baby food?? how much/often?

Michelle - posted on 12/29/2009

I feed my kids table food not jarred food but I usually served them about a 1/4 to 1/2 cup twice a day at breakfast and supper. Along with 6 8 ounce bottles a day um when I noticed that they were wanting more and more milk throughout the day I added a third meal at luch time . Around a year old we also had to give them a snack at betime or they would be up in the middle of the night for a bottle. Your baby will stop eating when he is full so you can not overfeed him.

Michelle - posted on 12/29/2009

At first they say babies only need about 2 table spoons. Don't worry too much about how much food they eat because breast milk or formula is still there main source of nutrition. Right now your just gettng them use to textures and Flavors. And babies are pretty good about telling you they had enough.

Normally what I do is give my son the pureed vegetable or fruit and then finish him off with breastmilk.

Jane - posted on 12/29/2009

your pediatrician should be able to give you a menu. the cereal should be soupy at first if he hasn't had it before and then you can make it normally after he's got the hang of it. you can feed him 5 or 6 bottle feedings per day with a breakfast and dinner of cereal and fruit. let 3 days go before giving him a new food so you can notice how he tolerates it. once he's good with it, you can move on to adding a lunch of a vegetables. this is the SAMPLE menu our pediatrician gave us for when he's up to it, 7am bottle or nursing, 8:30am cereal and fruit, 11:30am veggie, meat, bottle, 3:00pm fruit 5:00pm cereal mixed with fruit and a veggie, 6:30pm bottle, 10:30pm bottle. the little jars are good for starting out b/c he may not eat a lot as he's getting used to eating. also, overcooked pasta is good, i mix the meat jars in w/it. if he's teething, he'll enjoy gnawing on pretzels, ice cubes (in a food netting), little coffee spoons. i find for both of our kids, it helps relieve the pressure and pain and allows them to eat better.

Yo-Baby yogurt has little yogurts that are yummy and they also have 6oz yogurts that mix veggies w/fruit. they mix: green beans and pears, peaches and squash, apples and sweet potatoes. they're yummy and my babies like them. i've also started mixing these together on my own w/my baby food jars. you can mix the cereal in w/the food and it cuts out one step.

good luck!



allison,

apples with carrots are yummy. and adding bananas usually yummies up most of the food.

Jessica - posted on 12/29/2009

if you are just starting out, start with baby rice cereal mixed with his formula or breastmilk and make it runny to start off with, you should always introduce foods into baby's diet in the afternoon so you are both awake to watch for any reaction bub might have. Normaly you would feed them the cereal once a day for a week, then you can introduce a fruit like apple or pear again in the arvo, then start with the veggies like carrot, pumpkin, zucchini, sweed, potato and sweet potato. If you are going to make it yourself, steam the veggies, so you keep all the nutirents and puree it, as bubby gets more teeth and learnd to chew and swallow food you wont have to puree just mash it.



I would start with a teaspoon first, and see how he goes, if he seems to want more cos he likes it then give him more, i probably wouldn't go more than a tablespoon to start off with, some babies might just keep eating if you keep feeding them, lol But you can slowly increase the amount as you go along. Some babies will press their lips together if they have had enough or the main sign they are full or had enough of that flavour is they will turn their heads.



Ive read that after about 2 weeks you can start with brekki, lunch and dinner if you like with 2 courses, one savory and one sweet (fruit) but it really depends on your baby and how they adapt to having food. My son took a little longer to really develop that hunger for 2 courses but i did start earlier than 6 months, so milk was still more important for him.



I would also probably still give him milk first before food just while he is getting used to it, so you know he is still getting the food he needs.



If you find he gets constipated in the week you are giving him the baby cereal, then you can introduce the apple or pear sooner, on the third day, one poo a day is quite normal when they start food.



Hope this helps. =))

Allison - posted on 12/29/2009

I am hoping you get a reply from this because I want to know the exact same thing! My son is 5 months old, and he just loves carrots, he would eat 2 jars if I let him, but I stop at a jar and a half becuase I know if how much is 'too much'! So hopefully someone replies to this! Sorry I wasn't much help! But letting you know that I am in the same boat!