Hi-
OK I feel really stupid but I have no idea how to add solids into Sarah's diet. I feed her every 4 hours. It is so hard to get her to take the bottle and she will only drinl about 50-80ml on her own then I have to sleep feed her - she usually takes about 4 oz. So if it is such a struggle to get her to take the bottle and it always ends with her sleeping when do I give her solids? Should I try in between feeds? I know this is a basic question but I really don't know what to do with her. I feel like I am really behind in starting solids.
Karie momto Sarah 5 1/2 months SGA,DGE,GERD meds- erythromycin, pepcid, prevacid, reglan, just added periactin

Hi there, first of all I wanted to tell you that you can set your signature in your profile so you dont have to keep putting it in your messages! :)

Second, I give my daughter hers at least an hour before her next bottle. And you might be surprised, she might be able to eat them and drink a bottle. You could try a tablespoon during the bottle. The whole idea of solids now is to get her used to the spoon, not for food... so really you could give her half the bottle and try some solids and then feed her the rest of the bottle. Or just try a little about a hour before she eats.

Hope that helps a bit... good luck! :)

Hi Kari, and welcome to the boards. As a first time mommy, I didn't know how to start solids either. In the beginning, I was feeding her cereal right before the bottle and then she wouldn't finish the bottle. Because I knew she needed the formula more than the food, I begin giving the bottle first.

Here's our schedule and Lauren is now 8.5 mos. old:

7:00/7:30- wake up and 1st bottle
9:00/9:30- eat breakfast (usually cereal w/ fruit and yogurt)
12:00- eat lunch (1/2 veg, 1/2 fruit, some finger foods, and sippy cup w/water and juice)
3:00/4:00- 2nd bottle
6:00/6:30- eat dinner (same as lunch)
8:00- 3rd bottle

Lauren takes 3- 8oz. bottles a day and usually eats snacks in between meals. Keep in mind, this is what works for us and may not work for everybody.

I would try to keep her bottle and solids at least an hour apart. That way, she should have enough of an appetite for her entire bottle.

Emma can't handle large amounts of food in one sitting so we feed her every 2 hours. I also still dream feed her at night.

8:00 Bottle, 4-6 oz.
10:00 Breakfast, (2 T. cereal and 1 T. of real oatmeal mixed in for texture, plus bits of what I'm having....blueberry muffin, waffles, etc. and 3 oz. of juice in a sippy)
NAP
12:00 Bottle, 4-6 oz.
2:00 Lunch, (finger foods of vegetables, fruit, crackers, jelly sandwich, mashed potatoes, etc., bits of my lunch...and 3 oz. of juice in a sippy)
NAP
4:00 Bottle, 4-6 oz.
6:00 Dinner, (she eats what we're having for dinner minus the spices and dairy and water in a sippy)
8:00 Bottle, 4-6 oz.
12:00 Dream Feed, 6 oz.

Her total oz. are usually around 24 oz., and I try to give her high calorie/fat solids. She REFUSES anything off a spoon unless she can feed herself with it. We call her the Anti-Spoon. :D

I'm taking her in for a weight check before Christmas b/c it makes me nervous that she's not eating jarred babyfood anymore. I don't know, calorie-wise, what she's taking with the finger foods so I want to make sure she's doing okay.

They say introducing solids at "breakfast" time is the best time to start. The boys used to feed 4 hourly.. so they had an early morning 6am bottle and a 10am bottle. It was at the 10am bottle that I started introducing solids.. they would have the bottle first, followed by 1 baby teaspoon of apple puree. We did this for ages until we were able to build it up. And now of course solids outweighs the bottle.
good luck!

Thanks for the advice. I wouldn't worry about it so much if she ate normally but I don't want anything to decrease the amount she drinks from the bottle since this is where she gets most of her calories. She hates eating in the morning - I don't know why. Often she will only drink 40mls then I try to syringe feed her more so I don't know if the food will go over well in the morning. Maybe I will try between her 430 and 830 bottle.
thanks, karie

Noah won't ever take solids with a bottle. He gets full fairly easily, so I give him solids after he wakes in the morning, and then after his nap(s). This seems to work since he is in a good mood (usually) and willing to play around with it.