How much should my 5 month old eat?

Melony - posted on 01/25/2011

Hi there. My son is 5 months old. The nanny feeds him cereal at 8h30 followed with a bottle of water. he drinks 150ml of milk afterhe gets up at around 10am. At lunch time she feeds him half a bottle of stage 3 purity followed by water. He naps again and drinks another bottle of 150ml milk (formula) when he wakes up. At 4pm she feeds him the second half of the purity and gives him a little milk to wash it down. And his last meal for the day is at dinner time with us which is around 7pm. His last bottle feed is just before he goes to bed at 9h30pm and he sleeps throughout the night. He only gets up at 6am the next morning for a small feed of milk. I dont think that is over feeding. I beieve that he should eat or drink whenever he is hungry and I have been able to distinguish the different cries for feeding, changing and nap time. there are times that I feed him home-made veggies such as squash and mashed potatoes. At his last check-up at the doctor at 3 months he was 8.5kgs. I wonder what he will way when I take him next month for his 6 month check-up!

Christine - posted on 01/24/2011

My son is 5 months and 1 week old and he drinks between 4 and 6- 6oz bottles of formula a day and eats a stage 1 jar or tub (Gerber) of fruit (sometimes mixed with cereal) in the morning, and a stage 1 jar or tub of veggies in the evening.

Kori - posted on 01/24/2011

my little man (5months) eats half a jar of veggies or fruits at supper every evening for supper. My Dr, told me babies can't over eat because they will just spit up if its to much or just stop eating!

Sarah - posted on 01/24/2011

my 5 month old was 3 weeks early. eats about 10 -6 oz bottles per 24 hrs, plus a tub or two of 1st foods. he either really really doesn't like rice cereal or is intolerant to it and the Dr. said it was fine, esp since head control is good and my twins are 4 yrs old so he knows I've been through it all before. he's fine. the baby is just fine and happy, which right now is all that matters. he'll work it off once he gets mobile. :) GL

Myshell - posted on 01/23/2011

my son has been on solids for about a month now, he is 5 months old. i would introduce the new foods at noon and keep the foods he tolerates for morning and eve. right now my son has cereal with fruit for breakfast, veggies and fruit for lunch and either cereal or veggies with fruit for evening. i truly believe you cannot overfeed an infant. once my son is full he shuts his mouth or spits the food out as soon as i put it in. your son will let you know when he is full. i have never heard of anyone becoming overweight eating too much fruit, veggies or cereal (grains). i beleive the reason people become overweight is because of the bad food choices they make later on, like junk food, fast food, pop. you should know that rice cereal does constipate them, i have used carrots, squash or prunes to get things moving. your baby will let you know when he is full, he is smarter than you think!

Tammy - posted on 01/23/2011

My twins are 5 1/2 months old and they have been on 2 Tbls of cereal before bed for a couple of weeks now. About a week ago we started with fruits and veggies at lunch time 1-2 Tbls. I have read that babies this age do still need to be drinking 21-28 ozs of breast/formula per day, so as long as they are getting that you should be fine.



They let you know when they are full so I would not worry about how much your 5 month old should eat or "over feeding" him.



Good luck!!

Jennifer - posted on 02/03/2011

Thanks everyone for responding with ideas for how much my 5 month old should eat! My son has had reflux for months now and is on medication for it. So when I hear some of what you are feeding it shocks me bc there is no way he would be able to eat that much food. He's still only able to take 4 1/2 oz. of formula without spitting up. So I have now started to feed him carrots at lunchtime and cereal and bottle at dinner. He also has a bottle in the morning and at bedtime. So that would be a total of 22 1/2 oz. throughout the day. BTW, my son is 14lbs at 5 months.



I would also like to know more about the proteins as I have been told the same thing from my ped as Sarah.

Janice - posted on 02/02/2011

I started cereal at 4 1/2 months.. every five days I introduce a new food, 2nd was oatmeal, then cod fish, avocado, sweet potato and next is chicken. Protien should be the first foods and feed them seperate. This is my third child and I have never done this before, it seems to be working really well! She loves to eat... She is eating 4tbsp of cereal in the morning, for lunch 2tbsp of veg, for dinner 2-3 tbsp of veg and protien and before bed another 3-4 tbsp of cereal. plus she is drinking 22 oz of formula. and like Tammy said they let you know when they are full, although sometimes I think she would eat more! I hope this was helpful to you in determining how much a 5 month old should eat :)

Melissa - posted on 02/01/2011

My daughter is eating rice cereal in the morning`s with an 8oz bottle after her cereal, aswell for luch she is having some kinda veggie she loves all kinds: Carrots,sweet potatoes,peas,green/yellow beans,butternut squash,mixed veggies. She is not to found of fruits, and for dinner she is eating chicken and veggies(mixed) havent tried her on any other meats yet other then the chicken. She is 5 months old so she eats like i said cereal for breakfast,veggies for lunch and chicken&veggies(mixed) for dinner. and she has an 8oz bottle of formula every 3hours still. She is a very big eater. But she was also a big girl at bith weighing in at 9lbs 6oz. last time she got weighted she was 15lbs 8oz.

Your suppose to start them on meats first for extra iron as it lowers there iron alot if u start them on veggies or fruits first. And for allergies it is best to start them on something and feed that to them for 3-4 days striaght so u know what they r allergic to if they end up having a reaction and then u know what they r 100% allergic to.

My son who is 4years old I started him off with fruits and that was the worse thing I could of done, as he never wanted his veggies and like i said he is 4years old now and it is a fight for him to eat veggies and any kind of meat. But he loves his fruit.lol. Thats why i was the oppisite for my lil girl who is 5 months old now.

Tracy - posted on 01/25/2011

i think how much a 5 month old should eat really depends on the child, cause my daughter (5months & 3 weeks) has a 2-6 ounce bottle every 1-4 hrs depending on her mood. i fill a bowl that's about an 1 in deep w/cereal & 1/2 of a jar of a fruit she has already had for lunch & @ dinner time she gets oatmeal with 1/2 a jar of the new fruit for that week. through out the day i also give her gerber graduates yogurt melts (she loves these, i do the peaches cause she hasn't had any berries yet). she gets lunch around 130 & dinner around 630 she falls asleep around 730 wakes round 9 we give her a 4ounce bottle and she sleeps til about 630 the next morning. and for everything she eats she's under weight. good luck!!

Meshelle - posted on 01/25/2011

My daughter is 5 months and she's on 2 to 3 6 oz. cereal bottles per day, with fruits and vegetables thrown in for lunch and dinner. And sometimes if she doesn't seem like she's getting full I'll put a little of the baby food in her bottle with her formula. I wouldn't be concerned about how much your 5 month old should eat or over feeding.

Myshell - posted on 01/23/2011

my son has been on solids for about a month now, he is 5 months old. i would introduce the new foods at noon and keep the foods he tolerates for morning and eve. right now my son has cereal with fruit for breakfast, veggies and fruit for lunch and either cereal or veggies with fruit for evening. i truly believe you cannot overfeed an infant. once my son is full he shuts his mouth or spits the food out as soon as i put it in. your son will let you know when he is full. i have never heard of anyone becoming overweight eating too much fruit, veggies or cereal (grains). i beleive the reason people become overweight is because of the bad food choices they make later on, like junk food, fast food, pop. you should know that rice cereal does constipate them, i have used carrots, squash or prunes to get things moving. your baby will let you know when he is full, he is smarter than you think!

Tammy - posted on 01/23/2011

My twins are 5 1/2 months old and they have been on 2 Tbls of cereal before bed for a couple of weeks now. About a week ago we started with fruits and veggies at lunch time 1-2 Tbls. I have read that babies this age do still need to be drinking 21-28 ozs of breast/formula per day, so as long as they are getting that you should be fine.



They let you know when they are full so I would not worry about how much your 5 month old should eat or "over feeding" him.



Good luck!!