how much milk and when to introduce 3rd meal?

[PrincessScrumpy]

Okay, I've done this before but it's such a blur. dd1 was very easy to read but dtds are so different. I'm doing traditional weaning - like the idea of blw but am far too controlling :)

So far this is where we are at 6.5 months:

6-7am - bf

8-9am - breakfast (cereal or fruit puree)

10.30-11am - 7oz bottle

3pm - bf (but this keeps changing and dtd1 has gone without completely a few times)

4.30pm - veg puree and finger foods (toast, rice cakes, steamed carrot)

7pm - bedtime bottle 7oz

I'm not sure when to introduce lunch. They often sleep from 11.30/12 for 2 hours, by which time it's nearly their dinner time when they wake up. I don't think they need it yet but when they do, I just don't know where to squeeze it in. I'm also worried by how little milk they are having. It's suddenly dropped and bf are short or simply comfort sucking for teething so my milk feels non-existent. I considered swopping morning bottle for breast but actually feel ready to stop bfing as it's been a 6.5month battle and I'm pretty much done)

At what stage should babies be on 3 meals by?

I'm not sure what's recommended officially. We had DS on two meals a day until 9 months, when we finally introduced the third (breakfast - he usually sleeps longer than us so it was difficult to do breakfast - lunch & dinner he has with us).

Maybe when the time comes, tea will be a bit later and a 'lunch' around 11:45?

I have been looking at Gina Ford's book (I don't ascribe to any of her other methods but someone suggested her weaning book to me) for timings and it is working well for us. My little one also 6.5 months and we are now doing the following (EBF) which is not far off what you are doing:

7am BF

11am - solids (this becomes lunch - see below) and BF (I give as much as he wants before and after solids tho GF aims towards dropping this milk feed by 7 months; I plan to keep offering this as long as he wants it as like you think milk is most important!)

3pm BF

5:30pm milk + solids (I give EBM here)

6:30/7pm BF

The next stage (which we did for first time today) involves giving a small breakfast - and so pushing 11am solids back as the breakfast gets bigger. I gave little one bit of yoghurt and fruit after BF this morning and he wasn't that fussed about 11am solids (usually v keen! Tho still finished quite a lot) so am def going to move it back a bit tomorrow. He is always v keen for 5:30pm solids (GF basically moves this forwards until it is tea at 5pm, and the 11am solids back until they are lunch at 11:45ish from what I can gather).

These timings are working well for us so far - obv can ignore rest of her stuff (she has a lot of baby rice in 'menus' which I think isn't great for little digestive systems!)

Dd is 8mo this week and I think I introduced lunch about a month ago. I think you should just do it when you feel is ready. when you are just try and Push her nap back a bit later so she can eat around 11.45 then sleep after.