New to solids - how much is enough?

I know it seems like a silly question, but I have no idea how much food is enough for my baby.

She is 21 weeks and absolutely loves her food. We practically have to tie her down as she's grabbing the spoon and shoving it in her mouth, complaining (loudly!) when we take to long to reload it and leaning forward with mouth wide open to get the spoon because we take too long to get it to her mouth :D

I was told by the MCHN that 2-3 tablespoons PER DAY and no more was what she needed now, but I think she wants more and have no idea how much is enough or what would be too much.

So confused, help please!! :confused:

PS - ticker says 4 months and 3 weeks, but calendar says 21 weeks so that's over 5 months right...? :wall:

MummyPig, 21 weeks is a little under 5 months as a month has roughly 4 1/2 weeks. So your ticker sounds pretty spot on with 4 months, 3 week & 6 days.

About the amount: I wouldn't worry too much about precise amounts. Take her lead. You will probably find that she'll have days where she wants to eat lots, and days where she's not all that interested.

Having said that, at her age, the majority of her nutritional needs should be met by breast milk or formula (util about 12 months). Are you breast or formula feeding? Offer her the breast or bottle before a solid meal to make sure she gets enough milk. Offer her some water with her food, but not too much so she doesn't fill up on it.

Solids are such an exciting thing. Have fun experimenting!

Sasa

As Sasa says, the milk is more important. There is no "right" amount, each child will be different. But at that age, the main thing is not to reduce the milk intake. If she starts drinking less, you need to reduce the amount of solids until she is drinking more again. As long as she's still drinking lots of milk, the amount of solids doesn't really matter too much.

Hi Ladies :)

Freyja is a booby baby and has lots and lots of bb. She has a full bb feed when she wakes, snacks before she naps, snacks when she wakes (just before her solids and has more after), snacks before she naps, snacks when she wakes (before solids and has more after), snacks before she naps, has a full bb feed after the 3rd nap, snacks before her supper, then has some more after it and more again before bed. Then she wakes for a quick snack once or twice a night.

Her napping patterns have been a bit erratic of late, but today she was only awake 1.5 hours between them and had only 2 meals of solids, so she didn't have enough time to get hungry enough to have a full bb feed. So a full one in the morning and again after 3rd nap.

I think she has enough milk...?

She normally gets 4 tsp Farex made up with water and mixed in with a half jar approx of baby food (fruit for brekkie and veggies or whatever for the other meals). She will eat every last bit and may even get upset when she finds out it's all gone.

I took a video of her eating today to send to her grandma, but would like to post it for you to see if it's allowed. Do I link to photobucket or whatever if I want to post a video?

Thanks for your replies and thank you Sasa for pointing out that months don't necessarily equate to exactly 4 weeks!! :redface:

Hey Kerry, it sounds like your DD is in BB heaven ;). there's quite a bit of info regarding Baby Led Solids (BLS) on here, and that might work really well for your bub, who just sounds like she's a hungry little munchkin. As long as you're giving her healthy options (eg vegies) I think that their bodies do a great job of working out what & how much they need, so I'd be trusting her appetite more than worrying what some MCHN guidelines are.

Yeah, she is a bit but I need to make sure she doesn't have too much. I have lots of milk and if she feeds too often she gets only foremilk and ends up with lactose overload and a sore tummy. As long as I give her a couple of hours between, then she feeds really well with no probs. Yesterday I didn't give her enough time, then it was impossible to settle her for a nap because her tummy was so sore. :(

Will check out the baby led solids stuff (once I find it) as it could be fun - thanks :D

I agree, BLS could be the way to go for you. As far as I understand it, the throry also goes to offer them fingerfoods rather than pureed stuff. This might be a good idea to keep the amount of food down as it will take her longer to eat. You could try things like soft boiled carrot sticks. Or any other foods she can mash by squishing between her gums.
Maya was gumming meat at about 6 1/2 months when I just gave her a piece of roast pork. She had been really upset and didn't want to eat her yoghurt while we were eating our pork. Nothing worked to settle her until I handed her a big piece of pork (about the size of my index finger). She was quiet instantly and happily chewed away at it. To my surprise, even though she had no teeth, she managed to somehow eat about half of it.

Saša

Wow, sounds like she'll be eating a whole roast dinner in no time! :)

Just realised that BLS is what we call baby led weaning in the UK and I have actually read some stuff about it. I think you're both right and I will give it a go.

I'm off to a mothers group (which is at 1pm, the baby has just fallen asleep and i've just been told I'm supposed to bring a plate - nothing in the house!!), so I need to go via town anyway and will get her some carrots and stuff to try.

Thanks :)