How quickly do you progress weaning? - help please!

[polar515]

My DS is 6 months next week and we have been introducing puree's for 3 weeks now.

At present, our routine is this:

7AM - BF
11AM - FF 7oz + veg puree - approx 2 tbsp of mixed veggies
2.30PM - FF 7oz
5.00PM - BF - one breast, + baby rice and fruit puree (2-3 tbsp)
6.45PM - BF - other side
10.00PM - dream feed - still having full 7oz

DS seems to be enjoying all food we've tried and will eat anything offered, but, as has been the case with his milk feeds, never seems to ask for more food at the end of feeding / shows signs of being particularly hungry in the first place (we started weaning due to his longing looks and drooling when we were eating and putting everything in his mouth). I feed more by the clock than when he asks for food, as unless we left him more than 4 hours (? this is appropriate to leave them this long with no food or drink). However, when food is offered, he always seems ready and up for it and usually ravishes it all.

My questions are;

When should we start introducing 'breakfast'? (do you wait until they are getting hungry before their 'lunch'

When do we need to look to reduce milk intake - particularly the dream feed?

How quickly do we progress the amount of solids we give him? If he's finishing what you give him, do you just offer more - how much is too much?

PS - since starting weaning DS is waking up at 5AM rather than 6-6.30AM - not sure if this is linked

Any advice welcome, thank you

At the start milk is more important than food, so don't be in a rush - milk satisfies hunger and food is more for exploring tastes and textures. I moved one to three "meals" fairly quickly, at a pace of about 1 every 10 days I think. Started at lunchtime, just sitting ds on my lap or next to me and chucking some bits and pieces in his direction - he wasn't eating loads at first though, just sucking and biting bits off, so the meal was finished once everything had been eaten or chucked on the floor. Then started doing tea which was spoonfed (porridge) and just gave him a small bowlful and breastfed after, so if he finished all the food he just filled up on milk. Then breakfast which was also a case of giving him some bits of toast/fruit while I ate mine.

I still breastfed on demand (though ds was quite predictable about when he demanded - before and after sleeps mostly - so he dropped milk feeds himself without me engineering it. He still has a formula dreamfeed now at 7.5 months, though I have reduced that once from 8oz to 4oz and am hoping to drop it completely in the next couple of weeks.