Formula with Meals

No! Food is just to experiment with at this age she should be fed formula or breast milk before each "meal" most babies are just starting solids at 6 months old not found actual meals.

Your doc needs some nutritional education for infants!

Breastmilk or formula is primary nutrition for the entire first year. Solids are for practice and a minor supplement as baby gets close to that year mark.

You always give baby breastmilk or formula first then in between nursings/bottle feedings you offer solids. Never offer solids first. And 3 meal routine is too much at 6 months for the *vast* majority of infants.

It is actually fine to teach baby to take formula in a sippy. How many times do you hear "how do I get the baby to take formula in a sippy?"? The latest recommendations are to actually have baby off the bottle and only using a sippy by around 9 months anyway. That way no bottle fights and no weaning baby off the bottle. I have a friend that only bottle feeds and she had both of hers strictly using sippy cups by 9 months. I only breastfed so no bottle fights in my house either lol.

Here is a great site with lots of info on infant nutrition:

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/babymenu.htm

And here's the other side of the coin-6 months is just a number. Neither of my kids would accept solids at 6 months. Heck baby #2 wouldn't take solids till she was 9 months old! No biggie because it's only for practice.

I guess I did things diffrently! LOL! I would say that if your daughter is using a sippy cup, then yes, go ahead and give her the formula with or after the meal. YES, of course, the primary nutrition is coming from the formula not the food, but the goal is to slowly start ingesting more food and less formula so that by a year you have an easy transition. Of course I understand that is 6 months away and you have plenty of time, but my theory is if she's ready, go for it! I thought some of your responses seemed a bit extreme, but maybe I'm reading too much into it!

Anyway, if she's not using a sippy and can hold her own bottle, I'd still go the same route. I always put it on the tray while my kids were eating and it wasn't a problem. If she's not using a sippy yet then I would say start out with only water in it until she's using it well and then go to formula. By about 9-10 months both my kids were only drinking formula out of the sippy cup and I got rid of the bottle. This way I just mixed formula and milk a few weeks before their 1st birthday and it was easy-peasy!

In the next 2-3 months you should see an increase in food and a decrease in formula, even if it's only slight. This is a good thing, actually. Your baby will still be getting all the nutrients they need but will also be learning how to eat 'real' food. Do whatever works for you but my advice is to start on the 3 meal routine if you can b/c it is much easier for a family dynamic at the dinner table! Good luck!

I always gave some cereal and a fruit for breakfast with a bottle afterwards, cereal and a veggie for lunch with a bottle afterwards, and a veggie or fruit with a meat for dinner with a bottle afterwards. At this age, most of their nutrition should still come from the formula, the food is really for getting used to new textures and practicing eating.

Hi my name is M.,
You can try the sippy cup but if she doesn't take it it's ok because she is only six months. Also she may not like the 3 meal thing at first either. When they are that young they want to eat when they want to eat. I know with both my girls they each went through a phase where they wanted to eat all day one day then only have one meal the next. As long as she is having regular bowel movements and at least 3 wet diapers a day she perfectly healthy. Good Luck

I nursed my twins, but i'm guessing the routine with formula is similar. I would nurse first then feed them solids. By six months of age our boys were eating three meals a day (small meals, but still meals). The amount of formula they get at each feeding now should not increase anymore. The additional nutrition a child needs will come from solid foods. And, after about nine months of age the amount of formula will slowly decrease as bottle feedings become more and more spaced out.

No! Just because he wants her to have meals doesn’t mean she has to have a sippy cup. He just wants her to get used to eating table foods. Some people like to do the sippy cup with juice and formula in the bottle but me personally, I didn’t give either one of my kids a sippy cup until they were off of formula at one years old then I gave the whole milk/juice in a sippy. Now that isn’t something the doctor or anyone else can tell you when you should do it, that depends on what you want to do and whether or not your daughter is ready for it. But just in case you decide you want to try the sippy and she doesn’t like it…they make these sippy cups with the soft spout that feels just like the nipple on a bottle. I didn’t think my 15 month old would ever switch to a cup but these cups made it so easy! Good luck!

You'll want to offer AFTER the meals otherwise she'll fill up on the formula and not eat any of the baby food.

I was always told to give them their regular amount of formula, then one hour later offer them solids. What I have been doing though, is to nurse my DD when she wakes up, then she gets breakfast around 10:00. I nurse her right before her nap around 12:00, and when she wakes up she gets lunch (usually round 2). She gets dinner around 5, nursed around 8, and she still nurses 2x in the night. She also gets water with her meals.

bottle after. i NEVER put formula in a sippy cup only bottle and put juice/water in a sippy

During the meals I always offered water or a little juice. After meals was for sippies with milk. That way they don't fill up on just the milk.

My six month old gets a sippy with baby juice for breakfast and lunch and at dinner she get a bottle with formula.