R had only breast milk/formula until he was almost 5 months old. We wanted to wait a little longer before moving to solids for various personal reasons. We briefly talked about doing baby led weaning, but I was too impatient and nervous about choking.
-Right around the five month mark (February 6) we fed him plain cereal once per day in the morning. He wasn't impressed. We moved to oatmeal. He liked it better. After about two weeks, we moved on to feeding plain oatmeal twice per day - in the morning and evening. At this point he was still taking about 30-32 ounces of formula per day. Eating a bottle every 4 hours.
-Around 6 months (late February/early March) we started to introduce fruits and vegetables. One fruit or vegetable was introduced every 3-4 days. There was no real pattern of introducing fruits/vegetables although I did try to alternate. The only thing that gave him a problem was carrots. So we took a break and introduced them again after a few months. He did fine the second time around.
- In mid march at his 6 month check up we were given the ok to feed him purees 3 times per day, so he started having breakfast, lunch, and dinner of purees. The doc said we could introduce a sippy cup. So we did. It's been a journey. At first he really only did well with soft nipples on cups. My very favorite is Nuby. That's the only one that doesn't seem to leak & he likes it best too. He just recently learned how to use a straw cup, but still has a tough tome with hard spout sippy cups. By this point he was still getting 5 bottles per day, but we started cutting back on the amount. He was getting about 28-30 ounces of formula per day.
- In mid April (around 7.5 months old) he started eating puffs. It took a few weeks before he figured out how it all worked. From there we moved to crackers and his Mimsy gave him cookies. The cookies were all the motivation he really needed to figure out how to put the food in his mouth. We began experimenting with some soft table foods, but really stuck with purees for the most part.
- Around 8 months he changed his bottle habits. This was definitely a Ryker led decision. But I figured we'd follow his lead on this. After about a month of fluctuating, he settled on 3 bottles per day. One in mid morning (7 ounces). One in mid-afternoon (7 ounces). And one at bed time (6 ounces). It was during this bottle fluctuation period that he also showed a genuine interest in eating table food. So we slowly worked toward eating only table food and cutting out purees. This all took place from early May early July.
- By ten and a half months (mid July) he ate strictly table food and mastered walking. It was a whole new world for him (and me). We cut bottles down to 3 6 ounce bottles per day for a total of 18 ounces of formula. We also began transitioning to milk. It took awhile for him to open up to it.
- After his first birthday, we cut out his afternoon bottle. By mid September we cut out the morning bottle. He also decided he liked milk in his sippy cup. The bedtime bottle stayed for a little longer because he got sick a lot in September and I knew that the bedtime bottle was a comfort to him, so we kept it. Once he finally got rid of all of his colds and ear infections, I switched from bottle to sippy cup at night (to make the weaning less abrupt). He refused to drink from his cup at bedtime. Following his lead, he doesn't get anything at bedtime now. It worked out so so much easier than I thought it would be.
- In mid April (around 7.5 months old) he started eating puffs. It took a few weeks before he figured out how it all worked. From there we moved to crackers and his Mimsy gave him cookies. The cookies were all the motivation he really needed to figure out how to put the food in his mouth. We began experimenting with some soft table foods, but really stuck with purees for the most part.
- Around 8 months he changed his bottle habits. This was definitely a Ryker led decision. But I figured we'd follow his lead on this. After about a month of fluctuating, he settled on 3 bottles per day. One in mid morning (7 ounces). One in mid-afternoon (7 ounces). And one at bed time (6 ounces). It was during this bottle fluctuation period that he also showed a genuine interest in eating table food. So we slowly worked toward eating only table food and cutting out purees. This all took place from early May early July.
- By ten and a half months (mid July) he ate strictly table food and mastered walking. It was a whole new world for him (and me). We cut bottles down to 3 6 ounce bottles per day for a total of 18 ounces of formula. We also began transitioning to milk. It took awhile for him to open up to it.
