eating question

hoping618

I have a 9 month old who's pretty tiny for his age.  People guess him for around 6 months.  In every way he's healthy, happy and physically a little monkey crawling everywhere and taking his first steps.

I'm having trouble with feeding.  I'm making the mistakes I've heard others do with making many meal choices to see what he wants and offering food what seems like every five minutes because I'm afraid he's not getting enough to eat.  He also doesn't drink much formula.  I give it to him in a sippy cup during the day which helps.  I've tried every different kind and now I do a yogurt shake too, packed with nutritious ingredients to get in the fat and calories.  He poops 2-3 times a days, sometimes more.  I'm just so paranoid about his size and weight (my husband and I are not big people but we're not really small either).

Any other suggestions?  It's driving me crazy and making meal time very stressful....

hoping618

Thanks so much for your reply.  The doctor is not concerned about his weight or size, it's basically just me.  A slim baby is just not the norm so I get a lot of comments.  He actually the body and metabolism my husband and I WISH we had lol!

I made all his food until last week when I tried the pouches.  He liked them so much (of course because they are mainly fruit) but I was so glad he was eating I didn't even care.

The problem is our schedules don't really have us eating together as a family and I don't cook that often. So I end up cooking just for my DS and when he doesn't want it/like it/eat it, it really gets me down and frustrated.

His new thing now is he feeds himself, chews and then spits it out!  It's driving me crazy.  We've tried pasta, bread, pieces of meat, everything goes in for a while then spit out.  His likes really smooth purees.  I'm hoping this is just a phase bc he used to eat pieces of food.

Anyway, thanks for listening.  I'm going to try not to worry so much:)

jennygirlmt

I think you should focus on his growth curve. The pedi would have mentioned it at his 9 month if there was concern. Some babies have to be in the low end of the spectrum

I'd focus on him getting his full formula needs (I bf so I don't know the exact amount, somewhere in the 20ish ounces). Then after that focus on foods. Spitting out finger food is a phase/learning experience. Maybe give him a few bites of chunks of real food (veggies, etc) then follow with a few bites of purées.

Honestly, he is young, still learning and completely normal. DD eats just a few bites each day (we do BLW) and I'm fine with it. You definitely have nothing to worry about.

g8trkim

I feel you. DD was 15 lbs 6 oz at her 9 month appt... tiny peanut. Our kids never really had a chubby baby stage. They were mobile really early which I think is the main reason for that. Honestly, your DS sounds perfectly fine. Some people are small and some people are big. If he's drinking formula, eating foods, mobile and active, and having wet/dirty diapers I think things are just fine especially since your doctor isn't concerned.

agibby

Until 1 yr, babies should be mainly formula or breast fed, so I think his lack of eating regular foods is just fine  

As long as the Dr isn't worried about your LO's weight, I wouldn't worry either.  Heck, right now I have a just turned 10 yr old who still wears size 7/8 clothes!

tdavis126

My dd is on the tiny side too so I know how frustrating it can be with the comments. And we've always had issues with her eating. Shes 9 months and usually drinks 4-6 oz bottles. She's also picky on food to. Some days she'll eat it the next day give her the same thing and she'll refuse. Our pedi told me to remember their tummies are a lot smaller than ours and if you can get them to eat 3-4 bites of a couple different things that should be good. And to just keep trying. Good luck!

ASmallWonder

Try to focus more on making sure he maintains his own personal curve.  Some people are just thin.  My 3 year old only weighs 28 pounds.  He's got my brother's metabolism and regardless of what he does or doesn't eat, he's always been right around the same percentile his whole life.