Help!!!! feeding schedule for 1yr old?????

Michelle - posted on 08/13/2010

Toddlers have tiny stomachs that need to be fed often. Just like adults should be eating 6-8 times a day (small portions), children need the same thing. Mostly I feed him fruits and veggies at the meals though because he eats so often. We weaned him down to a bottle of formula for his one nap in the middle of the day and bedtime. I have yet to get him to sleep without a bottle of formula, but he doesnt seem to be ready to drop the sleepy time bottles yet. He drinks a bottle of whole milk in the morning.
I realize our schedule isn't easy to do because I am CONSTANTLY making food, feeding him, or cleaning up, but since I am pregnant and need to eat like that too, its great! Sometimes its really hard to think of something to feed him cuz it feels like weve eaten everything already!

6-7am 4oz whole milk
8a fruit, egg, and a little toast or pancake
10a mozzarella cheese stick, fruit, cheerios
12p - 8oz formula
1 or 2p - grilled cheese or pbj and veggie
4p - dinner (a meat, with a lil pasta or rice, and a veggie)
6p - crackers or oatmeal
7:30 - 8oz formula

He has a sippy cup of water on hand all day. They shouldnt drink their water during a meal because then they will fill bellies up with water, not nutrients.

Jenny - posted on 08/12/2010

My daughter didn't have a problem with the switch to whole milk and it has been a bit more challenging feeding her regular meals and solid foods and not knowing if she is eating enough but she lets us know when she is done eating and not interested anymore by starting to throw food on the floor. But she now eats 3 meals with snack/water in between. Here is a sample for you

9:00a - Cereal, fruit, egg and cup of milk
1:00p - Bread, cheese, fruit, veggie and cup of milk
3:00p - Snack (piece of fruit or rice cake and water)
6:30p - Chicken, veggie, pasta/rice, fruit and cup of milk
If she is thirsty after dinner we give her water

Hope this helps, it is a bit of a transition but it gets easier and she pretty much eats what we eat.

Rashida - posted on 08/08/2010

My 13 month old eats breakfast with juice around 9am, cup of milk at nap around 1pm, snack with water when she gets up from nap, and then dinner with us at dinner with water, then cup of milk at bedtime. She refuses to eat an actual lunch though

Jeanette - posted on 08/08/2010

i also had needed help with a schedule - we had been doing bottles with meals inbetween and needed to combine down to 4 meals a day which i felt mine could do-
the american academy of pediatrics website has a nice sample menu for 12mos olds and i found it very helpful-
it worked for mine-
first though i had to start by giving solids food at the start of a meal and finish the meal with the bottle-
now that solids have been firmly established and we are on milk that is no longer an issue-
but getting down to 4 meals a day has really helped!
good luck!

Chantelle - posted on 08/07/2010

every 2hrs is when they are suppose to eat, the switching to milk is hard at first but they eventually start to like it don't give up on it at first they are ify about it but after they will decide if they like it or not, when i switch my daughter off formual i try'd diluting it with water didn't work i try'd to give it to her straight from her bottle she would only drink a lil bit and be up most of the night than i added formual with the whole milk for about 2days and switched to full from there on she loves it the schedule situation it seems when i had my daughter on a good schedule it always was something about i didn't like or know about but your acually doing a good job keep up the good work :)