When do you introduce 2 snacks?

[Bella8]

Hi, DS is 8 month 1 week old and eats 3 solid meals a day. He usually has a big bowl of porridge with fruit for breakfast and a water, a 4oz-5oz lunch with meat/fish, vegetable and potato/pasta/rice and water. I offer organic natural Greek yoghurt with alittle fruit for pudding followed by some finger foods. For dinner DS has 3-4oz portion of vegetable with potato/pasta/rice. And again natural yoghurt and fruit offered afterwards and fingerfoods. I make all DS baby food homemade and add plenty of diary to it where ever possible. I also offer 3 x 7oz bottles of milk a day at 9.30/10am, 2.30/3am and 7pm. DS usually takes between 15-19ozs in total.

I am confused when to start offering 2 snacks and would it be best to not give yoghurt after his lunch and give that as a snack instead at 9.30-10am? (He currently doesn't take a lot of yoghurt at lunchtime). Would I be best to give his other snack at 2.30-3pm? Obviously these are DS's milk times so when would i offer his milk? I'm just struggling to fit it all in and think if I offer snacks my little man will drop two bottles of his milk and only have his 7pm bottle.

Any advice much appreciated...

[PineappleScrunchie]

Hold off the snacks until you want to drop the bottles. It sounds like he’s a great eater, he doesn’t need snacks whilst he’s having the daytime bottles.

[poddige]

It happened organically for us when we were weaning. But we never really offered snacks and still don't. Not necessarily by choice, I just never really had them growing up so didn't realise most children did.

Ours just started having bigger and bigger portions for their meals and less and less milk at 'snack time'.

Obviously if still hungry then offer something.

Realise we are probably not in the norm as see loads of children with really tasty looking snacks.

Maybe lower milk volume at snack time and offer something to eat also? If doesn't fancy the snack can top up on milk?

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Why would you need to introduce snacks? I never did. Snacks are just marketing crap youndont really need them barring the odd times lunch or tea is going to be late as you missed the bus etc

Your baby sounds like they eat realy well id leave it as it is and stick to the milk feeds

[PurplePotatoes]

My 13 month old still doesn't really have snacks as he doesn't seem to need them.

[NerrSnerr]

My eldest is 3 and when weaning we didn’t give snacks and rarely did puddings either. She wasn’t a big eater though. Now she does have snacks but not every day. I would just wing it and see how hungry he is.

[Mrsmorton]

Do you need to? I know he’s young but snacks are murder for the teeth, see it so so frequently. If you can go without & not get into the habit, you’ll reap the rewards later on.

[Bella8]

Thanks everyone, just to clear up any confusion I was meaning healthy snacks like natural yoghurt and fruit and don't believe in refined sugar for babies. It just said in a couple of weaning books I have that you should introduce a mid morning and mid afternoon snack and that's where my confusion came from. My DS currently has milk at these times and I didn't know if or when I was supposed to swap this to healthy snacks and when he would have his milk. My DS currently prefers his food to milk. I also wondered after 12 months when they're already eating a very good and varied diet would their milk be at bedtime only? I'm a FTM and I research everything and I like to hear what others think.

Thanks again.

[NerrSnerr]

With milk we just went with the flow and gradually food took over the milk. I think the snack thing depends on how hungry he is and whether you want to offer them.

[Bella8]

Thanks NerrSnerr. Yeah I think DS prefers food to milk but because they say milk is more important until 12 months it worries me. I give little guy plenty diary in his food where ever I can and also give him a daily vitamin just to make sure he's getting what he should. Today for example he refused his midmorning milk and got grumpy so instead j sat him his highchair and he excitedly polished off 14 spoons of yoghurt. Is this okay?

[Bella8]

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[mindutopia]

I offered snacks when milk feeds started to drop, so replaced the milk feed with snacks. So we started a morning snack around 10 months (when she wasn't as interested in the mid-morning feed so we moved it to after lunch). Then we switched out the afternoon feed (about 4pm) for a snack around 11/12 months. By that point she only had 3 milk feeds a day (before breakfast, after lunch/before afternoon nap, and bedtime).

It sounds like he's eating loads at this point, so I wouldn't stress about the snacks. If he's happily having his milk, for now I'd just leave it. I don't think I'd want to cut it down too much right now. I'd just re-visit it again in a couple months if he starts having less milk.

[Bella8]

Thanks mindutopia, DS prefers his food to milk and no two days are the same. I think he transitioning quite early. On a good day he'll at least entertain 3 bottles but lately he's been getting very fussy with his milk. Today he wouldn't have his mid morning milk so I sat him in his highchair and he excitedly ate plenty of yoghurt instead. I'm lucky at this point if DS will have 2 of his 3 bottles. He just seems to prefer food. I do give a daily vitamin and do add milk and cheese into his food where ever I can.

[Bella8]

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