How Much Should My Son Eat?

Hi D., it sounds like you are a great mommy and I'm sure Zachary is absolutely darling. However, answer to your
question,I would say NO!!! For 7 months that is an awful lot of calories and food. Cereal is empty calories, there is no nutritional value at all, except for maybe the iron. But if he's getting bottles (I assume formula) there is enough iron in the formula to satisfy requirements.
Formula fed babies are overfed starting at birth. It is not your fault, but that of the medical staff who usually, but not always,initiates feeding and/or instructs mom on how much.
Overfed babies are more likely to become overweight toddlers followed by overweight school-age children. The cycle begins...

D. B.

He weighs almost as much as my 18 month old who eats all the time too... Does he still act like he is hungry? A serving for a baby/ toddler is a table spoon of food (vegetable/ meat/ grain/) for each year of age ( this is from American Baby.com ) I wondered the same thing because my 3 1/2 year old eats like a bird but when I actually saw how small the serving sizes were I felt better... Mind you she weighs 32 pounds!!! Hope this helps!

you arent feeding him all that much. Is he crawling/ maybe think about getting him in a mommy and me swim class that might help him to burn some of his extra weight that he has. or watch out. he is also prob gaining for the energy of walking. which means that he is going to ready to be on the go. worry about him when he is in the walking stage when he gets older like 15 months. love em chubby cause they are so gushy and laugh all of the time......

What kind of formula? I have two chunky sons, my first weighed 25 lbs from 6 months till just recently, he went up to 30lbs and he is now 1yr, 9months. He has slimmed down great and is super active, eats more than me but very healthy. He has food allergies so we've always been careful of what he can eat. Loves veggies since thats what he gets the most of. I always feel like I'm feeding him too much, always have but he seems to be doing okay, he's steady on the doctors growth chart and that is what matters. I never did measure what we fed him when he was younger but it seems like he ate more than that for solid foods. Just go with what you feel is right and if your Dr. seems to think he's growing fine. Is it time for sippy cups or water instead of formula all the time? Good questions for your doctor to answer. Hope this helps.

My daugter who is two now weighs about 25 lbs. She is very tall and lankey. She come up to my hip and I am 5'11". She eats like a horse and always has. I let her eat till she is full. She is the only one who knows when her belly is full. Your little guy should be telling you when he is hungery or not. Just watch his clues. Also with my daugter you can fell her tummy when it is full it is harder then normal. She is still very active. Plays right after meals. As long as your son is getting some exercise then let him eat what he needs. You don't want to starve him. Go with your gut on what to feed and how much. If you think you are giving him too much cut back a bit and see what he does. You know best!!!!!!!

I have an 11 month old girl who weighs 21 lbs. The pediatrician advised me when she was 7 months old to feed her 3-4 oz of cereal with fruit in the a.m., 1 jar of veges and 1 jar of fruit at lunch, and 1 jar of each at dinner (this is the small jar sizes so when we went up to #2's she generally didn't finish the jars- maybe at 3/4 a jar). In between meals she drinks bottles. If you think your baby is getting too many calories, I would slim down the amount of formula and give occasional water bottles (maybe replace 3 oz total during the day). Also, we started adding solids and I think she slimmed down when we did that. Babies fill up on solids with less intake. Weight can fluctuate. I wouldn't be too worried. Ask your pediatrician for any advise on quantity.

Hello D.,
I am the proud parent of 8 month old Nyla. Does Zachary still seem hungry after bottle feedings? You may want to give him a lite lunch. For breakfast Nyla gets 3 tablespoons of cereal, 2-3 ounces of fruit, and then for lunch she gets 3 ounces of veggies, and she get an afternoon snack of 3 ounces of fruit, and for dinner she gets 1 ounce of veggie and 3-4 tablespoons of cereal. Throughout the day she consumes between 20-26 ounces of formula a day. She just started on finger foods so she also get cheerios in the morning and some evenings. Nyla is very petite..she's only 15 pounds. You definately want to check with his pediatrician first and see what he thinks will be best for Zachary. Breastmilk/ Formula should be the primary source of food for babies until age 1 because of the important vitamins, iron, and protein so you also want to take that into consideration because you don't want to give him too much solids to where he's not taking bottles.