Food replacing milk feeds or given alongside them? Confused and need advice please!!

[Gingerbreadpixie]

Hi. Just starting to wean DS1, 6 mo. I fed him a little mushed carrot from my fingertip yesterday and some mushed apple today. I'm hoping to introduce finger foods in the next few days with a view to going with BLW if he takes to it.

I'm planning to increase the amount I'm giving him gradually as he gets used to the new tastes. But I'm a bit confused with regards to food replacing milk. He currently has 5x 7oz bottles of formula, 3 hours apart throughout the day. Am I supposed to give food in between these feeds (which sounds like an awful lot of feeding, he's pretty big as it is!) or am I aiming to replace some of these milk feeds with food meals?

So my current schedule for bottles is:

7am
10am
1pm
4pm
7pm

Where would you fit in the food here? I thought I might start by trying to replace the 10am feed with breakfast, then seeing if his milk routine naturally changes with the introduction of solids.

How about to start with you have lunch together at 1pm. Give him some milk so he's not ravenous, then break for food, then when he's done, let him have as much of the bottle as he wants.

He won't swallow much for a few weeks I suspect so it won't affect him appetite immediately.

You should just carry on as you are with his milk feeds for now as the amount of food he'll be having and it's nutritional value will be nowhere near as much as his milk., if you drop a feed right away he will be hungry.

Replacing milk feed with food should be a very gradual process and a personal one based on how well your DS takes to food. He should still be getting the vast majority of his nutrients from milk for a good few months to come. Solid food should be viewed as complimentary to milk for a while to come yet.

If you're going to go BLW (I've done both and BLW is by far easier and more fun!) then just stick with his normal milk schedule but offer some food when you eat your meals.

I stuck to normal milk feeds and gave food in between e.g. to start with lunch was around 12pm then dinner was at 5pm and finally breakfast got added in at 8am.

In the early days food is in addition to milk and about new tastes and textures rather than to try and fill them up. As solids increas milk should naturally decrease.

Thanks for the replies.

9:00 breakfast with water
10:30 few oz of milk (nap at 11)
1:30 lunch with water
2:30 milk (nap at 3)
5:30 dinner with milk straight after
7:30 milk

my ds routine goes like that, his only full bottle of 7oz is before bed at 7:30 all the ones in tbe day are only about 2oz, their milk falls into place around their food

At 6 months he doesn't need food more than twice a day, once is fine and it doesn't even have to be every day. How about sharing lunch together between 11 and 12 or just doing breakfast at 8?

There's lots of things to try for breakfast, ready brek with chopped bananas or berries, blueberry pancakes, banana pancakes, eggy bread, sausage and beans, cheese on toast, even leftovers

I'd maybe start doing breakfast at 8am, and see what effect it has on the 10am bottle. You mine find he doesn't ask for milk until say, 11am, and then you could do lunch at 12pm. Then the 4pm bottle after a nap and tea at 5pm.