What Foods and How Much to Feed My 9 Month Old Twins

My youngest is 13 months now. By 9 months, all my kids were doing pretty much the same thing.... nursing soon after waking up, 3 meals at day at the table with the family, nursing to start bedtime routine. The morning and afternoon snack was nursing at that time, but starting to add a small handful of cheerios or whatever afterwards. My general guideline was how they were sleeping... if they tended to wake up at night, I offered more food during the day. If they had enough calories during the day, they would sleep from 8pm-8am no problem.

By 9 months, most my kids were completely done with baby food. They preferred feeding themselves and I discovered rather quickly that pretty much anything is 'finger food'. :-) At 9 months, they got oatmeal (normal oatmeal from the canister, it's just as nutritous and less expensive than baby oatmeal) for breakfast and sometimes dinner. That and yogurt was the only thing they'd tolerate being spoon-fed by that age. Add banana chunks (or pear or apple or other fresh fruit) for breakfast. Lunch and dinner was what whatever the rest of the family was eating. We just cut everything into pea-size bits and put a few at a time on the table in front of them.

Oh... teeth doesn't matter. The front teeth most babies have are for taking bites off, not chewing. Hence cutting everything into pea-size bits. They can gum anything. None of my kids had a first tooth until after their birthday (normal range goes up until 18 months).

I think 9 months is a fun stage for feeding... it's easier on parents because babies prefer to finger-feed so we can enjoy meals better since we can all eat at the same time. It's also fun to see their reactions to new foods, new textures and new tastes. It's great to see the emerging independence at this age, too. Have fun!

WOO-HOO! You're breastfeeding twins!!!! Mine are almost a year and I'm still BF them - it's soooo cool to meet another twin mom who does it! Okay, calming down now....

Mine eat cut-up, steamed veggies, mainly broccoli b/c that's what we eat mainly, breadsticks (I've got the recipe if that's your thing), mac and cheese, lots of crackers, chicken nuggets (I use that Jessica Seinfeld recipe with the broccoli inside), french fries, eggs, hamburger (one twin is a total carnivore, the other, an herbivore!), all kinds of cut-up fruit, but mostly grapes and strawberries, pasta...mainly they eat a baby version of whatever I've fixed for a grown-up meal and so far, they're good eaters. My first kid (second pregnancy, though - I miscarried the first time after fertility treatments, too) is MUCH pickier though and never would eat certain things, so I just go by whatever the kid likes and try everything. So, good luck!

M.,
Here is our feeding schedule for my 9 mo son.

Breakfast: Nutrigrain cereal bar or fruit diced up (7:00-8:00)
Nurse before morning nap (9:00-10:00)
Lunch: Usually something left-over from last night's dinner (11:00-12:00)
Nurse before afternoon nap (1:00-2:00)
Dinner: Whatever I make for us (4:00-5:00)
Nurse before bedtime (6:30-7:30)
Nurse once early morning if he wakes up (4:00ish)
*I do have some frozen homemade purees that I use if what we are eating is not appropriate for him...for example, pizza or tacos

I feed him whatever I eat. I make sure he can mash it in his mouth and cut things into small pieces. He has 4 teeth now, so he will bite some things off. He is getting really good at picking up small pieces and actually getting them in his mouth...other times they end up smashed in his hand or he feeds the dogs :).
Some of his favorites are cheerios, cheese, steamed broccoli, most meats. I started making his baby food but shortly after he got the hand of "eating", he was more interested in the food on my plate rather than the pureed foods so I slowly switched him over.
Just follow your little girls' cues and do what feels comfortable for you. You seem to be doing a great job! If they are growing regularly/gaining weight at thier doctors appts then they are getting enough nutrition. Besides, they are getting most of thier calories and nutrients from you!!! Remember, Mom knows best!

FEED ME I'M YOURS by Lansky

Congrats on your twins and breastfeeding them! My 9 month old daughter, like others Moms have described, prefers finger foods to baby foods now. She usually nurses upon waking, then every 3-4 hours. I also give her lunch and dinner (noon and 5), and some (soggy) cheerios or fruit if she seems like she needs a snack. For lunch and dinner she loves sweet potatoes (I bake them in foil, then slice them and freeze the slices on a cookie sheet, then store them in a ziploc in the freezer. I pull out a slice or two, defrost it, and cut into cubes), tofu (she likes medium texture best), peas (if I don't peel them they show up whole in her diaper). If I come across something she doesn't want to eat, pairing it with cheerios usually makes it more appealing.
Another convenience thing is that I have one of those bowls that suctions onto the table/tray. When she is done I rinse it and put some water in it, and when I put it back in front of her she splashes in it and "washes" her hands while I wipe up.
We just had her 9 mo. checkup and the MD confirmed that, along with breastfeeding, you can follow your instincts and your daughters' cues with how much you feed them.
Have fun!!

Our ped is conservative and the DH is paranoid about choking so we are doing a mixture of solids and baby foods for our 13 mo. We make sure everything is soft and no bigger than what can fit up her nose. She will eat anything and everything. The only things we haven't given her are nuts. She loves string cheese. We were feeding her YoBaby but decided to try Plain yogurt with ground frozen fruit. She likes it just as much, we can do a different flavor each day and it is a lot cheaper. We do regular oatmeal and will sometimes add fruit to that too. Unless you're concerned about a particular food allergy then you can feed them anything. Many sources say to avoid milk until they are a year and nuts unil they are two.

In terms of how much they should eat. They will tell you when they are full. They will push the utensils away, drop the food on the floor, or pay attention to other things. We let DD eat to this point from time to time and then back off a little from this amount. She eats 3 meals with 1-2 snacks during the day usually.

Have fun experimenting. :)

This is the guide I follow for my son (8 months old) and its working wonders he's growing like a weed!!! a very healthy baby boy!

Signs of readiness for solid and finger foods
• Same as 6 to 8 months, PLUS
• Picks up objects with thumb and forefinger (pincer grasp)
• Can transfer items from one hand to the other
• Puts everything in his mouth
• Moves jaw in a chewing motion
What to feed
• Breast milk or formula, PLUS
• Small amounts of soft pasteurized cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese (but no cows' milk until age 1)
• Iron-fortified cereals (rice, barley, wheat, oats, mixed cereals)
• Mashed fruits and vegetables (bananas, peaches, pears, avocados, cooked carrots, squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes)
• Finger foods (lightly toasted bagels, cut up; small pieces of ripe banana; well-cooked spiral pasta; teething crackers; low-sugar O-shaped cereal)
• Small amounts of protein (egg yolk, pureed meats and poultry; tofu; well-cooked and mashed beans with soft skins like lentils, split peas, pintos, black beans)
• Non-citrus juice (apple or pear) How much per day
• ¼ to 1/3 cup dairy (or ½ oz. cheese)
• ¼ to ½ cup iron-fortified cereal
• ¼ to ½ cup fruit
• ¼ to ½ cup vegetables
• 1/8 to ¼ cup protein foods
• 3 to 4 oz. non-citrus juices
Feeding tip
• Introduce new foods one at a time, with at least three days in between to make sure your baby's not allergic.

My 9 month old breastfeeds around 6am, 9am, 1pm, 5pm, and 9pm.

She eats three meals a day and maybe a snack as well.

Yesterday, for breakfast she had a bowl of brown rice and steel cut oatmeal with butternut squash and cinnamon. (I just make my own baby food and cereal.) She loves it and probably ate a half cup or more. I'll usually give her fresh fruit as part of breakfast, but we didn't have any on hand. (Peeled plum, pear, nectarine, peach, banana, smashed blueberries)

For lunch she had chunks of whole wheat bread dunked in carrot juice or unsweetened applesauce, and some smashed up chickpeas. She probably had a few tablespoons of chickpeas and half of a thick slice of the bread, a few tablespoons of carrot juice and a few tablespoons of applesauce.

For dinner, she had lentils, onions, bell peppers, garlic, and tomato ground up and she ate over a half cup of that. (It was our dinner of lentil sloppy joes, but before I added the chile powder, and mustard for us.)

I hope that helps! I try and make sure my milk supply is good, so if I'm worried about it, I breastfeed first and then give her table food. If my supply is fine, and I'm wanting to introduce her to a new food like spinach, I'll feed her table food when she's hungry, and then top off with breast milk.

Since we skipped baby cereal (not needed for breastfeds) this is what our schedule looked like at 9 months:

Wake up and BF

after changing oatmeal with fruit (I made all his food, so I would puree fruits and freeze them and then use the frozen cubes to cool the oatmeal after making it)

nap, wake up BF

after some play, lunch of 1-2 ounces of each for total of 6-8 ounces (the food I made was in 1-ounce servings):
veggie or sweet potatoes, fruit, cheese or yogurt (ok to start at 9 months)

nap, wake up BF

dinner with the family was usually parts of whatever we were eating plus whatever he didn't have for lunch.

Then I nursed him again before bed.

I have a 9 month old - she eats 3 large meals a day now. I'm also still breast feeding every 3-4 hrs. She snacks on biscuits and Baby Mum-Mums in between meals. She is an organic baby - I make all her food. Her favorites now are steamed fruits (cut small so she can feed herself), egg yokes (I mix cheese and veggies in with her eggs so she'll eat them!), shredded cheese, cheerios of course, macaroni and cheese, organic chicken nuggets and tatertots (just potatoes and water - very soft, check out the organic frozen section of your grocery), Yo Baby yogurt, whole grain waffles, grits! Just a few ideas...good luck!

In addition to the cuppie I would keep filled for her so she was drinking though out the day. At 9 months I think I was giving my girl the recommended amount of cereal and half a baby fruit, at lunch she got half a veggie and the other half of the fruit from the morning and at dinner she got the other half of the veggie and half a fruit again. You know the dual Gerber plastic containers of fruits and veggies. Those were the ones. We never used baby food, I think we tried it a few times, but I couldn't handle the smell of them, we just stuck to the fruits and veggies. I also kept old plastic containers and cleaned them out to use for storing her solids when she was starting out, they were the perfect size.

Also, if you notice that they are still hungry that would be a good time to increase how much they eat. Then again my Naomi was very good at letting me know when she was done or when she wanted more. The increase was really easy for us.

Good luck to you.

hi twin mommy!! my girls are now 20 months. i used a guide i found online for their age group to make sure i was balanced and aside from that i fed them until they refused to take another bite. i also started making them whole foods pureed at this age because the sum of jar food was astronomical. fruits in their own juice (read: unsweetened) blended in blender with old fashioned oats to desired consistency, bananas, canned apricots anything you can think. HAVE FUN