Portion sizes for baby - help!!

[jinglejangle6]

My DS is 9 months old, on 3 meals a day plus 550-600ml of formula. He loves his food and is eating well. One thing I’m worried about though is portion sizes!

Today for example I made this recipe for his dinner, which said it serves four:

www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/chicken-parsnip-carrot-and-swede/

I split it into four portions and each portion was roughly four very heaped tablespoons, which doesn’t sound like a lot but it honestly looked massive! I spoonfed it to DS and he polished it off, but I’m concerned that it was so much food?

How do you know if you’re feeding your baby too much?

This is totally not a ‘proper answer’ but our almost 8 month old just goes until he’s full. He feeds himself so just stops when done, sometimes he eats LOADS and I think eeek I want to stop him but then others he doesn’t eat much. He’s never eaten until he’s sick and definitely eats more during a growth spurt so I guess if you’re not ramming it down his neck probably you don’t need to worry. Easier said than done though

He’s currently on 3 meals and 2 snacks a day and I don’t know how much milk because he’s BFing.

Thanks! I load the spoon for DS then hover it in front of him, and he grabs it and shoves it in his mouth, so it’s his choice to keep eating (or not). I just wonder if he knows when he’s had enough though or if he’s overfilling himself?

Nah I’d say that was fine if he’s choosing to have more. Think of the volume a bottle of 5/6/7oz takes up, that’s how big their stomach will be.

I’m certainly no expert though so maybe someone else can be along now to give you some science

Nah I’d say that was fine if he’s choosing to have more.

He does keep grabbing the spoon, but I’m not sure if it’s because he wants more food or because he wants to chew the spoon!

Mine has days were he eats more others less

If I make food and freeze, it generally fits in one of those little Tupperware tubs with lids and ours are 120ml. It’s not full purée anymore, but for example semi puréed up veggie Bolognese with mini pasta shells.

Yesterday he ate:
Breakfast: 1/2 small ramekin porridge, 1 1/2 banana
Lunch: 1 small piece toast, with cream cheese and 1/2 avocado. Two strawberries
Dinner: 1 fishfinger, other 1/2 avocado, broccoli. 3-4 strawberries.

He ate a lot more finger type food yesterday just due to what we were eating, and what we had fresh. He will have lentil soup today which I will spoon feed, with bread after. And probably ‘baby’ lasagne I made that is in freezer for dinner that I will also spoon feed today, then some veggies on the side to pick up.

If I make food and freeze, it generally fits in one of those little Tupperware tubs with lids and ours are 120ml.

Thanks @Caspianberg. I’d say the amount of stew that DS ate was probably two of those tubs - so 240ml! Overall yesterday he had:

Breakfast: 3 tbsp porridge mixed with 1 puréed pear to sweeten

Lunch: baby star pasta with spinach and cheese sauce (1 tbsp pasta as per the packet instructions, 4 non-heaped tbsp of sauce)

Dinner: huge portion of stew, one strawberry

I’m so worried he’s over-eating - should I cut down his portion sizes I wonder?

I wouldn't. They self regulate really well at this age.
9 months is quite old to still be spoonfeeding mush though.

They say that children and babies' stomachs are about the size of their fist. I had the opposite, in that I had a baby who would eat only so much and that was fucking it. She was under a paediatrician until about 18 months when she was discharged for not being starved. I swear they had me tormented. I'd take salt and butter/fat out of diet. Then he can eat as much as he likes. Dietician in my case told me to add butter (yes) to her dinners. She was also prescribed some sort of supplementary powder to put into her food. She just wouldn't fucking eat more than she wanted! God but I was plagued.

When mine were this age I used to feed them as much as they would eat.
Have you had him weighed recently ?
Is he in clothes made for his age ?

Please don't cut down his portion size at all. Babies are able to self-regulate. If he's not hungry, he won't eat. For what it's worth, DS would eat loads at a similar age and then got far more temperamental about eating when he got to about 15 months (which is developmentally normal). I would say though that it doesn't sound like he's having much finger food?

First steps nutrition as above. The only sensible portion control thing I found. Salt is the most important thing to regulate under age 1. Some food e.g. bread cheese has a lot

Let him feed himself asap

I’m in a very similar position with a nearly 9 month old. I cook quite a few AK recipes and portion as per the recipe which he generally eats all of but then I’ll offer fruit after as finger food and he then seems full.

Did you offer more than one strawberry and he didn’t want it? Would maybe also suggest some carbs with the stew might be more filling. What your giving him sounds lovely but is easy to eat so would agree with others about adding in more finger foods.

I wouldn’t really reduce portions either, if he’s hungry he will eat, if he isn’t he won’t.

The strawberry example above, sometimes I offer one chopped up and he only eats half, so I wouldn’t give any more, other times it’s devoured in seconds so I give him several more until he slows down and has had enough

Also the 120ml pot example above, he usually has that plus something else finger food wise, not always just that pot. Ie 120ml pot of lentil soup, Plus a bit of bread/ yogurt/ fruit/ roast veg finger or whatever we have

Did you offer more than one strawberry and he didn’t want it?

He took forever to eat the strawberry and was playing about with it at the end, so I assumed he’d had enough after that.

9 months is quite old to still be spoonfeeding mush though.

The recipe said suitable for 6-12 months so I thought I was doing the right thing - am I not?

I will add in more finger foods - this morning I gave him four peach slices after his porridge, which he polished off!

He took forever to eat the strawberry and was playing about with it at the end, so I assumed he’d had enough after that.

Sounds like you’re doing fine.

At 9 months I wouldn’t purée things too much and you could (if you don’t mind the mess) give him the spoon....

I'd take salt and butter/fat out of diet. Then he can eat as much as he likes.

@Asthesayinggoes I was told by my health visitor not to avoid fats like butter, milk and cheese as it’s good for them! Salt I do avoid though obviously.

@Lockandtees thanks, I will have a look at that link!

Thanks @LittleBearPad. I load the spoon for him and then he grabs it off me and shoves it in his mouth. Should I be letting him load it as well?

Do not avoid fat butter/oil etc. It’s absolutely crucial for babies.

Honestly OP he won’t eat if he’s full.

I’d give it a good. It’s good for his gross motor skills.

It may be messy and he may be a bit grumpy if he’s hungry and doesn’t get fed as efficiently but you could give him a bit and then let him take over.

He may then need a bath 😁

At 9 months I wouldn’t purée things too much

Thanks, I will start leaving the foods a bit lumpier!

He does eat things like mashed avocado on toast as well. And I suppose porridge is naturally lumpy!

I wouldn’t avoid fats either, they need fats. Just salt.

I often make the same ish thing for dh and I, and then take ds some out, add some extra milk/ creme fraiche/ grated cheese to his. Then a bit of salt to our adult portions. That way we don’t need to make every meal separate but ds gets his without salt, and he gets higher calories in his mini portions.

I think purée is fine at their age alongside lumps and finger food. A combination works well here. For example ds spits out mince due to the texture still and can’t eat chicken/ lamb yet due to texture, no teeth and he just spits out. So I purée those bits and add into something with more texture like Bolognese part half puréed then add to regular unpureed bits of pasta.