meals every day?

[BabyMamma93]

This is going to be pretty hard to explain and get out correctly so please ask if you dont understand.
am i right thinking that a baby of my little boys age doesnt need a solid meal EVERYDAY, i do aim for atleast one, but Malakai naps when he feels like it and this usually means hes napping through breakfast, lunch and maybe dinner. ill try give a example of his feed/nap routine;

8am-8.30 : wake up
8.45am : 7oz bottle
10am : nap
12pm : wake up hungry, have 7oz bottle
1pm : back asleep
3pm : wake up
4pm : aim for a solid meal, depending how hungry
7pm : wind down for bed & 7oz bottle

GIVE OR TAKE this is not defo as he doesnt have a set routine, hes a on demand baby, eats and feeds when he needs to

i mean this has changed atm due to him being ill, hes drinking less bottles, wanting food but not eating as much.

 

[Pearls18]

Even though I weaned at 6 months both my boys were on 3 meals a day by 6.5 months (I gather that's not necessarily normal mind!) I don't know if what I did was right so I can't really advise, only that my boys were getting breakfast and lunch where you're giving milk then they had milk first thing, night, mid morning and mid afternoon around meals. My boys never slept like that during the day though I can see why you'd struggle to fit meals in lol, they usually had a short nap in the morning about 45 mins and 2 hours in the PM.

 

[BabyMamma93]

thanks for your reply.
like i say that is just give and take, he has a bottle on a morning because i did try give him breakfast but he was just too hungry and food wasnt getting there as quick and satisfying as a bottle does. then after a bottle he is too full for breakfast and i cant take the bottle mid way to swap for food as he cries after every spoonfull lol
ive tried keeping him awake so that he can have breakfast but then hes just too miserable to eat. i just cant win HAAHA
im going start writing a proper diary of when hes sleeping eating playing etc. just so i can see where exactly he is, every day is completely different so maybe if i do a diary i can go from there

 

[Pearls18]

I wouldn't stress too much hun I think they say milk is still primary source of nutrition till 1? Maybe have a word with your HV if they're good, but you're following his lead and he sounds happy, I know what you mean about being too hungry, could you perhaps try some breakfast after the bottle? He wakes up quite late, what my DS would do is wake at 7 have a bottle then I would give breakfast after 8/9 but I wouldn't wake him early as I would appreciate the sleep haha.

 

[BabyMamma93]

he is a very lazy little boy, i think this is because he can fall asleep anything in between 7pm-9pm and sleeps through.
atm i dont actually know who my HV is. do you know how i can find out?
i had one that visited be before birth and 2ce after then she didnt come again, i saw her once when i took him to be weighed but she said she was leaving and i never heard anything since...
but yeah i think im going to do the diary thing, then let the HV take a look see what she thinks.

i have tried giving him breakfast after bottle but then he seems to accept it, eat it then be a little sick and whiney as though he has tummy ache but he wont turn the food down bcos well its food!!

 

[erinprime]

At that age I would give meals between every bottle. She ended up having a schedule something like:

8:00 bottle
10:00 breakfast then nap
12:00 bottle
2:00 lunch then nap
4:00 bottle
6:00 dinner
8:00 bottle

She only napped for 45 min - 1 hour at a time back then though so I think it was a bit easier to plan around her naps.

 

[adrie]

I think it's different for every baby. My LO certainly wasn't on 3 solid meals a day consistently until closer to 9 months. I find that the more solids she began to consume, naturally, about 2/5 bottles dropped off. Even still on occasion, she misses dinner b/c she isn't interested, but still has that bottle and may snack a bit more than usual.

I just offer her what she wants and aim for 3 meals a day with a snack after lunch/dinner. She is 12.5 months though, so probably older than your LO.

Here's her general schedule

7-8am 6-8oz bottle
8-9am breakfast (cereal/fruit, yogurt/fruit, toast/eggs, veg, savory pancakes), etc.

12-1pm 5-7oz bottle
1-2pm lunch veg, meat, starch/ fruit, maybe some custard

5-6pm 5-7oz bottle
6-6:30pm dinner: veg, starch, meat; dessert or puffs; baby cookies or fruit, etc.

7pm: bedtime

 

[tublet]

I wouldn't worry too much about meals being at specific times, if lunch is mid afternoon it doesn't matter! At this stage it's more important to be consistent with offering food then the timing of it

 

[noon_child]

Maybe your LO just isn't ready for weaning yet as his sleep schedule is still like quite a young baby? (not my baby obviously).

The 6month guide is just a guide and you are allowed to follow your LO's lead. If for the next few weeks he's still more interested in milk then that is fine.

When do you eat your meals? If you could swing his or your routine so that he was awake at some of your meal times you could sit him on your lap and see if he has any interest in reaching for your food. If he wants some just give him a piece to play with, chew at etc. If he chews and swallows then that's great but he's still getting his nutrition from his milk.

Am I right in calculating he's only awake for about 7hrs in every 24? That does seem like very little time to squeeze everything in!

Can I ask are his bottles expressed breast milk, standard formula or hungry baby formula?

 

[w8ing4bean]

When i weaned phoebe and up until around 9/10 months she had a schedule like:
Wake up and bf
8am breakfast
10am bf
12pm lunch
2/3pm bf
5pm dinner
630 bedtime bf

Funnily enough her mealtimes are still roughly the same. She napped as and when, usually after the morning and afternoon feed. Food before one is just for fun! So if its lunchtime and hes hungry, still give the bottle, but offer some solid after or halfway through. X

 

[BabyMamma93]

Maybe your LO just isn't ready for weaning yet as his sleep schedule is still like quite a young baby? (not my baby obviously).

The 6month guide is just a guide and you are allowed to follow your LO's lead. If for the next few weeks he's still more interested in milk then that is fine.

When do you eat your meals? If you could swing his or your routine so that he was awake at some of your meal times you could sit him on your lap and see if he has any interest in reaching for your food. If he wants some just give him a piece to play with, chew at etc. If he chews and swallows then that's great but he's still getting his nutrition from his milk.

Am I right in calculating he's only awake for about 7hrs in every 24? That does seem like very little time to squeeze everything in!

Can I ask are his bottles expressed breast milk, standard formula or hungry baby formula?

He is very interested in food if i sit him on my lap while im eating he opens his mouth thinking its for him.
his sleep pattern is very different on a weekend to through the week, i always joke that my OH bores him bcos he sleeps almost the whole time im at work, then awake when im home but on a weekend he has tiny power naps here and there.
is it important to have a real routine for sleeping by now? and what are the guidelines for how long they should sleep at 6.5 month?

his bottles are just normal stage one formula, hungry milk made no difference he was still drinking the same amount.

i managed to give him a 4oz bottle this morning, get him dressed then he had breakfast, so bring on lunch time

 

[noon_child]

The 6month guide is just a guide and you are allowed to follow your LO's lead. If for the next few weeks he's still more interested in milk then that is fine.

When do you eat your meals? If you could swing his or your routine so that he was awake at some of your meal times you could sit him on your lap and see if he has any interest in reaching for your food. If he wants some just give him a piece to play with, chew at etc. If he chews and swallows then that's great but he's still getting his nutrition from his milk.

He is very interested in food if i sit him on my lap while im eating he opens his mouth thinking its for him.

Looks like that's a good place to start then. Maybe put a little plate for him beside yours or put stuff on his tray while you are eating.

 

[BabyMamma93]

i did this with scrambled eggs he played with it and i also had some in a bowl for him to eat.
he has managed breakfast and lunch today