solids and bf timing

[tracefo]

I'm just wondering how everyone co-ordinates the bf ing with the solid eating in their days.  I find that if I wait to feed her solids 1 hour after breast feeding like the book suggests there is absolutly no time to go out during the day and I'm trapped at home.  What do you guys do?
Tracey

[Erin M]

Hi Tracey-
When I started solids, I only gave dinner for awhile, then added breakfast.  I waited over a month before introducing lunch as I just felt like it was too much to cram into the scehdule.  Anyway, once we had got all three going, I gave her breakfast somewhere around an hour after her morning BF, which didn't interfere much with our day.  Generally I would BF at lunchtime and then give her lunch not too much later.  Around 9 months I switched and started feeding her before her BF - we have since dropped this BF (actually, we went to a bottle, and then she dropped it).  I kept her mid-afternoon BF (which has also since turned into a bottle) and then gave her dinner about an hour and half later, as it was dinner time anyway.  Bedtime, we still BF.  In a nutshell, our food schedule looks/looked like this (I'll just leave the naps out to make it easier):
7:30-8 AM - wake and BF
8:30 - breakfast
Noon - BF
12:30 - lunch (eventually I switched the two and then just gave her her bottle with lunch - now she gets water in a sippy cup)
4PM - BF (now bottle)
5:30 - dinner
7:30-8 BF and bed

This gave us a good amount of time in the morning and afternoon to get things done.  I think as long as they're taking both ok, I wouldn't worry.  Not sure how old your DD is, but if you're just starting solids, it's more important that they get their milk anyway.

[EASYconfusedMom]

I didn't exactly follow the book on scheduling food, only because I was so focused on naps!  This is what I do with my 8 month old for the past month (we started solids late due to milk intolerance).

7:00 wake up & BF
~11:00 puree followed by BF
~3:00 BF
6:30 puree only (later so DH can do it)
7:00 BF
8:00 bedtime
11:00 Dream Feed

Not exactly standard, and the lo still wakes up at night around 2:30 for a feed so I am going to start breakfast around 8:00am next week. Lo has never had formula and stopped taking the bottle over the christmas holidays (our mistake), so we now give her training sippy cup with water during solid meals.  She hasn't figured it out yet though.

Jennifer (& Ashleigh)

[tracefo]

Thanks guys,
Micah just started the solids thing about a month ago.  She's just over 6 months now.  I've just gotten over the flu and am now having trouble with having enough breast milk and strangly enough she won't eat as much solid food now either.  Wouldn't it be nice if things could just go as planned for once.  So for now I'm not going to worry too much about the timing until we get everything back to full force!  Then I think I'll just try to give the solids sooner than an hour and see how it all goes.
Tracey

[tylersmommy]

We did the solids 1 hr after nursing thing too, and in those early days, it seemed like I spent all day feeding him. So I hear you on that! If tweaking her routine and moving solids closer doesn't work, you can always feed on the go. I'd nurse Tyler at home as soon as he woke from his nap, then I'd have his solids in an insulated lunch bag that we'd take out and about with us. That way, I could feed him while we were sitting in the car in a parking lot, in the stroller in the middle of the mall, wherever. HTH!

[Nicola_G]

Hi there,

We are right in the middle of this now, with ds turning 6 months on Wednesday 1st Feb. I generally give him the breast on waking, but since he is really efficient nowadays that generally only takes 5 minutes. Then I will give solids around 1 hour after that, that then gives him about 30 minutes of A time before his next nap.

The getting out part is the hard bit - I tend to just feed him wherever I am (after 6 months' nursing I am quite relaxed about the nursing in public thing) which seems to work OK. Usually I will take jars of food when we go out (although at home I will prepare everything from fresh) - its just easier that way.

HTH

[momtoelise]

I do solids immediately after bfing & it's working fine.  I know it's not by the BW book, but I figure this way I ensure she's filling up mostly on milk & there's more time to run errands/etc.