Author Topic: worried about 8 month old eating...  (Read 1473 times)

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Offline jennc123

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worried about 8 month old eating...
« on: November 09, 2005, 17:22:43 pm »
Okay, this is starting to bug me, and I know I may be just worrying for nothing but my 8 month old just dosen't eat much, and i am wondering if I need to change the order of things, ie her schedule now that she is older.  It goes like this:

7:30-8am- BF
8:30- Oatmeal with fruit (about 3-4 tablespoons)
9:30-nap
11:30 or 12pm- Bf or bottle (starting to wean) 4 ounces if i am lucky:()
1pm- Lunch , usually 4 oz jar of yougurt with fruit and cheerios
2:00- nap
4pm-Bf or bottle
5-5:30-dinner, Veges and cereal and some fruit for dessert, about 3 tablespoons each, depends
7pm-bottle than bed
10:30-DF ( but dropping, she is refusing to nurse)

Lately she is refusing the 4 pm and DF, I am slowly weaning her for persoanl reasons and she seems to be losing interest in nursing now.  She is around 15 or so pounds, which seems fairly small for her age but she is very active and is standing crawling, sitting by herself etc...

My ped office sent me a brochure on how much she should be eating and it says 6-8 ounces per feeding, and I can hardly ever get 4 ounces in her and with BF i never know how much she is getting.  Am i overreacting here??  just worrying over nothing and just have to relaize she is not a huge eater?  sorry for the long post:(
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Offline cwolff

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worried about 8 month old eating...
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2005, 18:15:10 pm »
I don't have advice yet to offer, as my DD is 6 months.  But I will say this, my daughter is not a huge eater.  I was worried because I hear all these stories about babies younger even than mine that wolf down their bottles and then have one to two good solids meals as well.  I'm lucky if I can get her to take a full bottle, much less solids a half an hour later.  And when we do solids, it's like 1tsp of cereal max, and if I give her fruit in it she will eat it, but spit up a lot.  So I'm thinking that in 2 months, my DD will be doing just as yours is.  Perhaps they are not big eaters, and as long as they maintain their own personal growth pattern, there should be no problems.  Before you worry about the "shoulds", as your pediatrician if her weight gain has been consistent and growth is normal.  If so, then your DD is getting what she needs.  She sounds like she's going to be petite, and she may end up prefering to snack than to eat a lot at one sitting.  Also, there are lots of ways to boost her caloric intake without forcing more food.  I would recommend you get the Super Baby Food book, by Ruth Yaron.  Or go to their website.  There are a ton of sneaky ways to give your baby more nutrition.  Here's some healthy extras that can be added to her cereal and they are packed with goodies:

brewer's yeast (nutritional yeast) It's pretty good, I've tried it
Wheat germ
tofu
cooked crumbled egg yolk
ground seeds (pumpkin, flax, chia)
nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter, or other nut butters)
mashed or pureed cooked dried beans (like hummus)
tahini or other seed butters
instant nonfat dry milk (great for boost in calcium)

Of course with the seeds and nuts, you'll have to introduce and make sure there's no reaction.  But there are lots of things you can "add", especially to the yogurt that will give her that added boost and maybe ease your mind.  PM me if you want to know more.
Chloe

Offline Erin (redstarfalling)

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worried about 8 month old eating...
« Reply #2 on: November 11, 2005, 15:56:17 pm »
I found this post of mine from a while ago...might reassure you!

Quote (selected)
You'll probably hear lots of responses with tons of food  , but here's what my dd was eating at about 9 months on a really good day:

BF 4-5 times per day
Breakfast - 2-3 Tbsp cereal mixed with fruit and breastmilk
Lunch - 1 cube mixed meat and veggies and sometimes a bit more veggies on a really good day, 1 ice cube fruit
Supper - 1-2 cubes mixed meat and veggies, 1 cube fruit

She still managed to gain weight with this (and she'd only eat this much maybe once a week - the rest of the week it's much less  ).

It's gotten better since then - she eats quite well now, but it took a while.  Around 8 and 9 months, I think it was the hardest - very frustrating and worrisome thinking she wasn't getting enough.  But milk's still the most important part until 1 year.  Is the bottle EBM or formula?  A lot of EBM fed babies only take 4 or 5 oz per feed - they don't need as much as if it were formula. I'd suggest to relax.  As long as she's not losing weight and is otherwise healthy, it should even out eventually!  :D
Erin
Mother to Megan and Samantha


Offline jennc123

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worried about 8 month old eating...
« Reply #3 on: November 15, 2005, 18:12:23 pm »
thank you, its hard to know really, right now  she is pulling a nursing strike, I figure she will eat when she is really hungary, plus i am weaning to formula, i only nurse maybe twice per day now.
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