Introducing snacks

[Irons]

My little girl is now 9 months old. She has the following feeding routine:

-7:30 - Breakfast cereal and fruit
-8:30 - Bottle
-11:30 - Lunch with yoghurt and/or fruit
-13:30 - Bottle
-16:30 - Dinner with rice pudding or biscuit after
18:30 - Bottle

She will be starting nursery school in a month and I know they offer snacks between meals. So I was just wondering whether she needs these snacks and should I be introducing her to snacks now. She has recently started waking earlier and earlier in the mornings and I was wondering whether I am feeding her enough (she is very mobile and active for a 9 months old).

Please help, some advice needed. Thanks.

[Kathyjelly]

If she's hungry, she'll cry so you'll be able to tell. Maybe offer something at 10am and see if she's interested.

[Irons]

Thanks Kathyjelly. That's why I wasn't sure about snacks because she doesn't act hungry. She's quite content until lunch time and same in the afternoon until dinner. Sometimes I give her a rice cake about an hour before dinner.

I'll try the 10am snack and see how she goes. Perhaps she'll balance it out by drinking a little less milk in the afternoon.

[2catsand1rabbit]

Hi,

I've only just started giving my 16month old snacks because he suddenly seems to want them. I wouldn't worry about changing your routine if she's happy. Let nursery do what they do. They'll give you a report of what she's eaten which might give you some ideas.

[TurtleAnn]

I didn't bother about snacks unill last week when DS (11-mo) suddenly decided he wanted 1-nap in the middle of the day thus is starving when he wakes up at 1.30 and too hungry to finger eat, just wanting the bottle (I am trying to get rid of).
So I give him a cookie at 10.30, just before he goes down for his lunchtime nap and it seems to work. But when his nap skews and he is awake at lunch again, I probably will drop the snack, as it isn't something I or my husband naturally do.

[Irons]

Hmm, interesting. Thanks for the input ladies. It's good to hear what other mums are doing.

Perhaps I will wait on the snacks as she is still a bit young. I will see how she does at nursery.

Good luck TurtleAnn with getting rid of that afternoon bottle. I'm not sure yet how I will get that done. Perhaps that's when the snacks will come into play.