How much does your 10 month old eat?

[sharkstale]

Just curious really as it's hit me that in 2 months time, he's expected to drop formula and presumably be reliant on food only for his nutrients etc. He does breastfeed too though which will continue, but I'm just wondering are other babies eating 3 full meals a day? He seems to eat less now/be more picky than he was a month ago.

My 10 month old currently has 4x 5/6oz bottles of formula.

Breakfast tends to be - half a weetabix with mashed fruit (with nut butter or cinnamon), ready brek, chia pudding or pancakes.
With mandarins/banana/soft pear slices.

Lunch usually a slice of toast with avocado or nut butter, steamed carrot sticks with hummus and rice cakes, pasta (at least 10 pieces of fusilli) with a tomato hidden veggie sauce.

Dessert at lunch tends to be Greek yoghurt with berries or a little custard pot.

Dinner - shepherds pie, lentil Dahl, chilli con carne, spag Bol (I batch cook these a freeze into portions/silicone cupcake size).

He eats pretty much everything unless he’s having an off day/teething.

I wouldn’t worry too much, just keep offering variety, especially as you are still breastfeeding. Some babies just take a little longer to get going with solids.

I should add my I started weaning my LO at 5.5 months and has loved food from the get go so is probably eating well compared to many others his age

At 10 months by EBF baby ate practically nothing- just a few little tastes here and there. Nothing approaching 3 meals a day. She's 5 now and eats fine.

How often are you BFing @sharkstaleand how much formula are they having? If they were fully FF the guidelines say that they only need roughly 13.5 Floz a day so is it time to start dropping some of the milk feeds?

Mine’s almost ten months & still breastfeeds throughout night & probably 6 times a day?

For breakfast she often has half an avocado, one egg scrambled & a slice of toast with butter. Sometimes I’ll do an omelette with one egg, cheese & tomato. She very rarely manages the toast.

Doesn’t always have lunch, depending on what time she wakes up, but would usually be one weetabix with cows milk, handful of squashed blueberries or mashed strawberries or a banana split in three.

Dinner she’ll have what I’m having, with added broccoli or cucumber if we’re having a ‘beiger’ dinner. She’ll manage maybe 5 tablespoons?

I know they’re not supposed to ‘snack’ but sometimes she’ll have something in the afternoon, usually raw pepper, Greek yoghurt or a handful of cheese.

Mine is definitely more selective with what she eats now too, we’re getting a lot of veg refusal. I think they advise that you continue offering things they’ll refuse, even if just for exposure.

The advice is that breastmilk should always be offered before food under 12 months. The guidance for formula is different, partly because of the impact of the bottle on jaw development and partly because it doesn't have the same immune benefits as breastmilk. Apart from a small amount of iron which is needed, babies can get everything they need from BM until the age of about 2. It's important to introduce food because they need to get used to the textures and learn how to chew etc., but they don't need to eat a lot for nutritional purposes.

Thank you. I understand perfectly what the guideline are on when to offer a BF.

What I was trying to point out though is that of the OP is offering formula along BM, a 10 month old might not still need to formula or at least, not in the same quantities that they had previously.

I’m interested in your comments on babies getting everything that they need from BM until they’re 2. Have you got any links to that? Even Kellymom recommends complementary feeding from 6 months.

^ This is sensible and comprehensive.

My youngest is now 14 months and since 11 months has been a real eater, easily polishing off generous balanced meals. However, before that stage both she and her older sister both kind of picked and definitely weren't making solids their main source of food. It still felt like messy play with the added bonus of sustenance if that makes sense.

For us with both DDs the transition to full meals happened quite naturally and was led by them. I think starting in childcare gave DD2 the extra shove (DD1 was home with me for longer as she was a COVID kid) but she was ready, and on days she's home with me she still breastfeeds at lunchtime as well as morning and evening. I'm planning on sticking with it through cold season for the immune boost.

I do know people whose kids' diets focused around breast milk for much longer. One in hindsight probably had real sensory issues with food and bf was "safe", but even she is now a pretty typical eater at age 6.

Keep offering a variety of food and your child will catch on at their own pace - it's one of the things they will instinctively want to learn as they head into the toddler years so just keep creating the opportunities.

Yes, I've explained why complementary feeding is necessary. It's not an ideal diet for a 1+ yo, as I said iron is needed for one thing. I can assure you however that it's enough to prevent a child from starving. And probably better nourished than many children on a diet of UPFs.

Suggesting that it’s a choice between BFing or UPF is a little binary.

That's not what I said. I'm not sure why you're taking issue with what I said. I'm not saying anything controversial.

Wasn’t taking an issue, I asked for links to back up your statement of a baby gets all it needs from BM until 2. Have genuinely never heard that said before and was wanting to read the research.

In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:

• 29% of energy requirements
• 43% of protein requirements
• 36% of calcium requirements
• 75% of vitamin A requirements
• 76% of folate requirements
• 94% of vitamin B12 requirements
• 60% of vitamin C requirements
• — Dewey 2001

There's something here which shows that whilst it's not a good option for a complete diet, a child can get what they need to survive on it, especially considering that a child who isn't eating food will have a lot more than 448ml. I stated that they will not get the iron that they need and it's extremely bad in terms of getting used to food textures and learning to eat. I'm not recommending it. I'm saying that they will not starve.

There was a case recently where a mother died and her two children survived after she breastfed them whilst lost at sea on a boat. They were much older but breastmilk provided the hydration and calories they needed to survive until they were rescued.

The article yoi have quoted, rather than linked to doesn’t back up your original statement.