9 Month Old Diet

G.,
I think that she is getting a lot more breastmilk than you think. How long is she feeding? I have to girls (now 12, and 7) who were both only breastfeed, no formula, by the time they were about 6 months old they would be done eating in about 20 minutes ( i know from when I pumped that each feeding was about 9oz. As long as she isn't losing weight and is still gaining, has the same number of wet diapers, and doesn't have a dry mouth or no tears. I wouldn't worry to much, also she may have stopped gaining weight while being sick. If you are really worried I would offer her a bottle (maybe 4oz) before giving her solid foods at a meal time) When my girls were 9 months I gave them a lot of the same food that we ate, (though I didn't give them fish or nuts until they were 18months) I would cut up the meats into small pieces, and somethings i would send through our food chopper. Is your daughter chewing things yet,(can she eat cherrios, or chunky baby food? if you haven't tried that yet, I would start with the Gerber graduates first, as opposed to table food. Also the only other big food not to give her is Honey, because it can cause botulism (spelling)in babies( your pediatrican will tell you when she is old enough.)
Hope this helps
Amanda

every pediatrician is different. a few % is not a big deal. they all have their own growing curve. don't stress it unless it continues to go down. if she's interested in solids, give her solids. :) she will eat more and more as she gets older. mine was on the lower end and still is... dropped then would go back up... my doc said, she's growing on her own curve.. enjoy her, dont' stress it. see if you can squeeze in an extra bottle here and there.. but they also go through spirts of not wanting to eat.. then they eat like crazy on other days... growing patterns... don't sweat it!

Hi G.. Here's a web site I used with all my kids.

http://www.dietsite.com/dt/diets/infantschildren/FeedingS...

I hope it helps. At 9 months, there should be some table foods she should be eating. This site goes over a lot of that.

Is she gaining as she get older? I would not worry if she is overall gaining. Sometimes it seems as if those charts are designed to make moms feel bad. My daughters were all off the charts (the low side) growing up. I only breastfed. Unless your daughter has serious problems, (like failure to thrive) she is not going to starve herself. At her age, they can be very efficient nursers, getting alot in a short time and she is probably get more than you think. I would not worry.

My son also came in a little underweight at his 9 month check up a month ago according to my pediatrician. She said that he should be getting at least 30 oz of formula a day. He usually gets anywhere from 22 to 25 oz. She said to count the formula I use to mix his cereal.. I have also found that he really likes to eat baby yogurt which she said was good.. Bottom line, we have to make sure he gets more calories. I found that if I mix 2oz of formula with the cereal and give a 4-6 oz bottle between meal times and in the morning when he wakes up, he gets enough..The yogurt thing has really helped and the pediatrician said it was good..Also, mashed bananas are good for calorie intake.. Hope this helps some.

Hi again,
I responded to your cold weather question, too, so I hope I don't sound too pushy or anything. It's just that my son is 20 months so I can relate to what you're going through!
Do you mix the cereal with formula? You could do that to get more in her if you're not already. And like you said, it is hard to tell how much she's getting breastfeeding but it's usually more than you think. My oldest was always in the 10% for his weight and the doctors always commented on it but he was just active and slender! He's still really thin but they even took blood from him when he was a baby and he was always fine. Never malnutritioned (is that a word?) or anything. Some babies are just thinner, I think. I mean, if she's not getting enough, she's not getting enough and you need to do something about that. But if she's just not gaining weight the way the doctor thinks she should or the way that growth table says she should, you don't necessarily have to worry about that. Four oz isn't that much so if you're nursing her three or four times a day she's probably getting at least that much right there. If she gets 20 oz of formula a day, all you need is 4 oz more, right?
It sounds like she's just going to be a thin child.

My daughter is now 11 months and has always been in the 90+ percentile for weight. At 9 months and still today, she is drinking about 24 ounces of formula a day (3- 8 oz. bottles). She has a 6:30 AM, 11:00 and 3:30 bottle and eats breakfast, lunch and dinner at regular times. You should try giving her the bottles before she gets full off solids. My doctor said at 9 months you no longer need to use baby food and they can eat regular people food (diced or mashed- depending on the child). At 10 months my daughter has eaten most meats and regular fruits and vegetables (cut in small pieces). My pediatrician also put my daughter on a multi-vitamin, which I think has also helped with her not getting sick very often. Hope this helps.