Am I feeding too much or too little?
| Q: | I have a 7month old boy who has been a hungry baby since birth and a baby who sleeps very little since birth. He is very healthy though and a real joy with such a gorgeous little nature. I have been following the baby sense book very closely especially where introducing solids is concerned. At 5 months I started him on Purity Rice Cereal in the morning for breakfast, a few teaspoons at a time upto 2 tablespoons mixed with formula, then started giving it to him at night, same quantity. Not changing his bottles. I stopped breastfeeding at 6months due to work commitments unfortunately. But he took to formula very well - he is on Novalac AC, as he has always been a crampy baby. At 6 months I started giving him pureed veg as a substitute for his rice cereal - butternut, carrots, sweet potatoe and gem squash, a few days apart and a few teaspoons at a time until about 3-4 tablespoons. Two weeks later I introduced pureed apple, pear, paw, paw and banana at lunch time a few days apart and a few teaspoons at a time, I then added a tablespoon of low fat, plain yoghurt. He has taken very well to all of it and loves his food, if I am a little late he lets me know. I have also given him watermelon, banana etc in his safety chew after dinner or during the day when he is niggly or seems hungry. His weight is on the curve the nurses tell me when I weigh him. I am however concerned about too little or too much and when to introduce more textured or other foods like chicken, mince, eggs, bread, cheese etc and also when to introduce snacks and rooibos tea and water mixed with fruit juice. I am also extremely nervous to drop bottles, especially the 3:00pm one as he only sleeps twice in the day 40mins-1 hour only and one of those is after his 3:00pm bottle. He manages to sleep through approx every 3rd night but not more, we try all the usual - nappy, too hot/too cold etc but nothing helps other than a bottle - we usually give him 120ml. His current schedule is as follows and I really need advice on what to add or drop etc 7:00am - 180ml formula bottle 9:00am - 4 tablespoons Rice Cereal mixed with milk from his 11:00am bottle 11:00am - 210ml formula bottle 1:00pm - pureed fruit - paw paw, banana, pear, apples 3-4 tablespoons with 1 tablespoon yoghurt 3:00pm - 180ml formula bottle 5:00pm - pureed veg - butternut, gem squash, carrots, sweet potatoe - 3-4 tablespoons 7:00pm - 240ml formula bottle 12:30pm - 120ml Formula bottle - every second or third night Any advice you could give would really be appreciated, I just want to do what’s the absolute best for my angel. I am at the 6-9 month stage in the book but I do not find the info specific enough to help me. Kindest regards, Debbie Mom to Wade |
| A: | Dear Debbie, Thank you for your email regarding your 6 month old sons diet. I don't know which Baby Sense book you are reading, but in the 6 - 9 month chapter, there is detailed information about what your little one should be eating!! See pages 123 - 126. To enhance your baby's growth and development, PROTEIN must be added to his diet at this stage. He will need eight to ten teaspoons of protein combined with a variety of carbohydrates, fats, fruit and vegetables, spread over three meals a day. In other words, to his existing three meals a day, you need to add these protein foodstuffs. Both animal protein (dairy products, meat, egg yolk, poultry and fish), and vegetable protein (legumes, dried beans and nuts - ground or in paste form) are suitable. Look on page 124 for some menu ideas, so get creative! On page 126, there is a timed meal plan laid out for you: Remember the times are flexible, so work around her sleeps, but you will see that for example, breakfast will be around about 8 am - may be 7.30 one day, and 8.30 or 9 the next day. 6am (on waking) breast or formula milk 8am: breakfast 10 am: juice/water/tea and finger snack (rusk, rice cake, fresh fruit, toast) 12 noon: lunch 2pm: breast or formula milk 3 - 4 pm: juice/water/tea/finger snack 5pm: dinner 6-7pm: breast or formula milk She should be able to sleep through the night, and not require feeds at night if you stick to this diet plan. Happy cooking! Kind regards, Ann Richardson |
 |
