Feeding Schedule for Six Month Old - I Need Help!

Hi there,
I have a 5 month old and we started stage 1 foods at 4 months. I have these questions too about what is coming next! Right now I feed her twice a day-rice cereal and a veggie-1-2 TBS of each. She still nurses the same frequency throughout the day but when I give her the food she takes less. Did you do something similar? How much food should a 5 month eat? How much food should a 6 month eat?
They recalled Organic Gerber Rice and Oatmeal Cereal due to a choking hazard-the organic doesn't disolve properly.
Good luck with the feedings!

My second boy is now 5 1/2 months. He's on stage 1 food still. He's at daycare too - Here is his daily schedule:

6am - 5 oz bottle and cereal mixed with fruit
nap 8/9-10:30/11
11am - 6 oz bottle and cereal with fruit or a container of veggies
nap 12:30-3
3/4pm 8 oz bottle
6pm container of veggies and container of fruit
8pm 6-8 oz bottle

It's really trial and error...try things and find out what works for you.

My big concern with your schedule is eating so often that there is not a good time chunk (2-3 hours) for naps. A snacking/eating often schedule promotes constant eating and therefore short cat naps. They really don't NEED to eat that often since not newborn anymore. I completely agree with Pam and Laura. I think it's better for them to have the solids with the bottles/nursing for the sake of the sleep schedule so it's not such constant eating. I nursed and then did the solids right after. Later on with table food, kids generally have a morning and afternoon snack between meals, but at that point it's solids they are eating and they often get more picky, so if they don't like a snack, they'll make up eating at meals and vice versa. Have fun with her exploring all the new foods.

Hi K., I am a licensed child care provider(since 1996). This is such a fun stage for infants(trying new foods). I would suggest a morning feeding of cereal with a bottle, an afternoon feeding of a veggie or fruit(or mixture) with a bottle, and an evening feeding of a veggie or fruit with a bottle or nursing. This would simplify things for you and her daycare provider. Good Luck!

P. (childcare provider)

Hello, I can't remember if my kids were on a 4 or a 5 hour schedule at 6 months, maybe 5. But I fed them a bottle and then ate their food, played then they took a 2 1/2 hour nap 2 times a day. I didn't break out the bottle from food. They woke up, had the bottle or nursed, fed right after and then played. Oh, must have been 5 hours, up at 7, down at 9:30 am, then 12 started all over. They did nurse at bedtime 8 pm and then I nursed again at 11 or 12 for me :)
Good luck finding what works best for you.
A.

Milk is still most important for a baby that age. You should not be replacing her nursing sessions with food just yet. Make sure to nurse right BEFORE giving some food. This is what my lactation nurse and La Leche Leaders told me. If you nurse right before, she'll get the milk she needs, then she'll taste some new foods afterwards. If you feed food first, then you run the risk of her filling up on it and then not nursing enough, which is what you don't want. Babies who eat too much food and get full will only "snack" at the breast, which isn't good because they need to empty the breast to get the fatty hind milk important for brain development. When breastfeeding, a 6 month old baby does not actually need to eat food for nutrition; it is more for a "learning-to-eat-solids" benefit. So instead of being on an every two hours alternating breastmilk and food, you should just nurse as normal (probably between every 2 to 4 hours at this age) and then at normal breakfast/lunch/dinnertime nursing sessions, present the food after you nurse. Good luck!

At this point, you can begin to line up your baby's feedings with your mealtimes. It is not necessary to have the bottle/breast separate from the solids, and in fact, it encourages snacking, rather that full feeding. Just do the breast/bottle and then whatever solids you are trying right after. I'd do veggies next after cereal, and fruit last, since the fruits have more sugar, and they might not want to try the veggies, since they are not sweet. Have fun! This is such a great age!!

Hi K.,

My little one doesn't like to eat or drink a lot so I don't want to give you advice based on my experience...we can't do solids and bottles at the same time because she won't drink her bottle if she's eaten and vice versa. But I saw that you are using Gerber Organic cereal and I wanted to let you know (in case you didn't already) that Gerber recalled their Organic cereals because of a choking hazard. You can find more info about it on Gerber's site.

Good luck!
C.