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

My daughter didn't start eating properly at mealtimes until she was about 14 months old, I understand the frustration!

I'd take the pressure off and use this as a chance to try your DD with lots of different tastes and textures. My DD never ate a proper lunch, so I stopped spending ages preparing stuff for her and she just used to try a bit of whatever I was having. Babies are really good at regulating their food intake, so as long as she's growing well, trust her.

@LeGrandBleu I'm not missing the point. Shes not getting fed on snacks and desserts. But when she has her breakfast and then doesnt drink her mid morning bottle, from 7am-11.30am with no food is a long time for baby in my opinion to go with no food. And same from lunch till 5pm dinner if no afternoon bottle is taken.
She gets a snack if she doesnt take her bottle. Like I said, a little bit of yoghurt or cheese for calcium since she doesnt drink alot of milk or fruit. I stand by that. As for getting used to sweetness she loves pasta, bread, beans and veg and a healthy dessert of fruit or yoghurt with the occasional jar of something if we are out or if shes refusing stuff is in my opinion no the end of the world. And even then she doesnt always eat her snack. As for cheerios having a little handful every now and again is not harmful and has been great for her hand coordination and compared to what some parents give their kids in terms of junk food, again isnt the end of the world.

Since I posted oringally, i think I'm aware of the original question in that is a handful of pasta or half a slice of toast a normal amount of food, not is this food a good idea and and please tell me how bad I am for occasionally giving something out of a jar instead of home making every last thing.

I was torn whether to ask a genuine question as I couldnt find anywhere online that gave me an idea or portion sizes for babies. I will know better in future to word my question better (or not even bother) as to what I'm asking.

In your opening post, you write:
*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).*

You say, she picks at the meals, but then has dessert and snack, and specify that the snack is cheerios.

So I agree, you weren't very clear in your question as per title When did you baby start eating more at meals? .

Our replies were genuine based on the description of her eating habits.

@LegrandBleu I said lunch is a dessert(I didnt specify what and MAYBE a snack)

Afternoon bottle followed by a snack (because alot of the time she drinks maybe 40 or 50ml and I said her milk intake has reduced dramitcally) so the snack is calcium orientated)

Dinner is main, dessert (again I didnt specify what) and a snack LIKE cheerios. I didnt say I give them to her every day.

I still dont think from what I wrote a judgement can be made as shes getting a taste for desserts and snacks when alot of the time she doesnt even take them. To not have the full story and still make a rash judgement is a bit unfair especially when that wasn't the original question. I'll word better next time.

If you're worried about milk intake, give her the bottle before the meal, when she's hungry. That's what you're supposed to do with breastfed babies, i imagine the advice is similar for FF babies.

@Bitchinkitchen that's what I do everytime. Shes always been a baby that has been hit and miss with bottle amounts especially when she is teething which she is now (think 4 are trying to come through).

I knew you'd get a lot of shit when I read your OP - I'm sorry, it's not helpful I know! I have a DS who is almost exactly the same age - he probably has more milk (6oz first thing, 6oz in the afternoon and 8oz before bed) but food wise he's very up and down. Some times he'll eat a huge amount (were on holiday with my parents and he's now been christened 'two lunches' as he has his own at midday and then most of mine. Yesterday he devoured a whole croissant too. Other days, he has hardly any food at all. Today he's just thrown all of his lunch on the floor and just wanted fruit to eat. I try to trust his innate ability to know what and how much food he needs and, as he's clearly not wasting away, not worry too much. I also try to look at his intake over a week rather than a day in isolation and things often balance each other out.

@mynameiscalypso and I thought weaning would be easy!!......if I had hindsight in my back pocket I'd using it and not bother posting

Hi OP

When we were weaning, my health visitor suggested dropping the mid morning bottle - we used to give bottles at 7am, 10.30am, 2.30pm, 5pm and 7.15pm.

We dropped the 10.30am and 5pm bottle - we don't substitute the 10.30am bottle with anything but we do give DS lunch at 11.30am. We replaced the 5pm bottle with dessert.

Our new routine goes like this:

7am: bottle (180ml)
8am: breakfast - porridge/scrambled eggs etc
11.30am: Savoury Lunch (no dessert) - white fish/chicken with veg etc..
2.30pm: bottle (150ml)
5pm: Dessert - something like rice cakes/mashed banana/yoghurt
7.15pm bottle before bed (210ml)

I know the gap between breakfast and lunch seems long, but since we dropped the mid morning bottle he is eating his main meals so much better. We also offer water with each meal.

They only need between 500-600mls of milk at this stage.

A really helpful poster called jiltedjohnsjulie used to post a link to the Caroline walker trust's guide to eating well in the first year of life. It can be downloaded and the guide gives you plate sizes with portion sizes which is really helpful. You'll find many of the sample meals include dessert... Often custard or rice pudding.
I'm only a sample size of one but my now 2 year old didn't eat much up til about 11 months. One of the more helpful things I've seen here is to think about intake over a week not a day. Like calypso said.
Weaning is bizarrely stressful.

I think many babies can go off milk when food is introduced, especially if they weren't massive on it to start with. My ds is 8 months and breastfeeds; I try to make sure he feeds every 2 to 3 hours and always before meals but I'm sure if I let him he'd just play and eat solids instead! He used to feed from me loads but since discovering trying to move and eating different foods he just doesn't seem as fussed, unless he's tired!

If her weight is doing OK then you're probably on the right track? Maybe she'll take to cows milk at 1?

Please ignore posters on here who will make you feel like shite for not making home made vegetable stock and daring to sometimes feed your baby from a jar/pouch. I'm also pretty sure that natural yogurt and cheddar cheese won't kill her either 😀

We're slowly starting to get 3 meals in him now, although sometimes it's hard to fit around feeds and naps. Breakfast is toast or wheatabix/porridge and some yoghurt. Lunch is a bit of what I'm having usually, either bread based with some cheese (unless he has toast at breakfast) or some pasta or baked potato/mashed veg. Dinner is either a mix of veg and more recently some fish or pasta or (shock horror) this is when we'd give a pouch if time is tight. We're not really on to puddings yet, but it's early days! Ds is between the 25th and 50th centile (always has been) so not a big baby, but not tiny either. I need to get braver with the 'heavier' meals. I feel nervous about giving him meats or veg that isn't roughly mashed as he still has no teeth.

Good luck op! Xx

@Fivebyfive2 thanks for you post!! Yes I am not going to be hounded for giving my baby stuff out of a packet or jar. And our routine is very similar to yours. Little one is going off more and more being fed and just wants to feed herself. Just need to expand her food as she eats only like 6 things haha