Feeling very behind

After reading several people's posts on here and talking to a friend, I think that we are very behind when it comes to eating. We are eating two meals a day (breakfast and dinner), and all of it is baby food stage 2s. We have not even tried finger foods. I am so afraid that my babies are going to choke. So I guess here are my questions:

1. When did you start finger foods with your babies?

2. What did you start them on?

3. At nine months, how many meals a day were they eating?

4. At nine months, how many bottles a day were they eating?

We are going to the ped on Thursday, for nine month checkups and shots, and she told me to wait on the finger foods until we talked. Just wanting to make sure that my babies are not behind.

Thanks

 

Don't feel behind. Do it at your (and their) own pace. Everyone is different!

1/2. We started Puffs around 7.5 months and then Cheerios shortly after that.

3/4. Three solid meals and three bottles per day.

9 month schedule
6:00 wake
6:30 bottle (8 oz.)
7:15 cereal with fruit*
9:00 nap
12:00 bottle (8 oz.)
12:30 fruit and veggie*
1:00 nap
4:30 meat combo meal* (chicken and apples)
6:00 bottle (8 oz.)
6:30 bed

*with some finger foods

 

QUOTE(idtwinstx @ Jun 29 2008, 01:08 PM) [snapback]851798[/snapback]
1. When did you start finger foods with your babies? At about 8.5 months. My doc wanted us to wait but after the boys went to an Early Intervention screening, they made me feel like they should be doing finger foods. Needless to say the doc was shocked and impressed by the boys using their pincer grasp.

2. What did you start them on? Gerber puffs and banana chunks

3. At nine months, how many meals a day were they eating? 3 meals (have been since 2nd week of solids)

4. At nine months, how many bottles a day were they eating? 4 bottles



I would do what your doc says. Express your concern though. I was surprised how quickly the boys picked up on it.

Here's our feeding/nap schedule:
6ish: Awake and 6-7 ozs F (all of our formula has an extra scoop of powder since the boys won't drink much of it)
8:30: oatmeal and fruit (sometimes stage 2, sometimes in mesh feeder)
9:00-10:30/11: nap
12:00: 4 ozs f, stage 2 veggies and fruit (sometimes a meat)
1/2: nap
3/3:30: 4-6oz f
sometimes a catnap
6:00: 4oz f, meat, veggies, fruit
7:00: asleep for the night

Hope this helps!

 

I do not think you are behind!!!! We didn't start solids until 6 months, ds would not even open his mouth for any solids until 7.5 months. We started some puffs/cheerios around 7.5 months, but it did not amount to much! My two had very little amount wise until much closer/even past 12 months. But I knew they had no issue with them, they could pick things up, put them in their mouth, eat them...they were just full on breastmilk!
I bet after your ped appt you will get the go ahead to start finger foods and they can have some fun with those!

 

I've always felt like mine were behind on solids too. It doesn't concern me much though. I figure they'll eat more solids when they're ready and until then, formula helps with the nutrition gaps.

1. When did you start finger foods with your babies?
I don't remember exactly, but I think around 9 months for Aidan and Addie is just now eating finger foods. She gagged with puffs until just a few weeks ago. We've done puffs and the dried fruit pieces, and we tried cut-up banana but it was too slippery to hold.

2. What did you start them on?
See above.

3. At nine months, how many meals a day were they eating?
Always a stage two fruit or veggie with cereal for lunch, and sometimes a stage two fruit or veggie for dinner. We got dinner in probably 3-4 times a week.

4. At nine months, how many bottles a day were they eating?
5-6 bottles. One when they woke up, then bottles at 8:30, 12:30, 3:30, if we didn't do solids for dinner then a "snack" bottle around 5:30, and then a bedtime bottle around 7:00.


Now, just a week shy of 12 months, we're doing 4 bottles a day with solids for lunch and dinner and finger foods for an afternoon snack. Although I wouldn't say that Addie eats enough finger foods to count as a snack! And Aidan still gags on stage three meals.

 

1. When did you start finger foods with your babies?
We got the official ok to start from the pedi at our 9 month appt, but really started around 8 months. We started with the gerber puffs, then got more adventoursous.

2. What did you start them on?
see above, once they got good at the puffs we went to cheerios, then diced bananas and now all sorts of diced fruits/veggies and just recently breads/waffles

3. At nine months, how many meals a day were they eating?
3 meals a day

4. At nine months, how many bottles a day were they eating?
4 bottles a day

Our schedule is a little different from most in that we do solids before bottle in the a.m., our feeding schedule looks like this:

7:30 solids and bottle (fruit and oatmeal or waffle and fruit)
11:00 solids lunch
12:00 bottles
3:30 bottles
5:30 solids dinner
6:30 bottles
7:00 bed

 

My two are just over 7 months and they eat most things pureed or with cereal added. I've tried the stage 2 only to have some cute faces and them spitting out the little bits of carrots. We mix everything together, so my two have rarely had the same meal (poor things) Yogurt, custard with sweet potato, pear all mixed together. I use both jar and homemade baby food. Yesterday it was avocado with vanilla yogurt and banana all pureed together and yes I tasted it and surprise it was great. I just figured that we eat chicken with a fruit sauce ... so can they. I haven't started them on finger foods, just been too chicken I guess.... I have some cherrios in the cupboard maybe today.

Heather

 

don't think urself behind, children learn everything at their own pace. my girls are happy to have all the food... i am giving them whatever we are eating... but my friend's daughter is not ready to eat most of the food at 9 months.. she even does not eat baby food... so it depends upon baby.... about finger food... i m trying to give them some now and then... i offer the things which will melt down fastly in the mouth..as pieces of soft fruits, soft breads....

 

You aren't behind at all! I took solids slow with my girls too (I was also very afraid of choking especially since M didn't have any teeth until right before her 1st b-day).

At 9 months we were still only doing two meals (lunch and dinner). We were on 4 bottles a day (wake-up, after lunch, mid-afternoon, and bedtime). Around 10 months, we added breakfast (still all baby food), and we didn't try finger foods until they were over 10 months old.