how much food should I offer my twins?

Charlotte - posted on 10/24/2009

Hi I have 6 month old twin boys and have recently started introducing foods. My boys arn't big eaters though but this is their schedule. 7.30am 7oz of formula. 11:30am around 2oz bananna blended up with some formula, then 5oz of formula. 3:00pm 7oz of formula. 6pm 2oz blended up veggies and 5oz of formula. They drink a little water after their food. But next week I am going to try and give them more food for thoes feeds followed by water and cut back on the formula. I don't know my boys weight in pounds but one is 9.2kg and the other is 8.5kg. So even though they are not big eaters they are still very healthy weights. I asked the nurse when I took my boys for the 6mth check up about how quickly I should be introducing foods because I hadn't yet and she said to take it at my own pace, as introducing to much at once can disrupt them. She said they can live on formula for the first 18 months if needs be. The health book I have suggests cut up foods after 9 months as they will have better chewing reflexes.. Hope this helps

Chiky - posted on 10/23/2009

your babies will let you know when they are full they will turn away from the spoon or figure out a way to refuse the food. one of my girls took a lil while to figure out when she was full, she would eat until she threw up, but that only lasted about a week then she knew to refuse the spoon. they will also let you know when they are hungry.



suggestion for table foods. what i did to save time i would steam a bunch of veggies and puree them in the blender, then place it in ice cube trays to freeze and place cubes in freezer bags. at breakfast i would take out the amount of cubes i need for lunch, at lunch take out supper and at bedtime take out breakfast. i did that with fruit, veggies and meats.

advise dont wait too long before introducing different textured food, i was a "paranoid mom" always scared they choke, i waited to long and gave them nothing but puree until they were like 10 months old, i had the hardest time to get them to eat anything with texture (mashed or lumpy) they are 17months now and eat evrything diced up in lil cubes but its only been about 2 months since they are able to.



hope it helps :)

Jessica - posted on 10/18/2009

you can start the babes on solids (@ 6months), ie: your ground up food, but, use the method of slow introduction... one food every 2-3 days, so if an allergy shows up, you know which food it is... i breastfed the babes, so i never knew how much they "should" be drinking... i think if they are hungry, they will be crying before the next feed... so listen to them... and respond. also, if they are sleeping through the night, it's a good indicator that they are receiving enough during the day to sustain them... but, they may still need some during the night... my boys were different sizes (10%), but i've always given them the same amount of food each... hope that helps... also, my boys have no pickiness, and i attribute it to grinding up the food we were eating at the family table, spices and all... and they love all vegetables, and have only ever refused 1(!!!) meal (which, admittedly, was not the best leftover ever). Balance is the key... try to make sure you are getting the proteins, carbs, fruits & veggies @ everymeal... (once all has been introduced, of course)

keep smiling...