How Much Solids Should I Be Offerring 7 Mos. Old, & How Many Times per Day?

At that age, my daughter, who was always a good eater, was alternating bottle/solids/bottle/solids throughout the day. She'd wake in the morning, and have breakfast ( a healthy serving of baby cereal made with breastmilk or formula, a jar of baby food fruits sometimes two) and then a 6-8 oz bottle an hour or two later. Then lunch (2-1 servings of baby foods/pureed foods), bottle, dinner, bottle, and another one right before bed occasionally if she was up later than usual. We stopped night time feeding when she was 3 months old.
I went and did some research for you, and I found a WONDERFUL site that outlines how much your baby should be drinking, eating, and what she should be eating at 7 months. From my personal experience as a mother, a nanny, a teacher, and a psychologist, the site is right on target and outlines what your little ones' daily menu should look like. However, keep in mind that every baby is different, but your son should still rely heavily on breastmilk or formula. Keep in mind, too, that as he gets older, the amount of teeth he has will dictate more WHAT he will eat, not how much. Go visit this site:

http://www.superbabyfood.com/chap7mon.htm

Good luck and ENJOY introducing new foods to your little one!

Hi J.,
You are lucky to have a guy eating so well and excitedly. My son is not into it at all, he is 7 mo, and doesn't like texture...or fruit either. He likes veggies, but mostly rice cereal.
I have relied on a book, Super Baby Food, it is right on with all natural and organic diet. It has EVERYTHING you need to know, in fact I didn't know that most rice cerals are white rice and not whole grain (only Earth's Best uses whole grains). So that has been a great reference and a good read.

Right now your babies main nutrition is your breastmilk. Solids do not replace your milk, it is in addition to breatsmilk or formula. You can add water to his diet, and give it to him during meals. It is hot here too, and my son loves to drink out of the new Nalgene bottle with the sippy top...(at REI). I don't give him a lot, but he thinks its great. When I give him cold ice water, he makes the funniest face...ahh, so cute!
Anyway, I also try to feed my son when we are eating so he learns the social aspect of it, and feels a part of the family.
Lastly, if your son is turning away towards the end of the meal or closing his lips, then he is signaling he is full. He is old enough to give you signals. If he is not, you may want to bring that up with your Doc, to see if he is "over-eating" or if he is gaining weight really fast...like off the chart. He should be giving you signals.
I am sure you are doing everything fine, and it sounds like you are putting his needs in priority!
Good luck!

I let my son pretty much dictate what he eats and when. However, unlike your son... mine doesn't like anything other than his veggies! You were smart to delay the frutis, but if you feel like he's had a god variety feel free to add the fruits in as well. Try lentils and brown rice. As a rule, my son is offerred solids 3 times a day with 3-4 "snacks" of breastmilk. At each solid meal he is also breastfed. Your milk still provides the main source of nutrients for him so don't stop that. You can also offer him up to 2 ounces of water per day if you'd like.

When we started solids I felt so lost. There wasn't any direction out there on which were best to start with, what to wait for (besides the basics, nuts, shell fish, etc). Do you feed them strawberries, tomatoes, etc? My basic rule was 3 meals a day with "snacks" of formula in between. The key thing to remember with the beginning stages of solids is that it's about the experience, not the food or nutrition, he should be getting most of his nutrition from breast milk or the bottle. We had to start with fruit and oatmeal because my daughter is constipated most of the time. We started with the oatmeal and then 1 fruit, waited 5 days, then a veggie, then waited 5 days, etc. I think we also mixed the food in with the oatmeal and gradually added more food. We let her lead the way on how much she would want. Some days she would eat a whole container, other days she would only take a few bites.