How much should my 11 month old be eating?

[ENMS]

DS is 11 months old and due to lots of issues / intolerances he is not yet eating solids the way he should for his age.  We have periods of total food refusal when he gets tummy issues, and he really only started eating regularly about a month ago. He is on a very restricted diet which right now consists of green beans, zucchini and chicken.

I do not really have food choices for him for breakfast but I offer 10-15 Nutrios per day.

He still gets a NF (or 2 last night  ) that I haven't weaned yet since he has had long periods without eating any solid foods and I could see that usually when he eats enough, he will STTN (or at least until 5AM).

He has started to walk this week and seems exceptionnally hungry. I am not sure how much he should be eating. I am feeding him until he's full, but he's not been eating dinner well because he's OT from short naps this week.

Today he ate:


NF 11PM 4 oz (I only offered 4 oz)
NF  3AM 8 oz
Breakfast: 10-15 Nutrios
Bottle 5 oz 7:00
11:00 little pieces of chicken and green beans, 1/2 cup zucchini puree with 15ml of chicken puree
12:30 bottle 5 oz
3:00 1/2 cup of green beans puree (I just added this as a snack today since he seemed so hungry yesterday)
3:30 bottle 8.5 oz
5:00 1/2 cup of green beans puree
6:20 bottle 8 oz

I'm wondering if he should be eating significantly more than that at his age?

I'm planning to wean the NF, but we keep having issues which delay this (food reaction so he doesn't eat anything for over a week, cold, etc).

TIA

[*Kara*]

I would say so... only because things like veggies don't do much in terms of keeping him full...

He is taking a good amount of formula though... I would be hesitant to wean anything until you are able to give him more in terms of solids...

[ENMS]

only because things like veggies don't do much in terms of keeping him full...

What does? Cereals? Or more meat? I'm very very restricted with his diet - basically he's allowed pork, lamb, chicken, and green veggies .  He's not loving his meat right now but we're working on that.  I'm trying to get some supplements which should hopefully help us give him more variety, but there is no assurance that it will work 

He is taking a good amount of formula though... I would be hesitant to wean anything until you are able to give him more in terms of solids...

Being able to give him more in terms of variety may take a while... But if he could eat bigger quantities of what he's currently getting, I'm hoping it would help, yk?  I always have in the back of my head, kind of what comes first, the chicken or the egg Is he eating not a lot because he's not hungry since he's full from his formula? Or is he eating as best as he can in the circumstances and needs all that formula anyway since his diet is so strict, yk?

[*Kara*]

kind of what comes first, the chicken or the egg Is he eating not a lot because he's not hungry since he's full from his formula? Or is he eating as best as he can in the circumstances and needs all that formula anyway since his diet is so strict, yk?

I totally understand this hun... just tonight it occurred to me as DD was drinking her bedtime formula bottle, that the reason she has been refusing a snack for the last 2 weeks after her nap is the 5 ozs of formula she gets right before she goes down!   

In terms of what will keep him feeling fuller for longer... whole grains and protein.  Any plans for beans yet?  What about quinoa?

FWIW - DD just started to consistently eat meat the last month or two...

[ENMS]

We are sooooo restricted with his diet. M has an enzyme deficiency which means he basically can only eat meat and green veggies for now. Once things are fully under control, I can try to introduce some new foods in moderation and see if he can tolerate them. I'm already cheating a bit with Nutrios but I need to offer something at breakfast! I've tried quinoa in the past and he didn't like it, I may just try it instead of the Nutrios and see if he takes to it better this time.

So today went a bit better - here it goes:

NF 1:30 8 oz
F 5:30 4 oz (I only offered 4 oz)
Breakfast 20 Nutrios 8:00
Lunch 11:00 1 cup of zucchini with 1 oz of chicken puree mixed in, a few pieces of chicken and green beans
Bottle 8 oz
Snack 1/2 cup of green beans puree
Bottle 8 oz
Dinner a few pieces of chicken and zucchini, green beans puree 1/2 cup

So in terms of quantity, does it seem about right? Although what he's eating is limited and nutritious, I really think I could reduce his formula intake and it would help him eat more. This morning I didn't offer a top up bottle when he got up (he had 4 oz at 5:30) and he ate really well for lunch. He's nearing 1yo now and I'd like to start moving him towards bigger quantities - I just don't know what's normal at that age.

If that works I am hoping to eliminate the NF, and then see if we stick to 4 bottles or if we can move down to 3 during the day.

Does that make any sense?

[*Kara*]

Makes total sense.. I think his quantities of solids are good!  That plus the formula - the boy has a good appetite

[Amanda5555]

Hey Elise

I have read along. I wonder if you shouldn't offer one of your protein choices at breakfast to kickstart his appetite and start his caloric intake earlier in the day. Still give the nutrios because they are totally fun and good practise but I would start his lunch meal at breakfast and so on. No body said you can't eat dinner foods for breakfast. I bet you will find for the first little while until he gets used to it he may decrease his dinner intake but will catch up. His body has probably adapted to his condition thus far. Kids are great like that. IMHO I think M needs to have protein at every meal. I wouldn't worry about quantity so much at this point as he is still quite interested in his formula. I think your quantities are right for him as an individual. I would experiment a bit and offer him a whole lot and when he seems no longer interested that's when I would stop. Poor M may be just a little bit food shy since its been such a tough road for him.

B has started being less interested in his formula as of late. Especially the evening bottle. And he went through a period where he didn't eat much for dinner for a bit. With his tummy issues and digestion that worked for him as he seems to have more trouble in the evenings. The longer of a stretch he has to digest the better for him apparently. But he's getting at least three meals and snacks during the day. Some days he takes less and some days he takes more. Some days I feel like I can't fill him up and sometimes I have no idea what the heck he wants. I think we've just gotten over a growth spurt actually as well becuase I couldn't seem to keep the kid full. Now his appetite has gone back down but he's sleeping a ton.

There is a great book called "wheat belly" which I highly recommend reading. Its a bit technical at times and a bit repetative but the science is solid and very interesting!!!!

HTH 

[ENMS]

Thanks Amanda . I will try the protein at breakfast. I have also noticed that dinner after 5PM does not go too well with him - he's too tired to eat properly so I'l ltry to get home as early as possible from work and feed him right away.

We had lots of NF last night - I think M is really, really hungry and I'm going to have to find creative alternatives for him because it is not enough for him now that the is walking.

I put up a separate post in bottle feeding but maybe I should have put it here instead? Kara feel free to merge?

11 month old started walking and went from 1 to 2-3 NF!

[*Kara*]

It's fine hun   I have answered on the other post as well

[Amanda5555]

I really do think the protein will hold him much longer through the day. He may not be able to have much variety right now but that's ok for now until you get everything sorted out. Just out of curiosity as I can't remember. What happens when you feed a bottle first thing in the morning and then solids right after or 30 minutes after? It appears looking at your most recent routine he seems to get a full bottle in the night and then sort of snacks until lunch. So for instance at 130am or 330am  he's taking a full meal. Then a snack 4 hrs later but sometimes not. Maybe he's gotten a bit into the habit of switching his nights and days but its very disorganized so its not the same every night and sometimes he's able to get that long night sleep. I wonder too if that doesn't affect his digestion a bit when his body doesn't get that big break night where his parasympathetic nervous system kicks in? I wonder if feeding him his biggest meals starting as early in the day as he will manage may make a difference? So start at breakfast and do his biggest meals at breakfast and lunch and then just kind of see where he's at in the afternoons. Maybe offer extra formula through the day as well in a sippy cup.

I know its different for you guys but here's what our day looks like in terms of eating.

730 WU-8-9 oz bottle solids following right after usually 1-2 cups of oatmeal cereal and a dollop of blueberries puree offer of watery juice but usually just water

1130-1200 8-9oz bottle 1/2 to a whole packet of sweet potatoe chicken and apples(baby gourmet), half a jar of fruit, a couple of cheerios or fingery crackery things, watery juice in a sippy cup ( on hungry days otherwise he will have less)

4ish 8-9 oz bottle
430-5pm We eat dinner and B has some of what we're eating and the other half of the lunch meat item, fruit if he wants

By supper he's usually not as hungry and then goes until the next morning. Lately he's been needing a snack in the morn and aft but depends on the day.

I know its way different for you guys because of M's enzyme deficiency but just thought I'd share in case its helpful it seems to work well with B's crazy tummy and digestion    


 

[*Kara*]

Amanda: 1-2 CUPS of oatmeal?  I don't even eat that much LOL!

[Amanda5555]

Lol maybe I'm estimating high I don't measure it lol oops

[ENMS]

Thanks Amanda

Good news - tonight he ate really well at dinner .   A full cup of zucchini puree mixed in with some strained turkey. He had the same thing at lunch, and then a big snack of green beans this PM. Hopefully that keeps him full a bit. Our daycare lady also mentionned a GS tonight when I picked him up, as he's just eating and eating, he's a bottomless pit this kid! I've noticed this week that he will eat dinner well if offered around 5-5:15, but any later than that and he won't eat much. So I'll try to make that extra efforts to be home early next week to feed him dinner.

We'll see what kind of night this bring us. Hopefully it's a good one.

Amanda I agree. I never mind a NF so long as he eats fully in the AM, yk. I'll see how it goes in the next couple of days and we'll re-adjust our routine as needed. I think we need to push breakfast, you're totally right. Will try some rice cereal tomorrow and see how that works out. Still toying with the idea of introducing eggs but not sure yet. I'm a wuss, too scared of a reaction 

[*Kara*]

Maybe just try egg yolks since the whites are generally the allergic bit?

[Amanda5555]

Even offering a bit of turkey or chicken for breakfast if you're really afraid of the eggs for now. Could totally be a GS or developmental leap for sure since he's now walking and using up all of those calories! Go M go!!!!!

I think whatever you decide to try it will take a bit to take effect. And you also have to think of yourself and sometime we just have to do whatever works and worry about it later. 

So I'll try to make that extra efforts to be home early next week to feed him dinner.

Can your daycare provider start him off for his evening meal? Sometimes we will do that with B. I may feed him early before our dinner is ready but then just have him be part of our dinner time experience and whatever he gets is just extra. If he's still hungry he eats if not he just plays while we eat. Just a thought in case its difficult to make it home early. To take some of the pressure off of yourself. Working and having a LO is hard enough! Just brainstorming here lol.

LOL so I paid more attention to how much cereal I actually give B  and ya totally not 2 cups lol. Maybe like 1 cup.........maybe. See this is why I suck at cooking lol.