Solids: what's too much?

sechat322

Hi all,

Our 7 month old has shown herself to be a great lover of solids (read: little miss piggie!), and we're wondering whether we're giving her too much.  Unfortunately, our pediatrician (to whom we last spoke at our 6 month appt) and the phone nurse at his office (to whom I spoke yesterday) conflict... and it seems like we're on our own. 

The pediatrician told us to feed her solids 2x a day (working up to 3x in a month or so), before a giving her a bottle, and to feed her as much of the solid food as she likes before she tells us to stop (fusses, won't open mouth, turns head, etc.).  He understood that this would mean she'd probably drink less of her bottle.

As it turns out, the kiddo just luuuurves her food, and will sometimes only want 3-4 oz of a bottle when she's done. She eats tons of fruits, veg, grains, and now some meats and beans.  All told, she has gone from drinking about 32 oz a day (pre-solids) to around 24-26 oz a day now.  The nurse I spoke to yesterday told me that she should be drinking *at least* 32 oz a day now, and that, as a guide, they'd expect her to drink 24 oz a day of cow's milk when she switches over at 1.  (Both guidelines she cited are well above the guidelines I thought I'd read.)

What do you guys think?  Do we really need to get her to drink more milk?  She's a pretty chubby baby (was almost 17 lbs at her 6 month appt), so I'm really not worried she's not getting adequate calories.  Neither am I worried especially about iron, since she gets some fortified oatmeal every day, and a good amount of leafy greens (and now, some meat).

sechat322

I'd heard the same thing - bottle before solids.  And to try to feed solids as snacks between bottle-meals.  That's how I proceeded when we started solids at ~5 months, but at our 6 month appt, the pediatrician told me to reverse things and feed solids first.  In fact, he kinda looked at me like I was a little nuts when I said that I thought solids were supposed to be snacks.

CrawltheWarriorKing

theresat858:

I've always heard that you should offer milk or formula before solids, and that most of the nutriton should be from milk or formula until after the age of 1.  I would try offering a bottle before the solids (maybe an hour before if it works in your schedule), and not feeding more than 3-4oz of solids per meal.

I agree with this.

One thing I don't agree with is the nurse saying she should be drinking "at least" 32oz. My DD takes exactly 20oz a day 5, 4 oz bottles yet my DS takes 5, 5-6oz bottles. Both did drank this amount before starting solids and now they have 3 meals a day and haven't reduced their milk intake.

I always offer bottle first then 30min - 1hr later offer breakfast or lunch.  For dinner we do a meal at 630pm then an hour later their bedtime bottle.

oliversmommy32912

There's no way my kid eats 32 ounces. Maybe 25. Maybe. He is growing just fine on the charts and is meeting all his milestones.

I agree with PP's about trying bottle first and then solids. 

fryrat

We started solids when DD passed 32 oz of milk in a day, i couldn't keep up anymore with BM. Her growth spurt took her to 36 oz, and as long as she's getting 36oz of "something" she's happy. It's up to me to make sure she's digesting and getting the nutrients from the things I give her, and that her calories count. She is now getting 12 oz of purees, 6 of cereal (to make the purees thick, the way she likes it), 10 of water with a little juice and 8 of BM.

acbfreire

theresat858:

fryrat:

We started solids when DD passed 32 oz of milk in a day, i couldn't keep up anymore with BM. Her growth spurt took her to 36 oz, and as long as she's getting 36oz of "something" she's happy. It's up to me to make sure she's digesting and getting the nutrients from the things I give her, and that her calories count. She is now getting 12 oz of purees, 6 of cereal (to make the purees thick, the way she likes it), 10 of water with a little juice and 8 of BM.

Have you discussed this with your pedi?  I agree that 32oz of breastmilk should be more than enough (25oz/day is average), but the 10oz of water sounds like a lot for a just-over-6-month old. 

this.