Do Babies Drink Less Formula When the Start on Baby Food?

All of mine(4) drank less formula after starting on solids. That's normal because the solids fill her up more. I actually mixed the cereal in with some of the runnier baby foods( i.e. carrots/green beans/sweet potatoes) and fed them till they were full.

S.,

I was bombarded with books and websites and friends/family with information and I was totally confused...but, the link below was one of my steadfast goto guides for quick questions on feeding.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_age-by-age-guide-to-feeding-y...

At that age, my son had been eating rice cereal for two months and was eating one jar in the AM and one in the PM...I would start with small portions, you don't want her little tummy to get too full.

Good luck!!

Hi S., they don't need as much formula when they are on food, and yes keep giving her rice cereal, you may also want o introduce her to a sippy cup if you havent already. Sounds like you are doing everything right in feeding your baby. J. L.

One thought I had is that maybe she needs a little more time between feedings to get hungrier. When my babies were her age, they were "eating" about every 4 hours. She does still need most of her nutrition from formula/breastmilk. Every baby is different, but I think it may be somewhere from 24-32 oz. a day as a norm. I think I had some sort of chart from the maker of the formula to give me an idea of what to expect at each age, and my babies fell within their guidelines. You might check the website for the maker of your formula and see if they have something like that, or check with your doctor to see how much she needs. I think my babies were taking about 24-28 oz a day from 6-12 months, but there is probably a wider range of normal that she may fall within. In case you are interested in what our menu/routine was like, it was something like this: 7:30 am wake up and 6 oz. bottle, 11:30am 6 oz. bottle, 3:30pm 6 oz. bottle, 7:00 pm 6 oz. bottle and bedtime. When we started solid foods, I included those with one of the breakfast, lunch, or dinner bottles at first, then went to two meals per day, then finally with all three of the mealtime bottles, and only a bottle at bedtime. Every mom and baby are different, but that worked really well for us. Hope this helps!

Congrats on a smooth transition!
Seems like I just went through this...my 8 1/2 month old still eats rice cereal, as well as the oatmeal cereal (both Earth's Best brand). I give her either cereals in the morning with a "breakfast" type baby food (i.e. plums, pears, prunes, be careful of apples and bananas as they can cause constipation). Then at dinner I usually give carrots, sweet potatoes, etc.
But I start off nursing her in the morning after she wakes, followed by breakfast about 1/2 hour later, nurse again around 10:30, again at 1:45, bottle of formula at 4:30, dinner at 5:30, nurse again (last time!!) at 7:00pm. I have only noticed recently she is nursing less and less at feedings (with the exception of the first morning feeding).
Sorry it's not a clear cut answer, just what I've been experiencing. Good luck!

Basically you will soon be replacing formula with food but maybe she's just not hungry during this time and there will be times when she doesn't stop eating! Babies don't overfeed themselves so when she's not hungry anymore she'll stop eating. Your doing great - keep up the good work!

Hi S.,
It is very normal for babies to eat less of formula because that rice cereal is so filling and after that and some of the carrots, there's not enough room in a baby's stomach for much formula. Babies know when they are full better than adults. I would advice to mix the rice cereal with some formula instead of water that way you know your baby is getting adequate amount of milk that way too.
Best wishes to you.
M.

I agree with others that solid food should be given after they have breastfed/ or had formula. Breastfeeding/formula should be the number one source of nutrition during the first year. I think you should continue the rice cereal mixed with formula. I know that I continued the rice cereal because it was a great source of iron. Babies will let you know when they are full... trust me. I would feed until she is no longer interested. Good luck and have fun!

I would continue the baby cereal till about 12 months or so since it is packed with great vitamins that are important to their development.

She still needs lots of formula. She may be adjusting to the new foods, but the majority of her nutrition will come from formula until she gets all of her teeth and gets really good at eating. She is probably not really ingesting too much food at this time, so don't pull back on offering her the same amount of formula. She still needs it! Also, make sure you watch out for allergies and only feed you baby one food at a time for seven times and then move on to the next food. It takes seven exposures before allergies will surface.

Like Deanna Leigh M... I like Babycenter.com for information. It's great.

One thing though... for the 1st year of life, a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition is from breastmilk/formula. So, usually it's best to give a baby their nursing/formula feeding before solids. Then wait about 1/2 hour, then offer solids. My Pediatrician also echoed this approach.

If giving solids before a bottle/nursing, they may well be too full afterward to have their bottle.

At this age, and like the babycenter.com website says, serving size is in terms of teaspoons or tablespoons, NOT "jars." A baby does not "have to" eat from all 5 groups in one sitting. At this age, most start with rice cereal. As you know what foods are safe with her...then you can build up a "menu" so to speak, about what to feed her... a LITTLE of each, or mix a little of the carrots with the cereal.

Go according to the baby... when a baby is "full" they will stop... or get distracted or literally push your hand away or turn away, and clamp their mouth shut, or start to get fussy. So, this is when to stop. Some babies however, don't know feeding cues or know when to stop.. .and then they will spit-up a lot. So you need to gauge your baby....observe and then stop. I think it's best to feed until satisfied... not until being "over" full. And sometimes they need to burp.

Keeping in mind their tummies are tiny.

You're doing fine. If anything, it's best to ask your Pediatrician about how many ounces of formula she should be having. When my kids were on solids at that age, I still nursed them on demand.. .and they still "asked" about every 3-4 hours. First thing in the morning upon waking, I would nurse them... then later a "solid" meal.

Good luck,
Susan