This week my 9-1/2 month old started feeding himself finger foods one day and was refusing all purees the next! Now he will pretty much only eat finger foods, but the quantity is tiny. I'm worried he is not eaitng enough. I mean, it's hardly anything! Especially compared to what he had been eating with purees (up to 5 or 6 jars a day plus a big bowl of oatmeal) -- the change in quantity seems drastic and sudden.
Today's meals went something like this:
Breakfast - roughly 3 ounces pureed fruit, 1/3 piece bread in small chunks, small amount of baby oatmeal mixed w/ formula, baby puffs
Lunch - 1/2 steamed baby carrot, 1/2 steamed green bean, very small amount of pureed chicken, tiny amout of bread, tiny amount of ground beef, a few shreds of cheese, baby puffs
Dinner - 1 ounce pureed fruit, 1/2 steamed baby carrot, 1/2 steamed green bean, very few baby puffs and a couple yogurt melts
Is this enough?? He has always been pretty small for his age and had just recently caught up a bit. I'm worried this decrease in food is going to put him right back where he started.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Is he drinking any breastmilk or formula? Until a baby is one year old most of their dietary needs should come from either of these sources because their digestive system isn't working 100% for solids yet.
Morning L.,
first an foremost dont worry too much and then
a) keep offering new foods as well as old stand by favorites
2) having a finicky 3.5 yo, I have to rely on the belief that kids will never starve themselves. Sounds like the breast feeding is picking up where the purees left off
b) just might be that things are falling at the same time. He might be needing less food at the same time you are trying to introduce new stuff.
just keep offering a variety and he should regulate over the week a pretty good diet. Keep an eye on his sleep patterns they may alter as well and if you get really worried call your ped's
Good luck and dont stress too much, you cant force him to eat any way, hes experimenting with his self control.
Off to feed my picky eater cereal flakes, thats all he'll eat in the am 2 bowls of it followed by a PBand J for lunch, everyday!
J.
Don't panic he won't starve, really. Let him try the finger foods for a while, but stand ready with something to shovel in. If he's truly hungry he'll go for it! You could also let him eat with a spoon himself, but be ready to shower him down afterwards. And have the camera ready.
it's a whole lot more than my son was eating at that age, and he was a very big kid. and nursing multiple times a night. :-) 6-9 months is when my guy was a particularly distractable nurser--like only nursing when we laid down for nap (and then weaned mostly on his own at 2.5y). they become more efficient at nursing as they get older, and breastmilk changes it's composition to accommodate new needs. it is possible that he is weaning, but this is very early for self weaning. I thought my younger son was going to wean early, he was very into eating and only used nursing for food, wasn't really a comfort nurser. but now he is and isn't letting up much at almost 2.5y.
at this age the bulk of their nutrition should still be breastmilk or formula. eating is for practice, for trying new tastes.
i would think that solid foods are going to sit more heavily in the stomach, he probably feels more full with what looks like less food.
when my younger son was dropping a bit on the weight chart I was told to add olive oil to his diet where possible for healthy fat, if your ped is concerned about your son's weight then he might suggest something like that or some high calorie drinks.
lastly, this is also the age where they often start getting more lean as they get more mobile.
I wouldn't worry too much. For the 1st year, eating 'solids' is really only for practice. All the nutrients he needs comes from formula or breastmilk. Once he hits 1 year, then I'd be concerned, but for now, just enjoy his new discovery of finger foods. Its fun!
Our pediatrician gave us great advice with our kids when we worried they were either eating too much or not enough: babies are amazing self-regulating creatures.
You may find that the table food, though less in volume, may be more condensed in calories.
We had the opposite problem with both kids - they were chunks - but based upon our conversations with our pediatrician in general, I'd perhaps recommend to have snacks accessible and available at all times (cups of pears/mandarin oranges), babanas, yogurt, etc. By snacking and grazing all day, he may be getting more calories than you might think. He may also be consuming greater volumes of milk/formula that are helping sustain his calories.
Here's what the American Academy of Pediatrics has to say about nutrition at his age and at the next stage.
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/f...
http://www.healthychildren.org/english/ages-stages/toddle...
I think it sounds like he's getting enough. Trust me, he'll let you know if he's still hungry! He may have just decided that he likes foods he can play with/feel different in his mouth than pureed foods and may not go back to pureed foods!!! Just keep giving him milk and you'll be fine!
