9 months and feeding every 4 hours

[Margarita90]

Hello,
I found out Easy method very recently and I still have a lot of questions. Tracy's book helped me a lot and we finally sleep. But I have still problems with feeding.
If I feed my baby exactly like in book: at 7:00 , 11:00 ,15:00 ,19:00. Where should I add bottle milk?
What I'm doing now is
at 7:00 bottle with milk with porridge,
At 11:00 porridge with fruit
At 15:00 vegetables with meat
At 19:00 bottle with milk and sometimes porridge..
I see clearly that is too small amount of milk but in this method I supposed to feed him every 4hours....so where add milk or what should I change.. To not change the method..?
Thank you for help
Margaret

[creations]

Hello and welcome to BW forums

At 6 months it would be expected that LOs still have 4 milk feeds per day, these would usually be around:
7am, 11am, 3pm, 7pm
although they will be slightly different for each child depending on their nap times.  These milk times are every 4hrs as per the "regular" 4hr EASY.
As LOs get a bit older, increase their A times (making naps further apart and making E times further apart as a result because LO might be asleep at the 4hr mark) and as solids are introduced which fill them up a little between milk feeds it is quite normal for the milk feeds to extend to more like 4.5 or 5hrs.
The longer times between milk feeds might just be for part of the day and not the whole day depending on sleep times and how many solids meals LO is taking.  Some of the E times might be less than 4hrs apart for instance if LO needs an early bed time, the BT milk is still given, just early.

We generally still talk about those same times, 7, 11, 3, 7 as a rough guide for milk even though it might not be exactly those times. Hope that makes sense.
Solids are usually offered 1hr after milk feeds.
At 9  months you would be expecting to offer 3 meals in addition to all 4 milk feeds, no milk is removed.
Milk is still the primary source of calories and nutrition.

At 10 or 11 months LO might be less interested in one or more of the milk feeds and this is a time to switch one milk feed to a snack with a drink of water, offered at the same time the milk was given - usually mid morning or mid afternoon.
This makes 3 main meals plus 1 snack plus 3 milk feeds (milk intake might not reduce but instead be taken in 3 larger feeds).

A little later the other milk might be switched, again to a solid snack with water, kept at the same time.
Making 3 main meals, 2 snacks, 2 milk feeds.

And at 12 months the primary food becomes solids rather than milk. LO still needs 1 or 2 good milk drinks in the day or equivalent calcium intake through dairy products etc.

so the routine:
WU
7.00 milk
8.00 solids breakfast
11.00 milk (this will switch to solid snack and drink of water in a cup)
12.00 solids lunch
3.00 milk (this will switch to solid snack and drink of water in a cup)
4.00/5.00 solids dinner
7.00 milk
BT

I hope this helps to make things a little clearer.
Please do feel welcome to ask as more questions or for clarification if you are not sure.

[Margarita90]

Hello,

Thank you!! 💋.
You are treasure. It's the best help I've ever have. Thank you for your quick response.
I was breastfeeding all the time and now with bottle and solids I have so many questions and everybody advised me badly..  Now I understand everything.
Every 4hour is milk.
And 3 times per day are solids always around 1hour after milk.

If you could advise me more I will appreciate it.
I mean how much food should I give my baby?
I read that 900-1400ml per day.
Some doctor told me about 150g solid per 1 time
And maximum 150ml milk per one time..
My baby is eating differently, sometimes even 210ml so how would be perfect?

Thank you in advance !! 💞

[creations]

You are very welcome and of course we will always try our best to help you with any questions you have

How much to feed.
Milk (breast or formula)
At this point milk is still the primary food, you give as much as is needed. If a bottle is drained you can increase the amount by an oz or so for the next feed, this way you know your baby took as much milk as she wanted.  From now until 12 months though the milk is unlikely to increase really because she is also having solids.  You might see a slight drop in one or more of her milk feeds which can be an indication that she's ready to switch one of the milk feeds to the solids snack (sometimes people see that switching one milk to a solids snack makes LO more interested in the other 3 milk feeds which might increase but overall the milk is roughly the same across the day).  9 months is a bit early I'd say to drop a milk feed but 10 or 11 months is fine.  Of course all babies are different and if she became reluctant to keep up her milk intake you could instead make sure she has dairy solids which offer the calcium and fats she needs (yoghurt, cheese, always full fat never reduced fat for babies or toddlers).

Solids
You can offer LO as much as she would like to eat.  The things you can watch out for here are:
- you are not forcing or overly encouraging her to eat more than she really wants, pay attention to body language and signals, if she stops eating, shuts her mouth or turns her head away, she doesn't want it, she is full
- if there is too much of a drop in milk intake you might scale back a little on solids or offer more dairy solids (cheese sauce or sticks of cheese, milky puddings)
- if she loses interest in solids perhaps it can be for another reason, appetite can drop when teething or during illness, she might not want to be spoon fed but prefer to feed herself.  Letting LO feed herself can make meal times more interesting and she might have a better appetite
- there is no strict rule or amount you baby should eat in solids.  She does need the solids now but some LOs this age are very interested in solids whilst others are only just starting to become interested.  Her tummy is tiny though so it's usually good to expect portions to be quite small, you can always offer more if needed rather than expecting a larger portion all the be eaten or to become frustrated by wasted food.
- always serve a drink of water at solids meals

Gradually solids become more important so that at/by 12 months solids become the primary food and milk is then seen as a drink. Milk (or dairy) is still needed for toddlers but is not longer the primary source of calories, vitamins or nutrients.

My baby is eating differently, sometimes even 210ml so how would be perfect?

This sounds fine