Don't think my 10 month old eats enough

[2015mom]

Hi I need some help with my 10
Month year old.

He wakes up in the morning and has breastmilk.

Then an hour later he will have his breakfast usually one weetabix or readybrek which he eats well 90% of the time. He is still hungry so I will give him a little bit of toast or petit flous. He eats great for breakfast.

Lunch and dinner he will just about have a few spoons of food and I am worried he is hungry. I will give him good we eat from potatos and veg and chicken or beef.

He is not interested and I am
Worried he is not eating enough. He will have breast milk an hr after lunch before he naps and then he will have breast milk at night.

I got him weighed 6 weeks ago and he had his 10 month check up three weeks ago and he had lost a few ounces about 4 ounces. Health visitor asked me to come in next week to get him weighed again but I am worries he will be losing more weight

[2015mom]

Today he had milk in the morning, one weetabix and yoghurt for breakfast then at lunch he has about 5 spoons of scrambled egg and a few spoons of baked beans and a couple of bites from a waffle

[NeedACleverNN]

That sounds fine to me

Before 1, food is not a major source of nutrients. The milk he drinks is. Food is just an added bonus

[2015mom]

Thanks for your reassurance. Health visitor was making me worried because she was telling me to give milk three times only and food was more important. I used to give milk before he napped in day because that was his comforter to go to sleep

[NeedACleverNN]

No there is a phrase you will hear a lot

Food before one is fun

As long as he is drinking plenty of milk, food is just an added bonus

[Philoslothy]

As others have said, milk is more important than food. Food for fun before one

[MiddleClassProblem]

Food is fun in year one! Maybe just get a few different fruit or veg that you might use to cook that evening for him to nibble, some breadsticks etc. It's really no worry as long as he's putting weight on

[2015mom]

Thank you guys really appreciate your help

[Kr1stina]

Why did your HV tell you to only give him BM three times a day ?

[2015mom]

Problem is he has lost 4 pounds... Worried about next week weigh in

[2015mom]

HV said he is prob getting full up on milk & not eating properly

[gaggiagirl]

My 10m old eats less than that. He drinks loads of milk though.
He maybe has 2 strawberries for breakfast, a cucumber or cheese stick for lunch and a carrot or meatball for tea.

[Kr1stina]

He's probably lost weight because you've cut down the BM .there are more calories in BM than in any of the foods you are giving him .

[NeedACleverNN]

Up his milk if he is losing weight

[MiddleClassProblem]

Yeah I would up his milk. I reckon they said that to try to get him to eat more but some it just comes later. When you weigh in are there other hvs there you could talk to?

[Kr1stina]

kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/babyfoodcalories/

It's an American site so the foods referred to have many American brands but you get the idea

[Artandco]

That's rubbish. Increase breastfeeds if they are loosing weight.

A child can't be over fed milk at this age.

For what it's worth it sounds a fair amount. I mean a whole weetabix is quite a large serving for a 10 month old, if you consider the adult serving on the box is 2 weetabix, and their stomach is tiny in comparison.

Maybe give less of one itme so the get a variety. Ie 1/2 a weetabix or 1/2 the amount porridge, with a 1/4 banana, and a few raspberries.

[Kr1stina]

How much should my toddler be eating?


Between ages one and five, a child’s growth is in a decelerated stage; that is, they have slowed down in growth. Since growth slows down, their need for calories subsequently decreases, which in turn leads to a smaller quantity of food ingested per day. Added to the decelerated growth is a burgeoning independence which limits the variety of foods your child is willing to eat (“finicky eater”).

Rest assured that toddlers do not need as much food as you might expect because of this slowing down of the growth rate. Three small meals and two snacks a day (and some will eat a good bit less) will probably be enough to fuel even the most active toddler. Please realize, too, that finicky eaters are the rule rather than the exception.

Some toddlers are eating very few solids, or even no solids, at 12 months. This is not unusual and really depends on your child – there is quite a big variation.

We like to see breastmilk making up the majority (around 75%) of baby’s diet at 12 months. Some babies will be taking more solids by 12 months, but others will still be exclusively or almost-exclusively breastfed at this point. It is normal for baby to keep breastmilk as the primary part of his diet up until 18 months or even longer

An example of a nice gradual increase in solids would be 25% solids at 12 months, 50% solids at 18 months, and 80% solids at 24 months.

Some children take a little longer to begin taking solids well. Some of them have food sensitivities and this may be their body’s way of protecting them until their digestive system can handle more. Others are late teethers or have a lot of difficulty with teething pain.

At this point there is NOTHING that your milk lacks that your child needs, with the possible exception of enough iron. As long as his iron levels are within acceptable levels and when he does eat you are offering him foods naturally rich in iron, then you have plenty of time before you need to worry about the amount of solids he’s getting.

All you need to do is to continue to offer foods. Don’t worry if he’s not interested or takes very small amounts. Your only true responsibility is what you offer, when you offer it and how you offer it, not whether or not he eats it. That has to be up to him. Trying to force, coax, or cajole your child into eating is never recommended. Continue to nurse on demand, day and night, and trust your child to increase the solids when he’s ready. As baby slowly moves into eating more solids, your milk will fill any nutritional gaps nicely.


From here

kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/toddler-foods/

( my emphasis )

[2015mom]

Wow that's very informative

Thank you you have all reassured me.

I will just stick to his milk feeds and just give him extra milk before he naps too that way he will be getting breastmilk 5 / 6 times a day hopefully that will increase my milk supply and he will gain weight

[Stiddleficks]

My 10 month old has 4 bottles a day, she'll eat as much yoghurt as I give her but anything else she has a few mouthfuls and that's it. She still can't manage textures yet and gags on them. I'm sure they all move on eventually.

[Artandco]

I think in many many countries children are almost solely breastfed until 2 years, due to many factors. In the western world we have access to good food so can generally wean younger. However I think sometimes we do forget and try to wean completely off milk rather than in addition to

[2015mom]

Yeah the books also laen towards weaning of milk in order to replace it eventually and say balanced diet is more important.. Just need to make sure he puts on weight that's the main thing

[MoMandaS]

Also the 4oz weight loss last time could be down to difference in scales, timing of last poo, fact that he's probably a lot more mobile now ... It sounds like he eats plenty, even without the milk really, so please don't worry!

[2015mom]

Thank you so much for your help really so appreciate it

[2015mom]

Do*

[Kr1stina]

I think the advice is to only give 3 BOTTLES a day at this age to encourage babies to eat more solids , I wonder if your HVis confused and thinks that means three BF? Which obviously it doesn't, since one BFis unlikely to be the same as an 8oz bottle .

I was just wondering why she was giving you incorrect advice