8.5 months and doesn't eat much

[jackeroo]

i have a feeling this question has been asked before numerous times - sorry if you've heard it all before! i'm quite new to mumsnet... my DS is currently on 4 bottles of formula a day and eats a small amount of solids 3 times a day. he usually has a few mouthfuls but then seems to get distressed and disinterested - i never try to force or coax too much. i give him finger foods which he likes to investigate but not exactly eat - and he tends to like jars of puree best - not into lumps much. what amounts do you think a baby of this age should be having? ( i know they vary so much but i'm curious to hear what others think)?

I have a ds exactly the same age and, co-incidently or not, found that he ate more when I cut down to 3 bottles of formula a day (total of about 21 ounces). He has a small jar of porridge and a yoghurt in the morning about 2 hours after milk, lunchtime I make some chicken or lentils and cheese concoction which probably equals about a small jar, plus he sometimes has another yoghurt, and in the evening (has his other milk mid-afternoon and at bedtime) he has a small jar of some fruity stuff, sometimes mixed with Greek yoghurt, if he hasn't had too much during the day.

He's only recently become interested in food. I had to cook and throw away many many things before I found about 3 dishes of mine so far he will eat. He also has the occasional baby biscuit/sucks on some toast and butter as a snack or instead of a meal. He will also try food if I am eating it and so can get him to eat some banana/suck on an apple or pear. I think you'd be amazed how much food they do take in even if most of it seems to end up on the floor/chair/your hair etc!

thanks moonshine. that's reassuring. i've thought about reducing his formula but have been hesitant as DS is quite low in weight on the charts - not worryingly so but quite light. i keep reading that they should still be having about 600 mls per day or so.

he does like things mixed with greek yoghurt too -just doesn't have a lot. i'm sure he knows what he's doing - i just worry (esp when i hear that other babies this age are eating much more). some days i think he eats about the same as your DS - and sounds like the same with finger food too (ie messy!). he's happy though and that's the main thing!

Ah don't worry about those silly weight charts - it's just another stick the hvs use to beat us up with. If you think he's happy and developing then go with your instinct. I think at his stage they are still getting most of their nutrition from milk still (and yes, they should be having about a pint a day but can come from cheese, yoghurt etc). Food is always likely to be a battleground with kids - my dd is nearly 4 and was the easiest baby to wean - ate everything in sight but now is turning into a really fussy one, so no guarantees ever about what they'll be like in the future.

agreed about those charts - they seem to cause much unnecessary stress!

i forgot about the one finger food DS loves and does actually end up in his mouth a few times a day - the 'laughing cow' cheese triangles. they're squishy enough to hold and swallow. it all adds up like you say...

Hiya - probably the most sensible advice I ever heard was from my husband when talking to a mum with a 10 month old who didn't eat much (we have a 2.5 yr old and a 7 month old) He said - "is the child happy, active, alert and healthy looking?" When she said yes, he told her not to worry then - kids are really good at letting you know when there is a problem (he's a paediatric anaesthetic consultant at a leading teaching hospital - just don't ask him why your finger is sore ).

However - we're both lost when it comes to fussy eating in toddlers !!!!!!

thanks - i guess that's really what should be focused on rather than the amount eaten at each mealtime(funnily my husband isn't worried about DS at all and reminds me that he does appear well and thriving).

jackeroo - you really don't need to worry. My dd2 will be one soon and has just started eating. She's fully breastfed still so I can't advise on cutting back feeds. However, I do know that formula is very balanced (my dd1 was bottle-fed) so your ds will be getting all he wants from that, he will start to eat more food oncce he actually needs it. The worst thing you can do IME is stress - I did get a lot more worked up over dd1 and there was no need.

that's good to know. baby number 2 often seems to put baby 1 in a new perspective it seems!

yes, you're too knackered to worry!