When to Increase Solids from 2 to 3 Times a Day?

With my kids I have always done dinner at 4 months (so they are more full for the evening!) Breakfast & dinner at 6 months. Breakfast, lunch & dinner at 9 months. Usually when I am up to 3 meals, I start giving them a little bit of "table food" with the baby food for dinner.

Depends on what you want to do, everyone is different. Once my daughter was on solids she pretty much just ate solids. She was around 6-7 months and by then completely off baby food but she nursed for what seemed like forever. I was lucky for she was a good little eater and after being introduced to "real foods" she did not want baby foods anymore, who could blame her? She loved foods like hummus and pita bread and diced chicken. I would make soup and crunch up crackers to make it thicker for her, grilled cheese, just about anything by that age.

I fed my daughter solids 4 times a day starting at 3 months. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and a little right before bed with the rice cereal and I gave her the purees for lunch and dinner and still the rice cereal for breakfast and right before bed at around 6 months. If your son is hungry, feed him... I haven't ever heard of only feeding 2 times a day after you're sure there is no allergy to the food. Once the body is used to solid foods, it will need them more often.

depends on the child. breast milk or formula should still be the main source of nutrition (approx. 32 oz. a day), but if the child is interested in eating more and is mobile, such as crawling, scooting, rolling throughout the day, he may need the extra feeding. give it a try and see how he responds. all kids hit this stage at different times. my daughter who is now 5 ate solids twice a day until eight or nine months, but was pretty stationary. my son who turned a year on easter ate solids three to four times a day by 7-8 months and crawled and walked early and regularly. you know your child best. start with half a normal feeding and go from there. you child will guide you, just make sure that the liquid intake is still sufficient.

Hi J.,
I have 4 lil momkies & 1 on the way..& I know what you're going through.
Some signs to look for would be:
Is 2 solid meals not enough, or not doing it...Is my son still hungry?
Is he wanting more bottles/breastmilk? If so feel free to let him sit in with you at dinner time & feed him a jar of baby food and then give breastmilk/formula after because formula/breastmilk is babies main source of nutrition.

Another book that I strongly reccomend is "On Becoming Baby Wise II" by Gary Ezzo & Robert Bucknam M.D.
This book goes into setting a routine for your child & having Parent Directed Feeding (PDF)I've used this book as a reference since my 2nd baby &it has helped a lot!!
It also helped set up a routine to get my babies sleeping thorugh the night by the 3rd month.

I hope that I was of some help :)
~Aloha V.

if he seems satisfied.. let it be... he will let you know what he wants.. and relax..

Hi,
I generally increased everything week by week- so 1 meal for a week, 2 meals the next week, 3 meals the following. I did the same thing with introducing new foods- one week carrots, next week squash, etc.
Have fun!

I increased my kids solids as soon as their systems could handle it. I had all my kids completly on solids by the time they were one.

When the bottle wasn't enough and he wanted more. I had started my son with a small amount of rice cereal mixed into his formula at about 2 months old. And at 5 months old he started eating 3 solid meals a day plus the bottle. To this day his is still a hearty eater and very healthy.

The only thing a baby "needs" for the first year of life is breastmilk or formula. Any solids should come after they have been fed the milk. At this age solids are for experimentation purposes only. So, if your child is interested in solids after nursing or a bottle, then offer them. If he's not showing interest,then skip it. Eventually he'll get to a point where he is trying to grab everything off your plate. Just follow his cues. My preemie twins didn't eat any solids until 8 months, and then it was only once a day. But by the time they were 12 months they were grabbing at anything and everything. Each child is different, so it's best not to stress yourself and the child by trying to keep to some arbitrary schedule.

Hi J.,

I think your son can be the guide on this. If he seems very hungry each time you feed him, try doing it twice a day.

V.

I believe it was around 9 months. :)

You can do it now. Every baby is different ofcorse, but if the baby is good on what your giving him, then start him on a regular meal schedule. Use his bottle feeding for snack times and something wash his meal down with. If he's nursing you'll know when he wants to nurse. I always fed my children their solids with a sippy of water and nursed them after they were finished eating. For my daughter I started at 8mths giving her table food at snack time soft fruits and veggies. My son refused baby food so he started table food at 6mths.
Your baby will eat it if he's hungry and refuse it he's not. The key is to pay attention to his cues.
T. H...I have 2 Girl 2 1/2 & boy 13mths

My pediatrician recommended between the ages of 6 and 9 months and stated at 9 months he should be having 3 meals a day in addition to his breastmilk (although, my little guy didn't agree with him - hahaha :)

Good luck!

My son is almost 9 months old and I'm giving him rice cereal twice a day and fruit/veggies once a day. I haven't even given him any finger foods yet...
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if you are breastfeeding, you want them to get as much of their nutrition as possible from milk and not solid fods. solid foods are more for "fun" and practice. my daughter didn't get regular solid foods (3x/day) until well after a year old. if you are not breastfeeding, baby should get more nutrition from fruits and green leafy vegetables... yummy green smoothies (~40% leafy greens / 60% fruits -- example .5 cup of spinach .75-1 cups of bananas with a little splash of flas seed oil blended in the blender) are excellent sources of nutrition for babies.

just my opinion / experience!

Since my baby was hungry constantly, I started feeding 3 times a day at about 5 1/2 months. At his 6 month check up is when the pediatrition said to feed 3 times a day.

My son just turned 7 months and I just started him on solids 3 times a day. My ped. told me that I could do at his 6 month appointment but I just started now at 7 months. He then breastfeeds about 5-6 times a day too.

i agree with heidi. i didn't feed my children anything until they were 6 months old. i gave them only rice cereal for a few weeks. you can increase slowly (maybe start on the weekend, since you work like i do), but only you know your child. if he responds well, then it "worked"! if not, then you can always go back to 2 if he's too full. good luck - this is such a special time!!

J.- do not replace solid food for the bottle as someone advised below (giving them bottle as snack or after solid meals). formula or breastmilk should still be your son's main source of nutrition until about 9 months. solids should still be fed after milk. as others already mentioned, your son will guide you as to how much he wants to eat. it's not so much the quantity as it is the quqality of what you are feeding him.

We started giving our now 7 month old daughter solids 3 times a day when she was 5 1/2 months plus a fruit as a snack. Our pediatrician said that if she wants it, give it to her. At our 6 month appointment, everything checked out fine.