I'm in such a pickle about feeding my 9mo

[Nip]

I really need some advice as i'm really lost with feeding. Everything has/was going fine but as my DS is growing i realise things may have to change with regards to feeding.
Unfortunately i have to send him to nursery 8am-4.30pm, so i send him with breakfast, lunch, a bottle and tea. However this week he has been hungry when we get home until his night time bottle at 7pm.

This is his current routine (i've only just found out about what time they give him tea!)
7am - 8oz milk
8am - drop him off at nursery
approx 9am - breakfast (weetabix & banana)
approx 12 - lunch - cooked meal & pudding
approx 2 - 8oz bottle
3.30pm - sandwich or toast with a pudding.
4.30pm - pick up from nursery & go home
7pm - 8oz bottle
8pm - bed

I have today asked if they can give him his sandwiches/toast for lunch, and the cooked meal for tea to see if that helps him, but i'm thinking that perhaps i should feed him tea at home - but will he have enough during the time at nursery until i pick him up?

I'm so confused.. is he having enough to eat?... Is he getting a good diet?... PLEASE is there someone that can advise me!

[emmatomATO]

I suppose it depends on your little one himself. Does he seem contented ie is he waking for food during the night or particularly restless.

I think if he was mine, it seems a long time from his last food at 3.30 until breakfast the next morning, so I would be giving him some 'supper'. I can't really remember all the foodstuffs 9 months like but maybe another snack of a banana and some bread and butter (or whatever he likes) around 6pm, or something like that.

[Nip]

He doesnt wake for food during the night, and doesnt always finish his first bottle off in the morning, so i dont think he's overly hungry. But i also think that 3.30pm until 9am is a long time without something to eat.
I'm just concerned that if i give him something at about 6pm he won't want his bottle and i have thought that if anything his bottle is most important... i don't know, i'm useless at this!

[emmatomATO]

No, of course you're not useless. Your little one is unique so you just have to play around with things for a bit to see what works for him. We've all been there.

Carry on doing what you are doing if he seems happy. In a few months when he's grown so much bigger, I'm sure he'll be demanding more food himself anyway.

Or, experiment a bit. Try the extra snack around 6pm and see if he takes him bottle at say 7.30. If it doesn't work out, try something different the next night.

You're not doing anything wrong at all.

[Nip]

Thanks Emm... i'll give it a go and see what happens. I'm really grateful for your help.

[clairemow]

only just seen this Nip - my DS' nursery did the same, and I found it really helped to offer DS a snack like a banana when we got home from nursery around 5/5.30. It made no difference at all to his milk intake at bedtime, but like you I thought from 3.30 to breakfast with only milk was a long time. At home we used to have tea around 5 anyway, so it was just like he had 2 smaller meals in the afternoon rather than one big tea.

[bluejelly]

My dd always had two 'teas'-- one at nursery around 3.30 and one at around 6 with me... 3.30 to bedtime is a long time to go without food if you ask me...
Good luck

[Nip]

Brilliant - thanks so much. I'm so grateful.