Am I doing this right?

[lindsay2]

My daughter is 5mths and 2 weeks.  We slowly started solids right before 5 months.  She has definatley got the hang of it and seems happier.  I just want to make sure I am doing this right and where I go from here.   Right now, I only feed her solids in the morning.  She eats her bottle at 7 when she wakes (this has decreased to 6 oz) and then eats 2 tsp of cereal mixed with 2 tsp of pears.  She then has the remaining 3 bottles the rest of the day at 7-8 oz.  Where do I go from here?  Do I start feeding her in the evening, at lunch?  What do I feed her next?  Is it normal for the milk intake to decrease a little? 

My mom gets on me about waiting 45min to an hour after her bottle in the morning to feed her her solids.  She said she always feed us solids first then the bottle, never waited.  She got me thinking...could waiting an hour after her bottles force her to become a snacker down the road? 

[jasmynesmum]

Hi, Sounds like you are doing perfectly.  It is important to do everything very ver slowly...  I always waited an hour after her bottle before I fed the solids..  When Jasmyne moved to 3 bottles a day I would introduce an afternoon solid feeding... around 4pm.....
I think the important thing that you need to remember is that the milk/formula is the most important form of nutrients so you do not want solid foods to interfere with her bottles.  A little decrease in intake is fine, but you don't want her to be so full that she doesn't want her bottle. 
HTH...

[lindsay2]

How old was Jasmyne when she only took 3 bottles? 

It is nice to have some reassurance.  So how long should I stick to just mornings for solids?  If I feel she could have another solid during the day should it be around 4 (she is on the 7, 11, 3, 7 routine)?  Would you feed her rice or pears?  How long till I introduce something new, like squash?

[jasmynesmum]

HI,
I think she was about 8 months when she went to 3 bottles.  for your schedule 7,11,3,7...I would do the solids at about 5pm..  (I do remember doing this now!! It is so hard to remember sometimes!!!)  We introduced Jasmyne to solids early..  she ate prunes at 8 weeks and was on pears and sweet potatoe/squash by 6 months... introduced chicken at about 7 months and beef at 9 months.  Her stomach did really well with all the new foods.  You just have to go with what you LO can cope with.  Everyone will have their own recommendations, but your childs reaction will let you know if it is too much too soon.
Whatever you do make sure that you do not overfeed the solids as their little tummys need time to get used to processing the food, so just a little bit everyday is good!!  Also remember that when you do introduce a new food stick with that food for 3-5 days to make sure that you don't introduce too many new foods at the same time.
By the time Jasmyne was 9 months she was eating 3 meals a day although the "lunch" was really a small snack, e.g a little yoghurt or cheese as she was still getting a bottle at about 1pm..
her schedule was
7 bottle
9 breakfast
9.30 nap
11 yoghurt
1pm bottle
1.30 nap
4.30 dinner (chicken, sweetpotatoe and brocolli)
6pm dinner

Let me know if you have any more questions!!  I am not an expert, but maybe can offer some reassurance!

Natasha