Feeding schedule

[tinyme77]

I think that my LO will start weaning at 6 months and would like to have a rough guide which tells me how many milk feeds, drinks of water, solid meals and how much solid food he should be getting each week (or at least each month) so that I have a rough idea of what to aim for. Something simple like a wall chart would be good. I've scoured (spelling?) the internet and am yet to find anything. Any useful links, books or ideas gratefully appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Lisa1302]

what about something like this https://www.hipp.co.uk/meal-planner
obviously ignore the brand if you make your own!

Drinks of water, I go for after a meal - as a small baby can not tell the difference between thirst and hunger yet - so they could fill themselves with water and then not eat food!

As for amounts of food - I just gave Izzy what she wanted, until she stopped opening her mouth or turned her head away.

 

[Connah'sMommy]

When we first weaned at 5 months we started off giving dinner at 5pm after his milk feed.
We then went on to lunch(after a milk feed) and dinner. Then the week after it was:

8am-milk feed
8.30am-porridge
12noon-milk feed
12.30/1pm-lunch which was pureed veg
4pm-milk feed
5pm-dinner
8pm-milk feed
then bed.

Amounts of solids will vary,a few teaspoons to start with then after a few weeks up the amount a little.Your LO will let you know when they have had enough.

With milk feeds your LO will start taking less as they take more solids. I worried about this for ages but connah is doing fine now...he did have 8oz before every meal and before bed but now he has 6oz before breakfast,5oz before lunch,5oz before dinner and 7oz before bed.

Drinks of water: We give water after every meal,not before,as lisa said they are likely to fill up on water if it is given before.

Hope this helps x

 

[tinyme77]

I liked the HIPP thing but if i put from 6 months it gives his first day as two full meals which isn't realistic if he hasn't started weaning at that point. I know that it should be quicker than if you start early but not that quick!

It is a bit frustrating that despite being told that we should wait until 6 months everything seems to be geared to earlier weaning.

 

[Lisa1302]

I liked the HIPP thing but if i put from 6 months it gives his first day as two full meals which isn't realistic if he hasn't started weaning at that point. I know that it should be quicker than if you start early but not that quick!

It is a bit frustrating that despite being told that we should wait until 6 months everything seems to be geared to earlier weaning.

You can just adjust the amounts to what your baby will eat. No guide is going to able to say how much your baby will take.

Every baby and parent will be different so its going to be very hard for you to find a guide that will work for you. The best thing to do is read about all the different ways to introduce food, decide what you want to do and then start off slowly giving them a taste of foods after some milk...rather than trying to get into a routine with it.

 

[ClaireRJM]

When i started Olivia she was on 7oz formula x 4 per day (breakfast/lunch/tea/bedtime) I started with baby rice, 1-2 spoonfulls about 1 hour after lunch time feed. Stuck at that for about a week then increased a little, maybe to 3-5 spoonfulls.

Then week or so after introduced same on tea time feed, then fornight or so later on breakfast feed. Was never mad on baby rice, so soon moved on2 purred fruit/veg n just introduced chicken/fish (she 6mths nxt wk)

She now has same formula with about 10-15 spoonfulls. May look at increasing formula to 8oz at some point but at mo she sleeping 11-12 hrs & seems really content with what shes getting.

Its nerve racking at start as you worry amounts etc but trust me she'll let you know what she needs. Its a learning curve for everyone, go with the flow

Good Luck xx

 

[tinyme77]

Thanks ClaireRJM. Your Olivia is 3 days older than my son! I stopped trying to feed him for a couple of days and have tried again. He's started to enjoy it and is having a few spoonfuls each time. I'm going to start trying him on other flavours and see how he goes.

I always panic that i'm not doings things properly.