About to start solids.......Would like your opinion on a few things please! :)

I am about to start my DD on solids and wanted to hear any feedback from people that have been there and done that.
My daughter will be 6 months old soon and currently her routine is like this:
7.30am - Wake-Up, have bottle
9.30am - Nap time
11.30am - Wake-Up, have bottle
1.30pm - Nap Time
3pm - Wake-Up, have bottle
5pm - Nap Time
6.30pm - Wake-Up, have bottle
8pm - Nap Time
10pm - Wake-Up, have last bottle for the night

Does this seem normal to everyone else?? It works for us and she is a very happy little bub. Just wondering how to work the solids into this routine.
I was thinking of starting at say her 11.30am feed. Should I offer solids before or after her bottle??
I thought I would start off with doing puree pumpkin & puree apple for the first week or so. What does everyone think??
Also, should I look at dropping one of her daytime bottles or stick with 5 bottle feeds a day at the moment?

Sorry for all the questions! You think I would know what I am doing considering that I also have a son and have been there before but it seems like everything I learned last time has gone flying out the window. I should have kept a diary!! Darn it! lol

Would love to hear from anyone and everyone with your thoughts/advice/tips!

Thank you smile

I was breast feeding so I still fed on demand when starting solids. Personally I would give the first meal in the morning when baby is more likely to be hungry. I would feed first and then top up with bottle/boob.

I would stick to a single food first in case there is an intolerance and you need to isolate that food. I think generally they recommend cereal first but from memory my DD didn't like it so I did single veggies, introducing one every week or so.

I think any routine is normal if it works for you and your bubs!! What you have there seems to be a very structured routine and similar to what we did at around that age with DD!
We did the midday feeding also as i found that DD was more attentive and a lot happier for solids at this time! She was never a breakfast time person (still isnt) so yeah at the 11.30 feed give her solids instead or at least thats what we were always told what to do and it seemed to work well fo us! I think puree pumpkin is a great start as its nice and sweet and smooth for them to get used to! Try apples but i have found that lots of babies take a while to like apples, not all obviously but just a lot of mums have told me that their kids hated apples until they were a little older! Also depending on what she eats will determine if she still needs milk i found at first DD wasnt eating a lot so the healthcare nurse told me to give her a smaller bottle to topher up until her next feed!

I am about to have baby number 2 and i feel the same, like everything i learnt has just escaped me!! LOL

Hope any of that was helpful for you smile

In the morning like pp says bubs is hungrier and if she has an allergic reaction you have all day to see it iykwim rather than anything happening in the middle of the night. Also its good to get that solids feed out of the way before you have to go out and do stuff so you don't have to rush home to give solids in the afternoon

But if you give in the afternoon my plunket nurse told me they are fuller over night so may wake less, but sounds like your dd sleeps through anyway so don't worry about that smile

Always give bottle first then solids until she is about 8 months old. Like pp says give food individually at first and only introduce a new one every few days if you can. I was told to try veges first rather than fruit as bubs can get a sweet tooth pretty quickly, don't know if thats fact or just someones opinion though its hard to tell sometimes!

Good luck!

ETA I found plunket really helpful when starting solids, here is their website
http://www.plunket.org.nz/your-child/6-months-t...

If bubba is happy then your doing a great job! And i wouldnt change anything smile Even when starting solids I was told by a nurse that milk is still the main meal, So to always offer before she has her puree up until she is 8-9months or so then you can offer food before hand. And since milk is still important I wouldn't drop the bottle but rather just go with her feeding demands. I found once DS starting eating more he didnt want as much milk during the day anyway because his tummy was fuller. But that wasn't until a couple of months down the track when we increased his portions and the amount of times a day he had it. As for the time of day you give it to her I would agree with the other ladies. Morning is probably better in case of allergies. smile Have fun, It is so exciting when they start solids x

HI

If it helps I vaguely remember DDs routine from starting solids and it was similar to this.

7am wake and bottle
8am breakfast
9:30am sleep
11:30am wake and bottle
12:30pm lunch
2:00pm sleep
4:30pm wake and bottle
5pm tea
7pm bottle and bed for the night

I added in one meal at a time roughly one-two weeks apart and only gave around two-three teaspoons to start with and gradually worked up to larger amounts as she wanted.

starting solids is not so much about feeding bub as it is about them learning to eat and learning tastes and textures. So don't feel like you have to rush or worry too much over how much bub is/isn't eating. just go with the flow and ALWAYS offer milk ONE HOUR before food. This is because milk if still their main source of food and needs time to digest properly before food.

good luck

This is such a wonderful post. Another mother who loves routine! smile

Solids were introduced to my twins when they were 4 months young at the recommendation of their pediatrician. By that age, they were down to 4 bottles (it wasn't an issue because they maintained their 75 percentile for weight and height + continued to sleep through the night for us) and solids were given to them after their lunch milk because at that age, milk is still the most important food for babies and also by giving them their solid at noon, I can see if there were any allergies.

I started with puree apples and stuck to 'sweet tasting' first foods. Some of the winning combos for my twins included:

Apple + Pear
Apple + Pear + Mango

Pumpkin + Carrot
Pumpkin + Carrot + Sweet Potato

I also added 1 - 2 tsps of Iron fortified baby rice cereal because iron is essential for their development.

Have fun! wink

I would be avoiding sweet tasting foods or keeping them to a minimum. Once your baby has a taste for sweet stuff, its hard to get them out of it. Given that there are very few foods that are sweet that are nutritious (except for fruit) you are setting yourself up for a fussy eater, or someone that craves sweet instead of savoury. You don't want your baby to eat because you are giving them sugar (even in the form of fruit) you want them to eat because they want to and are ready to eat. Same goes for foods high in fats or salt. their body will crave it so if you give it to them, its much harder to get them off of it. Food attitudes and tastes start at the beginning. Good luck with it!

By 6 months, introduce her to meat too because their iron stores from birth will be depleted by then. My twins love their casseroles and this is a great meal to introduce heaps of vegetables including lentils too.

Today, they are 14 months young and love their curries, pastas, sandwiches, rice, cheeses, all kinds of protein including seafood, etc.

I am lucky to have toddlers who enjoy their food and meal times are truely a pleasure whether we are at home or out.

OK, so I have been trying to get her to eat solids for about 3 weeks now and she still does not seem at all interested sad

The only time I seem to get any food into her mouth and have it stay there and swallowed is if I dip her dummy in some of the pureed food and then give her the dummy. Is that terrible of me??

I did try the baby led weaning but I think I have decided that it isn't for me. I just really can't stand all the mess and also I freak out when she bites off too much and then chokes and then vomits it up. Too stressful for me!!

Don't stress, she doesn't need solids yet. Just let her taste it, if she doesn't want it don't push it. I did BLW and my DD2 didn't look twice at the foods offered until well into 7months. She is now an eating machine. smile.

Also i wouldn't be putting it on the dummy. smile

I heard on here a saying that I love. "Food is for fun before they are one". So long as she is taking her bottles she will be fine. She will eat eventually.

Thanks for the response!

That is a great saying so I will definitely adopt that smile

Thank you for the advice as well. I will take it on board and will try and relax.