I am a first time mom and I am a little confused on if my son is getting enough or if I am feeding the proper amounts to him. He is breastfed and just started on solids also a few weeks ago, but I am not sure if its enough. He normally has 4-5 feedings a day of about 6-7 ounces and 2 baby food jars a day, one in morning before nursing and another meal at dinner time. Right now both meals are veggies, I think he is ready for fruits but when would be the best time to give him fruit and do I add another feeding to 3 times a day? Just need a little direction, ANY advise would be greatly appreciated! Also I keep reading about giving them table food like cherrios ect. if he still doesnt have any teeth yet isnt that dangerous? (choking wise)
Thank you in advance for your help!
Christine
I have got to say that this was also my most stressful part. I will just give you the advice that my pediatrician gave me about adding new foods. Wait at least three days before adding any new foods because of food allergies. He suggested that I start with the veggies and then go to fruits. Sometimes when a baby tastes the natural sweetness of the fruits, he will not eat anything else. If he is eating 2 jars of food a day then I would say that he is doing well. If he is eating the veggies well then I would wait to introduce the fruit. When I did introduce fruit I would mix a little rice cereal into it.
I could never give my babies the meat in the jar. I could not deal with the smell. After he gets teeth I would just give him chicken nuggets, fish sticks, etc.. As for table food now, I would give him things that will dissolve after coming in contact with his saliva. For example crackers, cheerios, smashed bananas etc. Just watch him and he will show you what works best for him.
Hey there!
I am not much help because I am still going through the same type of thing with my son. But I do know that the book "Super Baby Food" is a great resource for me for many different reasons. She has charts of when to feed certain foods, growth scales, recipes and other things that are usefull to us mama's. Good luck!
Here's the way I introduced new foods to my kids. I would just replace the morning veggie with a fruit when I wanted to to introduce fruits. The truth is that most of his nutrition is still coming from the breast milk. The solids at this point are just to get him used to eating food. So how much of the solids he gets at this point is secondary to the breast milk - just an added bonus. I slowly added a noontime meal, just to get my kids used to a typical eating schedule. I would just introduce a new food no more often than every 3-4 days until my kids were eating a variety of foods. As for table foods that are good for kids without teeth - you'd be surprised what those razor sharp little gums can get through! But you do want to be careful. I always started with things like cut up bananas, avocado, watermelon, bread and graham crackers. There is also a cool little thing you can get at Babies R Us & probably some other places. It's a net that you can put food in and then give it to your baby. They just gum it & get food through the net, so they never get a chunk big enough to choke on. Hope this helps!
I am no expert, but I have just gone through this recently. I would say to go ahead and start him on fruits, maybe around lunchtime, so he starts getting used to 3 "meals" a day. Keep nursing him on your regular schedule; it doesn't necessarily have to coordinate with the solids schedule. Also, follow his cues--if he doesn't seem interested, then wait a day or two and try again. My baby went through phases where he would only eat pureed food (nothing with texture like bananas), and other phases where he hated being fed (so I had to resort to finger foods like cheerios and green beans). I tried making my own baby food and he didn't like it nearly as much as the store-bought purees. He hated the baby food meats.
Now, at 11 months, he will eat almost anything. He eats a whole banana for breakfast, plus a bowl of oatmeal. For lunch and dinner he will eat two big jars worth of veggies/fruits/pastas, or I have started blending up whatever we're eating and feeding that to him, and he usually likes that (yesterday we were having wraps so he got spinach, avocado, chicken, and tomato blended up--loved it). So...just keep experimenting and don't give up if he doesn't respond right away. For the next few months, the breastmilk is still his main source of nutrition, so you have some freedom to experiment with the solid foods. But don't neglect the solids, as it is important for their bodies to start learning to get some nutrition from the solid foods as well.
As far as the cheerios go, you can buy "puffs" that are softer and melt in their mouths, but they are expensive. I would try them for a while, but your baby should be able to handle cheerios fairly soon. Even babies who have teeth in the front still use their back gums for any "chewing." And finger foods like cheerios are great for helping babies develop the "pincer grasp" which they should be able to do around 9 months.
Sorry this was so long, like I said, I'm not an expert, but I sure do have a lot to say!
I just read an article last night in Parents magazine and they had a nifty little chart as a guideline for feeding:
6 to 8 months:
B - 2 T infant cereal (rice, oatmeal);
L - 1-2 T infant cereal, 2 T pureed fruit or veggie (applesauce, ripe mango, sweet potato, peas);
D - 1-2 T infant cereal, 1-2 T fruit or veggie (pureed carrots, squash, banana, apricots)
8 to 11 months:
B - 2-3 T infant cereal, 1 T diced fruit (kiwi, banana, ripe peach, watermelon, cantaloupe);
L - 2-3 T infant cereal, 2 T pureed fruit, 1 T finger food (Cheerios, avocado, cooked and diced zucchini);
D - 2 T pureed veggie, 1-2 T pureed meat (chicken or beef), 1 T finger food (pineapple, ripe peach, mango, banana)
12 to 24 months:
B - 1 slice toasted whole-grain bread, 1 egg cooked any style, 6 sliced grapes, 2 oz milk;
A.M. Snack - half banana plus 2 oz milk
L - 2 whole-grain crackers, 1 slice cheddar cheese, 1/4 c soft-cooked broccoli florets, 2 oz milk
P.M. Snack - 1/4 c whole-grain cereal, ripe melon chunks
D - 1/2 c whole-wheat noodles with tomato sauce, 1 oz lean ground beef, 2 T soft-cooked veggies, 2 oz milk
Snack - 1/4 c chopped fruit, 1/4 c whole yogurt
I thought this was a really great guideline even though my 10-month old eats more like a toddler. My pediatrician also recommended the after-dinner snack but we don't do that in our house; we just eat more during regular meals and snacks. I'm also still breastfeeding 3-4 times per day. Don't be afraid to experiment with flavors - mine little one won't eat bland food and hasn't since the beginning. I serve minced italian meatballs, sweet potatoes with cinnamon, lowfat turkey sausage (with no nitrites or nitrates added), chopped chicken with BBQ sauce, homemade baked fries with parmesan, refried beans mixed with shredded cheese.
My doc said that a baby's windpipe is about as big as their little thumb, so make sure you cut up everything small and cook it soft. Those little gums will mash up anything else really well (like Cheerios). Have fun!
Wow, I stressed on this topic soooo much! First, until at least a year, his nutrition is coming from breastmilk. You should give him the milk first, and then let him learn with the other foods after (it can also keep the bits of food from irritating your nipple too).
Next, do what you are comfortable with. My son starting solids late, and we went realll slow. We did the 2 times a day for a long time (and randomly stuck to the schedule) and just used those meals to introduce new foods (do wait the few days to make sure about allergies in between new foods). Only add the 3rd meal when you are ready for it.
As far as the table foods, I personally waited for many of those. I started with Baby Mum-Mums. They are little surfboard shaped things that dissolve REALLY easily. Most of the finger foods give milestones on them, like crawling with their tummy off the ground, and a few other things. I started with the "baby" finger foods and when he seemed fine with that, I added the cheerios, but those did scare me too.
I always try his food first, and with the finger foods, I'm really glad that I did, because I have decided to not give him some of the things after their claims that they "dissolve easily" weren't so true.
Don't worry about all the "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts" relax and do what you feel both of you are ready for. As long as he is getting milk, he is getting plenty.
I would hold off on fruits and fruit juices for awhile. Babies (just like the rest of us) prefer sweet things so if you start on fruits before he has had a wide variety of veggies then he may start to refuse to eat veggies. I would be sure he is eating baby rice cereal (mix it up pretty so it's a similar consistency to the veggies he's eating) use breast milk instead of water.
Don't give your son cherrios just yet. He needs to learn to chew first. Gerber has great Veggie Puffs that dissolve in baby's mouth but still enable him to feel a more firm texture and start to use his tongue and gums to mash it up as it dissolves. It is important that he is getting enough iron in his diet since that is one thing that breast milk does not provide (baby Rice Cereal will be fine for that).
Babies who are breast fed have very well developed facial and jaw muscles...you would be surprised at how well they can "chew" even without teeth..as I said before, he just needs time to learn how. My daughter didn't get her first tooth until she was 10 months old then no more until she was about 15 months old. Waiting for teeth to come in does make feeding solids a bit more interesting. Great finger foods for when you are confident that he can chew well would be overcooked small cubes of carrots, peas, and soft skinned beans. Just make sure they are cooled completely before offering them.
It sounds like you are doing just fine already with your feedings. I would suggest adding solids in a lunchtime next...then you can increase the amounts you give at each solid food feeding as necessary. Let his hunger cues really be your guide after that. If you are noticing he is still hungry after nursing during a "snack" time then give him a bit of solid food after. Let him determine when feeding time is over. If the jar is empty and he ate well all the way through then offer a bit more of something else until he turns away.
As you begin feeding your son more solids you will notice changes in his bowel. If you ever notice anything like mucus or blood in his diaper after giving him something new (remember to wait 3-4 days in between each new food and be very attentive to possible food sensitivities or allergy) call your pediatrician and do not offer the food again based on the doctor's recommendation. My daughter had bloody stools after I offered her only a small amount of pureed meat at 10 months. To this day she still prefers not to eat meat most of the time.
Also constipation can become an issue when you begin to feed solid foods. Especially if they are iron fortified. If it's been 3 days since a bowel movement, this would be a great time to offer some fruits to help things move along...just avoid giving fruits like bananas that will worsen the problem...applesauce and prunes work wonders! Good luck!
Hi Christine, The guidelines my Dr. gave me for 8-12 months are: Breastmilk/formula 3-4 times per day, 6-8 oz. servings; Grains (baby cereal, bread, cheerios, etc) 1-2 times per day, 2-4 Tbs. servings; Fruits/Veggies 3-4 times per day, 3-4 Tbs. servings; Meat/beans 1-2 times per day, 3-4 Tbs servings. From what I understand, your baby is still getting most of his calories and nutrition from your milk, so as long as he's gaining weight appropriately, don't get too hung up on how much solid food to give him. In order to fit it all in, I breastfeed then give solids right away. :) Have fun with it!
every child is different. it's possible that he's going through a growth spur and it seems like you are feeding him alot. what i did with my kids is that i added baby cereal to the babyfood so it becomes more filling for them so it doesn't seem he is eating constantly. and even though he doesn't have teeth cherrios or even thoes gerber fruit puffs found in the baby section are good. it helps develop motor skills and if your really that worried about the choking thing just keep close eye and observe what he does if he ends up popping one in his mouth. they disolve pretty quick and baby's are all about discovery he's gonna wanna explore the texture and taste in his mouth and will play with it with his tougue and it will soften up before he gets around to swallowing it.