I am struggling under the weight of all the conflicting advice, so I'm hoping you guys can offer some anecdata to help me understand when I should start feeding my baby a dinner meal in addition to / instead of a bottle. There is lots more info below, but probably not totally necessary. The short version is above the fold: when do you add dinner in? When is a baby ready to add a solid dinner, and how does that interact with their nighttime bottle?
Baby is now 10 months old. Here is our current schedule, if that helps:
- 8oz / 240 ml bottle between 7:00 and 7:30 am
- Piece of bread at in-home daycare around 9am (he always gets the end of the baguette)
- Lunch at 12:00 or 12:30, generally consisting of about a cup of soft/pureed veggies and meat, maybe half a pear or something similar, and about 4-5 oz of milk
- Snack of cheese/yogurt and fruit at around 4pm, as much as he wants, and maybe some water
- 8oz bottle at bedtime, generally around 6:45-7pm
Baby does not eat overnight and hasn't since about 4.5 months, so he goes from 7pm to 7am, at least, with no food. He doesn't wake up angry or especially hungry, although he does start to whine as soon as he sees the bottle being prepped in the morning.
It seems odd to me to add in a meal when he's just had a snack at 4 or 4:30, and he'll get a bottle before 7. But at the same time, he does sometimes totally fall apart by 6:30 and I suspect that some of that his hunger. He will scream when he sees his bottle being prepared and grabs at it. He rarely totally finishes the bottle, though, and will often leave a bit at the bottom at night.
Thanks for your help!
Baby is now 10 months old. Here is our current schedule, if that helps:
- 8oz / 240 ml bottle between 7:00 and 7:30 am
- Piece of bread at in-home daycare around 9am (he always gets the end of the baguette)
- Lunch at 12:00 or 12:30, generally consisting of about a cup of soft/pureed veggies and meat, maybe half a pear or something similar, and about 4-5 oz of milk
- Snack of cheese/yogurt and fruit at around 4pm, as much as he wants, and maybe some water
- 8oz bottle at bedtime, generally around 6:45-7pm
Baby does not eat overnight and hasn't since about 4.5 months, so he goes from 7pm to 7am, at least, with no food. He doesn't wake up angry or especially hungry, although he does start to whine as soon as he sees the bottle being prepped in the morning.
It seems odd to me to add in a meal when he's just had a snack at 4 or 4:30, and he'll get a bottle before 7. But at the same time, he does sometimes totally fall apart by 6:30 and I suspect that some of that his hunger. He will scream when he sees his bottle being prepared and grabs at it. He rarely totally finishes the bottle, though, and will often leave a bit at the bottom at night.
Thanks for your help!
