I feel like I am not giving my almost seven month old enough baby food. How often and how much are your little ones eating. Right now we do a six ounce bottle of formula every 3-4 hours. At dinner time he I feed him a veggie he does not finish the whole thing. He really is not very interested in eating. He sleeps from 7-6 and wakes up once at night for a bottle. How much baby food should he be eating?
Thanks A
Thank you all for the wonderful ideas. I am now going to give him oatmeal mixed with fruit in the morning followed by a bottle.Lunch will just be the bottle for now until his his interest in food increases. I will put him in the high chair mid-morning and mid- afternoon to practice with puffs and cheerios. Late afternoon a bottle and then dinner will be veggies and a bottle before bed. I am going to cut back on the ounces he gets at night and hopefully he stops waking up. Unfortunately he shares a room with his older sister so crying it out is not an option for the middle of the night. Thanks again, A.
A. - nothing much new to add - as long as it's healthy and safe, he should set the limits. My daughter didn't eat more than 2 tablesspoons of food a day until she was 13 months, and my son wouldn't eat anything until he was 8 months and then would enthusiastically eat literally anything we put in his mouth.
this is the schedule my daycare kids have at that age
6:00 wake, 6 oz bottle
7:15ish stage 2 jar of baby food with infant cereal mixed in to thicken it
(nap from 7:45 - 10ish)
10:00 6 oz bottle
11:15ish stage 2 jar of baby food with infant cereal mixed in to thicken it
nap from 11:45 ish - 2ish
3:00 6 oz bottle
4 maybe some cherrios or a cracker or something like that
5:30ish stage 2 jar of baby food with infant cereal mixed in
7ish bedtime bottle, no more bottles till the 6 a.m. one
I think that your middle of the night feeding is causing him to not need the food calories and not be hungry.
Hi A.,
Michelle is correct, breastmilk or formula is the main source of food at this moment 24-32oz per day. At this stage, he should be eating solids about twice per day. Baby food is used as a supplement to help fine tune their muscles in their jaw/face to help them prepare for real food when they are ready 12-14m. www.wholesomebabyfood.com is a great resource on feeding schedule.
Enjoy it, babies are intuitive eaters, they really do know exactly what their little bodies need, let him guide you. Unlike adults, we tend to eat when we are bored, depressed, happy, etc, we are not intuitive eaters...
Have fun,
J. W. MPH
Wellness Educator in Maternal and Child Health
well all babys are difernt but at 7 months my little one was eating baby food and a bottle for breakfast luch and dinner also there were bottles in there for breakfast when she would get up i would mix a little cereal and juice and after that i would give her a bottle then for lunch i would do a veg, fuirt and a bottle dinner the same. start with a few bits of food the they will start to eat more and more as long as you baby is in good health and weight i wouldnt worry to much hope this helps
at that age (up to age 1) its all practice not for nutrition so dont worry about it! and dont force your little one to overeat!
Hi A.. It totally depends on the child but my 7 month is on the opposite end of the scale to your i think. He has cereal and an 8oz bottle at 7 then a stage 2 meal ie chicken and apple and a friut at 11 with just a drink. Then at 3 he had a stage 2 veg and a baby yogurt and finnishes at 6 with an 8 oz bottle. My little boy is a boy boy though and is 24 lbs and 31 inches tall so that could have a lot to do with it. I could check with your doc and see what they have to say. It will all sort itself out im sure.
I would definitely check in with your pediatrician on this one, because they know his history and his weight as well. It's a little different for any baby, there's not one set quantity for every 7 month-old to eat. Sound like you guys are doing fine, he's trying some different foods, and practicing eating them. You just want to give him a variety of veggies and fruits. ** Be sure to wait 2 days after introducing a new food before giving another new food to monitor for possible food allergies.
Once he starts scarfing down a whole veggie or fruit, then you can give him another 1/2 container of something else - you'll know when he's ready or if he's hungry. Also, at 7 months I started working on finger foods with my son. Clearly they are too young to eat a hard cheerio, but if you soak them in milk first, they can be eaten...it's early practice for hand-eye coordination that my ped suggested. At first my son didn't even seem to see them, but after working at it for a few weeks, we made some progress. Ultimately it helped him develop really advanced fine motor skills.
At 7 months, he doesn't need to wake up in the night for a bottle. He is likely doing that out of habit. For the first year, all the main nutrients come from the bottle and the food is really just a learning thing. If he is gaining weight correctly and the pediatrician is not worried, then I wouldn't either. Do you give him rice cereal/oatmeal before or after his breakfast bottle? If you give it before, he will likely eat more of it. Same goes for dinner but I think the advice is that they mainly need the milk. As he moves closer to a year, he will start to eat more food. Often children really like it once they start to finger feed. Good luck.
A., the other responses are right on. Once you have passed the initial trial stages for several food groups (fruit, veggie, oatmeal, and rice) you can expand to 2x a day feeding. My son has a bottle first, followed later in the morning by oatmeal and fruit and bottle, then veggie and rice and bottle, and then bottles the rest of the day. He is still trying new foods but they are the mixed kind (like banana straweberry). It is also a trial and error thing too so don't get discouraged.
Is he peeing and pooping with regularity? Is he growing like he's supposed to? If so, my ped. always told me to let my kids guide me as to when they are hungry and follow their schedule. As long as he's growing and peeing/pooping like he's supposed to then don't worry! But, if you're concerned enough the nurses at the ped office are usually pretty helpful with that kind of stuff. They'd let you know if it was something you should see the doctor for.
Until your baby is 12 months old, formula/milk is the main sustenance. You do not need to worry about the solids at all, except that it's good to get them used to eating them. But, as long as he's getting the proper amounts of formula, and it sounds like he is, then he is just fine!
