to be worried that my 6month daughter isn't getting enough milk/food?

[munkeychops]

Okay, a bit cheeky me making this into a AIBU thread, but there is more traffic here and I am really stressing.

Basically, started weaning little one (6.5 months) and she has dropped a bottle (gone from 4 down to 3) All bottles 8oz and she drinks it all, s drinking 24oz per day, plus a bit of food (started weaning at lunchtime, but bit's early days and she desn't really get that much in her belly - mainly over her face and top!)

So, currently -

8.30am - wakes
9.00am - 8oz bottle and a bit of porridge or toast
1.00pm - 8oz bottle and afew cubes of whatever food made
5.30pm - 8oz bottle
7pm - goes to sleep for the night, no night feeds.

What does your 6.5 month take in a 24 hour period? Should I try and increase milk or food? Maybe a finger food snack? Or am I just a neurotic mum who is worried for no reason?

i she growing and putting on weight?
then dont worry - jsut keep offering more food in day.
if you are worried speak to hv or go to a drop in baby clinic to get her weighed every week

Forget what other people are doing. Is your baby happy, gaining weight, alert, sleeping well.... looking in the pink in other words? Or.... is she listless, grumpy, up all night long, getting thinner? If it's the former, do not worry too much and, as you eventually introduce the third meal, expect her need for drinks to reduce a little. If it's the latter, see your HV or doctor and ask for advice. To me the above looks pretty normal.

that sounds like the same as my dd at that age, tho she would only drink 4oz bottles, sometimes 5oz so had more bottles and never had more than 24oz of milk in a day ever.

up until 7 and a bit monhts she was only have 2 or 3 ice cubes of food or bits that she could pick up and eat. since then she suddlenly got into her food and now she eats masses!

if she is happy and content and sleeping well just follow her lead, sounds fine to me :) maybe start offering her some food at dinner time as well so that she is on 3 meals a day but tis early day :)

She sleeps for 13.5 hours at night? yADBU!

Crikey, wish mine slept through!

Like everyone said, as long as she's putting on weight and seems happy I wouldn't worry about it.

What does she weigh? Someone wrote on here a few weeks a go that per pounnd a baby weighs they should drink x amount of oz of milk. But I can't remember what it was!

My DS2 has about 30-35 oz of milk a day plus a little bowl of porridge for breakfast, small bowl of veg at lunch and a baby pudding, then again in the evening he'll have a little mashed up what we're having. And a bit of rusk.

But don't compare babies as they're all different. My little fella is a little fudge and is about 24lb! He turned 6 months this week.

you could try splitting up milk and food and see if that encourages her to take a little more solids. At that age ds had the following (rough) timings:

7am - milk
8am - breakfast
11am - milk
12pm - lunch
2.30pm - milk
5pm - dinner
7pm - milk

As Seona said, we offer the meals before milk. And we offer him food when we eat, so he gets into the routine.

I don't think he's dropped much milk though since starting food. But then milk is still the best for jim atm

Thanks people, appreciate the replies. Will get her weighed regular for a couple of weeks and maybe try adding a bit of food seperate to a milk feed. She isn't a very smiley baby anyway, quite a serious little bear! But she isn't crying lots or anything and seems content like usual.

God motherhood is peppered with bizarre stresses. I will no doubt be worried she is eating to much in 3 weeks time.

• too much, even

My baby is 7 months and breastfed but at 6.5 months he was on bf alone due to illness.

Yours sounds fine to me. I offer food before boob though.

There's no point getting her weighed regularly, as they don't really gain weight in a linear fashion. If she's happy and alert and producing wet and dirty nappies and doesn't feel like she's losing weight I'd not be concerned. Also, milk is their main source of nutrition until they're 1 so you don't need to worry about upping her solids intake too quickly, you can go at her pace.

I agree with Seona that giving her milk and then waiting 30/60 mins before offering food may see her taking more milk/solids/both if you're worried. Babies are generally good at self regulating though. If she's sleeping through then she obviously isn't starving!

they dont recomend weighing more than once every 2mths once they get to 6mths and once established on solids they should have 20oz of formula a day so she is having a good amount of milk.

i would offer milk and then food a while later, half an hour to an hour so she may be more hungry but tbh at first food it all about getting used to new flavours and textures, she will still get most of her nutrition from her milk :)

I don't know whether this is going to contravene thread rules, so sorry if it does!

I was given this book when DD was born. There are some nice recipes in there and ideas for getting a variety of food into them.

Although I agree with the others, if she's happy and contented, growing and producing the expected number of nappies, I'd say she's fine.

All children are different. My DD is 5 and only weighs 2 st 1.5 lb (that's just under 30lb!!!) we weighed her yesterday on our very accurate home scales. She's under 0.4th centile and always has been. But she's happy, healthy and growing fine and that's all that counts.

@ "serious little bear".

I'm a health visitor. I would say that she should be on 3 milk feeds per day ( approx 20 oz in total) and you should be working towards 3 meals. For example

Early AM :Milk feed
Breakfast: Cereal
Mid morning :Milk feed
Lunch:Meat/ potato / veg etc blended initially and gradually coarser.
Mid afternoon:Milk feed
Evening meal: Fruit puree/ yogurt/ custard etc.
Before bed: Milk feed.

You can also start to give snacks like finger foods though nothing that can be easily bitten off or too small due to risk of choking.
Don't stress too much about food quantities. Her little tummy is only the size of her closed fist so tiny. Weaning should be all about fun and letting her see that food doesn't just come out of a bottle.