Am i feeding baby too much? Weaning

[Pea2019]

Hi

My baby is 5.5 months old and we started weaning him about 4 weeks ago (on advice from a paediatrician to help his bad reflux). He is now on 3 purees a day and loving it. The problem is i think we may be feeding him too much, i have the NUK storage pots and ice cube trays and he has been happily eating a whole pot each meal time (60ml). One of the books i have says 1-2 ice cubes per meal and 1 ice cube is 3tsp. That’s a lot less than 60ml! The problem is he has never shut his mouth as if to say no i’m full and apparently they do. I’m yet to see that! I don’t want to over feed him, it’s not like he is a big baby. Any advice?

How is his milk intake? Fruit and veg purees don't really have much in the way of nutrition and calories in them and if he's eating a lot of them and reducing how much milk he drinks as a result, then it might be a problem. If he's still drinking plenty of milk then I wouldn't worry but I would offer the solids after the milk.

My DD was similar, she ate more than the recommended 3tsp at a go. Lots of advice says to be guided by baby so if he's happy eating it keep going. But if he turns his head or starts spitting it out stop. As far as I know you can't over feed a baby at this age (providing you aren't feeding sugary/sweet things).
My DD started to drop Oz of milk quite quickly, I think she preferred food.
I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will come along but I think you're doing great! If you are worried obviously speak to your HV or GP.

oh bless him what a relief he is enjoying his food which hopefully will help with the reflux.

Somethings that might help if you're not already doing so:

Do the bottles first, almost like the "main meal" then the puree as a top up. Would that help or has paediatrician advised against that?

Make sure you do more savoury/veg based purees as fruit and sweet flavoured ones do get gobbled up a lot easier.

I incorporate lots of greens into my charges purees and they all grow up loving broccoli, spinach, courgette etc

Good luck and enjoy!

What kind of purees are they? If they're fruit based it's basically just sweets. I found the Ella's kitchen ones bad for looking healthy but basically just being a fruit compote with a tiny bit of broccoli or whatever.

It depends what time he gets up and naps if that makes sense. If he isn’t due a feed when we get up i feed him baby rice with a fruit puree. For lunch it’s veg purees, and dinner a different veg puree. I always make sure he has a green puree. Although i sometimes do an orange and green puree at the same meal (sweet potato and carrot, and a separate pea or brocolli one) - he loves brocolli :-)

He is still on 4oz of milk, the same amount each day, just slightly later than usual as he is usually full up for longer now thanks to the food. Yeah maybe i should do bottle first and food an hour after like i did at the start. He’d still eat it all though! 😬

He is 6 months in 2 weeks and i’ve got meal plans ready (salmon with potato and broccoli for example) to make sure he gets his nutrients. Should i still give milk first when he is 6m?

He's doing great. We did BLW but I was often amazed by the sheer amount of food by DS could put away!

We did milk first until about 9 months or so - he always has milk first in the morning because he's starving when he wakes up!

Is that milk first before all feeds?

We did milk before all feeds until 8months then after that only did milk first before breakfast. Food first at lunch and dinner.

I would try milk before all feeds, at least give him the minimum he needs to thrive. Another thing i just thought of, are you doing the pouch/jar/pre-made puree or making them yourself? Nothing wrong at all with bought ones but Im convinced babies prefer the taste over home made given a choice so I would be inclined to stick to home made most of the time especially in early stages and keep the pushes for emergency or special treats. xx

I’m doing home made :-), they are so easy to do i just do a few batches and freeze them, or make fresh when my partner is home.

Will offer milk first, he seems to bring more up when we do bottle and then food rather than the other way around 🤔. But i’ll do whatever is best for him :-)

We were feeding him milk as per his weight (dr advice again), and he should really be on 5oz every 3 hours now but if he is bringing up 4oz and food already i don’t think i should increase his milk. Hmm. I’ll have to check with HV

Deffo check with HV or doc. But its interesting little man is bringing some back up which would make me think he’s over eating still..... hmmmm.

Maybe leave some time in between milk and the food and make sure to pace the eating?

Let us know how you get on xxxx