Portion Sizes?!

Das Kitty

I was wondering does anyone know of guidelines for portion sizes for 8 month olds?

I had the PHN here today to look at James as I thought his head shape was still wonky, but it's fine. She did his measurements and he has gone from 25th Centile at 3 months to 99th now for his weight.

I'm a bit upset really. I was told when I started feeding him that he'd shut his mouth when he wasn't hungry anymore but he never does. So it's apparent now that I've been giving him too much.

I really want to sort this out but I need to see some guidelines for portions so I can get an idea.

I'm going to cut out one of his bottles and replace it with water as a first measure, but I need to nip the problem in the bud and give him the best chance I can of having a healthy attitude to food.

mohawk

Don't panic yet. He will lean out when he gets moving. Some babies love their food and will keep eating.

Firstly how many meals a day do you give him? Some studies show that smaller more frequent meals are best.

I read somewhere that you should give them a baby fist sized portion of food. (I tried to find the link for you )

Is he on fingerfoods? Fingerfoods take so long to eat for a baby that when they are full their tummys get the message from the brain to say they are full. (kinda like the adult diet advice to eat slowly to lose weight).

Hope that helps.

Das Kitty

He gets 3 bottles of milk 7oz each.

He has 1 weetabix or the equivalent amount of other breakfasts.

For lunch he has usually a home made meal or sometimes half a stage two jar and 2 icecube sized bits of mash potato.

Dinner is around the same amount.

He gets a dessert (fruit pot or yogurt) with either lunch or dinner.

I give him a little finger food as well, a bit of a rice cake or similar to chew on while I'm getting his dinner ready.

There's nothing he won't eat, loves everything I give him and I try to give him something different every day.

I don't know really. He never eats more than you'd get in a stage 2 jar and mostly he eats less. He's almost crawling now and is very active. To me he doesn't look fat, he has a little roll on his tummy when he's sitting up but it's reducing as he's moving about.

January

That seems fine to me Das Kitty, Addie was eating around the same at that age. Some babies just put on weight quicker than other babies, when he starts crawling/walking properly he'll balance out.

He doesn't look too big in the pictures.

themadchef

I wouldint fret.

One of mine was quite heavy until she got mobile and then she leaned out in a few months.

As long as you are aware of the possibility and conscious of the nutritional value in the foods youre feeding her then i wouldint punish yourself or the child.

Once he finds his legs you will see the difference, so until then relax and enjoy him not thrashing the place

mohawk

Das Kitty wrote: »

He gets 3 bottles of milk 7oz each.

He has 1 weetabix or the equivalent amount of other breakfasts.

For lunch he has usually a home made meal or sometimes half a stage two jar and 2 icecube sized bits of mash potato.

Dinner is around the same amount.

He gets a dessert (fruit pot or yogurt) with either lunch or dinner.

I give him a little finger food as well, a bit of a rice cake or similar to chew on while I'm getting his dinner ready.

There's nothing he won't eat, loves everything I give him and I try to give him something different every day.

I don't know really. He never eats more than you'd get in a stage 2 jar and mostly he eats less. He's almost crawling now and is very active. To me he doesn't look fat, he has a little roll on his tummy when he's sitting up but it's reducing as he's moving about.

That really doesn't seem like over feeding. You can only go by the cues he gives you when feeding him. And now he is nearly crawling he will most likely start to lose weight.

Das Kitty

Thanks folks, just when I saw the 99th on the chart my heart sank. He's like a lump of lead to carry. Had him on the beach yesterday and trying to carry him back to his buggy was nuts. must have been some sight.

I'm very careful to make sure he's getting a proper mix of things and plenty of iron, calcium and fish.

I'm heavy myself for my size, I'm a 14 but 12 and a half stone (I'm short too so technically I'm obese :eek:)

I'm feeling a bit better about it now. Thanks all.

gowayouttadat

Das Kitty is he crawling yet??

I definitely noticed DS got a belly before he started moving properly. It literally just appeared out of nowhere and disappeared again when he started to get on the move and become more mobile. I bet that's all it is.

As the other said, it doesn't seem like you're over feeding him.

DubDani

Das Kitty wrote: »

I was wondering does anyone know of guidelines for portion sizes for 8 month olds?

I had the PHN here today to look at James as I thought his head shape was still wonky, but it's fine. She did his measurements and he has gone from 25th Centile at 3 months to 99th now for his weight.

I'm a bit upset really. I was told when I started feeding him that he'd shut his mouth when he wasn't hungry anymore but he never does. So it's apparent now that I've been giving him too much.

I really want to sort this out but I need to see some guidelines for portions so I can get an idea.

I'm going to cut out one of his bottles and replace it with water as a first measure, but I need to nip the problem in the bud and give him the best chance I can of having a healthy attitude to food.

That seems like a normal amount of food for that age. Funny how things turn out, as our 9 month old daughter will easily eat twice that amount of solids plus her 3 bottles a day, but she is a lightweight and only ion the 25 percentile for weight. (71 cm and around 7.7 - 7.8 kg.). But in her case it probably has a lot to do with being very active. She crawled with just over 6 months and is walking unaided now at 9 months.

Das Kitty

He's almost crawling, going around like a little commando doing action rolls .

PHN is coming back today to give me some info. So I'm going to talk to her about the amount he eats.

I've also decided to stop trying to get him to finish his meals if he's messing, he'll soon get the message to eat up if he actually is hungry.

crazy cat lady

Megan is nearly 9 months and I let her dictate how much she eats. I haven't a clue how big a portion size should be and I've never given her a jar of food so I can't compare it to that. When she is full, she will stop eating, but she will open her mouth again for a bit of dessert - just like her mammy!!

She will probably take 4-5oz's of a 6oz bottle 3 times a day and drinks a good bit of water between meals.

I don't really worry about how much she's eating, so long as she is eating! The way I see it, when she is eating, I know she is well. When she turns her nose up at food, I know there is something wrong.

The best thing you can do for your little one to ensure good healthy eating habits, is to ensure that your feeding him good healthy food. Develop his tastes for life based on fruit and veg and a good balance of all the basic food groups. To me it sounds like you are already doing this. Don't deprive him of his bottles if he is taking them. He'll stop when he's good and ready.

Megan started crawling very early and is now almost walking so she has never really been too chubby. I'm sure once your little man gets that bit more mobile he'll use up some of the chubb he's gained.

I honestly wouldn't worry about all that percentile stuff. Its just a guide for all babies and as we all know, every one of our litle angels are different and develop at different rates and come in all shaps and sizes and colours!

Look at your little one. Does he look healthy? Yes? No need to worry so!