OT: When did your infant start eating solids well?

[Elleshoodat]

DS will be 9 months old next week, and he still gets most of his nutrition from formula. He never took to jarred baby food, but he LOVES table food -- he just doesn't eat as much of it as I think he should. (Our pediatrician said his formula intake should drop off between 6 and 9 months, and it hasn't. At all.)

Please tell me I'm worrying for nothing. I know he won't be taking a bottle at 5 years old or anything, but it's frustrating nonetheless.

When did your child really start eating well?

 

[nessz79]

My children never really ate "well" until we got rid of the bottle. Let's just say it took us a while to drop the bottle for our oldest. Our youngest DS dropped the bottle around 18 months, which is still a bit later than we would have liked. Anyway, eating really improved after that as they no longer had their bottle as a comforter...therefore they didn't need to drink so much milk/formula.

Don't worry! At 9 months, it's still early in the world of solids. My kids never cared for jarred stuff either and preferred table food.

 

[Elleshoodat]

My children never really ate "well" until we got rid of the bottle. Let's just say it took us a while to drop the bottle for our oldest. Our youngest DS dropped the bottle around 18 months, which is still a bit later than we would have liked. Anyway, eating really improved after that as they no longer had their bottle as a comforter...therefore they didn't need to drink so much milk/formula.

Don't worry! At 9 months, it's still early in the world of solids. My kids never cared for jarred stuff either and preferred table food.

Thanks. That is SO comforting. How did you get them off the bottle? Did you just gradually decrease how much you were giving them?

 

[tinkermomma]

DS will be 9 months old next week, and he still gets most of his nutrition from formula. He never took to jarred baby food, but he LOVES table food -- he just doesn't eat as much of it as I think he should. (Our pediatrician said his formula intake should drop off between 6 and 9 months, and it hasn't. At all.)

Please tell me I'm worrying for nothing. I know he won't be taking a bottle at 5 years old or anything, but it's frustrating nonetheless.

When did your child really start eating well?

I'm no help but DD is 7 months and I just wanted to say I feel the same way. I know it's hard not to worry but I can say with him taking FF he's getting sufficient iron. I BF and worry about that part a lot more now.

Also I just try to remember how super tiny their tummies are right now and that they will one day grow to be bottomless pits

 

[Bren's Mom]

What's your schedule like for eating/drinking?

How many ounces total is your baby drinking in a 24 hour period?

Are you giving juice or any other liquids?

Generally speaking, don't give a bottle for at least 2 hours before a planned 'meal' so that baby is hungry. Let them eat what they want, THEN offer the bottle.

 

[bumbershoot]

Didn't even introduce solids until DS was, well, he introduced solids to himself when he took a bite of apple at 11 months old. We were waiting until a year since both DH and I had solids introduced gawdawful early and both of us have food allergies/sensitivities, and we didn't want to do the same thing.

He played with apples and pears for a bit, then stopped again. Really started back up around 18 months old. Has always been a thriving kid, great energy and everything else. At 7 eats surprising things and lots of it...


As I'm sure you know, formula is a scientific copy of breastmilk, and breastmilk is the perfect food for well into the toddler years, even exclusively. IMO there's simply no need to stress solids *at all* if baby is getting breastmilk or formula on demand.

Don't worry about this.

 

[Elleshoodat]

I'm no help but DD is 7 months and I just wanted to say I feel the same way. I know it's hard not to worry but I can say with him taking FF he's getting sufficient iron. I BF and worry about that part a lot more now.

Also I just try to remember how super tiny their tummies are right now and that they will one day grow to be bottomless pits

You are so right! I'm glad I'm not alone in my thinking.

What's your schedule like for eating/drinking?

How many ounces total is your baby drinking in a 24 hour period?

Are you giving juice or any other liquids?

Generally speaking, don't give a bottle for at least 2 hours before a planned 'meal' so that baby is hungry. Let them eat what they want, THEN offer the bottle.

Thanks for your tip.

He isn't on a schedule; we feed on demand. He still drinks 24-30 ounces every 24 hours, and he occasionally drinks water but no other liquids.

Didn't even introduce solids until DS was, well, he introduced solids to himself when he took a bite of apple at 11 months old. We were waiting until a year since both DH and I had solids introduced gawdawful early and both of us have food allergies/sensitivities, and we didn't want to do the same thing.

He played with apples and pears for a bit, then stopped again. Really started back up around 18 months old. Has always been a thriving kid, great energy and everything else. At 7 eats surprising things and lots of it...

As I'm sure you know, formula is a scientific copy of breastmilk, and breastmilk is the perfect food for well into the toddler years, even exclusively. IMO there's simply no need to stress solids *at all* if baby is getting breastmilk or formula on demand.

Don't worry about this.

Thanks; I am trying not to worry, but we are first-time parents.

I was BFing until I dried up.

 

[3pletprincesses]

I started my girls on solids at 9 months and they eat very little but they were 10 weeks premature. I would say it was closer to a year old that they actually eat enough during a meal. I have a little 11 months old at my home daycare right now that barely eats. he still get a big bottle of milk after his meals. It depends on the child. Not everyone is the same.

 

[dunbarfamily]

With our first, we started with rice cereal right at six months old. Prior to that, he was breastfed. He lost weight about two pounds, from six to nine months old. With the rest of the kids, they were breastfed exclusively until one year of age, at which time we gave them table food right away. Simple things first, like yogurt, diced tomatos, diced potatoes, diced green beans, etc, then moved on to what we were eating. They have all thrived by doing this, and they all gain ahead of their peers that follow a more traditional "start solids at 4-6 months" plan. We'll continue this way with the rest of the babies as they come.

 

[WantToGoNow]

By 10 months all of mine were pretty much on table foods but they all loved baby food and started around 4 months old. By that age, they were getting a bottle in the morning and one at bed, the rest of the day they had water in a sippy or a small amount of water-downed juice.

 

[*Seanaci*]

We took DS off the bottle (and formula) at 12 months. Sippy cup with whole milk with meals...and water the rest of the day (once a day he'd get half juice/half water).

 

[JUJU814]

My kids started cereal at 3-4 months,. fruit and veggies at 5 months or so and by 8 months were starting soft solids and finger foods. They all did great and are good eaters now.

 

[nessz79]

Thanks. That is SO comforting. How did you get them off the bottle? Did you just gradually decrease how much you were giving them?

Well,with our oldest it was a huge struggle. He just did NOT want to give up the bottle. Let's just say that we told him one day that the "Bottle Fairy" was coming to take his bottles to another little guy who needed them and would bring him some sippy cups instead. He was almost 3, so this is *not* a good example . Our youngest was 18 months at the time and we just did the bottle fairy thing with him at the same time. Our youngest had no problem switching over and seemed to follow along with the story...perhaps because his older brother did as well.

 

[LoveKermit]

Just wanted to add my own $.02.

I probably did everything backwards. My DD took 8 oz of formula 3 times a day and 6 oz at bedtime from 4 months till 12 months.

She was a champ at baby food and then table food. But I always gave her the formula before the meal figuring that was her primary source of nutrition. Table food was more a formality learning about mealtime and such.

If you're not doing baby food, at 9 months, you could probably start microwaving carrots and trying spaghetti o's and other soft stuff. For sure at 12 months you can do that (my memory is rusty on that part).

As for the bottle....about 2 weeks before the first birthday, DD stopped wanting the bedtime bottle as she was eating bigger dinners. If she didn't eat a good dinner, I made 6 oz, if she ate a good dinner I made 2 oz (I was getting sick of throwing away formula). I think I finished her formula around her 1st birthday (give or take a week or so) and I started whole milk....sippy cup only. I made a pact with myself that she would only get formula out of a bottle. Anything else (juice, water, milk) was sippy cup from the time she figured out a sippy cup (7/8 months or so) on.

For the bottle, YOU have to make the break. For formula, that's between you, the dr. and the kid.

 

[DisneYoda]

As a first time parent too I understand that you are worrying about everything... however, as long as your pediatrician thinks your little one is on track with growth then that's probably the most important thing. We started rice cereal at 4 months and started adding stage 1 veggies/fruits at 6 months. We're pretty lucky that so far so good, but formula is still her main source of nutrition.

Best of luck.. and as pp said soon enough you'll have a "bottomless pit" on your hands!

 

[lucyem]

I think food/bottle/breast etc should be baby driven at that age. My oldest was totally anti baby cereal and loved as much food off my plate as he could get by 9 months. I spent a lot of time mushing up food for him. Bottles were something he wanted no part of very early on. On the other hand my youngest would not even glance in the direction of food until about 13 months. He was totally breast fed until then with little bits of cereal mixed with breast milk as he neared a year. But he really had no interest. Both were healthy babies and on track for weight and height. The only thing my doctor warned against was feeding too much juice and water because it could fill up baby's tummy.

 

[starsweeper]

My 7-month-old currently eats 4-5oz of baby food (fruits, veggies, dinner or cereal mixes) at each meal with a 6-8oz bottle of formula soon after. He also has an 8oz bottle between meals. I tried to introduce cereal at 4 months but he didn't like it. By 5 months he was eating fruits and veggies.

 

[Elleshoodat]

We took DS off the bottle (and formula) at 12 months. Sippy cup with whole milk with meals...and water the rest of the day (once a day he'd get half juice/half water).

That makes sense.

Well,with our oldest it was a huge struggle. He just did NOT want to give up the bottle. Let's just say that we told him one day that the "Bottle Fairy" was coming to take his bottles to another little guy who needed them and would bring him some sippy cups instead. He was almost 3, so this is *not* a good example . Our youngest was 18 months at the time and we just did the bottle fairy thing with him at the same time. Our youngest had no problem switching over and seemed to follow along with the story...perhaps because his older brother did as well.

The Bottle Fairy, LOL -- I like it!

As a first time parent too I understand that you are worrying about everything... however, as long as your pediatrician thinks your little one is on track with growth then that's probably the most important thing. We started rice cereal at 4 months and started adding stage 1 veggies/fruits at 6 months. We're pretty lucky that so far so good, but formula is still her main source of nutrition.

Best of luck.. and as pp said soon enough you'll have a "bottomless pit" on your hands!

You are right. We have his 9-month appointment in a couple of weeks, and I'm sure our pediatrician will tell us it's fine. Thanks!

 

[mb_uh]

Best phrase I have ever heard regarding this "food before one is just for fun"

Most nutrition should come from formula just expose to real food so they will not reject it. Table food is fine as long as it is not a choking hazard which really depends on the kid. My oldest not an eater could choke on a cherrio my youngest could eat steak and veggies at this point (he loves to eat)

 

[nchulka]

At 9 months most nutrition will still come from formula. My kids were both eating baby food at that time also as well as basic table foods. I planned to have them stop taking the bottle at 1, but they both stopped before that, around 11 months. They started taking whole milk in a sippy cup and would not take a bottle at all anymore. I believe the reason was that they had no emotional connection with the bottle. It was always given on schedule as a source of food only, never as comfort when they were upset. Since you are demand feeding the bottle you will probably have a harder time getting rid of it.