Feeding advice....Please!

When i asked my pedi the same question, he basically said that there is no right or wrong way to introduce solids, except to wait 3-4 days in between each new food.
At 6 months, his guideline was cereal 2x a day and fruits/veg 2x a day. i would do cereal and 4 tbls of fruit for breakfast and cereal and 4 tbls of veg for dinner. around 7-8 months, i introduced lunch. cereral and 2-4 tbls of veg for lunch, cereal 2-4 tbls of fruit and 2-4 tbls of veg for dinner. at arund 9-10 months, i introduced meat for dinner and lunch time...a couple of tbls spoons of meat per meal. also at about 9 months he was eating about 1/4 c. of fruit/veg per meal (he's a big eater)

Baby center actually has a real good guideline for how much of each kind of food should be fed to the baby per day. i find it helpful.

I hope that helps.

at 6 months, her primary nutrition should be from formula. Solids should be like dessert- only a few teaspoons once a day, and you can gradually increase that so that by 8 or 9 months she is eating 3 meals a day, but they should still be fed to her AFTER formula. Don't decrease the amount of formula she is getting. The solids food should be given in addition to her formula, not in place of. For more specific information buy the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. She also has a website with good information http://www.superbabyfood.com

Hi A.-

My peanut is 2 yrs this June so we were in your spot not too long ago...

I started much slower with just cereal in the AM at 6 months. It was never much, just a tablespoon mixed with BM or formula till really runny. She always preferred nursing so that was what we did for her primary food source. Near the end of 6 months I had worked up to two "meals" - ceral at breakfast and lunch and even started experiementing with fruits. I would sub the fruits in for the cereal at lunch time. This usually was a few tsp and never a whole jar. I tried one change for three days straight before we moved on to anything else. I did this so I could monitor her reactions if any. Dinner and all snacks typically remained a bottle.

By the middle of seven months, we had increased the cereal to pretty much the entire bottom of a regular cereal bowl and dried it out a fair amount. We even started adding fruit to the cereal. All the mean time I added new items at lunch time. I think we picked up "dinner" about this time too.

I really liked the Beechnuts food line although they did not do so well with the single meats. I had to buy Gerber to expose her to those. I felt like the Beechnuts laid out a good outline for when to advance in thickness and texture.

My little girl was a champ with finger foods very early on and she always took an interest in what I was eating so once we hit a "Stage 3" level and she was eating 3 meals a day (I think about 10 months), I would slip her a taste of my food - spaghetti sauce, a plain noodle, steamed veggies, especially peas - things that would be similar to what we eat and she would be eating once she grew up. She eats lots of different things now including chickpees the other night.

I would take your cue from the baby. Make a little more than you think she will eat. If she is pushing away the spoon, she is done. If you are finished and she is still opening her mouth, give her a bit more or maybe something different (like the fruit or another veggie). There is no exact science as each child is different which is why your pedi may be hesitant to give you a number. When parents are given a number, it is a benchmark and we might push our kids to eat that much (or that little, depending on the case). This can result in battles over food which should be a learning and bonding experience like anything else in your baby's life. It can result in over/under eating too which of course means weight issues later. You really don't want to set yourself or your baby up for that so give the doc a break.

I wish you lots of luck. I am sure you will get great advise here!

~C.

Hi A.,

I'm a first time mom too...my son is 17mos now. I think the two ladies who responded before are right on. I used to worry about this eating issue a lot too, but the fact of the matter is that your baby is pretty much getting all her nutrients from the formula, the solids are just practice food and supplements to the formula at best. Just follow your babies clues...she will let you know when she wants more, and when she doesn't.

Hi A.
My daughter is turning 7 months this week. I used to feel the same way and the basic answer I always get is that each baby is different. I called the Gerber hotline at 800-508-1717 and they were fabulous!! Really gave me piece of mind. I also have my daughter in daycare and even there, each baby is different in what they eat, how often etc. My daughter has been eating solids since she was 4 months and here is her schedule.
7am - breastfeeding
9am - cereal and fruit - stage 2 and 2 tablespoons of cereal
11am - 7oz bottle
1pm - stage 2 food - no cereal - too binding
3pm - 7oz bottle or breast if she is home
6pm - cereal and veggie
7 pm - 7oz bottle
Hope this helps. I'm looking forward to reading other advice since I feel the same way you do lots of times:)
D.

The reason your doc isn't giving you a straight answer is because there is none - every child is different because every person is different !!!! I can almost guarantee without even knowing you that how much and what you need to eat to be healthy is not going to be the same as it is for me. Sounds like your daughter has a good variety, and you're not concerned with that. As for quantity, if your child is hungry, then feed her. If she's not, then don't. It's as simple as that. If you force her to eat food when she's not hungry, that'll just lead to all sorts of "food issues" later in life.

Technically, I think the guides say a typical 6 month old eats about 2 tablespoons per meal (I THINK) - whatever it was, my SKINNY, 15%-ile daughter ate 4 times that. So if I went by the guide, I would have starved my child to death. Conversely, my 5 year old nephew eats like 2 chicken nuggets per meal, and he's perfectly fine too.

My son is 7.5 months old now and I started hm on solids at 6 months.

>>If he wakes at night, I give him 6 oz of formula.
>>4-6 oz formula between 6-7am.
>>Breakfast around 7:30-8:30a which includes oatmeal or rice cereal (reconstituted with 2oz of formula - approximately 3-4 oz of cereal) and one 4 oz jar of fruit. >>4-6 oz of formula between 10-11a (when he wakes up from nap).
>>No lunch solids.
>>6 oz of formula after 2nd nap.
>>6 oz of formula around 5p (or after 3rd nap if he takes one).
>>Dinner around 5:30-5:45p: same amount of cereal as for breakfast with 4 oz jar of veggies.
>>2-4 oz at bedtime (around 6:30-7p).

My son is in the 90th percentile for height and 50-75% for weight. He grew one pound and one inch between 6 and 7 months on this feeding schedule.

When it comes down to it, as others have said, your have to see what you daughter can tolerate. If she doesn't want anymore, she will turn her head & close her mouth. Babies will not feed if they are not hungry. Any solids that you are giving are just to get them used to eating different textures. You are training her to eat.
Most of the calories MUST still be coming from the formula! 1 oz of formula is 20 calories. One 4 oz jar of fruit or veggies is only about 30-70 calories. Very different. You don't want to fill her up on solids before giving her formula.

Hope this has alleviated some of your anxiety!

Trust your instincts!

Hi. I think I remember giving my son all the same formula feedings even when he started solids. I think I was giving him a lot of cereal though b/c I remember my pediatrician acutually laughing at me a bit when I told him - he thought he misunderstood me but I said, no thats what he eats. My son is almost two and its sad, but I can hardly remember already - What I do remember is a bottle & some cereal (maybe about 2 - 3 TBSPS dry and then mixed with formula and/or some fruit) for breakfast. I'd give a fruit for snack mid morning. Lunch would be a protein (one jar) and a veggie - usually green) another jar - seperate or mixed together. He still got a bottle. After noon snack would be another fruit and/or a "yellow" veggie. Bottle too. Dinner would be protein, a green veggie and a fruit for desert (small jar) Still got a bottle. He'd get a bottle before bed then too. Now, I am not sure if I started my son on solids at 4 months or six - I think it was four - does that sound normal to everyonoe else??? Basically I kept him on his bottle routine and just added a small jar or two and some cereal to the meals and snacks. Does this help at all? I hope it does. Don't worry. Just keep offering your daughter her main meals and a couple "snack" a day and I'm sure she'll be getting enough. I would just let my son tell me when he was done too - I remember worrying b/c I wasn't sure if he'd just keep eating and eating if I didn't stop him, I wasn't sure if he KNEW to stop himself, but he did sometimes and other times I did.

I am the mother of three kids, ages 14, 11, and 5. I don't feel that there is any set amount of what they should eat. I always lived by the rule of when they are hungry, feed them. If they don't want it, don't force it. It sounds like you have introduced solid foods. I always gave mine cereal & fruit in the morning, then veggie & fruit for lunch & dinner. If this seems too much, leave out the lunch feeding for now & just give her a bottle at that time. You should probably start slowly introducing a sippy cup too just to start getting her used to it. Hope this helps a little!

Hello,
My son is eight months old so I have recently gone through this myself. When I asked his pedi, the doctor told me that everything really depends on the child, however the child should be up to 3 meals a day by the time he's one. For example, I started out feeding my son fruits/veggies at night at a tablespoon then he really took of with that so I worked up getting him to eating half a jar each night, but more recently he started eating breakfast as well as dinner and will soon be eating lunch as well! Just thought I'd add in my two cents! Hope this helped!

sounds like your doing just fine. the only thing diffrent with mine was vitamins because she was breast fed. youll be ok :D if the docs not worried just relax and enjoy it goes too quick.

Hi A..
I was worried about the same thing and really didn't get a lot of advice from my Dr because he was Family Practice Dr and not a Pediatrician.
I found some good advice online. Here is a good site:

http://www.babycenter.com/0_age-by-age-guide-to-feeding-y...

I was told as long as she is gaining weight and drinking fluids, that is ok. But, I keep trying to push the fruits, veggies and proteins just to make sure she's getting the most nutrition.
Good luck!

A. -

Like everyone before me has said, every baby is different and you need to go based on your gut instinct. I have an almost 8 month old (as well as a 6.5 and 4.5 year old too), so I'll tell you my schedule.

7:00 am - Bottle of 6-8 ounces
9:00 am - Breakfast (2 tablespoons cereal mixed with a stage 2 tub of fruit)
11:00 am - Bottle of 4-6 ounces
12:00 pm - Lunch (one stage 2 tub of vegetables & one stage 2 tub of fruit)
3:00 pm - Bottle of 4-6 ounces
6:00 pm - Dinner (one stage 2 or 3 jar of food - usually chicken with vegetables or fruit)
7:30 pm - Bottle of 5-7 ounces

Like I said though, it's just a guideline and every baby is different. My older two kids loved bottles and drank a lot. My son on the other hand seems to prefer food and not require as much formula as they did. There are days when my son eats me out of house and home. Other days, he's only interested in the bottle. So you need to tailor it based on his needs/wants. As long as your baby is gaining weight and thriving, there is no "set schedule" for feeding. Good luck and trust your instincts!!

- K. :)

Call your local WIC program and ask. They are very helpful and have handouts with the amounts of servings by age.

Nanc

I go by a really great book called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. She breaks down month by month what you should be feeding your baby and how much. She tells you the next things to introduce and the things to wait on and for how long. I absolutely love this book.

Oh you poor dear! I felt the same way at first. Here's the thing and it is much better you learn it now, doctors don't know everything, especially about our baby. Since every child is so different they really can't say much about how much or what to give them. You just have to learn for yourself. It is daunting at first, but trust your instincts. Babies are good at telling us when they need more or something different. At 6 months many babies are just starting to eat foods. Don't need to rush her into it. The main source of nutrition should still be her formula. Baby cereals like Barley and Oatmeal are good for iron and can be mixed with fruit or veg. Yogurt is another option I gave it to my son at 6 months. As far as amounts well, we started with 2 spoons of cereal and built up to 4 spoons.

Hi A.. I have a 10 month old but here is what her schedule was like at 6 months. We started giving her solids at 6 months, and she was breasfed until then, and then I switched to formula.

8 am - 4-6 oz formula
11 am - 4 oz ceral with bananas or peaches
1 pm - 4-6 oz formula if she wanted to take it (otherwise, I wouldn't push it if she wasn't hungry)
2:30 - 3 pm - 4 oz veggie or fruit
5 pm - 4-6 oz formula
7:30 - 8 pm - 4 oz veggie or fruit (we just started giving her meat at 9 months)
9:00 - 4-6 oz formula (right before bedtime)

My baby is a good eater so I would trust her if she didn't want to eat anymore and wouldn't force it on her. Also, she goes to sleep later, like around 9:30 pm. She also drinks at night at least 2 times (this must be because she was breasfed and used to eating at night) and would take around 4 oz formula each time. Her feeding schedule is similar right now, except she will take more like 6 oz of solids each time, sometimes even 8 oz, and she also takes snacks during the day (graduates' puffs) and water to drink.

Hope this helps. Also, follow your instincts - I'm sure whatever you're doing, you're doing great!

Ask your pediatrician for a feeding guide. It's a printout that the offices and hospitals have to give to new parents. We got one from ours that lists what foods can be introduced at what ages and how much from each food group should be offered each day, depending on age. It also lists how much breastmilk or formula should be offered each day. It's a great resource, even if you only use to see what foods can be introduced at what ages. I used it for both of my babies and it always made me feel better to have a guide to see that they were eating enough or that I was giving them safe foods for their ages.
The one that we have is sponsored by WIC. If you google "WIC infant feeding guide" you'll probably find it. I tried and it looks like it should be the first page that comes up on google. My computer's not cooperating, so I can't open the page and be sure. Try it and see if that's helpful.
Good luck

A.:

Oh how I remember the worry and the stress from my first baby! And I'm telling you, he didn't even come close to solid foods at six months. That alone makes it sound like things are just find.

I nursed my baby, and it never felt like he was getting enough. And since I'm on the petite side and so are my parents and my husband's mom, well, the little baby was also on the little side. That didn't make anyting easier. I went to a handful of pediatricians and then to a specialist or two. Maybe even throw in a family therapist, an allergist, a nutritionist, and a few lactation consultants. I listened to women on the park bench too. Now, mind you that our baby boy was perfectly healthy and cute and responsive, and his body was perfectly propotioned weight to height, even if both were off the low-end of the charts. My husband kept telling me that our son would eat more things when he wanted to, but so long as he was growing and thriving (i.e., not sluggish or half-alert), then everything was just fine. After about two years or so, I decided to start to believe what my husband was saying. And today, well, the little guy is doing just great as a 71/2 year old (he's still short, but my husband says that he himself also was the shortest in his class until tenth grade).

In short, if your daughter is alive -- seriously, if she is doing well -- then I think you have nothing to worry about. Sounds like you are doing just fine in the feeding department. A six-month-old is like a teenager -- she'll eat what she likes and avoid everything else, and as she gets older, her diet will vary and increase. I'm not sure why your doctor won't tell you how much your baby should eat -- it could be that there is no formula for these things. All in all, if you can relax and just kind of pretend the six-month-old is like a regular kid who will eat as much as she wants when she wants, then she'll do just fine, and you'll enjoy this precious time of her babyhood.

Hi A.,

It is true that every baby is different like everyone else responded and you need to take cues from your own child, but it has been helpful to me in the past to hear what another mom is doing. I have twin girls 7 months old and the amount of food they eat is as follows. each child gets: breakfast cereal ( 3 tbsp mixed with formula) and 1/4 to 1/2 a jar of fruit mixed in to the cereal. lunch is usually 1 jar of a veggie or a veggie/meat combo. then for dinner we do cereal again with one jar of a veggie ( sometimes a fruit) we are now on the stage 2 jars which are about 4 oz. I breastfeed, so I can not tell you how much they are getting there.

I was told for cereal, you can give anywhere from 2 to 5 tbsp at the meal. 3 usually works for us, and I just watch for my babies to give me signs that they are done. ( not opening their mouth or pushing the spoon away)

I hope this helps

W.

Don't stress! At this point, solids are just for learning. She is getting everything she needs from her formula. So just go carefully, introducing a new fruit, veggie, or grain cereal every 3-4 days. Add in a new meal when she seems to "ask" for it. Follow her cues, and you'll be fine!

Ask your doc for specific advice on when you can add in dairy products (other than formula), meats, etc. You need good advice on that stuff!

Hey A.,

First I want to say please do not doubt yourself!!! We were all new moms at one time so I know how you feel second guessing comes with the territory. Every child is different so there are no right answers you just have to follow your own babies cues. If she is content then she has had enough to eat. If she still looks hungry then it is okay to give her more. Trust me she will let you know what she needs. My kids are older now but I run a childcare center and basically this is the schedule most of them are on. They have a bottle when they wake up and cereal and fruit around 8 or so. Another bottle between 10 and 10:30. Lunch is usually half jar veggie half jar fruit and then a bottle around 2 or so. Some of them get another bottle around 5 or so to hold them off for dinner. Dinner is usually meat, veggie, or fruit and veggie and cereal again, and then one more bottle before bed. That is a pretty normal schedule for the babies at me center. Of course some days they are hungrier then others so I wouldn't panic just go with your own babies needs. As far as your pediatrician I loved mine and could communicate with her very well. She never minimized my concerns and always addressed my questions. If you are not getting what you need from your doc then I would say find another one. This time is so confusing to a new mom and not having the right doctor can make it even worse. Good luck!!!

Our ped was very vague also...the nurses said that as long as the babies are eating, having wet/dirty diapers and gaining wt then you are doing fine! we have twins and at six months they were doing ceral/fruit veggies at breakfast and meat/fruit/veggies at lunch and dinner. They had a 6-8 oz bottle b/t lunch and dinner and a bottle about 8 oz before bed. My ped said that the idea is to feed them food at 'our' meal times...that is the long term goal! Trust your instincts...is your baby telling she is hungry? then feed her more.....Another thing you can do is offer 2-4 oz of formula after each meal to guage how hungry she is....By about a year the babies are on table food and formula/milk is secondary so she is half way there. At eight mos our twins are only having about two bottles a day....they love eating real food and are so interested in what we eat!

You probably cannot get a straight answer because there really isn't one. At 6 months her main source of nutrients is from the formula (and it is ok that she drinks formula). The solids at this stage are to slowly introduce her to the art of eating like a big kid, trying new flavors and getting exposure to new things. Keep up the good work of giving her the solids but just make sure she drinks her bottle first. Follow her hunger cues. At 6 months she is probably going to have a growth spurt so she'll want more than normal. According to babycenter.com multiply your baby's weight by 2.5 ounces and that is how much formula she should have. HTH!

if she needs to be fed more often than every 2-3 hours she's not eating enough...or she's ready for solids(if you haven't already started)...that being said take a deep breath...accept that you are doing the best you can and that you will screw up eventually(not that you are screwing up, but it happens to us all...we're all human and we all make mistakes!). Then, GET A NEW PEDITRICIAN!!!!!!!!!!! you should never leave your childs doctor feeling that way!!! I am not saying you have a bad doctor, just a bad fit...start going on interviews and ask friends and everyone you see with a child!! I have 5 lil boys and we've tried out a couple different peds(we have moved 3 times) but let me tell you as much as I love my husband we joke I'd leave him before my peditrican :) Find one that is not only good with your child but good with you too!