How much should my 6 month old be eating?
I've mentioned before, I breastfeed, but I don't actually nurse him. I've been pumping since he was about 2 or 3 months. He has reflux really bad, and bottle feeding seemed to help a little...we could control how quickly he ate and how much he ate at one feeding. Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone knows approximately how many ounces he should be eating per day or per feeding, and how many times a day he should eat. He's also started solids and eats 1 jar of baby food, cereal, and a little juice each day. He's been so fussy lately, and he's always acted like he's starving, no matter how much he eats (I guess reflux sometimes makes them confuse hunger for the reflux pains). I'm just starting to wonder if I am going to have to supplement with formula....my body is only producing so much with only pumping, and I'm not sure how much more time a day I can spend pumping, if he's not getting enough milk. Since he's eating solids, I want to make sure he's getting the milk he needs, since it's more important than baby food. Also, he still needs to eat every 3 hours, and I don't remember from my first son how often he ate around 6 to 7 months. Most everything I can find online says "nurse them as much as they want" but with his reflux, the more he eats, the more he throws up! Any ideas about how much breastmilk he should be eating per feeding and how many feedings a day at 6 - 7 months? Thanks!!
how much
Jessica,
When I had my children, our ped. told me that the kids should be consuming 32 oz. of fluid between 4-6 months of age, and he wanted them to do this before introducing baby food. My kids were always on the small side, long, thin and very active. We were at 28 oz with the oldest at 4 months and closer to 32 ozs with the youngest at 4.5-5 months old before he started solids.
My little piggy
My son just turned 8 months old on Monday and for the past month this is what his daily intake has consisted of:
30-36 oz. formula
4 Gerber stage 2 baby foods (2 after 1st nap, 2 an hour before bed)
1/4 container of Gerber puffs
1 cup cheerios
~1/4 cup animal crackers or goldfish
As much as he eats, he is still in the 50% on weight and he still seems hungry to me! He started cereal at 3.5 months and solids at 4 months per the doctor (I was feeding him almost 40 oz a day at 3 months). At around 6.5 months I switched him to stage 2 foods and gradually added the puffs, cheerios, crackers and goldfish. We just started a little juice here and there, but I'm not a fan of juice so early and will probably wait till he's at least one to give him more than a few drops a day.
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Mommy to Jacob