How much solid does your baby take?

[pinkymummy]

Hi mummies!my boy is 7+ mths n I feed him porridge twice , n one snack like pureed fruits per day. However I'm not sure if I'm feeding too little or too much. Ok his serving of porridge is about the size of our adult small rice bowl. Hmm about 6-8 heaps tablespoonful of cooked porridge , full to the brim n he finishes all.

But seems like I read in other threads their babies tAke about 2 bowls of porridge at one go. I'm not sure how big is their bowl.any idea if there's a guideline as to how much to give?

 

[apollo]

6-8 tablespoons is good enough. dont care abt how much others feed their babies, every baby is different, their appetite also different. my son was taking ard the same as ur son when he was 7-8mth old. it is the nutrients they take in counts, not the quantity. =)

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

Up to first birthday, most nutrients should come from milk.
If feed baby too much solid at early stage, may interfere with his milk intake, which isn't good for him.

I exclusively breastfed and only started son on semi-solids at 6.5 months old.
Lunch, then 1 month later lunch + dinner.
He has a good appetite but I restrict his solid intake to MAX 1 adult bowl per meal, so that he can drink more breastmilk.

As for that 1 bowl, I don't give all porridge as it's too much carbo.
I offer about 1/2 bowl porridge, 1/4 bowl red & green vegetables, 1/4 fruits, for a more complete meal.
On certain days when I offer steamed sweet potato / pumpkin / potato / starchy food, then I further reduce the porridge amount to balance out the carbo intake.

Perhaps my boy is used to this type of meal planning, he's now 2 years old and eats lots of vegetables and fruits.
Similarly, I restrict his rice/carbo intake and encourage him to take more of other nutrition.

Yes, i agree that it's nutrition and not quantity that counts.
It also depends on what ingredients are used to cook the porridge:
- plain, brown rice or multigrains?
- water or homemade stock?

All the best!

 

[bb2010]

Up to first birthday, most nutrients should come from milk.
If feed baby too much solid at early stage, may interfere with his milk intake, which isn't good for him.

I exclusively breastfed and only started son on semi-solids at 6.5 months old.
Lunch, then 1 month later lunch + dinner.
He has a good appetite but I restrict his solid intake to MAX 1 adult bowl per meal, so that he can drink more breastmilk.

As for that 1 bowl, I don't give all porridge as it's too much carbo.
I offer about 1/2 bowl porridge, 1/4 bowl red & green vegetables, 1/4 fruits, for a more complete meal.
On certain days when I offer steamed sweet potato / pumpkin / potato / starchy food, then I further reduce the porridge amount to balance out the carbo intake.

Perhaps my boy is used to this type of meal planning, he's now 2 years old and eats lots of vegetables and fruits.
Similarly, I restrict his rice/carbo intake and encourage him to take more of other nutrition.

Yes, i agree that it's nutrition and not quantity that counts.
It also depends on what ingredients are used to cook the porridge:
- plain, brown rice or multigrains?
- water or homemade stock?

All the best!

Hi Mummy

I will going to feed solid food to my son soon..would like check with you as you mentioned that you offer about 1/2 bowl porridge, 1/4 bowl red & green vegetables, 1/4 fruits, for a more complete meal. so u feed yr baby at once ? or we need to wait about 30mins later to feed another kind of dish example: 1st start is porridge and 30mins later feed them vege and wait awhile feed them fruit? as i am not sure all thing mix n eat together baby can take it or not..please share with me..thanks ya..

 

[pinkymummy]

6-8 tablespoons is good enough. dont care abt how much others feed their babies, every baby is different, their appetite also different. my son was taking ard the same as ur son when he was 7-8mth old. it is the nutrients they take in counts, not the quantity. =)

Thanks Apollo! Yea coz it seems to me it's quite alot. Sometimes I dun even finish that much. Afraid might stress his little tummy . Juz gave him fish, he seems to be taking it well so far! Phew...

 

[pinkymummy]

Mummy to Baby Very, thanks for ur advice. Yup every night I cook porridge with chicken or fish stock for him. Hopefully it's nutritious enuff. I add 1-2 veg in there for him too. But for the past 2 weeks I've been feeding him porridge. Not sure if it's ok to feed him porridge everyday?? My mum said it's ok. Just bought a rice cooker cum slow cooker to cook his porridge . Gonna make things so much easier for me!!

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

Hi Mummy

I will going to feed solid food to my son soon..would like check with you as you mentioned that you offer about 1/2 bowl porridge, 1/4 bowl red & green vegetables, 1/4 fruits, for a more complete meal. so u feed yr baby at once ? or we need to wait about 30mins later to feed another kind of dish example: 1st start is porridge and 30mins later feed them vege and wait awhile feed them fruit? as i am not sure all thing mix n eat together baby can take it or not..please share with me..thanks ya..

At first, I only started from 1 tablespoon of food then slowly built up to about 1 bowl, as his appetite grows and adjusts.
I steam the vegetables separately and offer with the porridge. Up to him to finish as much or as little as he wants.

After meal, I offer a little steamed fruit, again up to his acceptance.

Also, some babies like to eat their dishes separately (I.e. don't mix everything together). While some are ok with mixed up food.
Both are fine.

When introducing a new food, I'd offer it separately as a small spoonful.
If mixed into the rest and baby rejects it, the whole bowl of food would be wasted.

As mentioned, my boy loves eating, so meal time has been easy, usually done within 15-20 minutes.
To the extent I limit his solid intake so that he can continue drinking more breastmilk.

If baby has a small appetite or not in the mood, it's fine too, just offer less amount of a variety of food.
At this young age, the most important thing is to let baby enjoy meal time, enjoy new tastes and textures, and set the right eating habits.
When the beginning is done in the right direction, I believe baby will grow to enjoy meal times, and life would be easier for the caregivers.

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

Mummy to Baby Very, thanks for your advice. Yup every night I cook porridge with chicken or fish stock for him. Hopefully it's nutritious enuff. I add 1-2 veg in there for him too. But for the past 2 weeks I've been feeding him porridge. Not sure if it's ok to feed him porridge everyday?? My mum said it's ok. Just bought a rice cooker cum slow cooker to cook his porridge . Gonna make things so much easier for me!!

Generally, homemade stock is more nutritious and tastier than cooking with water.
Since our diet is mainly vegetarian, so I've been making vegetable stock instead (e.g. potato, carrot, vegetable such as celery, etc). Up to individual preference.

It's ok to offer porridge for some time until baby can try chunkier food.
Just ensure you rotate the ingredients for refreshing taste and let baby keep trying new items.
E.g. On certain days, I steam pumpkin / potato and offer less porridge.

Also, can gradually introduce different types of multigrains both for taste and nutrition.
Besides rice (white / brown), can also offer millet, oat, barley (about 9 months old) cooked as porridge.

When a baby who feeds well starts rejecting food, it can be a sign to experiment new tastes and textures. E.g. My boy started rejecting porridge at 12 months old. I realized he wanted to finger feed himself, so I started offering soft rice and chunkier food, and let him try feeding himself.

Over time, you'd observe your baby's new preference and move along with him.
It's very fulfilling to see my toddler feeding himself pizzas, pastas, etc. and see that we've gone a long way from the puree/porridge days. Have fun!

 

[mummynbb]

Hi mummies,

My baby is 8 months old, what types of green vege is suitable for her? So far only tried broccoli and spinach and she doesn't seem to like it.

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

Hi mummies,

My baby is 8 months old, what types of green vege is suitable for her? So far only tried broccoli and spinach and she doesn't seem to like it.

Her taste bud may change over time. Key is to keep offering and encouraging. Ok if she rejects now, try the same item in a few weeks.
E.g. My boy squirmed at eating bananas as a baby. As he grew older, he changed. Now he loves eating bananas.

For green vegetables, can gradually introduce all the common family vegetables that aren't too stringy:
cauliflower, Xiao bai Cai, Cai Xin, celery, etc.

If she finds a spoon of vegetables too strong in taste, then offer a spoon of porridge with a little bit of mashed vegetables added.
Or a spoon of sweet potato with a tiny bit of vege together.
She'd gradually get used to the vege taste.

 

[mummynbb]

Thanks, that's very helpful..wasn't aware that we can give them xiao bai cai, cai xin etc. These should taste better than spinach and broccoli which is stronger in taste.
When u cook porridge for bb do you make enough for lunch and dinner, or prepare twice?
I heard that porridge left to cool and reheated will cause wind, however I don't have time to prepare porridge twice a day.

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

Thanks, that's very helpful..wasn't aware that we can give them xiao bai cai, cai xin etc. These should taste better than spinach and broccoli which is stronger in taste.
When u cook porridge for bb do you make enough for lunch and dinner, or prepare twice?
I heard that porridge left to cool and reheated will cause wind, however I don't have time to prepare porridge twice a day.

Most welcome, I also learnt from our family nurse.
I only cook porridge once in the morning, serve lunch, and keep the rest in a Tiger thermal flask.
The Tiger thermal flask is very good, food still warm 6 hours later, just in time for dinner.
(I steam another serving of vegetables and fruit for dinner.)

Personally, I don't mind offering my boy cooled / slightly warm food kept in thermal flask. Ok as long as not cold or standing at room temperature for 2 or more hours, for hygiene reason. If need to feed jarred food occasionally, I also don't warm it up.
So far, my boy hasn't gotten tummy issues. And he isn't fussy about food temperature, which makes feeding convenient especially outside when warm food may not be easily available.

Of cos, every child is different. Try cooking once first and see if baby's ok with it.

 

[MsKoh1973]

Last time I used to cook porridge and put in thermal cup, then ask infant care teacher to feed her during the days.

usually i used abt 1 table spoon of rice, put mix bean, meat, spinach, mamami, carrot, potato (rotate), inside the small rice cooker, within 20 mins or so will be ready, and becos it was put inside the thermal cup, the cooking will continue, by then she ate it, it will become super soft.