10 Month Old- Feeding Questions

I have a 7 month old, but i keep a friend's 10 1/2 month old every day. he eats 4-5 8 oz bottles a day, plus 1 stage 3 jar of baby food with 3 meals. so he's getting 32-40 oz. of formula plus 3 meals of solid food. but i just looked at a similac feeding guideline, which said babies 9-12 months should have 3 bottle feedings a day, 7-8 oz each, totaling 21-24 oz, so it sounds like you're right on track. hope this helps.

Hi S.,

Here is a link to cafe moms. It will take you to a forum where mother's of 10 month old babies described the feeding habits of their little ones. Looks like your little princess right on target. You're doing great!

Also, you may want to join this group, if you want to keep up with what's going on with babies in your daughters age group. The group is called June 2007 Babies.

Copy and past this link.

http://www.cafemom.com/group/14668/boards/read/2595946/Wh...

you are doing the right thing. children of all ages naturally prefer to graze. it's a healthier way to eat. i have an 11 month old on the same schedule.

Hello, S.!
My son is 10 months and he eats 2 solid food meals, and drinks 5-6oz. bottels a day, he has done that for a few months and he seems happy and full! lol I give him a bottle after he has his solid meal. So I think yr little girl is just fine and healthy! Sounds like you are doing a good job!

she sounds healthy and just like all my four kids were.

Your baby sounds perfectly normal to me. I also have a 10 month old DD and we have a similar eating schedule. Until 10 days ago, she was exclusively breastfed and has abruptly weaned herself. I've been pumping and my pediatrician said that babies this age need 18-24 oz of milk a day. My DD gets 3 meals a day with 2 small snacks. She always wants to eat when her big sister is eating something. Babies have small stomachs and I've read that offering food several times a day is what is best for them.
Good Luck!

That is normal for a 10-month-old. My son is 9-months-old, and he is eating 3 meals a day and 4 bottles (8-9 ounces ) a day. It might make the day easier on you if you give her the bottles with her meals. We give my son a bottle with each meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and then a bottle right before bedtime. By doing that, we are officially feeding him 4 times a day. Then, I give him cheerios and juice for a snack during the day if he wants it. (This is our day.....Breakfast: bottle, cereal, and fruit; Optional Snack: Cheerios/Juice in a sippy cup; Lunch: bottle, veggie, and fruit; Dinner: bottle, cereal, fruit, and veggie; Bedtime: bottle). Good Luck with everything!!

I am a first time Mom, too, and all of the eating transitions can be very confusing! I love our pediatrician, and the feeding suggestions she made for us have worked very well, so I will pass them on in case you are interested. She told me that my son should be eating four meals a day. A typical day on our routine looks like this:

Breakfast:
oatmeal
fruit
6 oz. cup of formula

Lunch:
chicken
steamed carrots
6 oz. cup of formula

Snack:
4-6 ozs. of water or formula
small serving of pomegranite applesauce (optional)

Dinner:
Chicken
spinach
rice
4-6 oz. cup of formula

You can reverse the snack and dinner if you like to give your baby formula/breastmilk before bed. She said she wanted our son to have 16-20 ozs. of formula/breastmilk per day and 4-6 ozs. of water per day. My son doesn't really like the water, so we are working on it. Anyway, I don't know if this helps, but it has been great having his meal times more in sync with ours. I feel like I get a lot more accomplished. Good luck!

All three of my kids did much the same thing. My husband is a physician and he recommended that I feed them when they were hungry because their little stomachs are smarter than we are. I was feeding them healthy foods and they were truly hungry when they ate. Two of my three kids (8 yrs and 10 yrs)are still eating more like 6 small meals a day than 3 large ones and they are healthy and active and happy. My third (11 yrs) tends to eat 3 moderate meals, but that's what makes her happy and she's healthy, too. I have found that if I trust them to indicate when they want to eat, they eat more frequently and less at a time, which studies have proven is much better for all of us, not just kids. Good luck and enjoy your little girl!

I'd say your daughter's schedule is just right, especially if it is working well for you and she is on target with her growth. I would definitely not eliminate a bottle until she is old enough to replace it with whole milk.
My son (fifth child) just turned 11 months today. The doctor recommended that I limit his bottles to 28 ounces total per day to make sure he is getting a chance to eat enough solids. I usually give him the 4 ounce bottles, so he actually eats more often than your daughter. The Birth to Five Years book I have from the American Academy of Pediatrics (great book) suggests three meals and two snacks per day for this age (not counting bottles), but that seems like a lot of eating, even though the portions are quite small. My son eats meals with us and doesn't do much snacking (besides bottles, sometimes with crackers) in between, but he also still takes one 4 ounce bottle during the night. It varies a lot from child to child. It sounds like you are doing just right. Keep up the good work.

She sounds perfect to me! If you ask any nutritionist they will tell you EVERYONE should be eating 5-6 small meals a day, so maybe we should all take a cue from your little one!!! That is how our bodies are designed to work, burn the fuel it takes in... if there is too much time in between meals, our body think there is not enough food and starts to store what ever we can give it. Actually, I took my 6 year old to the Dr. two weeks ago for headaches and the first thing her Dr. said was to make sure she is eating atleast 5 times a day!

I will preface this by saying that my son is only 3 months old so I haven't gotten to this point yet but... If you look at any healthy eating plans for adults they ALL advocate 6 meals a day, eating every 2 - 3 hours. The same goes for infants and toddlers, smaller meals more frequently will foster healthier eating habits as they get older. With childhood obesity on the rise in our society, we all need to foster healthy eating habits in our children as early as possible. Hope this helps.

My grandson just turned 1yr. and has been off his bottle about a month. Be sure she is having her drink in a sippy cut at regular meals. Milk or juice and between meals a healthy snack again with her sippy cup. Also offer her a regular cup with you holding it for her. I think the earlier they are offered a regular cup the better. With my granddaughter we would put a cup to her mouth when she was just a few months old-just enough to wet her lips and it was no time she was familiar with a cup and then as she got older and could manage a sippy cup on her own she no longer wanted the bottle. She was off her bottle a 11 months and never missed it. I just think the sooner you introduce them to the cup the better. Try giving her dinner as late as possible so her tummy will be full at bedtime or maybe a snack and something to drink closer to bedtime. Sometimes I think it us the parents who get more attached to those paci's and bottles than the babies! Its a hard habit for us to break! And even with the sippy cup don't let her have it to walk around with in her hand all the time or go to bed with it, thats a bad habit to start and why does a parent think a child has to constantly have that cup in their hand. You may have to gradually take the bottle but I would definetly get her down to one a day right now and by time she is one have her off that too. My children were never hard to wean from the bottle, just the paci! And I think that was as hard for me as them, maybe harder! Good luck. And remember- the sooner , the better!