Questions about solids. Your advice please!?

Question

My daughter is now 8.5 months old and I feed her solids at breakfast and dinner. At what age did you start to feed your baby 3 meals a day? I'm really wondering if I should / need to start to introduce lunch.

And is it necessary to have a wide variety each day? E.g. is it okay if I serve, for example, apple and banana at breakfast, apple and potato at lunch and potato and peas at dinner? Or should I be serving something different at each meal?

Thanks!

Answer 1

mine is 8 months and doesnt even eat that much, just a few bites of what Im eating. i dont think its necessary to introduce a wide variety of foods yet. but you can if you want

Answer 2

I started giving my baby 3 meals a day when she hit 7 months when she acted like she was starving and not getting enough..I give my daughter oatmeal and banana in the morning..and for lunch and dinner she gets whatever i may be eating..I would introduce more of a variety..

Answer 3

Go by your baby's signals and needs.  She doesn't yet 'need' any solids at all, but if she's very hungry and still plenty of milk, you could introduce a third meal if you wish.  IIRC, I went to three meals when baby was eating table foods -- she just sat in her high chair and ate most of the same things we did. (Plus a little jarred food too.)   She was around 9 months at the time.

I would try for variety, just to reduce the risk of pickiness, but don't obsess about it.  If she's eating some table foods (she should be doing so soon, if she isn't already), it's easier to get that variety in.  There aren't that many options in little jars, but your cupboards and fridge offer many different foods, and many different preparations of foods. (Scrambled eggs today. Boiled eggs tomorrow. Scrambled with cheese on Thursday. Poached with spinach on Friday!)  

Answer 4

The more variety you have, the better foundation your little one will have later on. IT takes a while to get there, though, since you have to wait three days between introducing new foods. Also, between 8 and 10 months, you can introduce meats which will give some variety. I'd say at this point, you can start adding some lunch.

Good luck!