I am curious how much breast milk to feed my 6 month old along with his solid foods. Right now I am feeding him every 3.5-4 hours and he gets rotating feedings of 7 1/2 ounces of breastmilk at one feeding and then about 1/4 cup of solid foods along with 4 ounces of breastmilk at the next feeding and then 7 1/2 ounces of breastmilk at the next feeding....etc etc. Is this enough calories for him? He usually eats 4oz milk and solids at 6am; 7 1/2 oz milk at 9:30am; 4oz milk and solids at 1pm; 7 1/2 oz milk at 4:30pm; 4 oz milk and solids at 7:30pm; bath and bedtime by 8-8:30pm.
What do you mean by solid foods? I think with my son I started with some rice cereal in the bottle at 6 months. Then maybe spoon feeding rice cereal and baby food every once in a while started at 8-9 months. I think you're getting an early start on the solid foods. But that's good!
I think your schedule is just fine. I feed my daughter very similar but she eats rice cereal with a full jar of foods. We do one fruit in the morning then the same in the afternoon with a veggie. Then around dinner time she gets just a jar of whichever I choose depending on her bowel movements..She will also about 2 hours later eat 7 oz of breastmilk/cereal/chamomile tea for bedtime. With all of this feeding she is in her 97th percentile for her growth! She is almost 5 moths old and is over 26"...so that being said, I think As long as he is healthy and growing he is doing just fine!!!
yay mom! way to go for breastfeeding!! you sound like you are doing an excellent job - way to go and keep it up! :D
i chose to nurse until my son self weaned. brave of me, but he weaned at 19 months, way before i thought he would... but it was so perfect to let him grow out of it instead of me telling him when its over. seemed kinda.... sad to me
anyway, there are a few important things to remember.. first of all, solids are NOT nutritionally needed until AFTER a year old. this means that solids are to go with the nursing as a little getting ready for the tastes, textures, etc of nursing. dont replace nursing with solids until after a year old. you dont even need to feed solids at all if you dont think your baby is ready. RULE NUMBER ONE OF PARENTING: FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS, NOT THE SO CALLED "RULES" OF WHEN TO DO WHAT WITH YOUR CHILD. YOU KNOW YOUR CHILD BEST, YOU MAKE THE RULES :D :D :D no one tells moms this (except a few - dr william sears is one www.askdrsears.com)
so your question then should be, how much solids should i feel my nursing 6 month old.
and the answer to that is however much he wants. again, dont replace nursing with solid foods. just add them here and there when baby seems happy and interested. any time you have a baby spitting out food, they are either playing, or they arent developmentally ready for solids. however, at 6 months, your baby is probably ready....
also. remember this. the earlier you start and feed solids, the more chances of allergies. just something to think about.
just follow your instincts. that goes for EVERYTHING parenting related. crying, sleeping, feeding, nursing, carrying, everything. YOU know your baby. no one else has to deal with the repercussions of a decision but you. outside advice is the most toxic thing to a parenting relationship.
if you have any questions, go to the www.askdrsears.com website (because they support and teach moms to follow their instincts, not what the medical and social communities want you to do - they had 8 kids they would know LOL) or just send me a note. i fully support you doing what you need to do, and doing what your heart tells you to do. its so hard because you dont find many moms who do what their heart tells them because they are alwys getting conflicting advice that seems so much easier... but it usuall leads to disconnection to the very baby they are trying to protect. anyway... good luck.
I think kids at 6 months of age should be nursing about every 3-4 hours. As far as amounts, if he seems content then he is getting enough. If he seems hungry, feed him more.
hmmm-guess your baby is this only one that can let you know-if hes not getting enough food-their pretty good at saying im still hungry....
Make sure he's getting hte breastmilk first, and then feed him solids. I'm assuming since you know how many oz he's eating you are pumping and feeding by bottle? Just make sure he gets the breastmilk first, and then give him solids, and at this age he only needs one serving of foods, but hey if he's hungry and eating by all means give him a fruit and a veggie. He'll let you know if he's still hungry, and really it will change from day to day. Just follow his cues and remember that breastmilk is still ALL he needs to thrive, and should still be the most important food in his diet.
I have heard that solid food at this age is just an "extra" and you shouldn't give any less breastmilk than if your child wasn't eating solids yet. I think once your baby gets a little older, he will eat more solids and less milk. My son is 6 1/2 months and we introduced solids 2 weeks ago. I still nurse 4 times a day(about every 4 hours) and then squeeze in a half jar of stage one food twice a day between feedings. I think I read that babies at this age should be getting somewhere around 30 oz breastmilk or formula a day, but I could be wrong on that number. If your baby seems content and is having adequate wet/dirty diapers, I wouldn't be too concerned about it, but you could always check with your pediatrician. Hopefully this helps.
Everyone will say to follow your instincts, which is right -- but if you'd like some numbers to back it up, my doctor said that most 6 month olds need 20 - 24 oz a day. Looks like you're in that guideline, so you're probably okay as long as baby is happy:)
