Feeding FAQ: 6-9 months – Weaning/Solids

How do I adjust the routines for teatime so my husband can still enjoy putting our 7mth old daughter to bed at 8pm?

My daughter is very much a contented baby, thanks to your routines. She is now 7 months and is about to start the second weaning stage where protein will be introduced at lunch time. My issue is that my husband leaves the house at 7am and does not return until 7pm. If I put my daughter to bed at 7pm he will not see her until the weekend which is not acceptable to us. Up until now my daughter has been feeding and sleeping according to the schedule and then with dinner at 6pm, bath at 7pm and bed at 7:45pm or 8pm. This way my husband gives her a bath and has an hour with her before bed. I would like to maintain her bed at 8pm but the book now says to move her dinner to 5pm (solids) then milk at 6:30pm and bed at 7:00pm. How can I adjust the feeding/sleeping so she can still go to bed at 7:45pm/8pm? Why is the dinner time moved from 6pm back to 5pm with milk at 6:30pm at the six month stage in the book? Please advise a feeding schedule for bed at 8pm.

At present my daughter receives full breast feeds at 7am, 11.30am having one breast before and one after her solids, 2.30 and 6pm. She takes 3tsps oat or barley cereal mixed with 2 cubes of fruit puree at breakfast. At 11.30am she takes 5 cubes of pureed vegetables and at 6pm 3tsp rice cereal with two cubes of fruit puree.

My daughter naps at 9-9.40am, 12.30-2.15pm 5.15-5.30pm. She settles from 8pm -6.45am.

After protein is introduced at lunchtime, teatime solids move to 5pm as you are working towards establishing your baby eating three meals a day. By nine months of age most of your baby’s nourishment will be from solid food rather than milk. When first weaning your baby received her milk first followed by solids, as her nutritional needs were still being met mostly by the milk. Now your daughter is widening the variety of solid food she takes, she will no longer rely on her milk so much. At present you are giving her lunchtime solids with the main proportion made up from a carbohydrate such as sweet potato. This carbohydrate now needs to be moved to her tea as protein will become the main nutrient of lunch. Also, as protein begins to be the main part of her lunch she will need to eat at teatime the vegetables she used to eat at lunchtime. Her tea will become vegetarian based, with the emphasis on carbohydrates to help her to continue to sleep well at night.

Since your daughter does not sleep later in the morning, which would enable you to move on to an 8am -8pm routine, you will need to watch that she does not become overtired in the early evening. In the second part of the first year she will begin to get more active: rolling, sitting up and crawling. This takes up more energy and exhaustion can follow. By beginning to move her daytime naps forward a little and continuing to have a catnap in the afternoon you should still be able to keep her up until 7.45/8pm. Look at the notes at the end of the six to nine month routine which explain how the morning and lunchtime naps need to take place later in the coming months. Whilst your daughter is going through this stage you may need to bring her bedtime forward a little to 7.30/7.45pm. A baby who falls straight into a deep sleep when put into their cots is more likely to wake early in the morning. This is often a problem in the second half of the first year once a baby is becoming more mobile. Your husband will still be able to see his daughter, but her needs should also be taken into consideration.

If you want to keep your daughter up for a later bath and bedtime but also want to follow the change in meal times you could move her teatime to 5.30pm, once she has had her afternoon catnap. If your daughter still has a full breast feed at 2.30pm she should be able to wait until 5.30/5.45pm for tea. Once she has dropped her lunchtime feed when protein is fully established, she may like a small snack around 4pm when offered her water. Some babies will also begin to cut back on their 2.30pm feed once they are having a full protein lunch, so a snack no later than 4pm will help her through to teatime. Let her continue with her short nap at 5pm, although once her lunchtime nap has moved on to nearer 1-3pm you may need to adjust things again.

If you wish to continue to feed your daughter before her bath, as you are doing at present, then give this at 6.30/6.45pm. When tea first moves to 5/5.30pm and becomes a vegetarian, carbohydrate based, meal it is important to watch that the bedtime feed does not get cut back too much. Leaving at least an hour after her tea before offering this to her should mean she continues to take a full feed. If you feel she is cutting back on this feed too much, perhaps beginning to wake early in the morning through hunger, you could try offering it to her just before she goes to bed.

It is possible to move the routines to fit in with your family circumstances, but always bear in mind that your daughter’s needs for food and sleep will change as she moves on to three meals a day, becomes more mobile and needs slightly less sleep in the day but still needs a good night’s sleep. It may take a little juggling and tweaking at first to get the right combination for both your daughter and your needs.