amts of solid food vs. liquid food

[♥ms.pacman♥]

ok i'm sorta confused about something. according to Baby411 (pg. 160 in 3rd edition), it says that for ages 9-12 mos, baby should have 3 solid meals a day equaling to 10-15 oz of solids per day. it says liquid nutrition should be 3-4 meals a day.

now i know these are just guidelines/averages...however, it shocked me the other day to tally up my 8mo DS's solids intake and realize that he is already eating a whopping 26 oz of solid food per day (three 6oz Stage 3 jars, 4oz yogurt, 4oz applesauce). he nurses less often nowadays but still nursing 4x per day.

i dont' know, is this unusual that he eats so much? i try not to overfeed but he almost always seems hungry for solid food. i guess what scares me is that i dont' know how to keep up as he gets older. i mean, if he is eating 26oz solids now at 8mo, how much is he going to have to eat once he drops most of the nursing sessions?? i guess i'm also worried bc i'm planning to completely wean him at 12mo (since i'll be in 3rd trimester). i know breastmilk has more calories per ounce than most solid food...and since he still has 4 good nursings a day, i can't even begin to imagine how much food this kid will have to eat once he is weaned.

[Dr C]

First of all---there is a LOT of variation in what is normal, so don't worry. I don't think his intake is unusual. Pretty soon he'll be starting to eat more and more table food and the number of ounces he'll eat at a sitting will be almost impossible to tabulate--and that's ok! I have NO IDEA how much solid food DD eats (11 months). She eats until she's done. If she fusses and her tray is empty, we offer more. If she still fusses (or if she fusses while there's food on her tray), we put her down. She eats (pretty much) what we eat. Bottom line, she's growing fine, so we don't worry about it. Don't worry about your DS eating too much--it is really pretty unusual for babies to overeat. Just trust his cues, and let him tell you when he's had enough, and offer healthy food, just like you are doing anyway.

As you wean your breast milk, your DS will probably start taking more solids on his own. Try to offer him plenty of finger foods so he can control how much he eats, though if he likes purees too it's fine to offer those as well. Around 1 year you can introduce whole cow's milk as a substitute for the breast milk. If you really cut back on the nursing before 12 months then you may want to offer some formula. By 1 year of age most babies are taking 12-24 oz of milk per day (again that's an average... but if you go much higher than 24 oz/day you can run into issues with iron deficiency anemia and constipation once you switch to whole milk)

Another thought--since you are pregnant--I wonder if he is eating solids so well because he is not getting as much at the breast as you think (due to decreased supply)?? This is not to make you feel bad or think you should supplement--if he is growing fine I wouldn't worry--but that may be why he is eating more solids than some other kids his age. Kudos to you for offering it to him!

Finally, between 12-28 months, the growth rate starts to slow down so kids all eat a bit less than they used to. This is quite alarming to many families but it may be a welcome change for you guys, LOL!

Hope that's helpful!

[AshleyAnn]

My DD is 10.5 months and eats well under that. An good day is 4oz yogurt, 3 4oz jars purees, and about 2oz finger foods. Somedays we get twice that in her, other days not so much. She's always been on the low end of formula intake but she's growing strong and on par for her age so I try not to worry.

[Andi98989]

I noticed that when DS ate homemade purees or diced finger foods, he was eating about half of what he was eating from a pureed jar. The jars are so much liquidier (not sure if that's a word). Here is what we eat in a day:

7a - 6 oz bottle
9a - breakfast - 1/2 packet of oatmeal or cream of wheat
12p - lunch - 1/2 morning star patty, veggies, fruit
1p - 6 oz bottle (working on dropping this one)
4p - snack - 4 oz yogurt, cheese cubes
6p - supper - meat, pasta, veggies, fruit or cottage cheese
7p - 6 oz bottle

He has water with breakfast and lunch and some milk with supper. Yesterday we combined snack and supper and he had 3 apple wedges, slice of diced cheddar, 3 meatballs, some rice.