Very Confused !!

[pom04]

Hi there

Im hoping you can offer your opinion on my present routine - I have twins - they are 6 and a half months old (born 5 weeks premature) - I have started them on solids just a few weeks ago and have taken things slowly - my routine is -

6am - bottle

9am bottle - rice cereal and fruit

12 noon - bottle

3pm bottle

6pm Bottle - veg and rice cereal and fruit

8pm bed time bottle

The bottles are approx 200ml and they have been eating between 8/12 teespoons as each meal - they weigh just over 7kg - I have been offering the bottle first at breakfast and teatime !

I saw the padetician yesterday for the girls last check up and he said that my routine needed to change ! That the girls should be having fewer bottles (4 he said ) and 3 meals a day - I should not have been offering the bottle first!!! Yikes - I felt a bit of an idiot as I thought I was doing the right thing - my plan is to introduce lunch and that started yesterday - but Im so confused !!Should I now start offering solids first - my girls were v grumpy yesterday afternoon when I tried to make the change and they still want their milk!!!!

Look forward to your response!!

Very confused twin mummy !!!

Ps - one other quick question - is it ok to give the girls baby yoghurt at this stage!??

[the pero clinic]

Dear Pom04,

How confusing for you! I would say, however, based on the information that you have given me, that you are doing a perfectly fine job of introducing solids to your bubs! Your paediatrician, on the other hand, is correct about where you should be heading over the next 4-8 weeks. At just over 5 months corrected, it seems a bit unreasonable to expect 4 bottles and 3 meals at the moment.

From around 6 months, bubs should be gradually introduced to small amounts of pureed food. They should also be taking less milk than in the first 6 months. Approximately 100mL / kg of formula each day is a good guideline. For your twins, this may mean dropping one bottle feed, or decreasing the amount in each bottle.

It’s great that you have added a lunch meal, and your girls seem to be eating a very good amount at each meal. When starting solids, it is correct to offer the bottle first, but this should change as bubs approach the 7-8 month mark (or 4-8 weeks after starting solids).

In summary, continue with your feeding plan (you seem to be clear on what you are doing and where you are heading), decrease the milk feeds as needed – particularly if you have now added lunch, and gradually work towards solids before bottles. Keep your girls’ adjusted age in mind when it comes to feeding – as they may develop more in line with this than their chronological age, and continue to use your common sense and mothering sense when it comes to your girls.

Baby yoghurt is fine too - as long as there is no reason to suspect that dairy allergy is likely.

the pero clinic