 3 meals very quickly actually, earlier than advised because he loved solids and didn't like milk but also I saw he didn't drop his milk intake so all the solids were additional calories.

Snacks would be later still. Maybe 10, 11 months. A simple way many do this is to switch either the mid morning or mid afternoon milk for a snack with water and then a few weeks or a month later switch the other. There is no hurry but by/at 12 months you'd be down to 2 big milk drinks, 3 proper solids meals and 2 snacks.

Some BF mums like to continue with more than the 2 milk feeds, that is totally your choice, it is important that there are some proper meals from 12 months though and not too milk heavy.

[SarahE]

Fantastic thank you!