How Much Food Should My 6 Month Old Be Eating????

Updated on October 31, 2007
M.L. asks from Carlisle, PA
13 answers

Hi moms!!
I am hoping some of you may be able to help me out I hve a 6 month old who is nursing 5 times a day...has at least 2 bottles with 6-8 oz in each bottle a day..4oz of juice or water a day and eats 3 times a day.. when he eats he will eat anywhere from 4-8oz of food in a sitting! Is this normal for an almost 7month old..I see a group od Peds. and each Dr. will tell you something completley different. The last Dr said if he finishes a jar of food and wants more offer him more, and look for signs of when he is full like head turning and closing his mouth and spitting out food. I did this and my son ate and held down 2 jars..and wanted to start a 3rd jar! Should Porky be pounding away this much food so young? Should I offer more formula instead, since breastmilk is not something you know for sure how much he is getting? He is not a chubby baby..he weighed 16.8 and is 27 1/4 inches long..he is healthy with what appears to be no neck, and 3 chins we cal the lint trap. Any advice on how much food is enough or too much would be great, I give up on asking th Dr.'s since one says one thing one says another. How do you know when he is ready to use food as a primary source and breast milk or formula as a second source?
Thanks for giving me some thoughts!!
Mel

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So What Happened?

Well yesterday Porky polished off 7 jars of baby food throughout the day..thank God I get coupons for this stuff. I plan on making his own baby food when he gets closer to stage 3 type of foods. I always add a cereal to his food to thicken it up and hopefully fill him up..ya that plan is not going well for me. I read all the different advice and ended up calling my mother in law who is a Ped in Florida. She laughed at the horror I expressed at 7 jars and said as long as he is getting Breast milk and formula first (he nurses 5 times a day and has 3 6-8oz bottles) That let him eat..he is very active with rolling, learning to crawl, sitting up and searching the carpet for anything the maid..(me) missed during cleaning. She said if he acts hungry after the first jar offer a second jar and watch for signs of being full, if he overeats what went down will come back up..and most likely all over me..or his father, and thats funny when daddy gets it. My son usually goes to bed at 8pm and slept till 7:30ish..thank God for the Amby swing!! Lately he has been waking to nurse at night..sometimes twice. She said tis could be a sign of needing something more for nutrition during the day, or teething, growth spurt all that fun stuff that usually results in me thinking coffee is a gift from God for mothers everywhere. My son is healthy and active and perfect on the charts, so I am hoping this is a part of his 6 month growth spurt and pray this binge stops before he is a teenager. I may have to get a part time job to suport my sons Pasta Medley and Turkey with Sweet Potatoes addiction..forget christmas toys laced with lead paint I will just ask everyone to buy us his beloved Puffs instead.
Thanks moms for all the great advice, I have to change the super pooper in the jumperoo now!
Thanks sooo much
Mel

More Answers

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H.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Breastmilk or formula should be the primary nutrition source until they are 1 year. They contain everything a little one needs (except iron in breastmilk - natural stores of that begin to run out around 6 months).

Babies are born knowing how much they need to eat. Many times we disrupt that gauge by trying to take control instead of following their lead. I'd offer the milk first and then allow him to guide the rest of the meal. Offer a variety of healthy foods. It sounds like he's a healthy kid and growing normally. My first ate everything in sight and barely hung onto the 5% for weight. They did blood tests and everthing was fine - just fast matabolism I guess. She's still skinny, but a good eater. My youngest is 5.5months and we are just now starting solid foods. We started all of ours just around 6 months. She's just doing a small bowl of rice cereal once a day at this point.

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J.J.

answers from Sharon on

Ok i have 3 kids and all of mine where eating solids before 3months(big NO-No now adays with doctors but they aren't raising my kids i am)and by 6months they were eating 3meals and snacks with getting formula in the morning,nap,afternoon,dinner and bed.I also gave water and little juice(they didn't care for the taste).
Remember all kids are different,your child is an eater if he isn't huge(and doesn't sound like it)and he's eating well than keep up with it and don't worry about it.
My oldest is 12 and eats none stop and he's not over weight my daughter is 5 and eats what a doc would say is normal and is little over average weight.My toddler is 2 and eats all day long..he's almost as tall as my 5year-old and weight almost as much as her,he's off the charts...so don't worry about it...
Good luck to you and you must've done something right because you already have a 12year-old and she's fine,right??
J.

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L.T.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I went through a similar experience with my son around that age. I don't remember how much baby food/cereal he was eating at that time but the ped wanted me to cut his formula intake by 6-8 ounces a day. When I did that my son cried and cried. Nothing would calm him exept for a bottle or food. My son was starting to crawl, pull himself up to stand, etc between 6-9 months. He was using more energy so it made sense to me that he would need more food. Anyway, I fed him as I felt he needed to be fed. I did try to cut down each bottle by .5-1 ounce. We monitored his weight (he had been in the 90-95% range for height and weight for the first 12-14 months). I made sure to note his activity level and his growth. Now at almost 3 1/2 years old he is finally growing out of his size 2T clothes.

My best advice is to give him what you think he needs. Maybe try not offering him the second jar of food and see how he reacts and how long he lasts until he shows signs of hunger. Pick one of the peds you trust the most and talk to him about it. Monitor his weight and height and note his activity level. Take a picture of him every couple weeks. It may help you guage how much/little he has changed. Consult the feeding guidelines, but remember they are guidelines. Every child is different. Good luck to you!

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J.B.

answers from Allentown on

Well, M.- that does sound like alot of food. If you go onto Gerber's website, they give you some information on feeding and how much a child of any given age should be fed.

www.gerber.com

I think thats the web address.

I would take a look at that and make adjustments as necessary.

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T.S.

answers from Pittsburgh on

It sounds like a lot to me as well. IF you are breastfeeding and eating healthy yourself then he is really getting the best nutrition. Some women hold off on solid foods until the first birthday, not that Im suggesting that but with that being said I don't think his tiny belly needs that much. I think at 6 mos we were moving from one small bowl of cereal a day to one jar of food a day. If you want to start with fresh foods, you can mash up some banana, avacado, or sweet potatoe. Proportion wise I would think 1/4 banana would be enough at 6 mos although since he been eating so much you might have to listen to what he tells you. I think the baby will let you know if he's not getting enough food.

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N.

answers from Philadelphia on

I have a son - who is now 6 years old - who still eats non-stop it seems. My son was on all table food at 8 months old - had enough teeth in his mouth to be able to do that - since baby food was soooooo expensive. I went through similar problems with him, I finally starting giving him foods that are more filling (bread, pretzels, etc) to fill him up a little more. I would maybe try giving your little guy some table foods that are soft and easy to chew - even with limited/no teeth - and see if that helps. And definitely make the food his primary source of nourishment & the breastmilk/formula a secondary source. He'll let you know if he's thirsty or wants milk/formula.
Good luck and ENJOY these days - they seem to be gone way too fast!

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E.S.

answers from Philadelphia on

let him control how much he eats; he's telling you when he is hungry and when he's not. I vote for 1) breastmilk, 2) formula, 3) jarred food

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M.M.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Hey, I just think it's cool that your name is M. (mine is M. - but everyone always spells it "M.." AND I have a daughter named Samantha.

HA

At your son's age...he won't eat too much. Don't worry about that right now. Just feed him until he is full. That is what Samantha's doctor said. He could be going through a growth spurt and will eat more at those times. Then he will level off. Sounds like you are doing a great job with him!

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R.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

Just a quick reply. I have three kids, 12 year old, a 10 year old and a 7 year old. In my experience your baby is not eating too much. I would use the food as a second source until your baby is 12 months old. Keep the breast milk and formula as his primary food until then. Try not to worry so much about how much your baby weighs unless he gets under the 10th percentile. Everything really does work out for the best if you just follow your instincts. Your baby sounds like he's just growing!

R.

B.K.

answers from Pittsburgh on

If he is eating three good meals a day of 2 jars of baby food I would cut the nursing out. He may be nursing just for comfort and habit more than anything else. Although nursing is better for him health wise...maybe you should cut down on the formula...it really is a hard call. But if he is eating three good meals a day one or the other should be cut back as he is getting plenty of nutrition from the baby food. You also may try "thicking up" his baby food with baby dry ceral. Maybe it isn't filling him up because it is too "thin". If you haven't already you might want to condisder giving him thick and creamy yogurt as well. I used to give my girls a container of yoplait thick and creamy and a banana for breakfast every day...they loved it and my dr. said it was an almost "perfact" breakfast, and I always had some plain cheerio's around for finger food. It is sooo much fun watching them learn how to pick them up and feed themselves!! LOL Have fun! Enjoy your baby while you can..they grow up way to fast.

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J.M.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Hi M.,

I think your son is normal. Some kids eat more foods than others. What you might want to do is to nurse him before he eats. He should still be getting most of his nutrition from breastmilk at age 7 months. So offer the breast every time before he eats and then give him whatever he wants in food. Don't worry about how much breast milk he is getting - he will get all he needs and the stimulation will be good for your body to make more if he needs more. I wouldn't offer formula unless you need to give it to him -your breastmilk and his food should be all he needs.

J.
www.mothersboutique.com

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S.P.

answers from Scranton on

Use your own judgement. If he looks like hes growing out too much instead of up, cut down on his food a little. They grow so fast, a little pudge isn't going to hurt. As long as he's healthy, and not gaining so much that he can barely move.

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L.H.

answers from Philadelphia on

have you tried to make up a bowl of ceral and then put the jar food in that? The baby food can be realy thin. Is the little guy active?
Any more doc. don't know what they are talking about. I hate the fact that the offices any more have so many doc. that you don't have your choice on who you see.

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