Feeding Time!

There are alot of different thoughts on this. Babies really do not need solid food until a year whether they are bottle or breastfed. My 3 were totally breastfed for that time. The only reason to give some solid food is for practice. Until one year her bottle should be her main source of nutrition. I have been a fan of holding off on solids to help keep te allergies away...solid food even cereal too soon can trigger some allergies. Talk with your doc about it if you don't feel comfortable.

Everytime the baby is hungry you give it food. So in the morning you give 4 tbls of rice ceareal than formula after that for lunch veggies with abottle the formula should be either 6 to 8 oz bottles. than for dinner veggies the same with a bottle and than for bed cereal with formula do all veggies before fruit. Fruit is sweet so if they get that first they most likly won't take tot he blah veggies. Talk with your pediatrician they should have told you this.

For both my kids I started off with rice cereal. They both hated it. It's not necessary for them to have. That's what most people start with because it doesn't have any flavor and you can make it the consistency you wish. Basically, it's just thick formula. Like I said, my kids hated it.
When I started with baby food, I skipped the stage 1 stuff. It was too thin and more expensive than the Stage 2. If the Stage 2 is too thick, thin it down with some water or formula.
With my youngest I started her on 3 meals a day right away. I don't remember her exact eating schedule since I nursed on demand. I would give her solids when we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner. I just followed her cues. If she acted like she was full, then I stopped feeding her. Sometimes she would eat almost 1/2 a jar of food and sometimes it was just a few bites. At 6 months her nutrition is still coming from her formula, not the baby food. The food is to get her used to flavors and textures.
Most pediatricians will tell you to start with vegetables over fruit. Allegedly if you give them fruit first, they won't want the vegetables. I don't know if I agree with that or not, but we always did the veggies first. I started with a sweeter vegetable like carrots, sweet potatoes or squash. I never did the "feed them the same thing for a week." It can take multiple exposures for a child to develop an allergic reaction. If you have a history of food allergies in your family, I'd be more cautious, but if you don't, I wouldn't worry about it.

Another thing no one ever told me: baby food STAINS like nothing else. Especially the carrots and bananas. Invest in some good bibs :)

I've had 3 babies, and still get confused on introducing solids, and I bet I'll do the same thing with #4 - don't feel embarrassed, Mama!

I've always started with 2 "meals" a day (2-4 oz, depending on interest/hunger) following a nursing session - in the morning and at dinner time.
After about a month of solids twice daily, and enough practice, we gradually add in another meal, at lunchtime. By 8-9 months my guys were all eating 3 meals a day, and getting 4-5 bottles or nursing sessions.
It's nothing to rush, b/c she's getting her nurtrition currently from formula, so there is no "set timeline".

www.wholesomebabyfood.com and Ruth Yaron's "Super Baby Food" are great resources for feeding schedules, and also for recipes on making your own baby foods, if that interests you.

Enjoy your baby girl!

Start with a small spoonful or two once a day (breakfast or supper maybe). As she tolerates it, add a second feeding. I didn't give my child more then 3 feedings a day. And I tried to do them around the same times as our meal schedules. That way she got used to eating solids 3 times a day. I do not do snacks for my kids, or anything but water between meals (after a year old), and they do great with that schedule. (14 months and 3.5 years)

Don't give less formula until she's a year old, that first year formula/breast milk needs to be the MAJOR source of nutrition. Solids during the first year are just for experimentation with taste and texture.

Best wishes!

My 6 month DD is on solids... I give her solids 2x a day, one hour after her morning milk and one hour after her evening milk. I feed her either 2 oz (roughly) or until she doesn't want more. Other than that, she only gets milk the same as she used to get. I'm getting ready to add one more, so she will get 3 "meals." That way she is still getting all the milk she is supposed to, and the food is just practice. This is a site that was referred to me, as I make my own baby food (really easy, I'm sure it tastes better, and SOOO much cheaper!) that tells you at what age individual foods can/should be introduced, it has sample feeding "schedules" and tons of other feeding info. :)

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

I think since your just starting and you're just going to give small amounts, it's ok to give her 3 solid feedings. Rice cereal should be one of those meals, a fruit and a veggie. A word of caution though, when introducing fruits and veggies, give her a constant flavor for a few days to a week just in case of an allergic reaction. I breastfed so about formula I looked on a few baby sites and they all said at her age about 24-32 oz of milk a day. Probably more towards 24oz since she's 6 months. Dont be surprise if she pushes the food out with her tounge or makes a sour face, she just has to get us to it ok. I hope this helps :)