need help with feeding schedule

[jonny's mommy]

Hello,

My ds is 6.5 months old we introduced solids about a month ago.  He is a big boy. Close to 20lbs and almost 28 inches long.  He has had a few veggies and fruit (homemade) and cereal.  He is breastfed and has been sleeping through the night like a little angel since he was 2 months old. 

Should he be having 3 meals of solids a day?  What should they consist of and how much.  I find he is very hungry lately and breastfeeding a lot more than usual (not just a growth spurt...it has been going on for a while)  Also he just got his first 2 teeth. I am thinking he is not getting enough solids.

I would love any advice and guidelines that anyone could help me with.
Thanks a bunch

[dixiedutch]

Hi,

From 6-9 months we did do three meals a day...the meals were this basic pattern:

wake up ...breastfeed
B: (1 hour later) Cereal mixed with breastmilk/ fruit
nap 1 ....breastfeed
L: (1 hour later) vegetable/fruit or sweet potato and vegetable
nap 2 ....breastfeed
D:(1 hour later) Cereal mixed with breastmilk/ vegetable
bath/bedtime routine
breastfeed

Each meal consisted of about 1/2 cup of food. Your little one may need more or less.

Hope that helps!

[NKmommy]

Hi,
Our schedule is the same as the post above.  As far as how much, I feed until I get a signal from my LO (like turning his head, squirming, or now, throwing his food over the side  :roll: ).  At around 6 mos, he was eating 2 tbl cereal (dry), or 1/2 - 1 jar of 4 oz baby food.

[bheemeryck]

I have a similar question about feeding amounts- I have an 7.5 month old son that LOVES his solid food. His typical schedule is;
7:00 am BF, 1/4-1/2 cup cereal with 1/4 Tbsp fruit and 1 egg yolk
9:00 nap
11:00 BF, 2 Tbsp Fruit, 2-3 Tbsp Veggie, 2 Tbsp cottage cheese or yogurt
2:00 nap
4:00 BF
6:00 1/4-1/2 cup cereal with 2-3 Tbsp veggie and 1oz tofu or meat
8:00 5 oz bottle

We are starting the transition to a bottle  , getting him to feed well the last two feedings of the day is becoming a nightmare, and he really gets excited to see the bottle! I plan to BF him at least twice a day as long as I can though.

I have two questions; 1)does this seem like a lot of food for a baby his age? He weighs about 19 lbs and is what i would call 'active' for his age, (crawling all over, standing on his own, dosen't sit still ever!) so I think it's okay. Just seems like a lot more than most his age.
2) In Tracy's new book she describes a feeding schedule more like bottle or BF and then feed solids 1-1.5 hours later. What is the benefit to feeding this way? I read somewhere that feeding like that would be more like snacking instead of getting a full meal every 4 hours. Just curious to see why some feed this way opposed to how I feed my DS. He will take that much at once, so should I continue, or try to space it out more?

[NKmommy]

Hi Becky,
If he is doing well with the combined BF/solids, keep it up!  I would love to be able to feed my LO every 4 hrs, but unfortunately, he just won't eat if I don't space out the bottle and solids.  But if your LO is eating and sleeping well with that schedule, that's great!

[tylersmommy]

In Tracy's new book she describes a feeding schedule more like bottle or BF and then feed solids 1-1.5 hours later. What is the benefit to feeding this way? I read somewhere that feeding like that would be more like snacking instead of getting a full meal every 4 hours. Just curious to see why some feed this way opposed to how I feed my DS.

The reasoning behind this is that babies' tummies are still very small. Even more so for older babies and toddlers...not only are their tummies still small, but they burn off an amazing amount of calories once they're mobile. Offering a full meal and a "snack" a couple of hours later ensures they aren't ravenous by the time the next meal comes around and they have enough calories to keep going. Once most babies are weaned to whole milk around 1 yr, it's pretty common to offer a snack halfway in between meals.

If more spacing between meals works better for your baby, then that's the right way for you!

[bheemeryck]

Thanks Melissa, I guess my gut tells me that we're doing something right, but I have to wonder if I can be feeding him too much food- he seems to eat and eat... but he's doing well and that's all that I really have to go with!! I don't want to overdo the food and have him not get enough from either BF or the bottle, but he's still getting 4 of those feedings a day, and some days he eats more, some less, but he ALWAYS loves to see that spoon coming, so I guess we should just be happy that at least he likes food!!

[tabrenna]

My 8 month old DS loves to eat also.  His schedule goes like this:

between 6:30 and 7:30: wake up and BF
between 8:30 and 9:00: breaky - either Nutrios (1/2 cup) w/formula or 1/2 a mini bagel and a piece of fruit, or 1/2 cup baby cereal
lunch at noon: 1/2 cup plain yogurt with a half banana
around 1:00: BF
around 3:30: a chunk of rice cake or anything else that I can find for him to snack on
5:30: dinner - 1/4 cup fruit, 1/4 cup meat-potato, 1/4 cup veggies and eating off our plates also
7:30: BF for bed

He also will drink at least 4 oz milk in a sippy cup and always has a sippy cup of water on the go.

[bheemeryck]

Tabrenna- thanks for the post- gave me some ideas for breakfast, what are nutrios and where can I find them?

[tabrenna]

Nutrios are the same as Cheerios (except the baby version).  I find them in with the baby food at grocery stores.  Nutrios meet the daily iron requirement whereas the Cheerios don't.

I also keep trying to find new things for babe to eat.  I would get tired of yogart every day - but that is one of his favorites.