Feeding Schedule for 6 Month Old - Minneapolis,MN

Hi,

I have a 7 mo old boy but this is what we have been following since he was 6 mo.

6:30-7 5 to 6 oz bottle (thawed breastmilk)
8:00 daycare gets 2 tbs cereal and 2-2.5 oz fruit
11-11:30 6 oz bottle (formula)
2:30-3 6 oz bottle (formula)
6:00 home gets 2-3 tbs cereal plus 2-2.5 oz veggie
7:00 6 oz bottle (formula)

I have requested that daycare not give him much of a bottle past 4 pm unless he only has 1-2 oz at his 2 pm bottle. This was because if he had the bottle after 4 he would eat his cereal but then only have 1-2 oz right before bed. I would rather him get a full bottle right before bed so he sleeps through the night.

It sounds like your schedule is working just fine now. Why change it? If I had to choose one from your present schedule, it would be the 11:15 bottle. I would introduce a "solid" lunch and maybe just a few ounces to wash it down. A sippy cup isn't too far from the horizon, either. I would keep the nighttime breastfeeding for quiet time with your daughter, but skip the bottle. If she starts waking in the night, you'll know she's still hungry after the last bf session and can try to fill her up with the bottle before bed again. Good luck and enjoy!

Here is the schedule we follow for our 7 month old. It seems to be working well. Hope this helps a little:

7:30 or 8:00 - bottle
11:30 - solids
12:00 - bottle
4:00 - bottle
5:00 - solids
7:30 - bottle

I agree with your thought on filling up before bed - even if it has not been proven to help a child sleep. If we have time in the morning we will let her have some finger foods while we eat breakfast. I think it is nice to feed solids around our own meal times so she gets use to eating with us.

Hi N.. My name is V.. I am a first time mom and have a 9 month old son. My son has been on a every 3 to 3 1/2 hours schedule since he was probably 4 or 5 months old, but I stopped breastfeeding early. This is his schedule up by 6:30 cereal and veggies. Around 9:30 gets a bottle about 6 oz formula. Around 12:30 fruit and 6 oz bottle. Around 4 supper cereal and fruit and then about 7:30 a bottle before bed. My suggestion would be instead of breastfeeding at 6 feed supper and then either breastfeed or bottle at 7:30 before bed. She will probably be better at taking it then when she is probably more hungry. Does she wake up in the middle of the night when she only takes 2 ozs at 7:30??? I know I am a first time mom but I hope this helps.

Hello...
I have a 6mo old son. If you are thinking about changing your feeding, here is our feeding scheduleas a reference. I would suggest seeing what others are doing also, and find which one you think you might want to incorporate parts of into your feeding schedule.
8:00am - 6oz bottle
10am - oatmeal with fruit
12pm - rice cereal with veggies
3pm - 40z bottle
6pm - veggies and 1/2 fruit
8pm - 7oz bottle
in bed by 8:30/9pm.

All children are different, so there is no right or wrong way to do it. I went through a week of trial and error, and lots of bottles tossed until we came to a routine he liked.
Good Luck.

M.

At her age the breastmilk is the most important. For the first year "solid" foods are really only for getting used to eating different tastes and textures. A baby will eat when she's hungry and if she is refusing her bottle before bed, then she doesn't need it. There is no link to a baby being full and sleeping for longer so filling her up before bed is not necessary and if she is refusing her bottle then she's full!
My daughter is 1 year old, and I've found the whole feeding thing to be the most difficult part of mothering! As long as she is eating something every 2-3 hours and getting at the recommended amount of breastmilk/formula per day you are doing great! You know your baby is healthy if she keeps gaining weight. I would talk to your pediatrician about how much breastmilk she should be drinking.
Good luck!
R.

I would not skip the bedtime feeding. That not only would help keep her full through the night, but it is also a great way to quiet down for the night and for bonding. I would maybe give her half a bottle at 6, and maybe reduce the amount of solids she gets after that (I don't know how much you give her). Eating solids under 12 months is only for learning about tastes and textures, and not nutritionally necessary. Breastmilk/formula is the only thing they really NEED, so I would make sure she gets enough of that in. I think at that age, she should be getting around 24 oz/day, so I would make sure she gets that, and adjust the amount of solids she eats to make sure she gets her milk too. It sounds like she has a pretty good schedule, but there just seems to be too much food sqeezed in during the evenings. I would definitely keep the bedtime feeding though, and would recommend that you breastfeed before bed, that is the most comforting way to put a child to sleep, and would probably also help her sleep better, though you said that isn't a problem. Good luck!

J.

We never forced a schedule on our 10 month old. We fed him on demand and by 7-8 months, he made his own schedule. Now he eats:
8:00 breakfast (cereal w/ fruit and bottle)
mid morning snack (juice, fruit/veggie puffs)
12:00 lunch (fruit or veggies and bottle)
mid afternoon snack
6:00 dinner (veggies or fruit, bottle and meat)

He just slipped into this schedule on his own. We try not to push anything he's not ready for. So many are trying to get their babies on a schedule for the convience but I find that it was easier to let him do it naturally. Good luck

Hello! I can't offer any solid advice as my daughter isn't this old yet but the best book I ever received is called "On Becoming Babywise". It's a feeding/sleeping/cycling book that you can get online or at any bookstore. There is a section in there on how to drop a feeding, etc. at this age. Good luck!

J.

I don't like schedules, I understand some do that's great. I have always fed my daughter by demand as long as she was getting enough and a variety I never cared. She is now 5 yrs.old and I've NEVER pushed a eating schedule or food on her and she is the best eater. She loves meat, veggies, fruit etc. She eats breakfast, lunch and dinner and snacks of course but it's when she's hungry not at specific times and it works great for us, she never overeats (so she won't be a obese child) I just have never made eating a big deal whatsoever. If I don't bring junk into the house then it doesn't matter what she eats. Just my opinion!

My foster son is 8 months old and has been on the 8,12,4,8 schedule for a while. I feed him cereal and a bottle at 8 am. He gets fruit, veggie and a bottle at noon and 4 pm. Then he gets the cereal and bottle again at 8 pm before going to bed.
It works great and he has slept through the night since 6 months old.
I also add his 3 oz of juice in there somewhere along the way.
Your schedule is good but I think you're right about cramming too much together at the end of the day. I would have her eat the fruit and veggies at daycare with the 3:15.
J.

Hi N.,

I saw your request and hope that I can help. I also have a 6 month old and his schedule is very similiar to yours with one difference, I combine his cereal with his morning and evening feeding. His schedule looks like this:
7:00am 7oz bottle and 2 tablespoons of cereal
12:00pm 7oz bottle
5:00pm 7oz bottle
8:30pm 7oz bottle and 2 tablespoons of cereal

The times are estimates, but I like to give him the cereal and bottle before bed and he sleeps through the night and then I give him the bottle and cereal in the morning because he goes a long time in between feedings at night so that bulks him up to start the day. I think by giving your daughter the bottle and then a little while later the cereal/fruit/veggies she is getting use to feeling full all the time and then by the time evening rolls around she is too full. If you don't have time to feed her both the bottle and the cereal in the morning I am sure your daycare provider would be glad to do that feeding for you. (I hope she would because I am also a daycare provider!!!) Then if she just has one more bottle at daycare, you can feed her a bottle when you get home and then save the last bottle with cereal for just before bed. Your current schedule is feeding her so close together that she might be to the point where she doesn't know if her tummy is full or empty because it is always full. My son goes at least 4-5 hours between feedings and he is doing great on the weight charts!! I hope this helps and please email me if you have any other questions or would like any other advice!!
Good Luck
S. S

I would give her her cereal/veg/fruit at 6:00 and offer a little something to drink to help wash down the food. Then offer the bottle/breast at bedtime.
the rest of you schedule looks good and as long as it works for veryone and baby is happy and growing, good job!
And congrats on her sleeping all night long...isn't it wonderful :)

My suggestion would be to try skipping the last bottle altogether. Your baby's schedule is very similar to the one my baby put himself on around 6 months. He's 8 months now, but I remember being very unsure about changes in his eating habits a couple of months ago. He has reflux, so we started him on solid food before every nursing around 6 months to help keep the milk down. He eats around 7am, 11am, 3pm, and 6:30pm. We haven't done a nursing before bed since he was a newborn (reflux again), and he has had no problem sleeping through the night. Best of luck!