How Much Do/did You Feed Your 7 Month Old?

I would not add another solid meal... the nutrition for babies under 1 year comes from breastmilk/formula.

baby food is just practice for eating.

he needs to get 24 oz of formula aday..

You are right if you add a solid meal he probably will skip the bottle. Babies replace the breastmilk/formula with solid foods.. so you dont want to add too much solids too young.

I added meatsand mixed dinners around 8 or 9 months..

Hi, the milk is more important. If you think he won't drink then I wouldn't add any more solids. An infants main nutrition is from breast milk or formula. They can't get enough out of solids until they are about a year old and can eat a bigger variety and have a balanced diet. If you want to you could give him a little solids then a small bottle to get him used to eating and drinking.

God Bless
K.

My daughter just turned 7 mos. She gets 4 6 ounces bottles a day, one when she gets up, one around 10am, one around 2 or 3 and one around 6:30-7. She also gets about a 1/4 cup of cereal mixed with fruit for breakfast, one veggie for lunch and one veggie and sometimes one fruit for dinner. We have a hard time getting her to drink her bottles and sometimes she has to miss out on the solid fruit.

With my first (now 4) I skipped all the baby food meats and waited until he could handle real meat chopped finely. The baby food meat is gross (in my opinion) and the toddler meats are overly processed.

It has been many years for me, but I do know both of my kids eat solids/table food early and never gave up nursing/bottles when solids were introduced. They were ready for more calories. I made my own baby food. My kids were/are small with fast matabalisms, so I feed them often and as much as they would eat. When my daughter was just a toddler she could eat 2 eggs, toast, juice and a bannana!!!

Follow your instincts. You know your child better than anyone. All kids are different.

Have fun--I miss those days:(

GL:)

My son now 15 months hardly ate solids till he was 12 months.. he would experiment with them, but he really wasn't all that interested. The 1st 6 months (according to American Academy of Ped) should be exclusive breastmilk or formula anyway and then I believe up till a year it's almost exclusive formula or Bmilk.. I'd feed him formula first and then the solids, if he's not interested.. that's fine..

My son now eats with a folk (he stabs and puts the food in his mouth himself) and he eats just fine... he just wasn't ready earlier.

Breastmilk/formula should be the PRIMARY source of calories for babies until age 1 year. Solid foods up to that point should just compliment the milk, not substitute. They NEED the fat provided in the breastmilk/formula for proper brain development. The solid foods don't have the proper balance of nutrition for their development.

As another mom noted, solids before 12 months are just for practice. Get them used to tastes and textures. Also, don't be afraid to give him soft cooked vegetables cut into 'stick' shape. It introduces them to the REAL taste and texture of table food. Honestly, purees taste terrible in my opinion. The real thing is so much better and then when they DO eat more solids they already are familiar with the taste and texture.

Anyway, at least 24 ounces of milk per day is generally recommended. Also, give the bottle before giving solids. Offer the solids about 1 hour after the bottle. This will help ensure he gets the calories from the milk and doesn't fill up on the jar food.

T. -

Wow! It's great that your son is eating so much so soon. My boys took a little while to catch on and build up to a wide variety of foods. My only suggestion is that I think your son should be getting more formula or breastmilk (whichever you give him). For instance, in the morning you should give him a bottle and then the cereal mixed with milk. Actually, at this age, you should be doing this at every "meal". And I would say, if he's up for eating it, go ahead and feed him lunch. A little extra chub is not going to do him any harm (especially if he's destined to be tall).

Good Job!

Dana

Your son will eat when he is hungry, if he is good with not eating lunch then thats ok. It sounds like you have it under control, as he gets older and startes getting off formula he will begin to eat a more "regular" schedule but until he wants more then dont do it. Good Luck and God bless!!

My son went in for his 6 month check up yesterday and our pediatrician instructed us to start giving him meat since he needs the protein. That being said the schedule you have sounds good, but I would maybe introduce a meat in there as well. If you are concerned about meat, I would call your pediatrician's office to confirm. Good Luck.
M.

Hi T.! My daughter is 7 months old as well and when we took her for her 6 month well visit, the doc said she should be drinking 28-32 ounces of formula a day on top of what ever else you are feeding them at this age. The doc said to make sure we are not feeding her too much jar food to the point that she is too full to eat the amount of formula needed at this age.

As of now, my daughter is eating about 28-30 ounces and ~3 #2 jars a day. My problem is, 10 of the ounces she eats are between midnight and 4:00am!!! Missing my sleep :)

Hope this helps!!

Good Morning T.!

My pediatrician gave me a wonderful feeding guide that I have used for 3 of my kids and I am currently using it on my fourth.. who is exactly 7 months old and about 21 pounds. It recommends 29-31 oz. of formual divided into 5 or 6 feedings a day. (I personally give him 5 to 6 feedings a day, but since I am breast feeding I am never exactly sure how many oz. he is getting, though when I pump it seems to be in this range.) Then for solid foods it continues: 5-9 Tbsp. cereal plus 1-2 jars of junior fruits plus 1-2 jars junior vegetables plus 1 slice oven-dried toast or 1-2 slices zwieback. And the infant will establish a demand feeding schedule. As long as your son is receiving nourishment in the amounts in the middle to upper part of this range (as he seems to be the over 50% in his weight chart?) then when he receives his feedings should rely on yours and his schedule. If he doesn't seem unhappy or hungrey in the middle of the day, and he is on a good schedule, then there is no rule that says he has to eat lunch. But if you are having some unexplained unhappiness from the little guy, maybe experimenting with the time and amounts of food might help.
I hope you find this helpful and good luck!!

Hi. Good luck with whatever you choose. My son is almost seven months old and at his sixth month check-up, the pediatrician told me to start giving him meats and only give him cereal once a day. Up until then he was eating cereal & fruit in the morning and then cereal & veggies at dinner. He also told me to feed him a small lunch of either fruit or veggie. My son loves his food and is doing well with the meat. Now if I could only get my 3 year old to try new foods and actually eat more than peanut butter, toast, almonds, carrots, cheese!

Let your child be the expert. As long as your child is getting the attention needed, he'll let you know when he's ready for more. I had many people upset when my youngest was a small eater and picky. Yet he was weight appropriate. When he was ready for a new food, he'd try it, and decide if he liked it. Babies have an instinct to let you know if they need something more. Unless your doctor is concerned, let your child eat when he wants food. Don't push food at him each time he cries, but if holding or changing the diaper doesn't stop the crying, then offer food/bottle. Children have natural instincts and it's great the way they let us know.