6 month old feeding?

I don't want this to sound like I am trying to put my son on a schedule. I feed him when he is hungry, but I am curious as to what I should be feeding and when.
I am in the process of allergy testing food, so right now he has had peas, and now is trying sweet potatoes.
Right now this is what his day looks like:
930- wakes up
10am- Eats a 7 ounce bottle an cereal
1115-~130 nap
2pm- eats about 6 ounce bottle and sweet potatoes
~4pm-530 pm nap
6pm- about 6 ounce bottle, cereal and sweet potatoes
maybe a nap between
10pm- full 8 ounce bottle and cereal
down for the night

does that look about right?
once i get fruits in the schedule, i will do fruits as well as veggies.
am i giving him enough formula?
i am just looking for some insight, it seemed less complicated when he was younger and nursed/bottle consistently every 3 hours..but now im having a hard time figuring out how to work this all in.

also, should i be giving his bottle first then food, or vice versa?

I also have a 6-mth old and agree that it gets a little tricky when the eating schedule changes. We just went to 6-mth checkup yesterday, so I know everything's fine. I played around with giving the bottle before or after. Try it each way for a day and track how much he eats. My son's eating schedule looks like this (I've been giving solids since 4mths)

Wakes around 7am
8ish 2oz. fruit and 1oz. oatmeal, 4-6oz bottle
Mid-morning nap
12ish 2-3oz. fruit or veg., 6oz. bottle
Afternoon nap
3ish 8oz. bottle
5:30ish 2oz. veg. and 1oz. rice
7:45 8oz. bottle
In bed by 8, wakes for a 4oz. bottle

It's not set in stone, some days he's still not interested in solids (like today, I think since he had shots yesterday). I don't give any juice, but offer a water cup that he's hit or miss with.

Your schedule sounds very consistent and well-planned. When feeding your baby his foods, I would wait until the solids are all gone before giving him the bottle. He is going to want that instead, and it's better if he can fill up on solids and then use the formula to help wash it down.

I think you are doing fine! I have a 6 month old also-and an 18 month-and a 3 year old! If the baby is hungry you will know. I always kinda kept mine on a schedule. It helps a lot. I always give the food first then the bottle. Unless the baby is really hungry- then a little bit of the bottle to calm them down-then start food. Definately do not start more than one new food every couple of days. One of mine was allergic to squash. I fed my oldest every kind of baby food there is-now he will eat just about anything. Even things that I won't eat! I don't think there is anything to worry about. If the baby is not hungry and is happy you are doing fine. I also would introduce juice at one of the meals. They are only supposed to have 4 oz a day at first. Hope this helps. You could get the book "What to Expect the First Year", I always liked reading about everything. You can get it at Wal-mart in the baby department.

Here is what my baby's doc said...

do not feed him solids in place of formula, but do it in between bottles (or breastfeedings).. so roughly, with regard to feeding it would look like this...

6am - 8 ounce bottle (or breastfeed)

8:30 - cereal (and bananas or whatever fruit you are trying)

11am - 8 ounce bottle

3 pm- 8 ounce bottle

6pm cereal (and peas or whatever veggie you are trying)

9pm - 8 ounce bottle and bed

What she also said was introduce new things every three days...

so if you start with bananas... in the morning, then add peas at night three days later... keeping the banans in the morning. After 3 days of peas, you can switch out the bananas for applesause, keeping the peas in the evening, then after three days of that, switch out your evening veggie for something else, and so forth.

Sometimes I do give him just a little bit of formula after his solid food, just to wash it all down.

It's working well so far for us.

He is getting 32 ounces of formula or breastmilk a day, which is all he needs. There is no medical or nutritional reason he needs more than 32 ounces a day. That is exactly what my baby's doctor said. If he was getting LESS than that, that would be a different story. My son is very healthy and happy. He has no health issues. At 4 months he was 16 lbs.

Solids should never replace formula. There is more nutrition in formula. He should be drinking a bottle first. I think he may need a few more ounces in his daily intake. Make sure you are mixing the cereal with formula and add at least one more bottle.

This is so different from what we did - our kids didn't consume anything but breastmilk on demand until they were about 9 months old. Then, we just allowed them to have little bites of the adult food that intrigued them. I think for the first year, breastmilk or formula is all that's needed.

Yes you are doing a great job, keep it up.

Sounds like the two of you have a nice routine. We have a pretty similar schedule with our 6 month old, which her pediatrician approved of. To keep things simple, we just added cereal and a veggie to her "lunch" and "supper" bottle/nursing.

The standard guidelines for a 6-month-old are 30-32 oz. of formula each day, 4-6 Tbsp. of cereal over two feedings, and 1-5 Tbsp. of veggies and/or fruit each day. But the formula intake will also depend on how much he weighs and how much other food he's eating. Each month, his formula intake should drop a ounce or two as his food intake increases.

At this age, he will be getting his real nutrition from the formula, and the "solids" are mostly to teach him how to eat, so you should always give him the bottle first. That'll begin to change around 8-10 months, and you can start offering the solids first.

The bottom line is to pay attention to what he wants and do what works for you. It doesn't have to be complicated. Our pediatrician's advice was to follow the baby's cues: if he acts hungry, feed him more; if he refuses the food, then don't force him. He'll let you know if he's not getting what he needs :)

Sounds good. I had my son on fruit, veggies, and the meat entres. I gave him a spoonful of each and then a bottle. Or however much he wanted to eat. I did this to expose him to different tastes. I read somewhere that you should try to do this and it gives them a well balanced diet in the process. Before long the bottles will reduce and he will want to eat more food. by the time my son ws 12 months he was totally off baby food and eating regular food. he was also off the bottle at 12 months and that's when he started sleeping all night. BTW, a schedule is good for them and you too!

Well the "rule" I have heard is that babies *should* drink 20-32oz of formula. If too little reduce solids, if that doesn't work see a doctor. If too much see a doctor.

Personally I don't see a problem with too much, unless the baby is obviously having other problems.

Really though your goal is to keep formula the primary source of nutrition to the first year and beyond. Realistically babies aren't meant to wean until 2-4 years. Yes some babies do just fine using cow milk instead of breastmilk/formula after one year. But if you think about it they are still drinking probably 20+ oz of milk a day (three 8oz servings).

However some babies do NOT do well on cow's milk after one year. Some will have anemia and many will have slowed growth. You see many toddler on pediasure or other meal replacement drinks. This is why many doctors are now saying 18 months or longer on formula.

This is also some good advice:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/0/T000100...
SWITCHING TO MILK
I've been feeding my baby iron-fortified formula. When is it okay to switch to whole cow's milk? Research comparing cow's milk and formula-fed infants during the first year of life has shown that cow's milk is irritating to the intestines of a tiny infant, causing infants to lose a tiny bit of blood in their stools, contributing to iron deficiency anemia. There is very little iron in cow's milk anyway, and the iron that is there is poorly absorbed. Concern about iron-deficiency anemia has led the American Academy of Pediatrics, backed by solid research, to discourage the use of cow's milk in children under one year of age. One of America's top pediatric hematologists (blood specialist), the late Dr. Frank Oski , Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkin University (and co-author of a book entitled: Don't Drink Your Milk) advised parents to be cautious and not rush into the use of cow's milk, even during the second year of life. At present it would seem prudent to continue giving your baby iron-fortified formula during the second year of life and very gradually wean him to dairy products, beginning with yogurt. If your toddler generally has a balanced diet and routine hemoglobin tests show that he is not even close to being anemic, then switch from formula to whole milk sometime during the second year, but don't be in a hurry.

But really solids should compliment formula not replace it until at least 1 year:


I know this is about breastmilk but really if breastmilk is so important until age 2 according to WHO is at least on year of formula out of line?
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids...
Solid Foods and the Breastfed Baby & Toddler
Most of the literature I've read on starting solids seems to have been written on the assumption that baby will be weaned (or mostly weaned) between 6 and 9 months. The relatively large amounts of solids suggested early on are simply not consistent (for most babies, at any rate) with keeping breastmilk primary in baby's diet for the first 12 months, as is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and breastfeeding experts worldwide.

My purpose here is to offer a guide to starting solids for a breastfed baby, based upon my reading of the current breastfeeding literature. I am assuming that your baby will be breastfed well into the second year (or longer), but these suggestions can certainly be adapted if you plan on weaning earlier. If you're undecided or simply curious about continued nursing past the first year, see the Extended Breastfeeding Fact Sheet.