How Much Food Should My 6 Month Old Be Eating????

Breastmilk or formula should be the primary nutrition source until they are 1 year. They contain everything a little one needs (except iron in breastmilk - natural stores of that begin to run out around 6 months).

Babies are born knowing how much they need to eat. Many times we disrupt that gauge by trying to take control instead of following their lead. I'd offer the milk first and then allow him to guide the rest of the meal. Offer a variety of healthy foods. It sounds like he's a healthy kid and growing normally. My first ate everything in sight and barely hung onto the 5% for weight. They did blood tests and everthing was fine - just fast matabolism I guess. She's still skinny, but a good eater. My youngest is 5.5months and we are just now starting solid foods. We started all of ours just around 6 months. She's just doing a small bowl of rice cereal once a day at this point.

Ok i have 3 kids and all of mine where eating solids before 3months(big NO-No now adays with doctors but they aren't raising my kids i am)and by 6months they were eating 3meals and snacks with getting formula in the morning,nap,afternoon,dinner and bed.I also gave water and little juice(they didn't care for the taste).
Remember all kids are different,your child is an eater if he isn't huge(and doesn't sound like it)and he's eating well than keep up with it and don't worry about it.
My oldest is 12 and eats none stop and he's not over weight my daughter is 5 and eats what a doc would say is normal and is little over average weight.My toddler is 2 and eats all day long..he's almost as tall as my 5year-old and weight almost as much as her,he's off the charts...so don't worry about it...
Good luck to you and you must've done something right because you already have a 12year-old and she's fine,right??
J.

I went through a similar experience with my son around that age. I don't remember how much baby food/cereal he was eating at that time but the ped wanted me to cut his formula intake by 6-8 ounces a day. When I did that my son cried and cried. Nothing would calm him exept for a bottle or food. My son was starting to crawl, pull himself up to stand, etc between 6-9 months. He was using more energy so it made sense to me that he would need more food. Anyway, I fed him as I felt he needed to be fed. I did try to cut down each bottle by .5-1 ounce. We monitored his weight (he had been in the 90-95% range for height and weight for the first 12-14 months). I made sure to note his activity level and his growth. Now at almost 3 1/2 years old he is finally growing out of his size 2T clothes.

My best advice is to give him what you think he needs. Maybe try not offering him the second jar of food and see how he reacts and how long he lasts until he shows signs of hunger. Pick one of the peds you trust the most and talk to him about it. Monitor his weight and height and note his activity level. Take a picture of him every couple weeks. It may help you guage how much/little he has changed. Consult the feeding guidelines, but remember they are guidelines. Every child is different. Good luck to you!

Well, M.- that does sound like alot of food. If you go onto Gerber's website, they give you some information on feeding and how much a child of any given age should be fed.

www.gerber.com

I think thats the web address.

I would take a look at that and make adjustments as necessary.

It sounds like a lot to me as well. IF you are breastfeeding and eating healthy yourself then he is really getting the best nutrition. Some women hold off on solid foods until the first birthday, not that Im suggesting that but with that being said I don't think his tiny belly needs that much. I think at 6 mos we were moving from one small bowl of cereal a day to one jar of food a day. If you want to start with fresh foods, you can mash up some banana, avacado, or sweet potatoe. Proportion wise I would think 1/4 banana would be enough at 6 mos although since he been eating so much you might have to listen to what he tells you. I think the baby will let you know if he's not getting enough food.

I have a son - who is now 6 years old - who still eats non-stop it seems. My son was on all table food at 8 months old - had enough teeth in his mouth to be able to do that - since baby food was soooooo expensive. I went through similar problems with him, I finally starting giving him foods that are more filling (bread, pretzels, etc) to fill him up a little more. I would maybe try giving your little guy some table foods that are soft and easy to chew - even with limited/no teeth - and see if that helps. And definitely make the food his primary source of nourishment & the breastmilk/formula a secondary source. He'll let you know if he's thirsty or wants milk/formula.
Good luck and ENJOY these days - they seem to be gone way too fast!

let him control how much he eats; he's telling you when he is hungry and when he's not. I vote for 1) breastmilk, 2) formula, 3) jarred food

Hey, I just think it's cool that your name is M. (mine is M. - but everyone always spells it "M.." AND I have a daughter named Samantha.

HA

At your son's age...he won't eat too much. Don't worry about that right now. Just feed him until he is full. That is what Samantha's doctor said. He could be going through a growth spurt and will eat more at those times. Then he will level off. Sounds like you are doing a great job with him!

Just a quick reply. I have three kids, 12 year old, a 10 year old and a 7 year old. In my experience your baby is not eating too much. I would use the food as a second source until your baby is 12 months old. Keep the breast milk and formula as his primary food until then. Try not to worry so much about how much your baby weighs unless he gets under the 10th percentile. Everything really does work out for the best if you just follow your instincts. Your baby sounds like he's just growing!

R.

If he is eating three good meals a day of 2 jars of baby food I would cut the nursing out. He may be nursing just for comfort and habit more than anything else. Although nursing is better for him health wise...maybe you should cut down on the formula...it really is a hard call. But if he is eating three good meals a day one or the other should be cut back as he is getting plenty of nutrition from the baby food. You also may try "thicking up" his baby food with baby dry ceral. Maybe it isn't filling him up because it is too "thin". If you haven't already you might want to condisder giving him thick and creamy yogurt as well. I used to give my girls a container of yoplait thick and creamy and a banana for breakfast every day...they loved it and my dr. said it was an almost "perfact" breakfast, and I always had some plain cheerio's around for finger food. It is sooo much fun watching them learn how to pick them up and feed themselves!! LOL Have fun! Enjoy your baby while you can..they grow up way to fast.

Hi M.,

I think your son is normal. Some kids eat more foods than others. What you might want to do is to nurse him before he eats. He should still be getting most of his nutrition from breastmilk at age 7 months. So offer the breast every time before he eats and then give him whatever he wants in food. Don't worry about how much breast milk he is getting - he will get all he needs and the stimulation will be good for your body to make more if he needs more. I wouldn't offer formula unless you need to give it to him -your breastmilk and his food should be all he needs.

J.
www.mothersboutique.com

Use your own judgement. If he looks like hes growing out too much instead of up, cut down on his food a little. They grow so fast, a little pudge isn't going to hurt. As long as he's healthy, and not gaining so much that he can barely move.

have you tried to make up a bowl of ceral and then put the jar food in that? The baby food can be realy thin. Is the little guy active?
Any more doc. don't know what they are talking about. I hate the fact that the offices any more have so many doc. that you don't have your choice on who you see.