When to Eat

kudos to you for still breast feeding! I breastfed both of my children for 9months but with my youngest i found him to be hungry ALL the time and it started around the 6 mo. mark. After much frustration and not enough sleep i consulted my obgyn and she tested my milk, we found that i was no longer producing enough nutriants, she suggested replacing 2 feedings (breast feedings)a day with a few ounces of formula first then breastfeed and IT WORKED (my sons ped. also aproved of this technique) Good Luck!

When I started solids I fed until she was full. I let her decide how much for the most part. There cues she gave me that told me she didn't want anymore. I scooped some veggies and cereal on the same spoon and the same with the fruit. I breastfeed and then would feed her solids. I'd feed breakfast, lunch, and dinner for solids. The naps were around around 9am and then a pm nap until she was over 1 year old and now at 2 years old she has one nap at 1pm. Good luck.

What a beautiful name! I love it. Definately relax about his feeding schedule. I know it is really easy to get nervous about food and timing. My daughter was born 2 months early and we encountered many challenges regarding feeding. I agree that it is best to let you son let you know what he needs. As long as you are feeding him nutritious foods [oats, vegatables, and fruits] you don't have anything to worry about. Just make sure to push the vegatables! Keep up the good work.

Hi S.- I am actually having the same questions now with my little girl Sofia who is 5months old. She has already started fruits and veggies along with cereal (ok'd by the doc)
We do not really have a set time for everything like everyone else seems to have already established but this is ours...
6:30a-7:30a wake up and play 1 hr
8a-8:30a feed 1tbls cereal (maybe add bananas) 5oz bottle
9a-10a nap for alittle less then 1 hr
11a play, maybe 5oz bottle if hungrey
12p 1/2 jar of 1st foods veggies 5oz bottle
1p short nap 20-40min
2:30p-3p 5oz bottle or finish what was left from lunch
5:30p-6:30p other half of veggies if daddy remembers, 3oz bottle
7:30p-8:30p 5-6oz bottle then bed
wake up around 3am for 4oz bottle
We are still working out the timings but this seems to work for now. She was 6lbs 1oz at birth and at 4mo checkup was 12lbs 4oz.
Maybe some of this might help you... Good luck
S. J

As for when and what to eat, we followed the nurse/feed when hungry, sleep when tired, no schedule for years model. When solid food entered the picture we did have regular mealtimes but still no set schedule. This doesn't work for everyone (I worked from home for first 2 years) but it worked really well for us. Some families prefer more structure, we didn't. Our ped urged us to allow our son to nurse and eat as much as he wanted when he wanted, his philosophy is that babies and young children know how much they need, same idea that force feeding is bad and a waste of energy and can create negative food associations. As long as the food options are healthy, they'll get the nutrition they need, especially if you are continuing to nurse. (This isn't nec true for all kids, but it was for ours.) My son now 5 is tall and slim and eats everything. There are days when I think OMG he's not getting enough of this or that, and days when I think only Mac and Cheese and oatmeal, this is a disaster, and other days when I think how could he consume that much broccoli and cheese and apples and turkey and still want waffles and ceareal. As for sleeping, our kid slept thru the night pretty early on, he also slept with us til about 2 yrs, which is also when I stopped nursing at night. Day time nursing stopped around 18 mos, later than I intended but he got his first and only ear infection (ever) at 12 mos and we'd kind of started to wean and then it was back on the nursing for a while. So I'm not really answering your question except to say that consider the "rules" guidelines and then do what you think is right for your kid. They are all different and needs change constantly.

I have an 8 month old foster child and here is our schedule with him:
8 am: 3-4 T. cereal and what's left of the bottle after making cereal
noon: 1 veggie or 1/2 of a 3rd foods meal and 1 fruit followed by a full bottle
4 pm: Same as noon
8 pm: Same as 8 am
I also try to fit in his 3-4 oz of juice somewhere during the afternoon.
This schedule is so simple to follow because it's just every 4 hours. After each meal he takes a nap except for the 8 pm when he goes to bed and sleeps through the night. He's the best sleeper in the house :o)
Someone else had asked a similar question not that long ago so you might want to check back there also.
Good luck,
J.

My son is exactly one month older than your baby boy and we had (and continue to have) feeding questions as well. He is still eating solids two times a day and taking 2 (longer) or 3 (shorter) naps during the day and sleeping through the night. I think your schedule looks good, but if he seems to want more, I'm sure it is fine to give him more. Babies know a lot about what their bodies need! My son is almost 8 months old (on the 18th) and he weighs 24 lbs, so we are not in a rush to give him more food. Ha ha. But when he needs it, he lets us know! If you want to add more, I suggest adding the fruit at the 3:30 feeding (fruit and milk). He will let you know if it works.
My baby's schedule:
- 7 wake up and have bottle
- 9 nap
- 11 lunch: oatmeal, fruit and water in a cup
- 1 nap
- 3 bottle
- 5 (sometimes) short nap
- 6 dinner: vegetable, meat (sometimes), barley cereal, and water in a cup
- 8 or 8:30 bottle and bed
Good luck!

Hi S.,
There are no right or wrong answers to your questions, just what seems right for you and your baby. My son at 6 months could and would eat a half a cup of applesauce, then some cereal and then 4-6 oz bottle. I have no idea what baby eats 2 tbs. of food, so don't worry. He even plumped up a bit, but it was all fine. A few months later his eating desires leveled off, he started walking and lost weight. None of that is abnormal. He is our 2nd child and we realized we were much more ridgid with the 1st, by the 2nd, you let the child guide how much, when and what they want to eat (within reason). If your baby wants to eat more, give him a bit more. If he turns away from food when he is full, that will help guide you. Around this age, my son took an AM nap for about 2 hours and a PM nap for 1-2 hours, but it varied. Sometimes he would do a 3 hour nap from 11-2 and would be done napping for the day. Be confident to try different things and let what feels and seems right for you and your baby guide you. When you go in for your well baby visit, you will see that unless something is very off, sleeping and sleeping patterns vary and are all "normal". Take care!

Hi Stepahanie,
I would, with you being a first time mom, go with the flow, he'll let you know when he's hungry and when he's not. As for the 2 tbs or 4 tbs i'm not sure how or why you went with that amount?? Mix up some cereal for him with your breast milk, feed him some of that, he'll let ya know when he is done with it, then give him some breastmilk if he wants that. He is getting older and now days these lil ones are eating things alot sooner than my kids were at that age or maybe even alot sooner than i did. I'm 46 and my kids are now 15 and 17, they teach you alot that's for sure. Sooo relax new mom and go with the flow with that lil one of yours. Don't stick with the 2 and 4 tablespoons of foods. Cereal and fruit either together or seperate is good for him at that age, morning and night.
Hope all works out good for you.

I agree with Jennifer and Brooke - Let your baby be your guide. My 8 month old daughter isn't really on a schedule at all, except evenings. But, I let her eat as much of the veggies or fruits she wants, which is usually an entire container mixed with her cereal. She still eats about 24 ounces of formula a day and has fruits and veggies at least twice a day. If your son is acting hungry, just give him more. The list from the doctor is a suggestion as every baby s different.

Your son's eating and sleeping schedule sounds almost exactly what my daughter had for a long time (My daughter is how 2 years old).
She had 6 to 5 feedings per day and ate a lot with each feeding. She would eat a whole jar of veggies or fruit + 4 ounces of breast milk in each feeding, or 4 tablespoons of cereal (4 tablespoons that's before it was mixed with water) + 4 ounces of milk, or anywhere from 6 to 10 ounces of breast milk. I was giving her cereal in her second morning feedong, and veggies or fruit during her last feeding.
As far as sleep, she was doing 2 naps during the day - one between the first and second feeding, and the second one between the second and the third feeding.
And she was also sleeping through the night, 12 hours.
I would say your son is doing very well, and you should not be worried. You can also ask your doctor.
The thing is, no matter how often you will feed your baby, he will still get approximately the same daily amount. If you feed him more often then he will eat less with each feeding, and he will eat more with each feeding if feeding are more spaced out. So, altogether, if he is steadily gaining weight, the feedings are ok.
I think you can give him more solids more often, but keep in mind that then he will drink less milk (or formula) which he still needs at that age (about 18 ounces or more daily).

Good luck! :)

Hi S.!!

Personally, I feel whatever you are comfortable with, go with. If it were me, I would be feeding him 3 meals a day of solid food. Maybe change the 8 am and 1 pm feeding to food and breast. Then change the 10:30 to just breast or bottle. Soon he should be eating with you at meal times. That is what I did with my daughter and she was 18 lbs at 6 months (she was also born 9 lbs).

Good luck!

My 8month old son and I went through a similar situation trying to follow guidelines around 6 months. He really was still hungry after breastfeeding, so I just started to feed him solids before every meal. For him this was and still is 4 times a day. We tried solids twice a day but he was ravenous at mealtimes. I really don't pay too much attention to the list from the doctor's office. We let him eat as much as he wants at every meal (which is a lot) and he is growing fine. About naps, I think every baby is different.

S.,
I am the mother of two and also find myself struggling with the feeding schedule with my son. My daughter was very easy. My son is 6 months and my schedule is similar to yours:
7am wake up
7:30 2 Tablespoons oatmeal & 7 ounce bottle
11:30 7 ounce bottle
4:30 7 ounce bottle
8:30 2 Tablespoons oatmeal & 7 ounce bottle
(then he sleeps through the night)
He weighed in at 20 pounds 8 ounces at his check up (he was 8 pounds 14 ounces at birth) and is just going to be starting veggies this week. My doctor recommended that you can give your child anything that you have established in their diet and then add things. For example, since your child has been getting cereal and veggies you could continue with them but the cereal has little nutritional value. My suggestion from my doctor was to add 2 tablespoons of veggies in place of the cereal. By his first birthday you want to have your child eating from all the food groups.

As far as naps go, we are lucky if my son sleeps 1 1/2 hours a day. He goes to bed at night around 9 and sleeps until 5 or as late as 7 if we are lucky. The doctor says this is all normal. The more activity your child has during the day the more he "should" sleep. I am not sure if this is the case because I have a busy in home daycare with 5 other children playing around him all the time and he still doesn't seem to nap. I hope this helps....please contact me if you have any other questions or concerns...I would be glad to help.

S. S