My DD is a small eater- she is gaining weight and reaching all of her milestones above average and is very very active but she gives us a hard time when it comes to eating- some days are better than others. Solids are a challenge! I find bottles are easier when they are smaller- she doesn't like to take bottles over 6 oz- so the doctor recommended putting a scoop of powdered formula in to get the extra calories. That has been helpful but i am still struggling with a schedule for her. can those who have babies with smaller appetites please offer me some of your feeding schedules. TIA
Re: moms of babies with small appetites come in
Carson isn't a big eater, but I'm not concerned. He's a little guy, but gaining weight consistently and meeting milestones. Right now he eats (BM) 4x a day and has 3 solid meals. In total, he takes in about 24-28 oz of BM and has fruit, yogurt and veggies. Schedule is as follows:
7:30 - Bottle/Nure
8:30 - Fruit
11:30 - Bottle/Nurse
12:30 - Yogurt
3:30 - Bottle/Nurse
5:30 - Veggies
7:00 - Nurse
My DD is on the smaller size and at 9.5 months will still only take 4-5 oz of EBM at a time. I struggled with solids too at first...it seems like if I offered solids first, she wouldn't drink her bottles or nurse. If I nursed her first or offered a bottle, she wouldn't take the food. It took some rearranging and trial and error, but this is where we're at now and it's working:
5:30/6am: nurse
~7am: breakfast (1T of oatmeal, 2T of fruit, 1T of yogurt)
nap from 9-11
11am: bottle of EBM, I fill it up to 5.5 or 6 oz, but she usually only drinks 5 max
2pm: nurse or bottle of EBM
nap from 3-5
5pm: nurse
6:30/7pm: dinner (1T of oatmeal, veggies, yogurt, puffs/cherrios)
8:30: nurse and bed
Like your DD, mine gains weight steadily (just slowly) and is very active. She always has been and I wonder if she burns off everything she eats! She is a good eater, I think, but just can't take too much at once. If I try to feed her more, she just spits up. My pedi has never indicated he is worried or told us to try to make her eat more. My husband and I aren't huge people to begin with and she might just be smaller. She lets us know when she's hungry and trust me, it's a hard sign to miss! I have talked to her pedi about how much she eats at one time and he is not worried and says it's normal. At her 9 month appt I asked how many meals she should have and he said for now that 2 is fine.
Good luck!
I have a seven month old, who has never had a bottle with more than 6 ounces in it (and that didn't last for more than a few feedings). She is FF and drinks about 5 1/2 ounces five times a day, She eats solids twice a day. She has always wanted smaller bottles. At 5 months ... she was still at 4 oz. The doctor said to keep her on this schedule until her next checkup at nine months.
6-7 a.m.: 5 1/2 ounce bottle
10-11 a.m.: jar/cube (2-3 oz.) of fruit plus 1 T oatmeal and 4-5 oz. bottle
1-2: 5 1/2 ounce bottle
4-6: jar/cube (2-3 oz.) of veggie plus 1 T rice and 4-5 ounce bottle
8:30-9 p.m.: 5 1/2 ounce bottle
DD has always had a little appetite. For a while I was concerned because my nephew, who is only 2 weeks older eats like crazy, but then I remember that yes all babies are different. And the doc said that as long as she's gaining weight and hitting her milestones to not worry about it. Right now I've gotten her on a good, but flexible, schedule. Although somedays the solids are somewhat hit or miss depending on her mood. Mind you half the time she doesn't end up eating her whole bottle and leaves an ounce or two but I always find that if I try to make less that's the one time that she wants it all. And a lot of days she doesn't eat the whole meal of the solids. But here's what we do.
6/7 AM 3-5 ounce bottle
10 AM 6 ounce bottle
10:30-12 nap
12:30 solids, stage 2 jar of fruit and 1 T of oatmeal
2 PM 6 ounce bottle
2:20-4 nap
5 PM solids, stage 2 jar of meat and veggie combo and 1 T rice
7:30 PM 8 ounce bottle for bed