Milk intake and solids??

[petram]

Ive just read a link about how much milk intake LO should have at 6-12months when introducing solids.

My LO is 5months so just doing some reading in preperation.

The link said milk intake should not drop below 20oz. That includes any you might use in solids
(Unless ive read it completely wrong)

Is it me, but that seems quite a small amount, my LO currently has 4 feeds plus df of 6/7oz, df sometimes less, thats a total of between 30-35oz.

Is he having too much?

[Shiv52]

Not sure where you were reading (was it on here?) but milk intake should stay between 26/28-32 oz until 8-9 months when you may drop a feed and then it will drop to about 20 oz eventually.  So in the initial stages of weaning you are not looking for milk intake to drop much at all.  Milk is the most important part of a baby's diet until 1YO so you don't want it dropping too quick. 

[Lolly]

The guidelines are that the minimum they need from 6 months is 20oz which can include the oz in their solids. However, the more liquid milk the better and as PP has said, milk is their main source of nutrition until around 1 so you don't want solids to start replacing milk until much closer to then, solids are in addition to their milk intake until then.

Laura

[*Kara*]

I've only ever seen the 20 oz/6month thing here... any book that I have read about weaning says 24 ozs until 10 months, then down to 20 ozs.

That said, some babies will prefer to have more and some a bit less - there is actually a mom here on BW who has a little man who is under 10 ozs each day at about 8 months... pediatrician is totally fine with it as he has a hugely varied diet and eats very well.

[creations]

UK oz and US oz are different which could be causing some of the confusion.  It does say 20oz in the guides on BW and that's right for the UK.  It's unlikely that your LO wioll drop down to 20oz the moment you start solids but if they take to solids well then it could do, you should try not to let it drop below that to ensure they get their full nutrients and vitamins...but as the months go on it will drop a little more working towards making solids the priority after 12 months.

[*Kara*]

They are different... but 20 US ozs is only 19 US ozs  

Over here, it's 24 ozs till 10 months (which is 25 UK ozs) then 20 US ozs (21 UK ozs) until weaning.

[petram]

Thanks for all your replies ladies.

While we're here i just want to ask about starting solids. (i am planning on starting next week, he will be 23wks)

He normally has a feed about 7/7.30am and then every 4 hrs.

I know that milk should be there main diet, but what if they are not hungry 1hr after a milk feed and totally not interested in having any solids, can you reduce the amount they have, for eg, he usually has 7oz feed at 7am, can i take 1oz from that feed and make up some rice/cereal with it cos when he has b/fast he will be getting that oz back?

He has a good 35oz of milk so way over the minimum of 20oz per 24hrs.

[Lolly]

Leave the milk as it is for now, solids are just for fun at the moment, it's all about experimenting with tastes and textures. Early solids have way less calories and fats in them than milk does so the idea is that they gradually become hungry enough to take in solids on top of their milk intake as they get bigger. You don't start replacing milk with solids until much closer to 1 year.

So keep milk feeds at their current levels and offer some solids about 1 hour after, if he takes some great if he doesn't it really doesn't matter. You may find he's not quite ready yet and he will only need a teaspoon or so to start with anyway. Don't rush to increase solid amounts.

HTH!

Laura

[*Kara*]

I agree with Laura - DD only had a tsp of solids for the first couple of weeks - and we started at just over 5 months with just a single offering each day.

[petram]

Hi again,

we started as planned and hes taken to it very well, although i think hes got quite a sweet tooth cos already hes choosing to eat more of his fruits than his veg!!

I just wanted to ask.... 

Ive been letting him taste things im eating eg a tiny bit of home made pasta sauce on the end of my finger(no milk used)but does have cheese and tinned toms, philly on toast, a suck of orange, etc

Is this ok, or are these foods that he shouldn't be having yet?

Also, he loves orange soooooo much i wonder if its possible to make some thick baby rice and sqeeze the flesh and juice of an orange in to it, or some other veg that it might be ok to mix with it?

[Lolly]

Sounds like he is doing well! You can use cow's milk for cooking from 6 months, and in cereal so if you have no family history of allergies that's fine, cheese, yoghurts etc are fine too.

I'm not sure about the oranges though, I wouldn't give too much as they are very acidic and can be harsh for little tummies. I didn't give any til closer to 1, but my two were both refluxers. Maybe check what the recs are in your area for introducing citrus fruits.

Laura

[petram]

Thanks Laura

I didn't realise they could have dairy so young, i thought it was a bit later, but thats good to hear.

 

[Lolly]

Those are the UK recs, some countries have a different time scale for different foods. It's always a good idea to check what's suggested where you are but if you have no family history of food allergies and your LO has been ok on cow's milk based formula then it should be fine.

Laura

[*Kara*]

Canada suggests no citrus until a year - the acidity is hard on tummy and it can cause a facial rash on their delicate skin

[petram]

Thanks for advice on oranges, i wont be making any purees from it yet then.

[babydeer]

Petram when you let him 'taste' what you're eating try only one new food every few days. I think a 'taste' still counts as a new food especially potential allergens. I was careful with my DS until about 9 months (he's 10.5 months now) and now we let him eat pretty much whatever as long as its not a choking hazard.

[*Kara*]

Unless there is a family history with allergies, the recommendations are to just go ahead with introducing foods without worry.  That said, I still waiting a few days between new things until DD was about 8 months old.  Certain things are more likely to cause allergic reactions so best to hold off on them: wheat, celery, egg whites...