I think my pediatrician is nuts
Dwinalsinlove
member
So, A just had her 5 month appointment last week. Because of scheduling she has always been a bit behind on her appointments. He told me since she is almost 6 months that we should be feeding her breakfast, lunch and dinner and that she should eat 5 tablespoons of cereal at each sitting plus 2 oz of fruit for breakfast and lunch and 2 oz of a vegtable at dinner. To me that sounds like a ton of food.
I asked him if he meant 5 tablespoons a day and he said no at each sitting. Right now she only eats about a tablespoon of cereal at a meal plus an ounce or maybe 2 of fruit or veg at a time. I'm of the camp that food before one is just for fun so I'm not pushing her to eat more then that. When she is full she is full. She is gaining weight well and is happy. I guess I just need some validation that I'm not starving my child.
Re: I think my pediatrician is nuts
My DD does eat fruits/veggies and cereal at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but I don't think we are feeding her quite the amount that your Dr suggested...maybe half that. If DD wasn't in daycare, I don't know that I would feed her B,L, and D. But that is their schedule and she seems to be doing just fine with it, so I'm letting it be. If she was having issues, then I would have them change the schedule. In fact, I usually only feed her solids at L and D when we are home on the weekends.
FWIW, I don't think you are starving your child. I'm assuming you are supplementing with formula or BM, so LO should be getting nourishment from that. If someone wasn't supplementing with "milk", then I might think that they were starving LO
I'd question your drs reasons and where he got his info? It sounds very out dated to me.
No, definitely not starving her. My LO has 1.5 oz of fruit or veg at mid morning and dinner, sometimes mixed with oatmeal. She sometimes gets a cube of frozen veg in a mesh feeder in the afternoon but not everyday. I have tried offering her more but she doesn't want it so I don't push. The rest of her nourishment is from BM.
what your pedi is suggesting sounds like way more than necessary!
Every baby is different. I agree that you cannot feed your baby more once she's full. Your pedi is probably giving those recommendations for babies that eat much more.
For example, I bf DD everytime she wakes up (for the day or from a nap). Since she nurses both sides first thing in the morning, I do not feed her solids until after her first nap. 30-60 min after nursing her, I fix her oatmeal and fruit in the amount of 5 oz and she gobbles it right up. I don't think I've ever seen her full. In the evening, when DH gets home, she eats another 5 oz of veg and fruit, and then will have a 5 oz bottle before bed.
I don't know why your pedi wants your LO to eat so much cereal, but that's not a big deal. I'm assuming he means 5 Tbsp dry before liquid is added. That's not how I make oatmeal, so I have no idea what kind of volume that is. It's a good thing that you are able to fill up your LO, keep it up!
Did you ask how much formula she should be drinking? Is she drinking enough? That would weigh on my decision as well as how she is handling the solids. Does she need more practice? I would decide based on those factors.
Ex- I can barely get my LO to drink 25 oz so I am not moving forward with more solids yet. We just switched to a fast flow nipple so if he continues to drink well, I will add a lunch. In the AM he gets 2 oz of formula mixed with enough cereal so its not falling right off the spoon with maybe 2 oz of veg/fruit, usually peas (half the little gerber container). For dinner he gets a 4oz jar of fruit or veggie. He is long and lean. 25% for weight and 90% for height. He looks normal though and is very happy. He loves solids and even does well with puffs, mum mums, and small pieces of avocado and banana so I am not concerned with him not ?learning? to eat.
The ped did suggest I add yogurt in the afternoon mixed with fruit but I'm not comfortable with that yet. I trust my Dr but at the end of the day, I am the mom and know my child best.
She is EBF and eats about 8 times a day. Other then the 8 oz she eats at daycare of pumped milk I don't know how many ounces she is getting. However, she has the appropriate amount of wet diapers and is following her growth curve nicely.
I think my Pedi just might be very old school. She does love to eat her solids she just seems to be done after an ounce of cereal and an ounce or two of fruit or veg.
For an EBF, an ounce or two of cereal & ounce or two of fruit seems right. 5 ounces seems CRAZY!
This. That sounds NUTS. As a pp said, you are the mom and you know your baby best. And what's more, your baby knows herself and when she is full. Trust those signals! When we try to feed baby more and more to meet an arbitrary predetermined amount we teach them to not listen to their own bodies. No wonder as we get older we have to work so hard not to overeat. I'd definitely go looking for a more modern doctor. We weren't happy with our first ped, went to a new one, and I LOVE her. SO glad we switched!!