When would you fit meals in?

[sw121]

I'm just starting to wean LO and I'm struggling to fit a meal in at a similar time each day. LO is very consistent with his milk feeds, he has them generally at 8am, 11am, 1.30pm, 4.30pm and 7.15pm. I initially planned to introduce lunch first of all at 12. This is generally fine if we've been in all morning and LO has had his morning nap, but several mornings a week we go to baby groups where he's awake all morning and he falls asleep on our way home, so he's asleep at 12, then too crabby to eat when he wakes up (he just wants his milk).

I've therefore ended up doing some feeds at lunch times, but on other days I'm doing it at teatime (about 5.30pm). I'm a bit confused about where you're meant to fit meals in inbetween all the milk feeds - can anyone give me any guidance?

I've tried to give him part of his milk then start on his solids, but he just gets too upset that his milk has been taken away.

 

[Lara310809]

for a while I would just feed her when we had time, so she would usually get her breakfast at 10am, lunch at 2pm and dinner at about 6pm. What really helped was getting a routine in place. She dropped down to one nap per day, and would usually take it at 1pm. I soon learned that she would sleep better on a full stomach, so then it was my aim to get her fed before 1pm; meaning I would give her lunch at 12pm.

In the morning she dropped her bottle, so she would refuse it on waking, and it meant I needed to give her her breakfast ASAP, so now I do that first thing.

I give her dinner at 5pm, simply so that she's done eating before it's time for her bath at 6pm, and then she's ready for bed at 7pm.

Without knowing this, I don't think I would ever have figured out a routine.

 

[sw121]

Did she just drop down to one nap and her morning feed as she began to eat more?

 

[jenfen]

With your lo's milk routine I would introduce a breakfast mid morning and take it from there.
My lo dropped his late morning bottle really quickly after I introduced breakfast so now I make his cereal with formula milk so he gets a milk top up without having a bottle. Its easy enough to take breakfast with us to groups etc. I just take some formula in a bottle and the cereal in a lidded bowl, mix and feed!
After a week of doing this, I started doing a supper at 5-5.30pm. These are both TW meals so for lunch (introduced last) he has a sandwich or other finger foods made from whatever I am having.
Just work it around your schedule. He might start drinking a little less milk but as long as he has around 18-20oz a day it'll be fine.
My Lo's naps have stayed about the same so far but he does sleep a little better at night now all 3 meals are in place.

J x