My little girl is 8 months old, ive read that she should still be having 1litre of milk a day, but she has no where near that amount. She has a 5oz bottle in the morning with her breakfast, then food for lunch, food for dinner, and another 5oz bottle before she goes to bed. im worried shes not getting enough calcium. Any ideas on how i can incorporate more into her feeds. I cant add any more bottles in as she feeds every 3 hours as it is. Ive tried giving her yogurts (petitsfilous) for her lunch, but have heard that they full of sugar, so dont want to give them to her every day.
Help!
What about preparing her a larger bottle, 8-10oz ones. Include a bottle with her meals, we don't have a meal without a drink, why should she?
I don't recall exactly what my kids ate at that age, it's been almost 9 years, but I do know my girls drank from the larger bottles by this point, not the smaller ones.
Give her some cheese , for breakfast she can have cereals with milk on. To be honest 10oz is a good amount. I would try to avoid giving extra formula as this is a food in itself and therefore she may end up not wanting food as she is too full. Yobaby are good yogurts for babies.
A 8 month old should not be drinking cow's milk yet. You aren't suppose to give milk to a child until they reach age 1. She should be drinking formula or breast milk. The amount she drinks is more than likely not going to match or be as much as what you read.
I would try giving her some formula with her meals too. That way she is getting some more without adding another feeding. If she wont take it in a bottle with lunch and dinner, try a few ounces in a sippy. Good luck, and if you are really worried, talk to her doc. He'll let you know.
So 10 oz a day? Thats not enough. Do you give her water or juice? She may get dehydrated. You may cut down a little on solids and give more formula.
L.,
I would just offer her milk when she eats food, she should be drinking some kind of liquid with her solids anyway, just make it milk. I would just use a sippy cup, its a good way to transition away from a bottle too. She can also have cheese and yogurt right now, and Stony field's yogurt is organic and has one made with whole milk for babies. That is one way to get the calcium if that is what you are worried about. But if she is eating well, I wouldn't worry about it for the calories, it sounds like she is getting enough food.
Good Luck
E.
At 8 months, she should be getting at least 4 6 oz bottles of formula...or more. Give bottles in between meals and feed less food if needed. At this age, they need the nutrition from formula or breastmilk.
Talk to your pediatrician about the amount of food vs. formula that your baby should be getting!!!
Yes, she's getting enough milk. The truth is your baby does NOT need milk. Your baby needs calcium and vitamin D, which can be found in many other sources, the most obvious yogurt and cheese. Dark green leafy vegetables are also good.
You have something to drink every time you eat and so should she. If she is too full to take a bottle after her meals cut back on the food.
Beweary of volume quotas when it comes to nutrition.
Also note that calcium is found in other foods other than dairy. Look up the nutritional content of what she is eating to see what she is actully getting. Note that she also needs Vitamin D to absorb the calcium and if she isin't getting 15 min of sunlight a day, then is she getting the Vit. D in her food? Also keep in mind that over doing the calcium consistently will cause kidney stones.
All that being said the volume of food for every child is different. I have some children in my care that take 1 1/2 oz every 2-3 hours and others that take 8 oz every 3-4 both with cereal and baby food in between. These two particular children are only two weeks apart, but both are happy, healthy and growing. Those are the most important markers.
In a four months she will be a year and you will be adding in more foods and water NOT JUICE and taking less milk. NUTRITION ALWAYS BEATS VOLUME becoming a label reader now, understanding them and knowing what healthy nutrition looks like for your child will be a much more vauable skill to have then.
Google the ingredients learn their effects and how the body reacts to or uses them. You may find she is already getting just what she needs.
Hope you find this helpful!
L. Seben
20yrs in child care
From my pediatrician..."infants of this age need at least 15-20oz breastmilk or formula daily." It sounds to me like she is eating too much food and not enough formula/breastmilk. At this age, babies should not have either water or cow's milk, and they don't need juice. Their cereal should be made with breastmilk or formula, NOT water. There is actually very little nutrition in baby food. The reason you give it to your baby is to get them used to eating with a spoon and used to the tastes and textures of food. If a baby eats too much food and not enough breastmilk/formula they can develop severe malnutrition, even if it seems they are eating a lot. They can also become severely anemic, because their main source of iron is formula! Both of these problems can damage brain growth, so it's important to try to change your feeding schedule. You don't mention naps or snacks, but here is my daughter's sample feeding schedule. She's breastfed, so I don't know how many oz. she drinks.
*Wake up...nurse.
*Shortly after that, breakfast is cereal made with breastmilk and 1/3 jar fruit.
*After nap and before lunch, nurse.
*Shortly after that, Lunch is a little cereal or fruit again and 1/3 jar veggies
*After PM nap... nurse.
*Shortly after that, dinner is 1/3-1/2 jar mixed meat babyfood and 1/3 jar veggies.
*1 hour later, nurse before bed.
I try to nurse 30 mins. or 1 hour before meals. That way she eats a little less food, but I know she's getting better nutrition. Hope this helps.
