SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: 4-6 Months

4-6 months is a time for lots of change for babies. My boys were much more alert and awake as well as enjoying longer periods of sleep. We also starting doing fewer liquid feedings. This is the recommended time period to begin solids.

I began rice cereal during this period. Here was our basic schedule for 4-6 months.

MONTH 4
We dropped our late night feeding at 12 weeks and both boys began sleeping generally from 7pm-7am. We continued on with our liquid feedings, about 5 per day. At this point my boys were on formula bottles. They have always been such different eaters, but averaged anywhere from 26-36 ounces per day. They were taking bottles about every 3.5 hours as we were moving to a 4 hour feeding schedule. Look at the resources below for ideas on amounts per feeding and per day and always discuss with your pediatrician. I made my first big batch of food for the freezer this month.

MONTH 5
This was an exciting month...full of change. We moved to a 4 hour feeding schedule with 4 feedings per day and started rice cereal. I can tell you that it took a while for them to catch on to being spoon-fed, but once it clicked, it was great. I mentioned this earlier in the blog, but I fed them straight rice cereal without mixing in any fruit or anything else. Discuss with your pediatrician and do some research, but you could also begin with something like avocado. However, if you learn how to and stick to making homemade whole grains, then cereal is an excellent choice. Be consistent with your time of day to begin feeding. I think it helps your baby learn and know what to expect. I started with breakfast at 7:00am and slowly added dinner around 3:00pm.

MONTH 6
Cereal was catching on and we started adding fruits and vegetables. I started with sweet potato at lunch, but kept the cereal for breakfast and afternoon. As we continued, I added a fruit to breakfast and lunch and a vegetable to dinner. Remember the 3-5 day wait rule to watch for any reactions. I vividly remember going to the beach with my family in August before the boys were 6 months old and trying to get them to eat the cereal. It was just a week after we returned that they were really getting the hang of it. It almost just seems to click one day. I say this because, I think it's important to get that first food established well before you move on to too many options. I never had any food refusal, but had to stick with something new over and over to get it well-established. I had already made my food batches and had a good stash in the freezer to get is started. I think this is important so that you can concentrate on feeding and don't have to worry about making for the first few weeks or more.

RESOURCES
I've mentioned these before, but my two favorite resources have been Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron and wholesomebabyfood.com. Please share any other interesting or helpful resources.

Be sure to also see these additional posts.
SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: 7-9 Months
SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: 0-3 Months
SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: Introduction


ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
As always, be sure to discuss any feeding options, ideas, struggles, or issues along the way with your pediatrician. Remember that this is a time where liquid feedings are still the primary source of nutrition for baby. You are teaching and your baby is learning about solids. In all reality, this is the first step in the weaning process.

Consistency is key. Decide what you want your daily routine to be and stick with it. Babies, children, and adults enjoy routine and knowing what to expect next. You will, of course, need to change with your children as they grow, but getting this established early is something that you will be thankful for in the future.

Keep taking notes and writing what your baby eats, how much, and how often. It will great in knowing where to go next and noting any allergy triggers or sleep issues. Full tummies like their sleep. Enjoy your growing baby. The food only gets bigger. More fun, more challenging, more variety.

NOTE: A month references the time from turning that age until the next older month. So, if your baby was born on January 1st, then those first weeks are considered MONTH 1 until he reaches February 1st. From then until March 2nd is considered MONTH 2. Remember that there are 52 weeks in a year, so it's not an even 4 weeks per month.

Please share your thoughts and ideas.

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