How much food constitutes a "meal"?

csm7979

How much do your LOs eat in a sitting? My son just turned one and gets three "meals" per day but I don't know if it's enough food to constitute a meal. He'll typically eat 3-4 bites of a protein (like shredded chicken or pork), a couple bites of a veggie (steamed broccoli, peas, etc.), a few pieces of cheese and ... that's about it. Is that meal-sized or more of a snack? He's been getting more and more picky about his solids, so it's been frustrating trying to get him to eat more.

FWIW, he's still on formula (25-32 oz daily, divided into 5-6 bottles). Should I start decreasing his milk intake with the hope that he'll eat more solids instead? Thanks!

BelhurstBride

I let my kids eat until they're full. Sometimes they eat more, other days less. They know what constitutes a meal for them better than I do! 

I don't do formula, so I can't help you there. 

TrueBeliever925

As far as the food vs bottles goes, we slowly started giving him more food at meal times and he's kind of balanced his bottles out. He's down from five to three bottles this past week. We also do one to two small snacks a day. 

Like @BelhurstBride said, we feed him until he's full. 

TeacherMom210

@Mic10811 We're in the same boat. DD is a lean, mean eating machine.

We do three meals and a snack before bedtime. I usually give her some grains and/or meat and vegetables and finish the meal with fruit. No vegetables at breakfast, though. This website has a lot of the same information my pedi gave us at DD's last visit.

TeacherMom210

No problem. Glad to help.  

magdalina.h

She eats until she starts throwing the food on the floor.

BelhurstBride

Mlc10811 said: We feed until she's full. But we have the opposite problem: little girl is about to eat us out of house and home! She gets pissed when we think she's had enough and attempt to end the meal.
It's something I was going to ask her pedi at her checkup next week.
Ha! That sounds like both of my girls! When DD1 goes through a growth spurt she easily surpasses what I eat in a day. 

DD1 is tall and lean (75th and 25th); DD2 is 25th across the board. So far it appears they have DH's metabolism. I hope they keep it. 

catskitch

I offer food in a bowl. Dinner is usually rice with fish or meat and veggies. I cut everything into small pieces and place it in an 8 oz bowl, usually about 1/2-3/4 full. He eats until he pushes it away. Sometimes he finishes, sometimes he doesn't. He also gets 2-3 sippy cups of whole milk (or whatever leftover bm I have) and one nursing session at night.

snacks are usually fruit, crackers, cereal, or toast

I made him a half sandwich of egg and avocado on lightly toasted bread and he gobbled it up!

edit: i lied...it was grilled cheese and avocado, although egg and avocado would be good too.