How Much Milk and Food Does Your 10 Month Old Get?

T. I definitely do not think you are feeding them too much. I have a friend who is a ped. and she says to feed them until they don't want to eat anymore. She says you can't overfeed babies. My son is just about 5mon and we started him on rice cereal about 3 weeks ago and since have added bananas and sweet potatoes. He gets three heaping tablespoons of rice with breast milk and half a jar of whatever and then I breast fed him. My son was almost 19 lbs and 27 inches at his 4mon. He was a big baby when he was born. My ped. said not to be concerned about his weight and that it does not mean that he will be a fat boy growing up. Hope this helps.

first of all....they should eat what they need to stay happy and healthy. if your pediatrician doesn't think it's a problem, I wouldn't worry too much. As for being nuts for still nursing twins at 10 mos....my twins are 25 months and still nursing. Do what works for you, and don't worry about what other folks say. Kids do a pretty good job of regulating their intake. If they start to push away or turn away from food or cup, don't press the issue. Same with when it's time to introduce more meals. Add more meals or more food when they seem to need more. With all 3 of my kids, the solid introduction timeline always seemed to be the hardest to pin down, but it will work out the way it's supposed to. What I've come to believe is that there really isn't 1 right way to do it, especially when you're still nursing. Since it's pretty hard to tell exactly how much they're getting that way (everyone says they get more from nursing than you could get with a pump, so that's at best a guess to figure what you'd pump is the same as they're getting...), it's also hard to then predict how much more milk or food they need to complement your breast milk. Not only that, but your supply will fluctuate based on a million factors day to day.

Enjoy your twins. Now that they're getting heavy and mobile, it's a new challenge, but I've found that every stage is as much more fun as it is more work. Good luck!

My son is 11 months old and eats like a cute little piggy. All babies are different, and once your children are more mobile they too will burn off anything extra, my son is 21 lbs. and they cr. told us he was scrawny. I wouln't worry about it. He eats 2 fruits with oatmeal in the morning, a snack of gerberg fruit puffs with 2oz of formula in a sippy cup, then a full lunch, whatever the kids at daycare are eating, he eats normal food too, then a bottle (6oz- 4 formula, 2- whole milk) then snack with cup, then another bottle. A good suggestion I got to transistion babies to whole milk was to start off for 2 week with one oz. of milk mixed in with the bottle and every 2 weeks add another oz. that way their system gets used to milk and you wont end up switching cold turkey and have a child with full blown diareah.

T.-

I also have a 10 month son (born 3/28/06) and I was just asking myself that same question in regards to how much he should be eating. From what you wrote, things look pretty good to me. My son is probably eating more food at this point and not so much with nursing/bottlefeeding. I am working on the weaning process now and realize that he really doesn't take much out of the bottle. The most I can get out of him at one time is 4-5 ounces. We usually start the day with breastfeeding (early am, then he goes back to sleep), breakfast around 7 am (he can usually down 1 jar of food with oatmeal, plus cheerios or small can of diced fruit). He tends to have a snack of a nursing or puff/crackers after the morning nap (9-10am). I do give a lunch (11:30/noon) and dinner (5 - 5:30). At both meals he eats 1-2 jars of baby food. He is actually getting much more interested in finger foods so meal time can be a bit tricky. Things have worked good for us as first foods are : canned peas, carrots, green beans, diced fruit, crackers, grahmcrackers. He also likes those biter biscuit things. So to sum it up..maybe try to introduce some more finger foods and add that lunch in. This is same that I did for my older boy now 2 1/2. I pretty much just feed the baby when his brother eats. I guess now I am more concerned that the little guy is not getting enough formula/breastmilk. But I guess by this point more of his nurtrition should be coming from food versus the breastmilk. HI am sure you will get lots of feedback! Good luck and enjoy.

I have twins born 3-5-06 and they have 8 oz bottle when they get up, cereal for breakfast, lunch is 1 jar fruit and 1 jar veg each and dinner is cereal, fruit & veg. They will also drink another 3 6-8oz bottles during the day. One twin is abt 20 lbs and the other is 23-24 lbs. I don't think you are feeding them to much at all. This is also my 3rd & 4th child. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Hi,

If your have concerns you should talk to your doctor. All babies are different and require different amounts of food. I have two daughters, my first daughter nursed until 6 months without baby food and my second daughter started on baby food at 4 months. My oldest daughter was 18lbs at a year and my second daughter was 21 lbs at a year. They are now 17 and 15 years. My 17 year old is very petite and my 15 year old is slender but she's taller and bigger built ( got that from mom). They still eat totally different and I am only greatful that I let them tell me how much they needed to eat when they were young. The only advice our doctors said was to make sure when they did eat it was healthy and they were not filling up on junk or juice.

Cheryl

At 10 months my son was already eating 3 meals a day. He also nursed about 4-5 times per day. At his 9 month the doctor said 3 meals a day and 2 snacks and atleast 5 nursing times (with the assumption that he was getting about 20 ounces of milk). But I am sure each child is different. My milk was getting lower so she also recommended more protein (yogurt, beans, cheese, and meats). Your twins weigh much more than my 11 month old (19 lb) so they may not need the extra calories. I know that feeding will be different with Premies. I just knew when he was ready and you will too. By the way you are an amazing woman...TWINS and your nursing!! Way to go!

Hi, T..
I really think you are worrying too much about how and how much to feed your precious twins. First, unless your doctor says so, NO RATIONING OF FOOD! This goes double since your babies were preemie. (Plus, your doctor will not say to limit their food.)
Second, you seem to be doing an amazing job already with feeding, sleeping, breastfeeding, and working. Simply follow their lead to determine when and what to feed them. They will let you know if they want formula, breast milk, or solid food. Don't worry if they mostly want milk or formula, either. One doctor told me that some babies aren't really interested in solids until after the first year!
Also, don't be afraid to give them vegetables. One theory is that veggies should be offered first. Otherwise, babies would not eat them, preferring to eat fruits and grains. Introducing grains somewhat later is also thought to delay or prevent the onset of allergies. This is all advice from our pediatric allergist. He has not been wrong yet.
???Let me know.
Amy

My son -- also 10 months old and a preemie (30 wks) -- eats about the same amount. He doesn't know how to use the Nubby cup yet and is not crawling yet. He's about 50th percentile for a 10 month old and over 100% by his gestational age. We had some concerns about his weight but the doctor has assured us not to worry and that he'll slim down as he gets more active.

Here's what he eats:

Solids: He usually has 1/4 of cereal with 1/2 jar of stage 2 food at three meals and often has a snack of cheerios and/or babyfood in the early afternoon.

Formula: Typically 4 feedings of 4-6 oz.

Dear T.,

I would ask you a couple of questions first. Like if they are walking yet. Because they should start to thin out when they start to walk and run. I also wanted to tell you that I run a state certified daycare out of my home and they gave me a meal chart to follow for infants. So when i have infants this is what I do. Since you nurse you will have to adjust it to fit you. But this should give you an idea of what they should be getting now.

8months to 11months

Breakfast
6-8 fl oz of formula or breast milk and
1-4 Tablespoons of vegetable or fruit and
2-4 Tablespoons of infant cereal

Lunch/ Super
6-8 oz of formula or breast milk and
1-4 Tablespoons of fruit or vegetables and
2-4 Tablespoons of infant cereal or

in place of infant cereal you may serve a meat for infants
1-4 Tablespoons of meat, fish, poultry, egg yolk, cooked dry beans, or 1/2-2 oz of cheese or 2-8 Tablespoons of cottage cheese or you may serve infant cereal and meat

Snacks/Supplement
2-4 oz of formula or breast milk or fruit juice

When developmentally ready 0-1/2 slice of bread or 0-2 crakers

Bread and bread alternates shall be made from whole-grain or enriched meal or flour.

For snacks if they have teeth I use the bitter biscuits, or any of those items found in the infant ailes. I hope this helps.
B.

Here is my 10 month old's schedule:

6am - wake up and drinks 7oz. of formula
8am - 1/3 cup oatmeal and some banana or 1/2 piece of toast
8:45 - nap
10:15 - wake up and drinks 3-5 oz. of formula
11:30ish - 3.5 oz meat/vegetable & 4oz. YoBaby Yogurt (this is lunch)
1:00 - 3.5 oz. jar of fruit
1:15 - nap
3:00 - wake up and drinks 3-5 oz. of formula
4:00 - some little snack (cheerios, Graduates mini-fruits, etc)
5:15ish - #3 dinner, 3.5 oz. jar of vegetable & 3.5 oz. jar of fruit...if still hungry and sometimes she is...I give her a mini-pancake with all natural jam on it
6:30 - bath
7:00 - 3-5 oz. formula and then bed.

My daughter was born almost 4 weeks early but managed to weigh in at 6 lbs. 2 oz. She is now 21 lbs. My advice would be to back off the milk a bit and increase their food intake and offer water to them. My Dr. said that my daughter should take about 16 oz. a day. Sometimes she only takes 12 oz. and sometimes she takes 20 oz. But...her food in take usually remains the same. I also would say to stop the cereal at night and give them each a #3 and drop a bottle/sippy....at 10 months old they should only have milk 4 times a day (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner/Before Bed) - use water in between.

So...that's my $.02 - take it or leave it :) Good luck!

T. - My advice to you would be to just follow their lead. It is very important to let infants self regulate their intake. My 13 month old will nurse 4+ times a day and eats about 1/4 cup of food at breakfast, lunch and dinner and sort of grazes on snacks in between. He has just shown an interest in solid food this last month or so - so every baby is different. Keep in mind that a baby's tummy is only about the size of their fist so snacks should no more than that size and meals can be size of 2-3 hands... but again it's best to feed them when they're asking to eat and not to try to get them to take even 'one more bite' if they are turning away from food.
Hope that helps!

I also have twins that were born just as early and weighed about 4 pounds also. You are so lucky that they sleep that much!!! As moms of twins, we need that well earned break to get things done. Your schedule seems fine. I would add lunch time after that 10am nap. I think my twins shared 2 jars of baby food for lunch. Then they may take less formula at 1pm though. See what happens. Our kids would spit up or stop drinking when they were full. Let me know what happens.

Hi! I am a new mom of 7 month old twins and I find I am still driving myself crazy with feedings. I am still nursing too but supplementing as well. I wish I could provide more advice. I feel like my twins should be a lot bigger - my daughter is just a little over 14lbs (born 5lbs 4oz) and my son is just a little over 15lbs (born 5lbs 1oz). Right now, we typically nurse/drink milk 5/6 times a day and they get anywhere from 4-6+oz. And we have two meals a day... but just really starting with solids so they have veggie/rice cereal in AM veggie/rice cereal in PM. Once I get through my veggies then we'll introduce fruits/juice. My pediatrician wants most of their calories to come from milk/formula still. You are using sippy cups already?!?! When did you introduce your twins to them? Good luck!!! I say as long as they are on their growth curve, your pediatrician is fine with it... then your babies are fine and weigh just fine. If the kids is 10 years old and overweight then and eating a lot of times ... then I would say cut back. :)

Hi, I have a 10 month old also. They eat nothing compared to my daughter. She is 21 lbs too, and I think she'd eat all day if I'd let her. I don't know how much milk because I only breastfeed but we do breakfast, which is usually oatmeal/cherrios and fruit. I'm not using too much babyfood anymore. SHe loves apples, bananas, pears, etc. I don't really give her lunch unless we are out to eat. Dinner is usually a stage 3 veg beef or something depending on my dinner. If I am eating something good then she eats with me otherwise it's baby food. I just discovered that she loves edamame! Who would've thought....She also gets more fruit at night or a yogurt. She loves the Horizon baby yogurt. I do too..
SHe still gets up once, sometimes twice at night to nurse too.
Hope that helps. Try some tablefood. My daughter only has 2 teeth and can eat anything.

Our 10 month old drinks between 18-24 ounces of formula each day and eats cheerios (maybe 10) and half a yogurt in the morning. At lunch she eats whatever the daycare feeds her (usually a meat, veggie and starch) and if she doesn't like the table food, she eats a jar of #3 food. In the afternoon she gets a small snack, usually some fruit. She weighs 18.5 pounds and is in the 50th percentile for her age.
I've read that babies don't have the wherewithall to overeat - they don't think, wow that looks yummy and eat even though they are full, like adults can. When she is done, she usually closes her lips tight and turns her head to let us know she's had enough.

My daughter is 9 months old-we started her on solids @ 5 mos. Our pediatrician gave us a great cheat sheet for when to introduce solids, & how to progress-Drs. Bedingfield & Rosewell-Hoffman Estates. First off, we try a new food for 5 or 6 days & watch for allergies, & then go to the next new food. So, we started with cereals (rice, barley, oatmeal), then fruits, then veggies, then meats. Then finger foods. Every time we'd add a different food, we'd add a meal. She's been on 3 meals a day for 2 months now. Our doctor recommends that for her age, she should be drinking 24-32 oz. of formula or breastmilk a day. Also, all the sleep books I've read recommend babies her age get 3 hours of day sleep & 11 hours of night sleep. So, with that said, here is her schedule, which I was never rigid with, it's developed based on what was comfortable for both of us:

7 am-she wakes up & has 6 oz. of formula
8:30/9:00 Breakfast-Oatmeal(2 tbsp & 2 oz. formula) mixed w/fruit
9:45 Formula-6 oz.
10-11 Morning Nap
12:00 pm Lunch-Veggie & Meat
2:15 pm Formula-6 oz.
2:30-4:30 pm Afternoon Nap
4:30 pm 4 oz. Formula
6:30 pm Dinner-Veggie & Cereal & Finger Foods
7:45 pm 6 oz. Formula

oh goodness, this brings back some funny memories! i'm filipino and my ex is caucasian - both small boned. our first (son, now 14 yrs this month) was always off the charts at his check ups, before he was one yr old. we used to call him our little budda boy because he was extremely chubby. the pediatrician even asked if my husband was large!!

in any case, i thought i was feeding him too much but the pediatrician said if he wants it, give it to him. the pediatrician also said that once he started walking he would eventually lose the baby fat, which he did. by the time he was 1 yr old he was an average chubby toddler and not quite so 'fat'. now my son is this skinny little athletic kid!

this is what his eating schedule was like as a (budda) baby:

breakfast: 8 ozs formula; baby cereal (1/4 C); FULL jar of baby food fruit (whatever stage he would be in at the time - even the large jars)

lunch: 8 ozs formula; 2-3 full jars baby food (veggie/fruit/entree)

dinner: same as lunch

in addition, he'd have snacks in between because if i snacked, he was begging for some. most of the time i was eating something that wasn't appropriate for him so i'd give him the typical baby cookie or cheerios, etc. so personally, i wouldn't be too concerned, especially if your pediatrician isn't. when they start walking they'll taper off and i'm sure at some point they'll become very particular about what they eat. ugh, that's another story!

M.

In my opinion rationing is seldom helpful. The key ways of monitoring intake at this age is to reduce caloric intake by choosing more carefully what they are getting, not how much. In other words it is possible to increase the quality but not decrease the quantity and have benefits to their overall growth rate yet not significantly disturb their diet and habits. Who wants to feel hungry or irritable, even at 10 months? Begin by giving them water more often or just diluting their juice/formula by a third or half. Avoid high sugar and processed starchy foods like cookies, cereals. You want to keep their diet close to nature. Blend fresh veggies, grains like rice, oatmeal, or barley if they tolerate gluten.Potatoes are a great food when baked or boiled, not fried. They have vitamin C and traces of iron, plus natural carbs. Just use your blender like a baby food maker. Keep the green leafy content of their diet high so they are getting AMPLE vitamin A & C and apply that principle to all the vitamins they need. This is so doable, that let me tell you what happened with my firstborn. At fourteen months she went in for a routine check up. Nothing appeared wrong but she had lost a full pound and the exceptional pediatrician was concerned. He decided to send her to Children's Memorial in Chicago to rule out leukemia. We spent two weeks there while they ran every conceivable test, including absorbtion tests. The results where all negative. It was concluded, that my diet was so natural that I had inadvertently not given her enough carbs. She just had had a successful diet at fourteen months. I fed her lots of fresh healthy foods, and after one year it is okay to use honey to sweeten, just make sure it is newly opened and stored in a cool,dry place. The thing to remember is weight control is a MINOR issue at this age!!! If their diet is very healthy and natural, the risks of a few extra pounds is minimal and the peak weight for infants is highest at this time. In other words, they will naturally begin to taper off as they become more active. This is even more true for breastfed babies, but all babies just need an excellent source of calories and vitamins. Think about it, the closer to nature a food is, the better for your baby...not just adults. Hope that helped. Love, L.