Feeding Schedule for Nearly 5 Moth Old

Hi N.,

My daughter was strictly breastfed her first six months. Then we started adding the cereal, etc. She was plump and healthy and happy. It seems to me weaning is the last thing you would want to do at this young age.
She doesn't need all that food. Breast milk is perfect! If she's not teething, then she doesn't have any way to chew yet either. So why not wait til she starts getting teeth? And sits up by herself. (If she isn't already.)

Good luck to you!
"Grams"
from the Pocono Mts. of PA

Wow, you're right. That is alot of food!
I have a 7.5 month old and we have just in the last few days started with three meals.
My son nurses in the morning and followed now by a couple tablespoons of full fat greek yogurt with a half or a full jar of baby food. Around 9am he has a 7 ounce bottle of breastmilk. At Noon he gets another 4 ounces of milk and 2 tbsp of cereal and a 4 oz jar of veggies. At 3:30pm he gets another 7 ounce bottle. At 6pm he nurses followed by two jars of baby food. Then at 7:30 he nurses again to go to sleep. That last nurse used to be a comfort nursing, but now that he has gotten so hungry it has been more important to fill him up before bed. He'll sleep through the night until 5 or 6am.
On the weekends I exclusively nurse him, no bottles, so the timing is a little different, but I feel like he is still getting about 30 ounces of breastmilk a day on top of the food.
We started with cereal and baby food at dinner, then when he got hungrier we increased it to two jars and moved the cereal to lunch. Now that he is taking that fine we added the yogurt in the morning. I feel that he needs the protein and fat that the yogurt has. We slowly increased the amount of food, making sure that he still took the same amount of breastmilk.
My son is pretty big, in the 80-90th percentiles for height and weight, and according to what I read on the internet this is alot of food for a 7 month old. So your baby may not need this much. When my guy was taking 40 ounces of milk a day at 3-4 months I had friends whose kids were taking 25 oz a day and growing just fine. So I think it's good that you are looking at cues like spitting up, etc.
I am not a huge fan of cereal. It fills them up but doesn't provide any real vitamins or minerals. So we keep that to 2 tbsp a day and I stick to the oatmeal or mixed grain, the rice really doesn't offer any benefit I think. Veggies are good and so is fruit! See what she likes!
Good Luck!

Hi! My daughter is six months old and her pediatrician said that infants need to drink at least 21 ounces of milk. When she wakes up in the morning between the hours of 5:30 and 6 am she'll drink six ounces of milk. Around 7:30 am she has her breakfast of rice cereal (mixed with milk) and half jar of fruit. She may have another 2 ounces of milk before her nap time around 9-10 am. When she awakes from her nap she'll have another 3-4 ounces of milk. At lunch time, she has her vegetables (sweet potatoes, peas, green beans, squash) with beef, chicken, macaroni(stage 2) with fruit (half jar). If she's fussy (since she's teething) she may not want to eat, but she'll have some milk. We just wait it out until she's ready for her lunch. After her afternoon, nap she'll have another 3-4 ounces of milk. At dinner, she'll have her meal with veggies and half jar of fruit. By bedtime at around 8 or 8:30 pm she'll have two ounces of milk. Doc says I can give her Poland Spring water which she loves drinking in her new sippy cup with the two handles. The nipple soothes her gums too. I hope this helps! I'm sure your daughter will be fine!

I am also wondering why your peds is telling you to feed the little one that much!
My baby (11 months now) was exclusivly nursed for the first 6 months of her live, she was born April 09 and we started solids (vegetables first!) right before Hallowe'en) she now gets some bread with meatspread or creme cheese in the morning, lunchtime its mixed babycereal with fruit and dinnertime its usually what we eat only in smaller chuncks, she loves noodles and small chuncks of veggies.
I started with the solids with pureed veggies first at lunch time (parsnips, pumpkin, carrots, squash) then after about 3 weeks added the babymeats, then in December started with cereal at night time, in Jan we turned it around to cereal at lunch and food at night, as she wanted to eat with us.
Oh, she still doesnt get formula just mommys best and some fennel tea sweetened with a splash of apple juice!

My son is turning 6 months next week. He is happy & healthy & is eating vegetables, fruits, cereal & milk! So this is his schedule that he has dictated which by the way helps him sleep @ night!
6am - milk
9am - fruit mix 1/2 jar or little bit more or cereal
11am - milk 4-5 oz
2pm - vegetables & fruit half of each w/ some juice or milk
5-6pm 5oz of milk
7-8pm beechnut nighttime cereal
11pm 5-6 oz milk
The 5pm & 7pm I flip flop sometimes depends on whats going on. Most of the Moms in my Moms Group are on a similar schedule too! (There was 12 out of 45 moms prego @ the same time! Must have been the water! LOL!) Also this schedule was approved not only by our pediatricians but by 3 different neonatologists!! Hope I helped!

Dear Mother of 5 month old, babies will let you know when they are hungry your natural feeding is more than enough along with the vegetables and fruit. Yes you are feeding him/her too much that is why he/she are spitting up. Fifteen minutes of the natural feeding is more than enough if there is an issue with making time pump give tow to three 6 oz bottles a day with at breakfast cereal they eat with their hands and at lunch furit and vegetables as well at dinner. You will notice a quick change in the spitting up.

Lovingly written
Mother of seven
God bless!

N.,
Congratulations! And Awesome work on breastfeeding!

You do what's best for you - but your baby doesn't need to start weaning until she's a year - according to AMA, and 2 years - according to WHO.

Just as my son was turning 4 months, research came out that waiting on solids until 6 months was healthier. Have things changed again?

She may not be tolerating the solids, rather than the breastmilk. The formula may have touched off a sensitivity too. Soy has that tendency, and cow's milk is just too hormone laden unless it is certified organic.

Not all babies are ready for solids before age 1, either. I wish I could just give you some sites for research, but I don't have them anymore. : (

As far as schedule, baby made his own schedule. He knows when he is hungry! He knows when he is not! And he ALWAYS made sure I knew which one it was. : ) (duh Mom, I'm hungry, feed me BEFORE you diaper me, will ya?)

Not much of what you want, but it's what I learned along the way...
M.

Mine nurses/takes a bottle of breastmilk ( when I am at work) every 3 hours. He also has 2.5 ounces of baby oatmeal for breakfast and about 3 ounces of rice cereal for dinner. Then right before bed he has a bottle with rice cereal in it and wakes up to nurse once in the night. As far as I know that's about right for a baby about his age ( he'll be 5 months on April 5). Did you ask your pediatrician why he suggested starting food early?

I'm surprised your pediatrician wants her having all these solids at not even 5 months old. Pediatricians have been suggesting not even introducing solids, including rice cereal, until babies are 6 months old for years...at least going back to my middle son and he's 6 1/2. The breast is what she needs now...not the solids. Before you wean her of her main source of nutrients, I'd back off on the rice cereal to once a day and not introduce the other solids until she is at least 6 months old.

Hi. My 4 month old is 16.5lb so although a little younger is probably quite comparable. He has an 8oz bottle of formula at 7am, 11am, 3pm, 6.30pm and then a dream feed at 10.30pm (or if I fall asleep one during the night). He generally doesn't finish every bottle but it seems to depend which one he leaves an oz or so in.
I am approaching his weaning as recommended in "The contended Little baby" which is that "solids before 6 months are first tastes and fillers which should be increased very slowly over several weeks, gradually preparing your baby for three solid meals a day". The key here is that you always offer milk first as this is still the most important food at this stage. I have started rice cereal with him with the 11am feed last week. I was planning on keeping with this for another week then swopping it to after his 6.30pm feed and then a week later introducing pear puree after the 11am and again then transferring to the evening feed. He does spit up if I am not careful about keeping him upright for a while after his milk.
I was thinking too that you could maybe could longer between feedings and then that might help her cope more - unless she is really small. Hope this might help.