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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Original poster

At 6months,how often/much should they be eating?

33 replies

atlasthebrute · 19/11/2006 08:26

6mo ds has been on solids since 4mo. Am trying to wean him onto formula instead of b'feeding so that he stops waking up in the night. He also seems happier if he's had a bottle feed in the day rather than a breast feed. Has anyone got a good solids/bottle routine going that they can share with me? I need find something & stick to it QUICK!!!

OP posts:
taylormama · 19/11/2006 12:13

IMHO weaning onto formula rather than BM may not make much difference to night waking. Anyway, my LO is 24.5 weeks and he has the following:

wake up: Bottle of formula - 9 oz
morning: Bottle feed (4 - 5 oz) and some porridge
Luncthime: Bottle (6 oz) and small amount of fruit/veg puree with baby rice
Teatime/early evening: (4 - 5 oz)bottle and small amount of fruit/ved puree
Bedtime: bottle (4 - 5 oz)

As you LO is 6 months you could add some protein to some of these meal times.

Hope this helps a bit.

Original poster
atlasthebrute · 19/11/2006 14:51

Thanks for that! The trouble I have is that because he wakes up in the night for a feed, he's not fussed about b/fast and so the day gets off to a bad start. Am trying to ignore his night crying but it wakes his 2yo sister. Just have to try and stretch his hunger out that little bit further...

OP posts:
littlepiggie · 19/11/2006 19:20

what is your routine at the moment?

Original poster
atlasthebrute · 19/11/2006 20:15

He wakes about twice a night for a feed. Wakes up at around 8, try and give him b'fast followed by BM. He's never interested in either because he's full from the night feeds. He'll want BM mid-morning and usually conks out for 10-20 mins in the car on the way to somewhere. He's getting v tired and hungry for solids by 12, and he'll eat loads followed by more BM. Sleep (hopefully) for anything from between 30mins - 2 hrs. More BM mid-avo then tea (puree shovved into mouth between cranky wails), bath, feed and bed. Then he'll wake 30mins after he goes to bed, wants to spend some time with us in the living room before finally going to bed around 7.30-8pm. He gets by on hardly any sleep and it's tricky getting him to bed without feeding him first.

OP posts:
littlepiggie · 19/11/2006 20:47

what times is he up? do you do an 11pm feed?

We do 10-30pm feed, he then wakes at about 6am for bf, has breakfast at about 8, then bf at about 9am.

Original poster
atlasthebrute · 20/11/2006 08:03

He sometimes wakes for a 9pm feed. That's the latest I can do - I have to go to bed so early because I'm so tired! My dh leaves for work at 4.30am, so I can't ask him to do it really. Ds wakes again usually around 1.30am and around 5.30am for his morning feed. It's the 1.30am one I want to cut-out and to move his 5.30 a bit closer to 6!

OP posts:
sashasmama · 20/11/2006 09:44

hi there
i started dd on solids a month ago.... like you i am not sure if she is eating enough / too much / often enough / too often!!! nice to read your posts...

anyway her routine is two meals of solids at the mo:
5.30 am milk 180 to 210 ml
8.00 am feed rice cereal or pureed fruit or vege
pack off to childminder's on the way to work
10am milk before nap 240ml
2pm milk 240ml
5 or 6pm food, same as above
8pm milk before bed 180 to 240ml

i have just started to eliminate her night feeds as it was gettin ridiculous - increasing rather thhan decreasing.. sigh... loads of crying still... dh has resorted to sleeping in the guest room till i sort her out so at least one of us can function the next day at work!

one thingi got to say about weaning off bf: for me at least it was a myth that formula fills them up more... she still wakes up at exactly the same times. it's the body clock that needs fixing i think...

Enid · 20/11/2006 09:48

can you give a drink of water at night?

can't help as dd3 always wakes up starving - her day goes like this
6/7-ish wakes up has bottle (5oz)
eats bowl of banana porridge
toast fingers
11.30-ish lunch - sheperds pie and broccoli or lasagne or something, plus finger bits plus a yogurt then a bottle of milk

sometmie in the afernoon she will have a 7oz bottle of milk
then tea, veg in cheese sauce and sandwiches
then a bottle before bed

I get a bit worried that she doesnt drink envough bottle milk but she would rather have food IYSWIM. she drinks water out of a cup (she is OBSESSED with her cup of water)

Enid · 20/11/2006 09:50

sashasmummy dd3 is almost 7 months and she would deffo be hungry if she was eating just two pureed meals a day

Original poster
atlasthebrute · 20/11/2006 13:07

It's difficult when at this age, their need for solids and milk is equal. Often, if I give ds BM/bottle then he's too full for ages for his solids. He'll rarely have solids followed straight by milk either. It's all in the timing! Sashasmama - I put ds onto 3 solid meals a day so that he didnt gorge himself so much at teatime. 3 small meals a day work well for him at 6mo, if only I can get him to fill up on his b'fast a bit more!

OP posts:
Original poster
atlasthebrute · 20/11/2006 13:10

Enid- glad to hear your LO has a healthy appetite! It sounds like she's getting plenty of calcium/protein from her food, so I wouldn't worry about her shunning the milk in favour of the solids.

OP posts:
Original poster
atlasthebrute · 20/11/2006 13:12

oh, and yeah, ds is OBSESSED with water in cup too! my dd was/still is the same. It goes everywhere!

OP posts:
Tinker · 20/11/2006 13:15

at Enid. My 18-onth old doesn't eat that much.

MandyBOO · 20/11/2006 18:46

ds is nearly 7 months and eats:-

7am 7oz bottle of milk

7.30am - weetabix / porridge

11.00am - another bottle of mile

12pm - lunch will be cheesy lentils or tomoato pasta or chicken and veg followed by yougurt and fruit

3pm - bottle

4.30pm - tea will be pasta/veg/chicken (something diff to lunch) followed by fruit

6pm milk

Some days he eats loads and other times not so much. HTH X

Scootergirl · 20/11/2006 18:54

Hi there. My DS is six-and-a-half months and he has a BF about 6am (sometimes nearer to 5am but writing that would make me too depressed!)Then he has Ready Brek or Weetabix with 3oz of formula when his older sister has her breakfast about 8am. Sometimes he has toast bits too but chucks them around rather than eating them. Then it's naptime for about 45 mins.
He then has milk about 10.30 then lunch at midday - the usual mushed veg and chicken or fish pie or something then yog or fruit.
Nap at 1pm then more milk when he wakes up, then tea about 4pm so he's ready for a 7oz bottle at bedtime which is at 7.15 ish after a bath with his big sis. He normally wakes up in the night but as a temporarily single parent (DH on the frontline of the global war on terror in Afghanistan - his words not mine!) I'm really trying to knock that on the head. Hope this helps

littlepiggie · 20/11/2006 20:21

what time is he having his tea, bedtime milk and bedtime?

sashasmama · 21/11/2006 02:25

wow! your babies are eating loads! i forgot to mention that dd is 8 onths. she was 6 weeks premature so that makes her 7 months developmentally. on my paed's advice i only started her on food at 7 months, so she has only been eating for a month. how long did you all feed semi solid purees before going on to things like pasta/ lasagne /meat etc? and did you start on three meals straightaway?

she seems to get hard stools easily in spite of drinking loads of water... that's why i am going slow. and i am also a bit scared of starting her on wheat or cheese products yet (worried about allegies and tummy upset)...

Did you guys encounter any problems like that?

hi enid, i am absolutely amazed at how well your baby eats... wow! so i guess the above question is definitely for you. and to your earlier question, i do give dd water at night if she is hysterical... but i feel i am at the stage of sleep training where i can start to eliminate water... BUT after reading all your posts i amthinking i should perhaps increase her food slightly!

atlasthebrute, i know how you feel! snap!

AitchTwoOh · 21/11/2006 02:33

sasha, my dd is 11 months and sometimes she doesn't get three meals a day. she mostly does, but for the first few months of weaning we did breakfast and dinner with snacks at lunch time. (she has a big nap roundabout then). how much she eats varies absolutely wildly. so long as she's happy and there is plenty of milk available for her then i personally think it's best not to get one's knickers in a twist about amounts.

Original poster
atlasthebrute · 21/11/2006 07:47

Littlepiggies, my ds eats veggies/chicken slop at 5pm followed by something to gnaw on like half a rusk. THen he has his bath and has a BF at around 6 - 6.30pm. After much faffing around, in his cot and in the living room, he's usually awake by 7.30 and that's when I'll try to give him some formula in the hope that it will see him through the night. I always mean to wake him up at 9pm for a final BF but never have the heart or energy to wake him. I know I should though!

OP posts:
Original poster
atlasthebrute · 21/11/2006 07:51

Having read all your v helpful routines, I think I need to give ds more protein. It's hard though 'cause at one point we thought dairy might trigger his eczema. Still waiting for the dietician appointment to come through. Anyway, I've been holding off giving him yoghurt, cheese etc in case it makes his skin bad. Then again, he's managing OK so far with formula, which obviously is cows milk-based.

OP posts:
Original poster
atlasthebrute · 21/11/2006 07:55

sashasmama - ds is 6 mo and has been on solids since 4mo, but he throws at wobbly at the merest hint of a lump in his food. He's still quite young, though. Just go with the flow as regards to lumpiness/chewiness. As your dd was prem, she may take a little longer I guess. Yoghurt etc is usually fine by 6mo

OP posts:
littlepiggie · 21/11/2006 21:06

have you tried giving him his tea a bit earlier?

sashasmama · 22/11/2006 03:26

atlasthebrute: i read somewhere that ypgurt and cheese is easier to digest than full cream milk as the lactose is broken down somewhat in the culturing process. apparently even some lactose intolerant people can take yogurt... so i s'pose it's the same theory with formula, even though it's based on cow's milk, perhaps it's got less ooomph in the lactose dept.. ?

BUT stupid me just re-read your post and realised you were talking about skin lergies and not stomach intolerance... duhhhh. well, hope the info above still helps!

sooo i gave dd some heinz baby yogurt this morning... fingers crossed! i think i may still hold off on the wheat for a few weeks tho...

thanks for your response aitchtwooh... good point!

Enid · 22/11/2006 10:13

sasha dd3 doesn't eat massive amounts of food at each meal but yes, she enjoys her food!

but I do find some days she is just not hungry so I don't push it

we did go straight onto lumpy mashed foods and tbh she never had a problem with it, she likes it quite runny but doesn't mind lumps it seems.

We've not had a problem with constipation, she loves her cup of water and I have to force it off her as otherwise she would drink it dry and never drink any milk at all!

if you go through a stage of just giving water at night you should find that they are a bit hungrier for breakfast and eathing will increase. good luck!

deaconblue · 22/11/2006 15:34

A word of warning - moving from breast to bottle made my lo's sleep worse in the night. He had gone from 7 til 6ish for 2 1/2 months until I gave up feeding. We've only had two unbroken nights in the 6 weeks since