Life seemed so much easier back in the day when Noob Baby was subsisting only on milk. For about two months now, NB has been dabbling in solids. She’s in that purgatory transition period now where she thinks those Gerber Puffs are cardboard, can’t eat anything off our plates, and is basically condemned to a life of bland old people food – primarily, purees.

The diaper bag just got two times more ginormous – bottles, formula, one-meellllion pacifiers, bib, prison food in weapon-proof container, prison spoon with rubber tip, etc.

It’ll be so nice when she can just eat the things I don’t like off my plate (peas… blehhh). Or what I mean is, we can share our meal in tasteful harmony

I’ve mostly been making her baby food a la blender. It’s actually really easy and not too time consuming. Perhaps I’ll have a future post on this if you’re interested in serving up homemade baby food. Or, if you just wanna pretend you’re cool like good old Ronco (as I always do when I use machinery in the kitchen):

The two questions that keep coming to mind as she’s eating more is, “How much do I feed this noob?” and “How much milk does (insert endearing fatty baby name) need?” I think this is probably a common question for other noob parents out there. So, I’ve searched through several parenting books and favorite websites, and they all seem to be in range of this table, which I believe I found in Parents Magazine:

Birth to 2 Weeks
Formula: 18-24 oz (2-3 oz per bottle)
Breast Milk: 8 to 12 nursings
Solids: None

2 Weeks to 2 months
Formula: 20-32 oz (4 oz per bottle)
Breast Milk: 6 to 10 nursings
Solids: None

2 to 4 months
Formula: 30-36 oz (5 oz per bottle)
Breast Milk: 6-8 nursings
Solids: None

4 to 6 months
Formula: 32-40 oz (6 oz per bottle)
Breast Milk: 5-6 nursings
Solids: 1 meal/day (optional – consult your Ped.)
Servings per meal: 2-4 Tbsp* of cereal or pureed Stage 1 baby food

6 to 9 months
Formula: 24-32 oz (7 oz per bottle)
Breast Milk: 4-5 nursings
Solids: 1-3 meals/day
Servings per meal: 2-4 Tbsp* of 2 foods or up to a whole jar of Stage 2 baby food.

9 to 12 months
Formula: 20-32 oz (8 oz per bottle)
Breast Milk: 3-4 nursings
Solids: 3 meals/day
Servings per meal: 3-4 Tbsp of 3 foods (including finger/table foods) or up to a whole jar of Stage 3 baby food.

12 to 15 months
Formula: 16-20 oz (8 oz per bottle)
Breast Milk: 2-3 nursings
Solids: 3 meals/day and 2 snacks/day
Servings per meal: 1/4 of an adult serving size.

*2 Tbsp. of solid = 1 oz. of liquid

Now, if you’re wondering how to work these feedings into a schedule, this is an example from The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems (p. 96):

7:00 – liquid
8:30 – solids “breakfast”
11:00 – liquid
12:30 – solids “lunch”
3:00 – liquid
5:30 – solids “dinner”
7:30 – liquid before bed

I hope this answers some of your solid-feeding questions! Happy eating

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