When did you baby start eating more at meals?

[Sleeplessmamma]

I'm currently in the mix of weaning my 11 1/2 month old from baby food to proper food (been doing this since about 10 month old).

Current food intake

Breakfast 7am formula
7.30am baby porridge then half a slice of toast

Mid morning: either a bottle of about 3oz and then a snack

Lunch: picks at bits of omelette, a dessert and maybe Ella's kitchen snack or some apple

Afternoon bottle and then a snack

Dinner: picks at pasta and veg (doesnt seem to eat that much) followed by dessert and snack. (Like cheerios).

Bedtime bottle anything from 2oz-4oz

Since weaning into food has definitely dropped her milk intake. Is just not interested.

I just feel she doesnt seem to be eating much. But I think it's hard to tell as I can only compare portion size to an adult. She is gaining weight fine and has actually jumped a percentile. Just feel shes not getting the right ratio of nutrients as she seems a bit fussy and likes the same stuff.

Curious to know when peoples babies jumped in terms of eating amount and when babies range of food options opened up to more types of food?

Thanks in advance

I think we sometimes forget babies don’t actually need as much food as you would think, around the year mark their physical growth reduces dramatically so it’s normal not to eat loads.

Your DD eats way more than mine and she’s the same age, I don’t tend to give her snacks though unless she’s grouchy and she only has 3 bottles a day.

If she eats a tablespoons worth of each food type at a meal then I’m happy, so a bit of pasta, chicken and veg for example. Assuming your baby is feeding herself she will eat if she’s hungry and since she’s gaining weight I don’t think you’ve anything to worry about 😊 x

If you want to see her eating at meals, stop giving all these snacks, desserts and processed food.

She is must certainly developing a preference for sweet food, so after declining a meal, she knows a snack and dessert or both are coming. For one week, do not give snacks or dessert. Giving her a snack AND a dessert is basically giving her two desserts given the sugar amount in most baby processed food,

She is eating a lot, but not of the right food. There is a very tight window in which t develop a child's taste for food. Don't waste it on processed food, but hit the vegetable section and just skip the baby processed food one at your supermarket.

@Sleeplessmamma

I thought that babies should get "plain" food only as long as it can be sustained?
I have a 9mo who gets:

breastfed (whenever really throughout the day and night )

Breakfast
white yoghurt with banana OR mango OR berries OR millet/buckwheat with baby formula (and fruit mixed in)

Lunch
Potato, sweet potato, carrots, parsnip with olive oil (mixed, nothing else like salt, additives, nothing) OR
pasta and tomato sauce and cheese (he's not a big fan) OR
rice and veggies (as above) OR
poached eggs with cheese and beans and spinach (all just plain) OR
lentils and veggies (again plain).

Snack (is finger foods)
Avocado, fruit, carrot sticks, cucumber, sometimes brioche, bread, pizza crust

Dinner
combo of breakfast and lunch

I was warned not to add anything to his food and he eats like a wolf (he is big too, but I'm not that concerned given he eats healthy). Some days he will eat a lot, some days less, but deffo no snacks, desserts or anything of that sorts.

The baby formula is super sweet, all bought baby food is super sweet (just taste it to see) and even what I cook is mostly sweet anyway (carrot, sweet potato, beans, bread).

He has always eaten with gusto (since 6m) and never says no to food (except salad leaves). Knowing his food is healthy I don't worry about how much or little he is getting.

He will eat anything between 150 - 250 grams of solids a day.

Also I eat way less healthy than he does, but would like him to be a bit less fussy eater than I am.

Babies stomachs are the size of their closed fist. This equates to a few bites sometimes. Little and often as you are doing is the right way to go.

@netflixismysidehustle I would say this is one more reason to fill that tiny stomach with real food and not cheerios, snacks and desserts.

That's likely fine, he only needs a few teaspoons per meal. I'd cut down on the desserts and processed crap though, prioritise vegetables over fruit.

NHS advice is to start introducing snacks after 1 years old. My
first DD would eat substantial meals but DD2 would happily graze all day long. Children are different.

@ZooKeeper19 there is no need to stick to plain foods at all. Just don’t add sugar or salt but youngest loves curry and dahl - I add chillis at the table so they are not in their portion.

@LeGrandBleu @ZooKeeper19

When I said snacks it's mainly yoghurts,apple or little cheese cubes as that's what she eats and since her milk intake has gone down I was advised by health visitor that if she doesnt drink alot of milk substitute with milky snacks or desserts like custard or rice pudding.

Thanks everyone

@Sleeplessmamma HV said to give baby custard and rice pudding? Wow.

Good luck though, I am sure we all worry at times and it turns out just fine :)

@zookeeper19 yes because shes only taking about 300-400 ml of milk in a day (and doesnt feed during the night as she sleeps through) she said to add anything calcium. Yoghurt, cheese, custard, rice pudding, egg custards.

[quote Sleeplessmamma]@zookeeper19 yes because shes only taking about 300-400 ml of milk in a day (and doesnt feed during the night as she sleeps through) she said to add anything calcium. Yoghurt, cheese, custard, rice pudding, egg custards.[/quote]
Are you making those yourself or giving premade? Because the packet stuff is absolutely full of shit, I'd avoid like the plague.

I would drop the daytime bottles, especially if she's not that interested in them.
My boy dropped all but his bed time bottle around 9 months and prefers to eat food.
He has a sippy cup of cows milk at breakfast time since he turned 1 but hardly touches that.
Plenty of calcium from cheese and plain Greek yogurt. I wouldn't give to many pre made desserts.
Homemade custard, rice pudding or semolina pudding can have very little sugar in and then maybe sweetened a bit with stewed fruit.

I dont make the custard or rice pudding but I dont give them that often. I tend to lean more towards cheese and natural greek yoghurt with fruit puree added to give flavour. Also snacks are also the raw fruits she can eat.

@Sleeplessmamma if i were you I'd just ditch formula and give cows milk in a sippy cup and vitamin supplements rather than processed stuff.

[quote ZooKeeper19]@Sleeplessmamma HV said to give baby custard and rice pudding? Wow.

Good luck though, I am sure we all worry at times and it turns out just fine :)[/quote]
What's wrong with that?

@Bitchinkitchen I cant give cows milk yet as shes not one. And like I said, her snack are majority cheese, natural yoghurt and fruit with occasional rice puddings and custard.

Seems the focus has gone onto snacks when my initial query was as to when peoples babies ate more and wondered if mine was eating the normal amount

@Polkasquare there are lots of sugar and additives in premade rice pudding and custard, they're not appropriate food for babies.

I think my 8 month old eats about that much. He he has 5 bottles of formula over the day. Breakfast - he's offered 2 weetabix but I reckon eats around 1 of them, the other one is on the floor/high chair. Lunch some kind of bread thing, might be toast he's quite taken to french toast just now. Dinner is a plate of whatever we're having so stir-fry, pasta, chicken and veg.
I will add, he is probably the size of a one year old.

[quote Bitchinkitchen]@Polkasquare there are lots of sugar and additives in premade rice pudding and custard, they're not appropriate food for babies.[/quote]
Yes of course, I was assuming home made.

@Polkasquare yeah, that would be OK, but OP stated that's not the case. Babies under one shouldn't have any added salt or sugar, so pretty much all premade stuff is out!

I'm all for eating healthy and having as much time in a day to cook e everything from scratch. But in reality I think alot of mums give their babies the premade stuff and it doesnt do them any harm. It certainly didnt when I was a baby nor many others. Some babies are dragged up and given awful food, some parents in the world are so poor their babies diet is not good at all. But they grow up fine and in the western world when we have alot of access to alot of healthy stuff, the occasional rice pudding out of a jar is not going to be detrimental to a babies health.

Like I said earlier, the actual question of this topic was the amount of food my baby was eating. Not focusing on the odd snack that may not be home made

I think you are missing the point. Your daughter does eat at meals but not the meals. She eats what comes after the emerald, the dessert, the snack , the fruit. Forget homemade or processed, she is developing a preference for snacks, a sweet taste. So stop the snacks, at least the sweet ones and cheese is sweet unless you go for real Parmesan. Yoghurt even natural has to e sweeteners of lactose and milk solids.
Parmesan has the highest calcium content of all cheeses. Give her chunks of that one. Hard tofu is very high in calcium too. There are plenty of options but the longer you keep giving snacks , the less chances you are that instead of picking it , she eats the omelette.

Mine is almost 11 months but we did BLW and so she’s eaten our food from day 1 and on 3 meals a day from about 7 months.

We don’t use any jars or pouches, I use the odd melty puff or baby biscuit when out and about but otherwise she has what I have meals and snacks. Baby food is over priced processed nonsense.

Cheerios are full of sugar.