Another "solids" question

Caitlin has been having solids for breakfast for a while now (has 6 teaspoons after her 8am bottle) and for two weeks now I have been giving her 6 teaspoons of food after her 4pm bottle as well.

What's the next step after that? Should she have 6 teaspoons (approx 1/4 of a jar) after all feeds (10am, 12pm, 4pm and 8pm)? even her bedtime one? (8pm)

My Mum says that with me and my sis she gave us cereal for breakfast (we avoided this as it seemed to bung Caitlin up even more! so we give her fruits) then 1/2 jar of veg AND 1/2 jar of fruit for lunch with a drink of water (dropping the 12pm formula feed altogether) and then slowly adding more volume to brekkie and teatime foods.

This seems a bit much to me and I'm not convinced she should be dropping a feed just yet. Caitlin is still only 5 months old - even though Mum keeps saying she's the size of a 6 month old so I should go for the 6mths feeding guide on the tins which says 3-4 formula feeds a day.

What did you guys do?

P.S
Caitlin is still on Stage one foods, we're in no rush to start her on Stage two just yet so this is more of a volume of food question.

Ta

Hey Toni,

We're just about to try and work out when to fit in 'lunch' for Erin, as my Plunket nurse said the next step for her would be a third 'meal' around six months (give or take a week). Same for the 'stage' in foods, we'll be trying stage 2 once we've run out of stage 1.

I don't think I'd be dropping another bottle just yet either, at this stage if Caitlin is still taking four bottles, just keep it up !

At the moment Erin has a 7am bottle, and breakfast at 8am. Her last bottle is at 6pm, with dinner at 7pm, and bedtime at 7:30pm. As for volume (with the solids), again something I asked the Plunket nurse about, and she said once we know that Erin isn't reacting to anything and is getting the hang of eating (and boy is she ever!!) then up to half a cup of food (puree) is fine depending on appetite. So far she has been taking about half of one of those 110g Watties jars... so *thinks* probably around a dozen teaspoons

She likes to snack on rusks too, as well as apples, bananas and other assorted fruit and veg in her fresh food feeder... although the times I give her these are pretty random and it's not always every day.

Er... what else... sorry this is so rambly ! The only other thing I can think of is that we'll be moving on to Step 2 formula once we've finished up our Step 1 (S26 Gold), we've got about half a tin to go.

So, hope at least some of that was helpful - you can ring me at home (PM me if you need the number?) or txt anytime.

round 8-9 months I think

Just reread your post you could also increase the amount she is having at her other feeds.

hey toni my plunket nurse told me to feed ella as much as she wants solids wise as long as shes had her bottle. Apparently u can never over feed them coz they will let you know when they have had enough. Ella downs almost a jar of fruit and same with veges at night.

If shes doing good on the solids i wouldnt worry to much.

The solids then bottle starts at 8 months

Thanks heaps ladies!

I guess my Mum was right... just a few months too early

I'm not sure about the thing with "letting her decide" - Cailtin is a big baby and a gready baby, I'm worried that she will just keep on eating, just because the food is there

We've just changed Erin's schedule just a little to fit in a "lunchtime" feed at 11:30am, and so far so good ! We tried with a new food though which was a bit dumb, but she enjoyed the pears I gave her after that.

I don't know how this will affect her other bottles, but I guess we will soon find out !

I'm sure you will figure out what to do and things will be absolutely fine, Caitlin is a gorgeous girl and really a credit to you hun.



Edited by jax

After another debate on the solids thing with Mum, I too don't agree that she is ready right now to drop a bottle and if I hear one more time "well that's what I did for you and you're ok!" I'll scream! lol

This is our suggested plan for the next month or so, and I would appreciate some feedback from Mum's that have been there, done that I've found it really hard to find any info about what happens after you start baby on solids, and I'll be honest - I'm very confused!


Caitlin is still taking 250mls of formula and is draining the bottle dry, so I think it is time to up the amount of solids we give her with extra water throughout the day also.


Current routine (5 ½ months to 6 months old)
8am – one full bottle of formula and ½ jar of solids (fruit)
12pm – one full bottle of formula and ½ jar of solids (veg)
4pm – one full bottle of formula
8pm – one full bottle, then to bed

(We’re going to start this new routine when she turns 6 months old in 2 weeks time with Stage 2 foods)
Week one to week two (6 months to 6 ½ months old)
8am – ½ bottle of formula to drink and the other ½ to make cereal
12pm – ½ jar of veg and ½ jar of fruit with one full bottle of baby juice/water
4pm – one full bottle of formula and ½ jar of solids (either fruit or veg)
8pm – one full bottle, then to bed


Week three to week four (6 ½ to 7 months old)
8am – ½ bottle of formula to drink and the other ½ to make cereal
12pm – ¾ jar of veg and ¾ jar of fruit with one full bottle of baby juice/water
4pm – one full bottle of formula and ¾ jar of solids (either fruit or veg)
8pm – one full bottle, then to bed


Week five to Week six (7 months to 7 ½ months old)
8am – ½ bottle of formula to drink and the other ½ to make cereal
12pm –1 jar of veg and 1 jar of fruit with one full bottle of baby juice/water
4pm – one full bottle of formula and 1 jar of solids (either fruit or veg)
8pm – one full bottle, then to bed

I think two weeks is enough time to establish a new routine (has taken less in the past), I guess I just want some reassurance that I'm doing the right thing at the right time

Edited by Toni_akl

P.S ignore the back of the tin.
P.P.S Olivia is nearly 8 months old and on 1/2 to 2/3 tin (3-4 icecubes) of food per feed.

Oh I agree about ignoring the tin Peace, just let her eat as much as she feels like, I doubt she would overeat if shes already had milk.