Hi Junies I was wondering if you can help me. My lo is 7 months in a couple of days and I feel all I do is feed her.

So far our feeding routine (roughly) is
730am bottle
8 breakfast- porridge and fruit
11 bottle
1130 lunch e.g pureed veg & a yoghurt
3 bottle
5 tea e.g jar & fruit
6.30 bedtime bottle
10.30 bottle

Am i feeding her too much? Also should I now be introducing finger foods and what?!

Could you give me an idea of your feeding routine & what your lo have to eat please xx

Hi, my little one is also 7 months. The amount of food that you are giving your l/o sounds great. How many ounces do you offer in each bottle? 5 bottles does sound like a lot at this stage. We have 3 bottles, 2 6oz and one 8 oz. We have a similar routine without the first and last bottle. I'm pretty sure that recommendations are 18-21 0z of milk a day. Hope that helps x

hi,

my dd is 7 months on the 17th.

We are also on 3 bottles - 2x5-6oz and a 7-8oz before bed and 3 meals,

We do bottles at (10am, 2pm and 7.30pm roughly) and meals at 9am, 1pm, 5pm (dd sleeps from 8-8.30 til between 8 and 9am so times adjust depending on when she gets up and our baby groups etc)

we were doing lots of mashed veg and dd would eat tuna and chicken and mince and breakfast was weetabix or ready break i have always done finger foods eg toast but as of this week she has decided she doesnt like the spoon so now we are mainly finger foods.

18-20oz a milk each day is needed so perhaps you could try decreasing some of the ozs or dropping a bottle by upping the quantities of food and giving finger foods as well? you can basically give your lo most things now that you would eat and that would also be more filling (my dd gradually dropped ozs and then a bottle herself) also i found by offering a bottle then food as my dd started to eat more i could switch it round so she was having a meal then as she would be fuller from that wouldnt take as much milk when offered after it. our times have just altered as we have gone. Also is she hungry at 10pm - how much milk does she take then and have you tried water? or could you extend her awake time and put her down later so you could give her her bottle a bit later and she might sleep through? (my dd wont entertain going to bed before 7.45/8 lol)

2day for example my dd has had.

Weetabix and a banana sandwich (as she now isnt eating as much weetabix etc as before as she is refusing to be spoon fed)

lunch was a couple of meatballs and spaghetti (pasta not tinned and meatballs from mince) and she has some jelly after that and dinner she had sweet potato and butternut squashed wedges (she refused the spoon again with some mashed veg and rice) i also gave her a bit of toast.

Toast and bread and brocolli are good as finger foods for starting out but my dd also has carrot, cauliflower, sprouts (strange child lol) cucumber, cherry tomatos, chopped boiled egg, pasta twists, rice cakes, sandwiches and just chunks of fruit and veg really.

Sorry this is quite a long post.

Lx

I feel the same at times too!! Olly now has dropped his 11am bottle and like others now only has 3 bottles aday at 7.30-8am (5-6oz), 2-2.30pm (5-6oz) and 7pm (6-8oz). Now he has dropped the bottle mid morning I offer him a snack and some juice so it still feels like I am constantly feeding him.

I do wonder though when do they normally start dropping other bottles?? Should they really stick to the 3 until they are a year old??

everyone has different answers on what is 'right' when it comes to the bottles and many keep them on the bottle 18 months+ but my personal opinion (from speech and oral health as well) is that they should be off bottles by a year old (round about then anyway) so i want Megan off them if not be that point then by 14 months max.

Most babies will drop a bottle themselves as they get teeth and eat bigger quantities as their appetite increases and water/juice is offered at meals to keep hydrated - a lot of babies i see have dropped a bottle and are on 2 by the 10 month mark (replaced as you do with juice and snacks - yoghurt is good for calcium and counts towards daily milk intake) they still need quite a bit of milk in their diet as bottles drop so plently of yoghurts, milk and cheese but best thing to do is replace bottle with cup when they will be able to handle it (which is why some babies arnt off bottles by 1 as it takes them to 9/10 months to get to grips with a cup/beaker) if you do that with mornign bottle they associtate it with breakfast so approaching 1st birthday you can get down to one and then the nightime bottle is always the hardest to go usually.

You can keep them on it or offer cup and do the whole controlled crying thing or persevere with offering less and less it depends your feeling and what suits your baby. We are on 3 meals and 3 bottles but Megan is drinking lots of water with her breakfast (and seems much happier now we are mainly blw and finger foods) and past few days has only had 4oz after her breakfast (2oz in her breakfast) so im hoping that bottle dropps in a month or 2 with little fuss to take us down to 2 at 8-9months (she is quite good at dropping bottles lol dropped to 4 large ones at 12 weeks and then to 3 just after xmas herself) long as they are still getting milk in their diet then there is no need to give it via the bottle e.g by 10months if your baby was able to drink it all from a cup before bed as well then there would be no reason (in my opinion) to keep using them?

As he grows he'll do things himself and you'll adapt food and times round about him as you are doing - im sure some of the other girls will have different advice/feelings/experience to share as ultimately babies are all different but for me bottles much past their 1st birthday are a bit like dummies - i hate it lol.

Lx

Thanks Lauzi, Olly dropped his mid morning bottle well before christmas so I'm thinking he may start dropping another soon. He has started taking more juice and water now through a cup but not huge amounts. I offer his cup at every meal and at his snack. He doesn't seem very interested in trying to feed himself with is cup yet and instead just likes to wave it around like a rattle lol!

A bit a futher advice, if you don't mind? Olly seems to be very much like your LO. I offered finger foods very early on and have encoraged playing with foods too. Now he gets very frustrated during meals if he doesn't have something to feed himself with. He still will allow me to feed him with a spoon but likes to have a spoon himself. Mealtimes are very messy but I don't mind becasue he has a healthy appetite and isn't at all fussy. I'm struggling to figure what I could give him as finger foods. He has sandwiches a couple of times a week, toast soilders, veg as finger foods, banana, cookies and orgnaix crisps. Is it ok to try him with meat and how is best to do this?? He still can't mangage small foods as he can't figure out how to get them in his mouth. Just wondered if you or anyone else had any ideas on how to widen the choice of finger foods I give him as I'm sure he will be wanting to solely feed himself soon.

Any advice is grateful x

My ds (now 2.5) dropped his afternoon bottle about 10 months - he was having a beaker for his morning milk by then, and I thought rather than get him used to a beaker in the afternoon, only to drop it soon, I'd drop it then. This might not be everyone's approach, but I started giving the bottle closer and closer to lunch time, so he'd be fuller when he had it and take less, so he gradually (over a couple of weeks) got used to having less milk, then one day I just didn't give it and gave him a snack instead, and he didn't even seem to notice! He completely switched to beakers (no more bottles) at 11 months.
I'm hoping to maybe stop dd's afternoon breastfeed a bit earlier, say about 8 months, as milk feeds just seem to make her sick! Obviously I'd replace it with a dairy-based snack - and obviously I'll take my lead from her.
[Edited to say it seems to the the volume of fluid that disagrees with her, rather than the milk itself - she's always been quite sicky but gained weight fine and perfectly happy, HV not concerned, but now she's on three meals it's noticeable that it's really after milk feeds]

Weaning is constant feeding! You're right that replacing bottles with snacks as they get older might still be constant feeding, but as they get older they can eat more 'normal' foods and feed themselves, so it does become a lot easier.

I'm not great with finger foods so might not be much help there - rice cakes go down well (only the baby ones, adult ones are quite salty). As for small foods, my ds was about 10-11 months before he'd feed himself raisins - it'll come with practice! I think small foods are asking a lot from the coordination of a six month old.

im the same as sunflower - give bottles sooner after food (gradually) which is why i think we'll be able to drop one soon and thats what i was meaning with replacing with cups too )

My dd now wont take anything from a spoon (sometimes yoghurt or jelly as 'pudding' or weetabix in the morning providing she's had plenty of finger foods first) i posted something similar in baby last week looking for advice but basically what i have been doing is just giving what im having (where appropriate) and letting dd feed herself and she is so much happier and although i worried she wouldnt take enough strangely she is taking less milk so must be taking more (and proof in the nappies right lol)

i give everything you have mentioned - lots of veg whole (brocolli, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms etc with meals) and fruit afterwards or breakfast (banana, melon strawberries and grapes - halved) i also give strips of cheese, she loves cucumber and tomatos - she will take pasta and spaghetti which is easier to eat as she sooks it in to her mouth ('lady and the tramp' stylee) with tinned tomatos - she loves the big plum ones halved and also cherry tomatos its VERY messy (i need to get a 'mess mat' but cant find one anywhere') but she is happy and eating which is main thing but good help me when im out - i also do potato wedges and last night she had meatballs and also a boiled egg chopped up. i have given scrambled egg (but 'rubbery' yum lol so she can pick it up more) and also omlette and french toast. i just put everything on the highcahir tray for her (i hate our highchair so it makes it easier for her to see and get to as she struggles with a bowl cause of the seat) i also give veg and fruit she cant necessarily eat yet but can suck on like apple and pear and also green beans and mini corn cobs.

she was eating bolognese and tuna before but now she wont take a spoon its harder as like your lo she isnt too good at picking up really small pieces although she is getting much better even just in the past week so dont think that'll be long so the more you offer the better he'll get with them - i just hand her tiny bits she cant get herself and she can take them from my fingers or she'll open her mouth (and i know blw says not to put things in their mouths for them but i dont mind doing this) i also bought mini bitesize weetabix which i soak for breakfast.

With meat i have given chicken and fish (not beef yet as its 'chewier') cut into strips sometimes with a sauce sometimes not as she tears pieces off by herself and eats it ok. i boil it though which sounds disgusting i know but i find it makes it 'softer' and easir to shread - you can make chicken nuggets and fish fingers with breadcrumbs and also the filled pastas - im looking for some way of making them myself as the prepared packs have alot of salt in them and also made some wee 'pastries' (just the ready made filo) with some wee things in them but wouldnt give them alot. im going to try a tuna and cheese 'toastit' for lunch tomorrow.

sorry long post again - hope thats some help?

Lx

Wow Lauz, I'm impressed by the amount (variety) that your dd has tried! We only started weaning a month ago today, so haven't had that much time to try things, and I think I'm being more adventurous than last time, but she's had nothing like that variety, well done!

Dd likes the spoon - she's bitten/sucked pieces off ricecake, bread, banana, broccoli etc when offered to her, but she won't hold it - or she'll hold it and just wave it around. If I hold it out for her to take, she uses her arms to lever herself forward with her mouth open until she reaches it with her mouth! Will persevere though.

Do you find Megan's gagging much on what she's having? - I know gagging is normal and different to choking, I just wondered - it is amazing what they can manage with no teeth isn't it!

me 2 lol...
(didnt realise that post was so long - sorry for hijacking thread and going off track cp781)

we started at 23 weeks so been going for 8 weeks now (wanted to get a bit longer but Megan had other ideas lol) she took to it really well...

i mashed everything rather than puree and did finger foods more or less from the start it was so funny seeing her chomp on a piece of brocoli like a wee tree hanging from her mouth lol i started with just veg for a month then fruit and cereal etc and went from there and its only past 2 weeks or so (and mainly last week) that she has tried so much and thats just with her now refusing the spoon (i have offered a few times long as i give her one too) she always took things well which is why i didnt do blw as such but now its harder - although she has tried alot and does quite well with it (still drops/throws alot of it and struggles to hold it) but she gives a good attempt and the concentration on her face when eating is so funny to watch espec when she reaches out, puts it in her mouth and 'chews' then looks all pleased with herself lol. there are still some grumbles i think down to frustration but she is happier this way - as i said im worried she isnt eating enough as everything seems a bit mix & match rather than a proper meal (e.g tonight for dinner she had some chicken cut into strips, 3 carrots, 2 sprouts and 2 bits of brocolli and a cheese sauce and lunch was some pasta twists, a couple if the tinned tomatos, some spinach, and some cucumber slices) but its cause she drops/feeds some to the dog (her latest discovery lol) so i keep adding things to her tray as she does this but in general she is eating lots of fruit and veg as well as having meat and dairy through cheese and butter (and she will take some yoghurt from a spoon etc if she is in the mood for it which is an improvement on last week lol) im hoping as she continues to grow and so does her appetite and her grip she'll eat more and waste less and so in turn drop more milk but she is happy and content and dropping milk so she must be.

Sorry this is so long again (i like waffling lol) with the gagging its happened a few times (i dont panic as much as i did at first) but she coughs and you can see her move it about in her mouth and she will either spit it out or chew it again - she amazes me every day with her eating as we still have no teeth - she demolished a strawberry today (halved) i was a bit paranoid about seeds but she was fine (when i give cherry tomatos she spits the seeds out lol) mesy but fun

Lx

Gosh, thanks Lauz, I have loads of ideas now

The last 3 days Olly has refused his 2.30pm feed, so I think he maybe dropping this bottle soon too. I'mm keep trying him for a few days just incase its a phase. The worrying thing is though although he is better with his water and juice he doesn't take much at all and is not interested in holding it and feeding himself....should I be worried??

nah some babies dont get the whole cup thing properly til 9 months+ sounds like hes doing just fine (and u 2) so just follow his lead (thats what im trying to do with my wee madam lol) x

Hi thanks for ur replies. It's good to see what every1 is doing but I just feel bad after reading ur replies. My lo eating is no way as advanced!! She's only just starting mashed food/ little lumps & finger foods r a no no! Iv tried toast, rice cakes, corn sticks & pear and she just plays with it, sometime sucking it but she usually flings it on the floor for the dogs!! She takes things really well off the spoon tho so I can't complain.
Anyway an update on her feeds. It's now as follows
8am breakfast
9 bottle (she takes about 4oz)
12 lunch
2.30 bottle (about 6oz)
5 tea
7 bottle (about 6oz)

big thing iv done is stopped feeding her to sleep, as I used to give her some of her bottle b4 her nap but now i'm putting her straight down. I'm also not giving her a lunchtime bottle. Trouble is last couple of days she's been so unsettled & cried for food. She won't take anymore food but stil wants her milk. I feel like I'm starving her!! Lol. I didn't give her the 10.30pm
feed & she woke up at 1.30am for a feed. This weaning lark is difficult. Any ideas of my next step re reducing feeds/ upping solids/ finger foods?