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Solids advice needed! Am I overfeeding my baby??

15 replies

ASC123 · 04/02/2020 14:43

I have a 6m old, I started him with solids just over 2 weeks ago. Starting him off with fruit or veg puree once a day along side a few sips of water
The problem is that he never seems to have enough. My HV and online research both told me that I should feed my baby until it seems like they have had enough but he always just wants more and more. For the last few days he has managed to fnish a whole pear! I've also tried him with 3/4 of a banana and half a sweet potato and he's still eager for more at the end. I've read that most babys only eat a few teaspoons to start with! Am I just offering him too much food? He is a pretty big boy, when I got him weighed at 5m he was 19 lbs and has always been a big milk drinker (he was exclusively bf until 5.5 m)
Alongside this he has been suffering from constipation and discomfort on and off. Very long, large and firm clay like poops.
Has anyone else been through this? Any advice would be much appreciated.

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Jojo2wyatr · 04/02/2020 15:18

How much milk is he getting/day ?

ASC123 · 04/02/2020 15:23

I dont know how much he is taking in per feed cause I'm breastfeeding but he feeds roughly every 2-3 hours.

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ThePurpleMoose · 04/02/2020 15:23

Is he having enough wet nappies? If he isn't, maybe you could bf/give formula before offering food so that he isn't filling up on food and then not having enough milk.

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ASC123 · 04/02/2020 15:26

He's having plenty of wet nappies. I'm doing that too, I bf him 45 mins before every meal.

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Thesearmsofmine · 04/02/2020 15:31

What I would do is give less sweet tasting foods, at 6 months he can have anything(no honey) and I would let him feed himself too so he can regulate his own intake,

Pilot12 · 04/02/2020 15:36

All babies are different, there is no right or wrong. Get your baby weighed and measured regularly by your HV and they'll soon tell you if baby is getting too big or not eating enough. I don't think it's possible to overfeed, your baby will feel full when he's had enough, same as you do when you eat.

BertieBotts · 04/02/2020 15:37

DS2 was like this. I would go slowly with the food, that was the cause of constipation for him. I made sure he was having some pears, prunes/plums, grapes or ripe (mostly brown) bananas every day, while keeping the apple, yellow/green banana, potato and so on to a minimum. Be careful with fruit jars/pouches as they tend to be about 80% apple puree (because it's cheap). I was also cautious about grains as apparently they can't really digest them at that age. I only gave them as a vehicle for other foods until he was reliably eating a bit more.

If he wants to eat loads in one go you can also spread it out a bit by just giving solids every other day. IME they don't really link eating with hunger at this age.

BigusBumus · 04/02/2020 15:39

My sons are 17 and were weaned between 12-16 weeks as per advice back in 2002. By 6 months they were eating as much as your son is, and taking less milk. Dont worry, unless your baby is overweight, you can't over feed.

FWIW, my sons are now 6ft1 and 6ft3 respectively and big muscular rugby players with not an ounce of fat.

DesLynamsMoustache · 04/02/2020 15:42

Yeah I read the 'a few teaspoons' guides. And then DD demolished food from the get-go Grin If he's happy and healthy and still taking milk then just go with it.

Elliesmommy · 04/02/2020 15:46

I have a 6 month old he eats a weetabix for breakfast. A yoghurt and liga for lunch. Dinner is potstoe veg and meat a dish ful. He maybe drinks 3 7oz bottles a day. Hes 19lbs. No concerns here

Selfsettling3 · 04/02/2020 15:49

In 2002 weaning wasn’t recommended until 4 months, the NHS has this as standard advice for the previous 8 years (brought in 1994).

Are you doing purée and finger foods or just finger foods?

BlueHarry · 04/02/2020 15:59

Honestly I would not worry about this at the moment - well I probably would because I remember how worried I was with my DD's eating. But I don't think you need to be worried. We had the opposite problem and DD barely ate any food at all until she was about 2, and even then wasn't great. But she's fine now (and she still gained weight back then, she was small but never underweight).

Some babies eat loads, some don't eat much, and I think the majority of them balance out eventually. Apparently one of my brother's was the greediest of us three and you'd never know to look at him now. I think as long as your ds is still bf-ing, still producing the right amount of nappies etc (though probably a few changes to that area with solids introduced), then you don't need to worry at this stage and just try and go with the flow.

Bipbipbipbip · 04/02/2020 18:03

Mine are loads - agree with PP about moving away from sweet things though, it's good for them to get a variety of tastes and textures.

Jojo2wyatr · 04/02/2020 20:12

Good on [email protected] like he's just a hardy eater...especially since you are bfing before the solids

ASC123 · 05/02/2020 14:05

Thank you all for the advice!
He must just be a big eater, probably got that from me haha!
But I will try give him less sweet food and see how we go.

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