feeding schedule for infant

[C&C's mom]

Can anyone help me! Can anyone post some examples of their 5-6 month old feeding schedules. My DD is 5 mos old and drinks 4 7oz bottles per day with 2-3 meals of solid food. Sometimes I think it is too much. Pediatrician wants her to eat stage 2 foods 3 times a day. She doesn't even seem to want that much! Please give me your DD/DS schedules. thanks


Nicole

[♥ms.pacman♥]

hmm, i guess every baby is different, but at 5mos, three stage2 meals a day sounds like a lot. my DS had just started solids at 5mos, and at the age he was just having a 1tbs of rice cereal mixed in with breastmilk, 1 or 2x a day. that's it. we didn't start stage2 until he was 6mos and could sit up pretty well. even then, it was more like 1-2x a day. my DS didn't start eating 3 solid meals a day until he was 7 mos. and even then, he was very interested in eating solids..not all babies are at that age.

[daisymommy]

I'm sorry, but that is just crazy :rolleye0014:. None of my three kids, or anyone else's kids I know have ever eaten that much at that age.

The new recommendations are to not even start solids until 6 months. Breastmilk or formula only until then. This is per the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization (WHO). So if they aren't even starting until 6 months, then does the doctor expect them to immediately start out with 3 jars of Stage 2 food?

Further, the "WHO recommends that infants start receiving complementary foods at 6 months of age in addition to breast milk, initially 2-3 times a day between 6-8 months, increasing to 3-4 times daily between 9-11 months and 12-24 months with additional nutritious snacks offered 1-2 times per day, as desired."
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/solids.htm

At 6 months my first child was eating a stage 1 jar of food, and a little bit of cereal with it 2x a day. Then moved up to 3x a day at 7 months. But in retrospect, I was really pushing it on him even though he didn't want it because I thought he needed it to survive. What can I say, he was my first child.

With baby 2 & 3, I followed their lead. They weren't interested until 8 months. They were a healthy weight and growing just fine. Started with Stage 1 for a month, then Stage 2 at 9 months, and by 11-12 months were on table food.

Follow your child's lead! If they are hungry, feed them. If they aren't, don't push it.

[doberbrat]

thats crazy. We offer solids on the 6mo bday for a photo op and then again when we remember. (usually around 7 or 7.5 mo) and then we offer meals when it occurs to us.

my 9mo, who is 99% for height and 95% for weight, doesnt even get 3 meals a day. she usually gets 2 but sometimes gets none. and she's fine with it.

We do baby led weaning. very few purees. Today, dd2 happened to get 3 meals. a few cheerios for breakfast, some pasta for lunch and dinner was lemon garlic chicken with sweet potatoes and diced reg potatoes. Yessterday she only had some green beans.

go w/your gut. if you feel like he doesnt want the food, then dont push it. Babies know when they're full.

[Dr C]

I think every baby is different and there is a LOT of variation at 5-6 months. Many kids are still exclusively formula or breast fed and are generally nursing every 2-4 hours (big range) with somewhere between 0-3 feedings at night. Some bottle fed kids take 4 oz bottles and some take 6-8 oz per feed. Obviously if they take bigger bottles they probably take fewer feeds overall but it's quite variable. For kids who have started solids, I think most are getting solids 1-2 times per day. I don't think it is abnormal to have solids 3x/day at that age but it certainly wouldn't be my expectation... I figure that most kids are doing three meals per day by 9-10 months.

At 5-6 months, my DD was just starting solids. She got solids maybe once per day and there were several days she didn't have any. She nursed or had a 4 oz bottle (sometimes a little bit more than 4 oz) every 2-3 hours, and was up at least once per night to nurse.

As long as your DD is gaining weight, she is fine. As PP said, follow her cues.

[scrooks]

thats crazy. We offer solids on the 6mo bday for a photo op and then again when we remember. (usually around 7 or 7.5 mo) and then we offer meals when it occurs to us.

my 9mo, who is 99% for height and 95% for weight, doesnt even get 3 meals a day. she usually gets 2 but sometimes gets none. and she's fine with it.

We do baby led weaning. very few purees. Today, dd2 happened to get 3 meals. a few cheerios for breakfast, some pasta for lunch and dinner was lemon garlic chicken with sweet potatoes and diced reg potatoes. Yessterday she only had some green beans.

go w/your gut. if you feel like he doesnt want the food, then dont push it. Babies know when they're full.
This sounds like us. Now DS is almost 1 and we are just now settling in to giving him 3 meals a day...somedays he still gets 2. We have transitioned to whole milk over the past week (he will be 1 in 4 days). He gets about 4 6 to 8 oz bottles a day. At some meals he will eat only 1 stage 2 jar. Some meals I just offer him "finger" foods (cheerioes, bits of fruit, bits of cheese, or bits of other adult food). Other meals he'll eat 2 stage 2s or a stage 2 plus a stage 3. I really kind of let him guide me as to how hungry he is.....

[C&C's mom]

Thanks for the replies. It seemed like too much food. I should have clarified that my DD doesn't eat 3 stage 2 jars a day. She eats about a tablespoon of rice cereal at breakfast with half jar of food. Then at lunch/dinner she eats half jar of something else. And 4 7oz bottles a day. she sleepd 11 hrs at night. I am not gonna force anything on her. I will follow her lead. thanks1

[BabyBearsMom]

DD is 5 months old. She nurses in the morning when she wakes up and at night before bed. During the day she drinks four 6 oz bottles. She usually has one TBSP of rice cereal or oatmeal a day. She is growing like a weed so I think it is working. Stage 2 foods at that age sounds odd to me, but I don't know.