How much solids?

[Bkkmum]

this might sound like a silly question, but when you give your baby for example 3 tbs cereal, do you mean 3tbs dry cereal mixed with milk? ie once it is mixed it ends up alot more than 3 tbs.   

I am wondering if I am overfeeding 6 month old DS as I usually give him 3-4 tbs rice cereal mixed with formula, plus some fruit or vegies.  However once this is all mixed together there is alot in the bowl. He is also a big boy (over 20lbs) so I dont want him to have too much.

Wendy

[tylersmommy]

this might sound like a silly question, but when you give your baby for example 3 tbs cereal, do you mean 3tbs dry cereal mixed with milk?

This generally means 3 tbsp after it's been mixed, unless specified otherwise. As far as portions go, the average portion size for a beginning solids eater is 1-2 tbsp. Keep in mind, though, this is just the average...some babies will eat more or less. Your best gauge for knowing the "right" amount is to keep an eye on his breast/bottle intake. With bottles, it's easy, just track the amount of formula he takes. It's a little trickier with bf. Make sure he's still nursing for about the same amount of time and showing interest in those feedings. You can also keep an eye out for increased fussiness, which could be a result of gas or tummyache. Adjust his solids intake accordingly if you need to, but keep in mind that he might be a big eater or not know how to tell you he's full yet. It's a tough balancing act, but it will get easier!

[Bkkmum]

Melissa, thanks for your reply.  However, DS always finishes his bottles, so I have reduced the amounts myself rather than seeing if he will drink less.  This was following advice from his ped as before I introduced solids he was drinking between 40 and 44oz of formula a day.  I have now reduced the amount in the bottles to 32oz, but this added to the formula I add to the cereal in the morning and night still ends up to be about 40oz in total per day. 

Is this too much?  Should I reduce the amount of the bottles more?

I now give him 2tbs cereal, mixed with about 80ml formula plus 2-3tbs fruit or vegetable at two meals. He will usually finish most or all of this. Does this sound ok?

He has four bottles of 6oz and the bedtime bottle is 8oz.

[julieb]

Before I started solids at 6.5 mths, DS was drinking 40-50 oz a day (breastfed).  He'd down 12 oz in a single feeding from the bottle.   :shock:   I noticed he also has a big appetite for solids now.  It was almost immediate.  We've been on solids for 4 weeks, now three meals a day, and he eats a good 6-8 tbsp at eat meal.  He'd eat more if I let him.  But then I notice him spitting up more or acting uncomfortably full, so I keep it around 6-8.  He still nurses 4x a day and just dropped his 5th night feed a few nights ago.  He only drank 8 oz from a bottle the other day.  So he's probably down to 32-40 oz a day -- still well in the recommended amount.

He's around 19 lbs, tall and lean.  He wasn't always this lean -- seemed to happen once he became mobile.  He's very active, so I guess it's all burning off and not collecting anywhere!   :lol:

I wouldn't worry about your LO.  They're good self-regulators, as long as you're watching his cues.

[Travis' Mom]

This sounds like alot of food to me.  My son is 7 months old and we've been formula feeding for the past 4 months and on solids for the last 5 weeks.  I give him 4 tbsp. of dry cereal and a 6 oz. bottle in the morning.  I use 1oz. of formula in the cereal and the rest water.
Two snacks during the day consist of 2 oz. of some sort of fruit - prunes being one of them to prevent constipation.  For lunch and dinner, I give him 2 oz. of food and another 6 oz. bottle.  I give him water in a sippy cup throughout the day.  That's it and he seems content and weighs about 17 1/2 lbs.
Good luck.

[Deb_in_oz]

i think it is the same as milk feeds - every kid is diffrent - currently Olivia at almost 7 mo is loving solids finally and will now take 3-5oz of solids per feed and has actually increased her milk as well - she will now take 5 bottles of betwee 6-8 oz.

[M&M'sMom]

Okay... now I'm worried...
my dd's eat 2-3 tbsp of cereal (with fruit) at about 7am, then at 8 they will take their bottle. They will usually only eat about 5 oz of formula at that time. Then at lunch time they have some veggies, and again eat even less of their bottle- perhaps 4-5 oz. Then at supper they eat their 6 oz, and  have a snack after their bath ( as I dont  DF).
They wake once at noght and take 6 oz.....
Should they be taking more in during the day? If so how?

They are gaining weight well so should I be concerned?

Jody

[M&M'sMom]

Okay... now I'm worried...
my dd's eat 2-3 tbsp of cereal (with fruit) at about 7am, then at 8 they will take their bottle. They will usually only eat about 5 oz of formula at that time. Then at lunch time they have some veggies, and again eat even less of their bottle- perhaps 4-5 oz. Then at supper they eat their 6 oz, and  have a snack after their bath ( as I dont  DF).
They wake once at night and take 6 oz.....
Should they be taking more in during the day? If so how?

They are gaining weight well so should I be concerned?

Jody

[dkjokisch]

Some rough guidelines with regard to quantities...

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babyfeeding/1400680.html

[M&M'sMom]

Thanks for the link... it doesn't really specify how much formula they should still be getting while introducing solids though... are there any other guidelines that you know of?

Thanks,
Jody

[dkjokisch]

Formula intake should stay consistent with whatever they were taking before solids (24-32oz per day, I believe).  The first solids should supplement formula/breastmilk, not replace it.

[tabrenna]

this might sound like a silly question, but when you give your baby for example 3 tbs cereal, do you mean 3tbs dry cereal mixed with milk? ie once it is mixed it ends up alot more than 3 tbs.   

I am wondering if I am overfeeding 6 month old DS as I usually give him 3-4 tbs rice cereal mixed with formula, plus some fruit or vegies.  However once this is all mixed together there is alot in the bowl. He is also a big boy (over 20lbs) so I dont want him to have too much.

Wendy

At 6 months I was giving my son 4 tbs cereal prior to adding the water (I used water instead of formula). 

He is now 8 months old and loves to eat. He is 19 lbs and does not crawl as of yet.  His schedule goes like this:

between 6:30 and 7:30: wake up and BF
between 8:30 and 9:00: breaky - either Nutrios (1/2 cup) w/formula or 1/2 a mini bagel and a piece of fruit, or 1/2 cup baby cereal
lunch at noon: 1/2 cup plain yogurt with a half banana
around 1:00: BF
around 3:30: a chunk of rice cake, bits of cheese or anything else that I can find for him to snack on
5:30: dinner - 1/4 cup fruit, 1/4 cup meat-potato, 1/4 cup veggies and eating bites off of our plates also
7:30: BF for bed

He also will drink at least 4 oz milk in a sippy cup and always has a sippy cup of water on the go.

My neice - who is 3 weeks older barely eats anything compared to Josh.  She eats between 1/8 and 1/4 cup compared to his 1/2 cup servings.

I think that you need to be aware of how big the baby is overall, as long as he is healthy then eating the amounts they do is not abnormal.  I looked at the link that is posted and I think that the amounts Josh eats fit in the suggested amounts - towards the high end maybe.  LOL

[Hunter & Sithia's mom]

Hi there all,

I always counted the amount of cereal dry (right now about 6 tbsp x 2 times daily), never really concidered thinking of it the other way around.

DS is now 11 months old and 19 lbs, 15.5 oz and a really healthy eater, although he never really drank alot of BM or formula at one sitting.

Not much help I know, just my own thoughts.

[Deb_in_oz]

in australia the guideline post 6 months with solids is : as long as they get a minimum of 600ml (20-22 oz) of formula a day it is fine -- the aim being that eventually it will settle around 8-9 mo at 3 x 200ml bottles per day HTH (i know it varies in other countries this is just what my early child nurse told me)

[jennc123]

my daughter just had her 6 month checkup and my ped wants me to start really focusing on her solids, right now she still breastfeeds 5 times a day and does solids 3 times a day.  he wants me to fill her up with solids then breastmilk now to slowly start the weaning process, which i still am going to BF till she bites me...does this make sence?  she really lovesd her solids too, seems like much more than nursing now.....almost like she is weaning herself :cry: