I had a lot of trouble figuring out how much and how often to feed my baby when we started with solid foods. We had waited to start him on rice cereal until he seemed interested in food and could sit up in his high chair. Once he learned how to take food from the spoon he was able to move it to the back of his mouth in no time at all with some practice. For Little E that was at 5 months, just after the doctor had given us the OK to start solids. SO, after I introduced the cereal a few times I began to wonder how to balance solid food with breastfeeding. The search I began became the genesis of this blog. So, I thought I would share a sample plan that we used. It will be different with different babies, but hopefully this will be a little bit of a start for some of you just starting out.
8 a.m. - breastfeed or bottle
*12 p.m. - breastfeed or bottle and immediately after offer cereal
4 p.m. - breastfeed or bottle and cereal
8 p.m. - breastfeed or bottle
12 a.m.(if needed) - breastfeed or bottle
*It was at this feeding that I introduced new foods, like winter squash or sweet potatoes in the beginning. I had read that introducing foods early in the day is a good idea in case there is an allergic reaction. If so, then there is still time to call the pediatrician's office.
The above schedule turned into this schedule between 6-7 months (which we are still on at 10 1/2 months) Again this will vary with child:
7:30 a.m. - breastfeed or bottle
9:00 a.m. - cereal with fruit
12 p.m. - yogurt with fruit and veggie (cheerios for dessert)
2:30 p.m. - breastfeed or bottle
5:00 p.m. - cheese, veggie and fruit
7:30 p.m. - breastfeed or bottle
What works for you? I'll keep you posted as we hit the year mark.
4/18/08
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6 comments:
ok so i'm still struggling with a schedule for rhys. tell me this: how many ounces do you end up feeding eric every day? i see that you give 3 bottles, but i just can't seem to get rhys to drink more than 6 ounces at a time (maybe the occasional 8) so it's hard to do less than at least 4 feedings. today we actually ended up doing 6 bottle feedings (plus 2 nursing sessions during the night--those darn top teeth still haven't broken through!). SO glad you are doing this! :) i have what rick calls "momnesia" about what i did before. or maybe i'm just more laid back. whatever the case, i need to get this kid on some semblance of a routine!
This is a huge help! We are in the process of introducing a 3rd solid feeding. When did you drop down to 3 bottles/bf? We still do 4, but it seems like overkill if they are eating 3 meals a day as well. When is it okay to introduce yogurt and cheese? You're the best!
Ginger...I've been trying to think about exactly when we went from 4 to 3 breastfeedings. I think it was between 6 and 7 months. I dropped the lunchtime breastfeed and started feeding him more solid food (fruit AND veggie). Both books I use for reference and my pediatrician said yogurt and cheese can be given at 8 months. I'll post what I do with yogurt. Thanks for your question and for keeping up with the blog! I enjoy your's too!
Kristi...I was really in turmoil about making sure I fed Eric the right number of ounces once we started solid foods. My pediatrician gave me a sheet of guidelines that says from 6-8 months they should be getting 24-32 oz and from 8-10 months it drops to 16-32 oz. I don't think Little E ever got 32, and I'm not really sure he even got 24 because we weren't feeding in the middle of the night and only had 3 breastfeedings a day. So, after consulting a couple of friends with babies a few months older my mind was put at ease that it really varies and if you think they aren't getting enough, they probably are. Plus, they are getting nutrients from the food they are eating. When I asked my pediatrician about it, he said just to make sure they have wet diapers throughout the day to make sure they aren't dehydrated. I don't what he gets when he breastfeeds, but it's not much. When he takes a bottle of formula he gets 8 oz. I think Rhys' tummy might not be as big as my very large boy, so he may not be able to handle as much food at one time.
Hi Karin. This schedule you posted is so helpful! We are starting cereal now, but I didn't know which feedings were best to give it to him. We'll be introducing veggies in the next few weeks. A whole new world is beginning in the Lucas house, I'm grateful to you for creating this blog for other Mama's like me. Thanks!
This has been something I have been struggling with! Thank you so much for this blog! My friend Becca told me about it:)
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