How much does your baby eat?

[daisyroot]

My son who is nearly 4 eats about enough to ward off starvation! He has been suffering from an eating disorder since he was very small (another conversation thread here maybe) - he is better now but to give an example of how little a child can survive on a day may consist of: a handful of cornflakes, half a bread roll, about 2 tablepoons of cold, plain rice and some fruit (unfortunately not bananas!). This can go on for days - then he may eat a slice of turkey if we're lucky! He is small for his age but this is more due to genes than eating. People have always asked me why he looks so healthy (good skin colour, shiny hair) when he eats so little! The downside is he has always lacked energy and tires easily. FInally he is on an iron, mineral, calcium all singing and dancing supplement. This message is not about his eating troubles but more to assure parents that its amazing how little a child can survive on! My 1 yr old eats more in a week!

My daughter is 8 months (but was 5 weeks prem). She was only 4.4 pounds at birth but shot up four centiles rapidly and has now slipped down 2.
Some days I struggle to get anywhere near the required 600mls of formula into her, others she takes more. I have never been able to follow a proper routine as she never eats enough at a single feed to enable me not to feed her when she wants it rather than when its due - believe me I've tried! With her solid food some days she eats well, others she flattly refuses. I have found myself forcing a first spoonful in and then she is away and seems to enjoy it if sufficiently distractted at the time.
Last week she was weighed and the HV worried me - going on about extra calories etc. Although I was avoiding dairy due to her Dad's allergies, we have now started adding butter, crem fraiche etc to bulk things up. Tonight I felt dreadful because I more or less forced some food upon her (she was eating it but crying) and then the poor little mite projectile vomited everything up - including the bottle I had finally managed to get her to take. I feel so awful but so frustrated by all this.
She is healthy, lively, happy, rosy cheeked etc so should I be concerned about the centile charts to this extent??
I imagine this is a common problem - any advice welcome.
Thanks.

NuNu my daughter is also 8 months but I only give her 14oz milk a day 7oz in morning when she wakes (7.00am)and 7oz 15 minutes (6.45pm) before bedtime(7.00pm). She also has some cereal and toast at breakfast but is not extremely hungry for these so I am think about weaning her off that bottle when she is about 91/2 months. She then has her lunch at 11.30/12.00 this is normally soup and bread or a baked potatoe with tuna/mayo/sweetcorn or beans (I just keep trying new things) the a fromage frais or some fruit with a drink of water then at 2.30/3.00 I give her a fromage frais or some toast and a drink of water and then at 5.00 she has her dinner this can be anything from fish fingers, some kind of pasta, mince/potatoes/veg basically anything and again a fromage frais or some fruit with a drink of water. She also sometimes has a breadsitck or some quavers during the day (I personally dont give chocolate or puddings - I just never have so she doesn't know that she is missing these things I dint want her only to want sweet things so never introduced these)I also dont think (again personal opinion)that if your baby doesnt eat its breakfast/lunch or dinner that that it should be given a bottle of milk which it has already been weaned off as it would easily just become a circle where the baby would then not eat because it would full with the milk therefor would not eat then would become lazy and know if does not eat will get bottle - ny dd on some days does not eat her breakfast/lunch and dinner (or not enough of what I want her to eat)but then I have to remind myself that some days I dont feel that hungry and beleive me she will eat when she is hungry - i know it is worrying but the bigger a deal you make the more she will refuse to eat because she will sense it from you and this is only said through experience because I used to get stressed if dd would not eat but then the more I relaxed so did she - I started leaving longer spells between spoonfulls for her to look around and also if she wants to touch the food I let her (this is why things like fishfingers and waffles are good because she can eat these wither her fingers herself) - I hope things get better soon

my son is 18 months old and i am finding it very difficult getting food into him. he'll occasionally eat a lot at one mealtime, but mainly he will not even look at it. i thought maybe it was because he was too interested in playing and running about to sit and eat, he is very active, but i've started to wonder, maybe i'm giving him too much milk (he has 4 bottle of 7ounces of formula a day). i think that may be due to the comfort factor, as he only drinks milk in a bottle and its probably the teat is comforting. also he is cutting his canine teeth and maybe that has something to do with not wanting to eat? if he refuses his tea he'll eat fromage frais as fast as i can get it in his mouth and sometimes banana or bread and butter. i want to start giving him his milk in a cup with a spout, as he already drinks water from one and i've tried milk in it before but he wasn't interested and he won't go for a nap during the day without a bottle, and if he doesnt get one he screams til he does! not quite sure how to sort this, i feel horrible for letting him go without eating, even though he doesnt want to!

AnnaT - my son is 22mths old. I do think 4 7fluid ounces of milk from a bottle is a bit much and will be filling him up. Can you cut it down to 2? I give ds one for his afternoon nap and one for bedtime.... still in bottles and I've also cut it down to 6 fl oz..... a small gesture, but a start.
He sounds like he's healthy enough though!

Good luck.... sorry I can't be of anymore help.

Also.... I forgot to add. They are clever little creatures toddlers! If he knows he'll get a yummy fromgage frais or another sweet alternative.... he might just be playing on that. Don't offer him anything else. Offer him his tea, if he refuses wait another half hour and offer it again. He'll soon get the message!

Eulalia

I have never really measured how much my DD eats but she is a human vacuum for food of any sort.

thanks, i suspected that before about the sweet food thing, but he actually ate his tea last night! all of it!
would it be better to cut down on milk by not offering a bottle or giving him one with less milk in? he gets very, shall we say upset! when he tinks its time for one.