Help with Schedule - 6.5months

Hi - my twins are 6.5 months and have been on solids since 4 months. They don't really 'enjoy' their solids, they much prefer their bottles. Every meal seems like a battle. My Pedi put them on 3 meals plus a snack per day, but I can seriously only get to 3 meals per day in between their bottles.

So, here are my questions.

Is it normal for them to be on solids for 2 months and still not really enjoy it? Maybe they need more play time in their high chairs or something in order to get used to their chairs? They're awesome chairs and seem very comfortable. Not sure what the deal is here. HATE meat, the only meat they'll eat is the chicken with applesauce, which isn't as high in protein as my Pedi recommended, but hey, they won't eat plain chicken!

Their normal bedtime is between 5:30pm and 6:30pm depending on how tired they are. If they've skipped their afternoon nap (they are always given the opportunity, but sometimes they outright refuse and after their 30minutes of fussing/crying, the nap is ended) they are in bed by 5:30. My Pedi looked at me like I had 3 heads when I told her this. She could not believe they went down that early. They are up twice each to eat during the night (sometimes only once, but generally twice) and they start their day anytime between 5am and 5:30am. Is this weird? I am okay with their early start, because they are so wasted by 5:30 that I seriously wouldn't think of forcing them to stay awake any longer. They led us to that bedtime. We kept playing with different times until this one kind of 'gelled' on it's own. They seem to be happy with it, so it should be fine, right?

Sometimes I come back from the Pedi's visit thinking I really suck at this parenting thing. I think I'm doing the best I can and my kids are happy & healthy.

thanks!

 

I'm assuming the pedi maybe put you on three meals/day and a snack, as well as bottle due to weight? That's my guess.

For us, I did one meal from 4 mths-6 mths. And that was cereal. At six months I started adding in veggies and then fruit. I also started two meals/day. Good gosh it took me the whole two months to figure out the timing of the meals, bottles, etc! From six months-nine months we worked on two meals day with cereal, fruits, veggies. Around six/seven months we started with gerber puffs, cheerios, etc. That was to keep them busy while I got their meals prepared, etc. Then at nine months, we added the third meal(or 8.5 months). And we never did the jarred baby food(meats) with them. At nine months, we started with table foods and cutting up chicken really small, meatballs, pasta, etc. They LOVED it. So from nine months on, they were pretty much done with baby food and were eating three meals/day.

As for the snack...if I remembered. Even now, they don't always get a snack(3 years; 19 months). If we were out and about in the stroller and they were hungry or whatever, I always had cheerios/puffs, etc on me to feed them. How are their weights? Are the underweight?

As for sleeping...if it's working for you-then I don't see why you need to change it. Have you tried the 2-3-4 approach? I did that with Annabella. So she woke at say, 7 am. Napped at 9 am(2 hrs). Woke at 11 am. Napped at 2 pm(3 hrs). Woke at 3 pm. Bed at 7 pm(4 hrs). That's just a thought if you wanted them to maybe sleep a little bit longer. Are they going down within that window of opportunity? If you miss that, they could be overtired as well.

And I think if it's working fr your family-don't change it. Your pedi doesn't live with you. That's one of the things I like about my pedi. No two babies are the same. So one may sleep 14 hours at night, the other may sleep 10. They are NOT the same kids. So your kids may go down at 5:30pm. That's fine-it works for you. Unless your pedi is in your house doing the feeding, nap schedules, bedtime schedules, playtime, etc... it's not her issue to deal with. LOL!

You are doing a great job! Twins are hard. And figuring out all the different feedings, sleeping issues, etc... it's a LOT of work. Hang in there Momma! I think you are doing a great job!

 

Solids is really just for practice at that age, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Keep offering them new things, and they will eventually get to the point that they like it more I'm sure. I didn't start meats until more like 7.5-8 months. The only way my guys would eat it was one of the combo things (like apples and chicken) or if I mixed it with veggies. Now they love regular meat - personally I think the pureed meat is really gross, but I pushed it hard because they couldn't have any dairy and needed the protein. As far as the 3 meals and a snack, we didn't start solids until 6 months. By about 7 months, we were up to three small meals plus 4 bottles a day. I didn't add a snack until I cut them back to 3 bottles a day, and then I used the snack to fill that void.

As far as the bedtime and wake up time, whatever works for you is fine, IMO. If you want to change their schedule, you could try gradually shifting things by 15 min. at a time. But if you're happy and don't mind getting up that early, then I wouldn't bother.

 

I'm so surprised that your pedi said 3 meals 1 snack and bottles. So how many bottles do they take a day? How many oz? Do they drink more than 30oz and still hungry all the time?

We did 1 meal and 6 bottles/day at 5.5-6.5 months. Then we added 1 meal at 7 and the third meal at 7.5. We didn't start introducing meat until 8.5. But they hate it. They still don't eat it. They love love veggies. Now, they have only 3 meals and 5 bottles/day. I'm happy with it. I don't think any solid can replace for milk. We are almost 10 months, my twins still drink almost 30oz/day some day more. My kids still don't like solid. They hate baby food but still not quite ready for table food. They do have banana and orange on their tray at meal time plus their cereal or baby food.

There are some reasons that they don't like their solid. They aren't ready. They are full.they are tired of baby food lol.

Oh and about meat, I asked my pedi. She said don't worry about it. They don't need it before 1.

How many naps do they have a day? At that age, my kids still napped 3x/day. And they went to bed around 8-830.

You are doing wonderful as parent. Kids are different. And trust me. They are the bosses. They drive their own schedules and habits,.. We just have to follow them.if you accept it that way, your life is much easier and happier lol.so as long as your babies are healthy and happy. You are doing great.

 

I was wondering the same thing about why 3 meals plus snack plus bottles so soon. Our twins are 7 months old (6m adjusted) and they JUST started solids after the ok from their ped. Was it a weight gain issue? I agree with PP that at that age from what I understand solids are more practice than nutrition so as long as they are still taking their bottles. It sort of sounds to me like they are just still not ready. Our dd will eat any and everything we give her where as her twin brother will only eat sweet potaotes and as of last night oatmeal with strawberry/apple/banana mixed in. Ped said not to worry they would eat solids when they were ready.

 

Thanks for your support. There is no weight issue - at 6.5 months she weighs 20lbs and he weighs 17lbs. Some days they get 2meals per day, some days I can get 3 in, but they're still taking bottles - each takes about 24oz in a 24hr period. ALso, they wake up twice to eat at night. usually around 10-11pm and then again around 2-3am. My Pedi thinks it's ridiculous and they should get a bottle at 11pm and nothing until the morning. I don't agree - they're not eating enough solids and if my kids are hungry, then I'm going to feed them. It's not like they're not drinking those bottles at night - if they were taking only 1-2oz then I would agree. But they're sucking down 4-6oz each time at night. In fact, for my son, it's the two best feedings of the 24-hr period.

And their nap schedule is not rigid, but is flexible as they require them. They usually take 3 naps per day, one long one (1.5-2hrs) and 2 short ones (45min ea). If they took 2 long naps per day plus one shorter one, I could probably move their bedtime later, but they're toast by 5:30pm.

 

I will say what I have learned in the last couple of months is that schedule is just as important now maybe more than when we brought them home. If Willa and Wyatt don't take a morning nap by 10 (usually about 30 minutes) and go down for their afternoon at noon then by 4 they are a nightmare. And as far as the night feedings go hey if you think they need it trust your gut. Willa and Wyatt started sleeping through the night at 2 months then at 5 months STOPPED ARG... well it was due to hunger. So now they get a bottle at 6, oatmeal and fruit at 7, bath at 7:30 a nother bottle at 8ish and in bed no later than 9. This has helped alot. What I am saying is that you may want to try something at night super filling like oatmeal. My dd has always loved beechnut good morning oatmeal with mixed fruit and I will either mix it with about an ounce of formula if just one is eating at the time and applesauce or if they are sharing a bowl(they are on differnt formula) I mix it with Gerber Strawberry/Apple/Banana. That oatmeal is whole grain which can help keep them fuller longer.

 

Feeding is parent choice period. We dont have to listen to pedi. They are not you they dont know your kids well enough. I think if they love bottles and dont refuse them, 24oz is the min require. At that age, they still have about 24-32oz/day. If I were you, I would cut off 1 meal and add 1 more bottle, or add more oz in each bottle.i would try to offer them 30 oz and expect them to drink about 28oz/day. Solid cant fill them up at this age. and it cant give them all the nutrition they need. I dream fed my twins at that age. but they stoped waking up for food around 3.5 months. Your twins still wake up and eat, it means they dont get enough in the day so they have to take it at night. I woldnt worry too much about solid at this age, just add more oz in their daytime bottles and dream feed them their last bottles at 11 or mid night.

IMO, some pedis encourage solid early and push it hard cause formula is expensive. My pedi never has any opinion about how I feed my kids. Shes totally against Force Feeding. And thats it. She told me that she doesnt care how much they eat, how they eat, what they eat. Thats up to me. As long as they grow well, she is happy.

When it comes to feeding, we parents love to have rules: what babies should eat at what ages. But its all up to therm not us. like when my twins were 6.5 months, my son was teething so bad. he hated his bottles period. We only could dream feed him all day long. He totally refused his bottles when awake. He loved solid. He drank 24 oz and ate like 9oz of solid at that age. My girls couldnt eat solid. We offered it to her. She always took couple bites and puked. She drank like 26-28oz/days. She was teething too. And now at 10 months, they all love bottles again, drink 28-32oz/days and they hate hate solid. At solid feeding, its a battle with between us. I have to sing, dance, make funny noise,... you name it. They dont want it. You would think at this age, they would drink about 24 oz and eat lot lot of solid. They dont. But they are so happy and active and healthy. What can I do? NOTHING. I just give them what they want and still keep offering them what I think I should lol.

 

thanks for all of your responses. I agree with everyone that my Pedi doesn't have to live with them....lol. I feed them what they want and when they want it. They get 3-4 naps per day and not on a rigid schedule - when they're tired. I just can't wait until they stop feeding at night!

 

My boys just turned 6 months but we only do two solid feedings a day. One of the meals is cereal only and one is veggies only. They are not going to be ready for three meals a day or meats for a while.

When they wake up in the night, have you tried just soothing and comforting them without offering them a bottle?