Am I Feeding My 7 Month Old Too Much Baby Food??

I would feed my baby at that age Stage 1 Fruit at breakfast and then her bottle.

At Lunch Stage 1 Veg and 1 stage one Fruit and then her bottle

Dinner Stage 1 Veg and ! stage one Fruit and a slice of bread (in bite sizes) and then her bottle.

When she transitioned to Stage 2:

B: 1 Stage 2 Fruit and a bottle
L: 1 Stage 2 Veg and 1 Stage 2 Fruit and a slice of bread and a bottle
D: 1 Stage 2 Meal and 1 Stage 2 Fruit and a slice of bread and a bottle

My daughter is 18 months and knows when to stop eatting. So I give plenty to eat and she lets me know if she wants more or less. I just bought this book to help with meal ideas now that she is a toddler called Toddler Meals it is great! It tells you how much that they should be eating at certain ages and even shows you portion sizes. I found it at Barns and Noble... http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.a...

Oh Feed veggies first and then fruit other wise she will get a sweet tooth and push away the veggies. Try not to give more than 4 oz of juice a day. It can cause the baby to gain weight.

Good luck...

I would feed her all the fruits and veggies she wants, she knows what she needs and if she gets pudgy it'll come off when she starts walking. I do not feed my baby any of the desserts since they have a lot of sugar in them.

I normally fed my kids one container of the mixed food, like chicken and rice, and then half veggie and half fruit and then a 3 ounce bottle for their meals. My youngest son is almost 5 months old and he eats half veggie and half fruit and a 5 ounce bottle at lunch and supper time. But if she wants to eat it then give it to her, she will stop when she is full. If you are really worried about it then call her pedi and see what they say.

Hi K.,

Are you nursing/forumla feeding first?? Most of their nutrition is still coming from that source, not from the baby food. My dr tells me feeding the baby food now is still more for introduction purposes, not for a great amt of nutrition. My little guy is 7 months old too, I nurse him first and then feed him the #2's baby food. I just do fruits and veggies though, b/c my dr said to wait on the meats. He usually just eats one container, but sometimes almost 2. I feed him till he's full - he lets me know when he doesn't want anymore.
Take care!
S.

I wouldn't worry about feeding her too much. My kids used to really plow through bowls and bowls of rice cereal and jars and jars of baby food. If you're giving her a healthy variety of food and if your pediatrician is not worried about her weight, I wouldn't worry either. I always fed my kids as much as they wanted of healthy food, and they are both slightly under average weight now ( 2 and 5).

I fed till they were done - no more, no less. You will find that some days / weeks, you'll think she has a hollow leg... so much food in such a little body, and other days/weeks, you'll be worried that she's going to starve to death - a bird couldn't live on the little amount that she eats.

And yet, if you feed her when she's hungry until she's not hungry any more, and hold off on the juice (fresh fruit is better, and water, milk and formula are so much better than sugary juice), she will grow up and fill out just enough and not too much.

S. (Mom of 4 - soon to add 4 more)

My daughter ate a TON of baby food when she was that age. She would eat 3 containers in one sitting (one meat, one veggie and one fruit). I always thought it was way too much too, but she was always in the 5th-10th percentile in weight and height, so she wasn't getting fat from it. She should let you know when she is finished, so just make sure you're feeding her somewhat slowly so that her body has time to register if she's full. You may want to mention it to her pedi if you're really concerned, but I just think some kids eat more than others. My daughter loved food and still does, so I think you should let her eat what she wants.

K.,
I think you should ask your doctor. Isn't #2 jars for older kids?????????? If you start solids too early you child can develop allergies. PLEASE call your doctor.

She can have as much as she wants as long as she's drinking enough formula, or still nursing regularly.
You could ask your pediatrician, but I think at that age she should still be getting about 20-24 ounces of formula a day. My daughter would have 3 or 4 six oz bottles a day. One with breakfast (around 6 or 7am), one around 10am, lunch was mainly baby food (she'd only drink a couple ounces of formula), after her afternoon nap she'd drink a bottle (around 3pm), then I'd offer another bottle with dinner. This is basically 3 meals and two snacks in a day, which is pretty much what a toddler eats (that's just around the corner for you!). Only difference with a baby under a year old is that the two "snacks" are bottles.

Your daughter is way too young to be worried about her weight. Babies all grow at different rates, and they have phases during the first 3 or 4 years of their life where they eat a lot, then nothing at all, and get "chubby" then "stretch out." You are correct in thinking that she'll let you know when she's full. She's still growing a lot and needs all the energy she can get. It will slow down some after her first birthday, then slow down again after she's 2. You'll know she's slowing down when she's not as interested in eating. Enjoy these good meals! Most kids I know, including my own, were great eaters until sometime near age 2. They almost quit eating entirely and you wonder how they survive! Then they start eating again around age 4. :-)

Sounds like you're offering her a good variety in her meals and are paying attention to her nutrition, which is great!

Hope this helps!

You probably need to ask you doctor about it, but I will say that my own two children would eat until full, and I always fed on demand, which meant that they ate small portions, several times per day. When they were hungry, I fed them, no matter how much or how little they had already eaten. Both of them were very thin when small, and my twelve year old has a gorgeous figure today. On the other hand, I have a neice who was fed on a shedule of sorts, and she would eat as long as we would poke food into her mouth. As she got older, her mother would try to cut back on her food, but the damage had already been done, and eating is now her very favorite pasttime. She is a very overweight eleven year old. If I were you, I would talk to the doctor and ask him or her how much she should be eating, weighing, etc. My oldest was very tiny, and weighed about 18 pounds when she was a year old. My youngest was stockier and taller even from birth, and weighed about 30 pounds when she was a year old. Neither had a weight problem either way, because of their tiny/larger structures that warranted more or less weight.

My son usually ate between 4-6 ounces (I can't remember how big the jars were, but usually one big jar per meal) of baby food per sitting, plus I would make him a bottle of milk, water, or juice to go with it. He never seemed to want more. There were a few times when he got mad because it was gone and when I opened another jar, he would only take one or two bites. My son gets bored if he is sitting down to eat too long. He would rather go play and come back for a bite now and then. I don't know exactly how much is too much. You could call your pediatrician and they could give you some general guidelines to follow.

Well I would say no. My little one was eating a lot too. I am not sure how much now. But they go through spurts like that. Trust me when she is done she will let you know.

You've gotten a lot of good advice on here, but my suggestion would be to talk to your pediatrician. I went by what mine said and then adjusted to fit our baby's needs. With my daughter, I would not feed her the "desserts" they have on the market. There is plenty of sugar in the plain fruits or mixed fruits and it's just my opinion, but they don't need those desserts. Believe me, when she's older, 2-3, she is going to know what dessert is and want it! I just feel that why give it to them...they don't know any better as a baby or toddler.

Good Luck!
N.

i think as long as you're feeding her healthy foods, she should be alright eating as much as she wants.

At this age, solids are just for play. Breastmilk and formula should be her main source of nutrition. I would offer to nurse or a bottle and then offer solids.

Ounce for ounce breastmilk or formula are far more nutrient dense then solids. She needs to be filling up on that first, then have some after she is done..

I have 8 month old twin boys and they eat a total of 5 to 6 big glass containers of food each sitting...and I do that 1 to 2 times a day...depending on our activities that day. Yes it does seem like a lot to me too as my daughter did not eat that much at all. But what do you do? When the baby is hungry you feed it right? My husband frets about the amount too, but I just toss it up to the fact that they are growing boys and like you said they will stop when they're full. Both of the boys are just under 20 lbs...and growing :) but this makes me happy because they have come so far from being only 4'14'' and 5'3'' at birth. Ask your ped if you are overly concerned, but babies are supposed to be a little chubby if you ask me :)

S.

I say feed her until she's done. Like the other moms have said she'll let you know when she's done. And even if she gets a little chunky now, she'll work it off when she starts to walk.

As a couple of others have mentioned, solids are only for "play" at that age, keeping breastmilk or formula as the principle source of nutrition until age 1. That sounds like a lot of food for a young one, yes. I would limit her somewhat.

Maybe she's just in a big growth spurt right now. I'd ask your daughter's pediatrician. You might want to check the sugar content on the dessert -- kids get so much sugar in suprising places. I think it turns them off to more nutritious foods by fostering a sweet tooth early. Good luck!

That does sound like a lot for a 7 month old. Maybe you should ask your pediatrician about it. Personally, I would be worried that she would become overweight, because I have 3 children and my 12 year-old (the oldest) is overweight and he did eat a lot as a baby. My other 2 did not and they are a healthy weight. I would definitely be careful about how much she is eating and be sure not to give her anything fattening. Hope this helps and good luck.

My daughter will be 8 months on the 27th and we just took her to the Dr about three weeks ago and talked about her eating. The Dr said we should give her baby food twice a day. We give her one jar of veggies and half a jar of fruit. If she wants the whole jar of fruit then we will let her have it but she is usually full after eating half.
We give her veggies first then the fruit. We do not give her any meat or any of the deserts.
We also fix her a 6oz bottle of formula and she drinks that after she eats. Sometimes she will only drink 4oz and our Dr said that is completly fine.
I think if you just give her 2 jars of baby food then offer her a bottle then she might be ok. My daughter lets us know when she is full, she wont open her mouth. Your baby may not know to do that yet so she may be full but just cant communicate it to you yet.
Call your Dr if you are worried. I dont know what I am doing yet either! :) But since we just talked about this at her last appt I figured I would reply.
We give her #2 foods, recommended by our Dr. #2 foods are the same as #1 they are just thicker and there is more of a variety of course.