This week my 9-1/2 month old started feeding himself finger foods one day and was refusing all purees the next! Now he will pretty much only eat finger foods, but the quantity is tiny. I'm worried he is not eaitng enough. I mean, it's hardly anything! Especially compared to what he had been eating with purees (up to 5 or 6 jars a day plus a big bowl of oatmeal) -- the change in quantity seems drastic and sudden.
Today's meals went something like this:
Breakfast - roughly 3 ounces pureed fruit, 1/3 piece bread in small chunks, small amount of baby oatmeal mixed w/ formula, baby puffs
Lunch - 1/2 steamed baby carrot, 1/2 steamed green bean, very small amount of pureed chicken, tiny amout of bread, tiny amount of ground beef, a few shreds of cheese, baby puffs
Dinner - 1 ounce pureed fruit, 1/2 steamed baby carrot, 1/2 steamed green bean, very few baby puffs and a couple yogurt melts
Is this enough?? He has always been pretty small for his age and had just recently caught up a bit. I'm worried this decrease in food is going to put him right back where he started.
Forgot to mention that he is still breastfeeding -- usually four times during the day and once or (dare I admit it) twice during the night. He is a distractable nurser, though, and had been acting like he was self-weaning for a little bit of time (not as much the case as it was a couple of weeks ago), so I'm not sure how much milk he is really taking at a time or whether every nursing is a "full" nursing.
Thanks for your thoughts!
His little tummy is only the size of his own fist. That's not very big. So with the amount that he's eating, plus the breast milk to fill in around the edges, he should be fine. Rejoice in the fact that he's eating on his own!
L., As the others said, don't worry. Babies will eat when they are hungry, and they'll let you know it if there's no food around!! As long as you are offering plenty of nutritious foods, then it's completely up to him how much he eats. He is still getting tons of nourishment from your breastmilk, even if it seems like small amounts.
We teach ourselves and our children to eat certain amounts at certain times of day, but that's a learned behavior. Studies have shown that as babies and toddlers we know when we are hungry and thirsty, and the difference between those things. As we grow we tend to tune out and not hear the signals our bodies give us. We eat when thirsty and when we're not even hungry!!
Anyway, I'm sure it's just a phase, and if you do just have a little pipsqueak, enjoy it! They grow too fast. Nutrition is more important than quantity. BTW, if he will eat diced avocados, they are THE most nutritious thing you can offer as a finger food, full of healthy fats and oils that promote bone and brain growth! My daughter wouldn't touch them mashed, but when I diced them they were one of her favorites.
My son was the same way. He just didn't like the baby food!! So I finally gave up and started him soley on finger foods (no baby food)around 9 months. I pumped and fed him breast milk through a bottle so at that time he took 3-4 bottles a day still. I was always told that before 1 their main source of nutrition should come from formula/breastmilk and the rest is mainly just practicing how to eat and getting used to different foods. I wouldn't worry unless he starts losing weight!
It actually sounds like he's eating a fair bit for his age. One of the things I've heard many times is that "until one it's just for fun" in reference to solids and breastfed babies. Meaning, he's getting most of his nutrition from your milk and the rest of it it just practice. As long as you keep nursing on cue and offering solids, he should be fine! :)
I've been reading a lot about eating lately, because i have a two year old who is a 'resistant eater' (she is really really far to the 'picky' end of the scale, and was diagnosed with a sensory integration issue that makes it harder for her to eat. For comparison, at 9 months she nursed, but ate zero solid food, and only rarely would take a sip or a lick of something like a yogurt smoothie or goat's milk).
Anyway, the upshot of everything that i've read is that the parents should supply food - choose what the kid has access to, and in what proportions, and then the kid is entirely responsible for eating said food. Trying to 'force feed' a small kid will backfire (as will trying to hold back a large kid). Put out food that is varied, but includes at least one thing you know will be eaten (often bread, for older kids, but something like baby puffs or banana for a 9 month old). Try to offer a healthy rounded diet. Then let the kid lead the way. Unless your kid has some physiological or deeper learning issues going on, this should lead to a 'good eater' who has a healthy relationship with food.
In short, it sounds like you're right on target with your approach. Honestly, that diet sounds like a dream to me. You could try offering a puree and oatmeal along side the finger food, since you know he likes it, and then, if he declines the finger food but seems to want more of the puree, give it to him. It may be his way of saying that some of that finger food is too difficult for him still.
The amount of food a child eats can change pretty drastically depending on whether they are headed into a growth spurt, or learning some new activity (like crawling or walking). Unless your doctor raises some concerns, i'd say, sit back and try to bask in your success at introducing such a variety of healthy food to him.
If he is also nursing he is getting plenty of nutrition. A babies primary source of food for the 1st year should be Breastmilk! You are doing a great job!!
How much formula is he drinking? As long as he's taking in plenty of formula, he should be fine. It takes them a while to get the hang of finger foods, so the quantities are very small at first.
If your baby is alert, active, and inquisitive he is getting enough. Any way that is what my doc told me.
Hi L.,
I totally understand your anxiety, but I've come to learn that it's helpful to take a step back and look at the big picture. He likes to eat! And he's taken the big step of eating finger foods, which take a little bit more effort to chew and swallow. He's eating less, but it's a new, fun thing for him and it shouldn't be stressful. This phase of eating has less to do with nutrition and more to do with learning how to eat. He's still breastfeeding so he's getting plenty of nutrition and immune help from that. If he's active, healthy and developing on target with his peers, I'd say that you have nothing to worry about. Kids eat miniscule amounts one day and then a few days later they are chowing down like they have a hollow leg! Allow yourself to trust him that if he's hungry he'll eat.
Braeden did this too, but a little earlier and I was completely freaked out! They will let you know if they are still hungry or done. I was worried that he wasn't getting enough milk or the ratio was off, etc. If your child is happy, they are eating enough! As long as you don't see a drop in weight drastically then you're ok. I also freaked out because I thought he was leaning out, but of course he was, he learned how to move! It's confusing because we spend the first months worried about amounts and ounces and number of feedings, etc. He'll let you know if he needs more.
I think he's fine! You may not like this answer but I think we worry too much about how much our kids eat. It sounds like you're offering him a lot of good food choices and if he's decided he doesn't want them there's not much you can do about that. If he's hungry, he'll eat. If not the finger foods, then he'll let you know he wants to nurse. He's still getting GREAT nutrition from breastfeeding and he's possibly making up for less food with an extra feeding at night which sucks for you but I think is totally fine! You could also try to squeeze in another feeding during the day and/or supplement the breastfeeding with formula in a sippy cup - formula is called "evil" by the breastfeeding community but I think that by 9 months, in a sippy cup, he's not going to prefer that over nursing and it's a potentially easy way to get more calories, protein etc. into him.
PS - both my daughters ate like birds and were both on the small side - they're just little, there's nothing wrong with that! Perhaps they don't need as much food as we think they do...
