Is my 9m old getting enough

[Leanin9]

My 9m old is just over 11kg and 74cm, so above average size. but hes got no real ‘chunkiness’ to him. He’s got a tiny bit on his arms and legs but his back and stomach have got absolutely no excess. I feel like babies are supposed to be chunky and in both mine and DHs family all babies have been. He still breastfeeds a lot and I’m worried he’s just not getting enough for him (and that’s why he’s feeding so much still maybe)
he’s not underweight so the dr isn’t interested and I appreciate it’s not a critical issue, but just wonder if he’d thrive a bit more if he had more milk?
I didn’t want to supplement with formula but I am wondering if it would be best.

His weight’s on the 98th centile and his length on the 75th. He’s thriving like anything.

Sounds completely fine, babies just have different body shapes - my second DD was way chubbier than my first but they were both breastfed exactly the same. I think my eldest DD just moved more, early to crawl and very “wriggly”!
If he’s gaining weight and feeding well he’s getting enough- you’re doing a great job don’t worry.

It’s just when I see all those 99th centile babies they’re so chunky! Even lighter babies seem to have chubby cheeks and bellies, He doesn’t have any rolls and no excess around his middle.
he’s eating a bit less solids because he won’t let me spoon feed anymore and I’m worried about his food intake going down even more!
we had a difficult time establishing feeding and he lost a lot of weight so I’m probably just stressing because of that

Also because he still breastfeeds every hour or so I’m wondering if that means he’s always hungry

Babies have different shapes and builds. It sounds like he's doing great from what you say, OP.

You need to let him try and feed himself. It's going to be messy but it's an essential life skill. Forget the spoon and give him bits of food to gnaw on.

I actually don't think it's normal for a 9mo to be breastfeeding every hour.
I'd focus on getting high nutrient / high fat foods into him. And by focus I mean I'd offer only high calorie foods, not attempt to force him to eat.
Eggs, scrambled with lots of butter
Salmon
Avocado
Mashed potato
Full fat unflavored greek yogurt
Beans
Roasted veg with lots of evolve and herbs and spices
Cheese

Etc

Oh, I missed the post about feeding every hour. That does sound a bit unusual for this age. Is this every day, OP?

Extra virgin olive oil not evolve!

And absolutely let him feed himself, he'll get there.

What does he eat in a day? At 9 months he should be having 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. If he’s still breastfeeding every hour whilst eating proper meals then that’s unusual, maybe take him for a checkup at the gp.

Up to a year old, breastmilk (or milk) is a baby's main food.

At 9 months you should be thinking more about what food he is eating rather than how much milk he is getting.

https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/baby/weaning/what-to-feed-your-baby/7-to-9-months

It’s really not. Milk should be their main drink but by 12 months the majority of their nutrition should come from food and it’s obviously a transition up to that point.

What happens if you don't feed him? My little girl was a bit like this and I had to be quite firm in cutting down daytime bf.
He is a good size though so he is getting enough.

Yes, a gradual transition up to 12 months. From 6 to 12 months, roughly, a baby is learning to eat solids and still can get most calories from milk.

There's no need to force a baby to eat solids or worry about getting food into them.

How do you propose they move to having their main nutrition from food at 12 months if you aren’t feeding them food at 9 months?

Offer them good solid healthy options, eat same food with them, and let nature take its course.
Some kids'll be eating mainly solids at 12m and some mainly milk, but they all get there in the end.

Of course they are eating food! It's a gradual process of learning, exploration and adjustment.

Milk will easily provide all necessary nutrition while they learn.

It's not something to worry about.

No one knows that the baby is eating which is why food was brought up.
Food before one is important and your comment that it isn’t is not helpful.

Sofie, have a read of the NHS guidance upthread.

The nhs guidelines don’t say that food isn’t important before 1.

'Feeding at 7 to 9 months

Your baby will gradually move towards eating 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and tea). Offering a wide variety of different foods is important to ensure they get enough energy and nutrients (such as iron).

Babies do not need salt or sugar added to their food (or cooking water) – salty food is not good for their kidneys, and sugar can cause tooth decay.

Remember, it may take 10 tries or even more for your baby to get used to new foods, flavours and textures.

There'll be days when they eat more, some when they eat less, and then days when they reject everything! Don't worry – this is perfectly normal.

Just be patient, keep offering a variety of foods, even the ones they do not seem to like, and let them get used to it in their own time.

Babies under 12 months do not need snacks. If you think your baby is hungry in between meals, offer extra milk feeds instead.'

I do. He always has, I don’t mind the mess, but I’ve always spoon fed as well because as much as he tries he doesn’t always manage to get a lot in his mouth. For example I’ll let him hold pieces of pasta and feed himself, but I also spoon feed some of the sauce, but now he doesn’t want that so he’s just eating less.

Yes every day. and multiple times overnight too. Not just feeding for comfort but proper feeds. I can stretch it to 2 hours and 3 at an absolute push, but he’s very very fussy and upset by then. I’ve spoken to a dr they’re not interested because he isn’t over or under weight.
I don’t offer snacks really because the nhs guidance says not to.

He has breakfast, usually some porridge or weetabix or Greek yogurt with fresh fruit, maybe some peanut butter. This isn’t working anymore though because I was loading a spoon and he no longer wants this. Sometimes he’ll pick at some fruit I give him

lunch and dinner can be anything, usually whatever I’m having. So scrambled eggs (I leave it a bit chunky so he can pick up ‘pieces’) and avocado, pasta and homemade sauces with multiple veg and at least one type of protein. Whole meal Sourdough with a spread like a nut butter. He really likes eating squashed chickpeas, edamame, black beans etc because he can pick them up himself. It’s always homemade and I always make sure there’s plenty of fat and protein and veg.

He is definitely eating some food, but like I said I don’t know how much vs how much he actually needs