When did you start the 3rd meal?

Our schedule now is as follows . . .

6:30-7 Wake
7:00 Get out of crib and bottle
8:30 Solids
9:30 Nap
11:30 Bottle
1:30 Nap
3:30 Bottle
5:00 Solids
7:00 Bedtime routine . . . ending in bottle

They average from 20-24oz per day. Do you think I should add another meal or wait longer? I don't want their formula intake to decrease. They've never been big eaters.

 

Stephanie, I would conside adding a type of lunch or "Snack" which is what we call it. We do little finger foods (like puffs, Zweiback, biter buscuits, etc) mostly so they can learn how to feed themselves. It hasn't interfered withn their formula intake.

Good luck!

 

Mine aren't big eaters either, although younger than yours. Our pedi recommended a third meal at their 6mo appt. This is what she says a typical 6-9 mo. old eats (keep in mind they all have their own opinions and I am certainly not telling you this is the golden rule):
a.m.: 1-2 tbsp. cereal with 1/2-1 jar fruit
lunch: 1/2-1 jar fruit and 1/2-1 jar veggie
p.m.: 1-2 jars meat combo meal
24-28 oz. formula.

This is what my girls are currently eating:
1 tbsp. cereal, 1/2 jar fruit
1/2 jar fruit, 1/2 jar veg
1/2 jar meat combo meal
24 oz. formula.

My girls suddenly seem hungrier the past couple of days, so I decided to add the meat and see how they do. My goal is to get them close to what she says they "should be" eating before their 9 mo. appt. on 6/4. I'm finding out that trying to figure out how much to feed them and when as well as tossing naps into the mix has been my biggest hurdle since we started solids. Good luck! HTH!!!!

ETA: I LOVE that avatar picture of your cuties!

 

My guy is a big eater but I did about the same this with my girls too just smaller portions.

Wake up bottle (then he goes back to sleep for a little while)
breakfast bowl of oatmeal with a 6oz bottle
then lunch 2 stage 2 foods, usually one veg. and one fruit or I do yogurt instead of the fruit
about an hr or two later a bottle (right before I put him down for a nap
then depending on when he wakes up a bottle or we just give him another stage two food when we are having dinner
then rice cereal and 7oz bottle before bed

Like I said my guy is a big eater but basically I do oatmeal for breakfast with a bottle, lunch is stage two foods (we will be try stage 3 soon) and we give him a little something for dinner (while we eat so he gets used to eating with us) and rice cereal and bottle for dinner. Then inbetween I give a bottle when he is hungry.

 

If I were you, adding it in at noon would be perfect to go along with your schedule. I added a 3rd meal at lunchtime, and when I added it they were 6 months.

This is their schedule at 8 months:

6 AM -- Wake up, 8 ounce bottle
8 AM -- solids, which were fruits or rice/oatmeal mixed with formula or juice
10 AM -- nap time
12 -- bottle, 8 ounces
12:30 -- playtime on the floor or in the jumperoo or walkers. They usually played bumper cars in their walkers.
1:00 PM-- solids, veggies mixed with meat and juice.
2:00 PM -- nap time
4:00 PM -- bottle, 8 ounces
5:30 PM -- solids, veggies and juice
6:30 PM -- bath time, followed by playtime
8:00 PM -- bottle, 8 ounces
9:00 PM -- bedtime

 

We added a third meal at 9 months.

 

I don't think I added a 3rd meal until almost a year -- maybe it was 10 months. We didn't start solids until 6 months, and then for a long time they had fruit in the morning and veggies at mid-day. In the evening they'd come home from daycare, have a bottle, and go straight to bed. Finally around 10 months I was actively trying to increase their intake of table foods, and I realized I'd have to start feeding them dinner.

If you want to add another meal, I'd do it just before their mid-day nap. That makes a nice routine (lunch, then nap) that you can keep for the next couple of years.

 

I just added breakfast this week. I think mine are 2 weeks older than yours. I had been giving them just lunch and dinner, but I finally added breakfast, and they grub it up. I was afraid it would impact their noon bottle, but it doesn't seem to have slowed them down at all.