How Much Does She Need?

Simple. If she is hungry feed her. If not, don't. As long as she is gaining weight, all is fine. Remember she does not have the enzymes to digest cereals until she starts the teething process, it just goes in one end and out the other. People, including this mom of three daughters, used to pre-chew the cereals, meats whatever, for the child, infusing their own enzymes in the food and then it could be digested by the babe. Old fashioned, yes. Did it work for thousands of kids, yes. Dirty? Not really, mom spit is magic stuff...

Life is still grand here, E. H

My May issue of Parenting magazine says for children 6 to 9 months, 7 oz. bottles totaling 24-32oz of formula a day or 4-5 nursings, 1 to 3 meals a day consisting of 2 - 4Tbsp of 2 foods or up to a whole jar of Stage 2 baby food.

My pediatrican says 3 meals a day, and to have some rice cereal at every meal (rice or oatmeal or single grain what ever you prefer). They say 2 1/2 jars (of the stage 1) is the appropriate amt of fruits and veggies to have. I do rice cereal and 1 stage 2 of fruit for breakfast, rice cereal for lunch with 1/2 stage 1, then for dinner I do rice cereal with 1 stage 1 veggie for dinner. I also give her juice after lunch (2 oz juice with 4 oz water out of a sippy cup). She then also has 24 oz. of formula every day 4 6oz bottles. Her pediatrician gave me this sample menu, and I follow it! If she seems like she wants more formula I don't ever question it, if she is hungry I just figure she is in a growth spurt! My youngest daughter is 7 mos. as well, but I am a mom of 4.

I would dare say she isn't getting enough food during the day. What I would suggest trying is feeding her more solid foods through out the day. Give her cereal with one of her morning feedings, and more cereal just before going to bed. Also giving her more fruits and veggies at dinner will help as well. The cereal before bed time is just to "top her off", or make sure she has a full belly before bed time. This should help her sleep without waking up hungry. I would continue to nurse and formula feed as normal, just increase her food intake amount.

Good luck, and try it first, if it works, continue, if not, then try something else, or add more food until she isn't waking up hungry at night.

I would just make sure she is getting enough to eat in a meal to last her for 2-3 hrs. Maybe increase her solids intake. She will be hungry faster if she's getting mostly liquids.

Probably just a growth spurt- with my daughter I gave her a similar diet, but with cereal for breakfast and breast or bottle on demand. You may want to try other cereals and more of them- it's more filling. But keep up the fruits and veggies too. If she's sitting up well and shows interest (esp if she is starting to crawl or try to crawl) you can try soft finger foods like those gerber puffs- they're great, they disolve instantly and are easy for them to pick up.

You probably could feed her more. I have a 8 month old son that breastfeeds 5 times total in the day and then for food he eats 1/3 cup of oatmeal and 1 jar of Gerber 2nd foods, then for lunch she has 1 veggie jar and 1 fruit jar, and then for dinner he has 1 dinner jar and 1 fruit jar. She will let you know when she is done eating the jar food when she stops opening her mouth or turning her head away from the spoon.

Hi M.,
I would get Tracie Hogg's book "The Baby Whisperer." She has quite a bit of information on feeding infants. Her book is very helpful. You could also ask your pediatrician and see if her weight gain is on track. Good luck!

Speaking personally, I breastfed first, then gave solids. For both my children. From what I"ve heard, this is the way to go. My Pediatrician, who is also big on breastfeeding, also suggested this. If anything, after nursing, you can wait about 1/2 hour, then give solids.

On the other hand, some say to give solids first, then breast... because this is done to "wean" them from breast.

I would still nurse my children every 2-3 hours or so at that age, throughout the day. And they were also on solids by this time. But that is me.

As for amount of nursing or formula intake, well it can vary. But mine drank about 8 ounces by this age. You should ask your Pediatrician... because only you and the doctor would know if your baby is growing sufficiently and developing properly.

Also, a baby will indicate when they are full. If your baby is waking up at 9:30 because she is hungry, feed her. They go through growth spurts too, and at these times need to nurse more and will wake up more. And yes, on the other end of the spectrum, if a baby is not intaking enough, they WILL wake up. I have seen this MANY times with my friends babies who did not sleep well. They did not have enough intake. Again, ask your Pediatrician.

Babies wake up due to developmental phases as well. Their physical, cognitive growth affects their sleep and causes interruptions at these peaks. It passes. Just KEEP to your regular sleep routines though... anything different you do may upset their regular sleep habits for better or worse. Consistency in sleep habits you have for her is key.
Take care,
~Susan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo

There is no formula for knowing how much each baby needs because they all vary. If she is getting mobile at this age she could be waking due to that or just because the length of night time sleep (from 7:30pm to 9am) is really too long for her to be able to keep her mind/body at rest. See if you can breastfeed her at 7am but keep her active for an hour or two before going down for a nap. 7am when the sun is up and the birds are chirping is a very common wake up time for babies and toddlers. A baby's belly can only take in so much nutrition at once and if she needs extra it would be likely to be a seperate snack versus getting her to eat more at one of her mealtimes. Have you tried gerber puffs or cheerios (some babies can start finger snacks such as these at this age). Most moms actually don't get more than 6 or 7 hours of straight sleep from a baby at this age, no matter what the sleep experts say a baby is capable of, they again are all different and go through different phases of waking. Another thought, teething already? My babies both woke more frequently from teething at night and nursing was the surefire way to reduce the discomfort and get everyone back to sleep for our household. Good luck!
J.
www.sign4baby.com

I would probably suggest the trial and error method. Feed her more and she will most likely stop eating when she is done. My 5 month old nurses at 7am, then cereal mixed with whole tub/jar of 1st food at 8amish then nurses again at 11am with a tub/jar of veggies around 12pm. Nurses again at 3pmish then a whole tub/jar of veggies AND fruit around 6pm then nurses again around 8pm-9pm for the night.

I do not think she needs to eat at 9:30, but if you feed her she will start to. At her age, and with the amount she is eating during the day, she is waking out of habit at this point. I have found with my three kids that once they are a certain size/age they have no actual need to eat at night, but reinforcing their waking causes them to wake. So I would say do NOT feed her, go in pat her back, say it's time to sleep and leave. There may be a little bit of crying involved, but that never hurt anyone. Good luck!

My 9 month old little boy still nurses way more than he eats solid food. Every child is different. My daughter started to eat solid food really well at 6 months but still nursed 2 X's in the AM and at nap time then in the evening and before bed up until 19 months old when she self weaned.

I just kind of let them do their own thing instead of trying to fallow a specific book. It seems to work very well. (especially with potty training...I don't think there is a book that worked for me so we did our own thing) I read alot of Dr. Sears books, They have wonderful advice. I would bet that your daughter is in a growth spurt. Sometimes they even go through phases where they just nurse for comfort or a little extra emoional support. Some people don't realize that nursing is for so much more than just nurtritional value. My son often just uses me as a binki when he is having a hard day of teething or if I've left him with my mom for a couple hours (he kind of has a little bit of seperation anxiety).

Try not to let anyone tell you what is right for you baby. SHE is the only one who can tell you what she needs! Good luck momma.

The last feeding of the night (since she is eating solids) should include something that will make her feel full. I always did a rice cereal bottle - but since you breastfeed, you might want to give her the cereal just prior to you doing that. It will keep her tummy satisfied longer. Good luck & God Bless You!

It is not about "solids" at her age. It sounds as if she is not getting enough breast milk! It may look thin and not very substantial to you, but it is what people her age were designed to live on. It is all she needs at this point and she could survive happily with nothing but breastmilk. Our culture gives babies babyfood, but most cultures do not. She may be having a growth spurt, and if she is, all you need to do is nurse her more often. If you are breastfeeding her, she doesn't need formula.

Remember whole foods are best, but if you're comfortable with Gerber that's ok too. However, at this age, her nutrients are all from breast milk or formula. How many total milk feedings is she getting a day? If she is getting about 5-6 feedings, that's enough. OFTEN they wake up at night for comfort, especially because it sounds like you're gone during the day. Even if you feed them two nights in a row, that's enough to start a pattern. She needs to learn to go back to sleep by soothing herself. There is ALOT to read on this issue. BUT what worked WELL for us was, go in and lay her down, rub her back or something, but don't talk, you can even rock her for a bit. DON"T FEED. She'll cry for a bit (talk with your hubby about what you're comfortable with), but we tolerated about 8-30 min of crying and that ended the night feedings.

Hi M.,

Don't worry about feeding her too much at this stage. If she wakes up hungry, nurse her some more. The breast milk will give her the nutrition she needs. Babys are always growing and need to eat when they are hungry. In fact, if you're home, breast feed her during the day rather than formula. It's much better for her.

V.

Is there a reason you are supplementing with formula? Typically babies do very well on breast milk the whole first year. The "problem" with formula is that sometimes, since you are used to seeing a bottle and measuring the bottle, it can lead moms to worry about "amount" since you can't gauge how much a baby drinks with breast milk.
One mom here said it was easy... just feed your milk when she's hungry and stop when she's not. Just follow your babies cues.
And since breast milk is healthier than formula, I'd cut back on the formula.
http://www.drgreene.com/21_552.html
http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/bf/index.asp
If your daughter is exposed to a virus or bacteria, the immune properties in your breast milk will protect her. Not so with formula. Formula is an "OK" substitute, but breast milk is a far healthier option.
Your body will also follow your cues. If you offer more breast, you make more breastmilk. If you offer less breast and give more bottle, you make more milk. It works on supply & demand. So if you start offering more, your body will "get it" and start making more for her.
Have you checked out a local La Leche League meeting? They are support groups (free) for breastfeeding mothers. They will answer all your questions. I used to go with my first born and I met a lot of nice mothers. There was one mother there who used to supplement with formula (she would nurse at the breast, but the baby got formula through a tube, she had a bag of formula at the side) due to a breast reduction surgery. I breast fed both my children over 2 years. I planned on doing that long before I had children.
http://www.llli.org/Web/Nevada.html

M.,
Why does she get formula instead of breastfeeding all the time? Also, she doesn't need a whole lot of food. Too much variety at this age can cause allergies. The cereal & milk is good, and intro of one food a week is good. Do you mind feeding her at night? If so, give her some cereal at night to carry her through along with the breastfeeding. Did someone tell you not to breastfeed only, and that you had too introduce formula? You can save your breast milk and place it in a bottle too feed her if you are trying to make sure she will take a bottle.

Hope this helps. I Breastfed both of my children for along time, and they were healthy babies.

E.:)

I breastfed my child for 13 months and sometimes they just need the attention, or they are thirsty. Try giving her some water in the bottle. Good luck and enjoy your baby.
V

Hi M. -
Children's appetites go up and down daily. I would just follow her lead and feed her anytime she wants to eat and as much as she wants to eat. We did that with our son when he was an infant (and do it now too) and he is thriving. Their little bodies know what they want.

Congratulations on your little one! - L.

If you're looking for guidelines, you might want to check out the book "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" by Ellyn Satter. She also has some guidelines on her website:

http://www.ellynsatter.com/

I really love her feeding philosophy, with the exception that she's too vehement about when you should wean. But I just ignore that small part of her book and use the rest. My daughter and her cousin were both raised using this style, and they are both great eaters and a healthy weight.
Have fun!