Portion sizes

They say about baby fist size is the portion size but at this age it’s just playing with foods and textures so not really important how much they are or aren’t eating

Babies are intuitive eaters so shouldn’t really eat too much. They will stop when they are full so just make sure you are giving the milk first and not food when he is really hungry and it should be fine to give as much as he wants

All the recommendations I have seen say they should be having a tablespoon, like on the Ella's guide

He always gets his formula first but loses interest quickly and then will eat a fair amount of solids so clearly still hungry but doesn’t love formula but obvs that’s just one meal still has 5 bottles a day

@Emmo yea he has more than a tablespoon but tbh id rather he eats to his own limit if he wouldn’t be having more milk anyways

I put down a few tablespoons but not all gets swallowed!!

@Elise yea mine isn’t good on the bottle after he wakes up in the morning either! Great at 4am though 😂

You really need to make sure he is having at least 28oz of milk a day though still because that’s where he gets his nutrients etc from. You can use formula to make up porridge etc and that still counts as his daily amount

@Lauryn He has never consistently had that much even pre solids. Some days he does and other days he has less. He’s a smaller baby and I don’t imagine every baby drinks the same amount - I also can’t force feed him. I see lots of people on here say that their baby has between 24 and 28 oz per day. I’m glad he has a good appetite for solids because he’s getting more nutrition now than he did just on formula.

@Naz I get it, my girl only has around 24oz a day when they should be having around 32oz (that’s why I said 28oz) but you can’t substitute milk for food at this age unfortunately because their bodies don’t process the nutrients etc the same 😞 I’m having a similar issue but you should cut back on food rather than increase it at least for a few more months ❤️

@Lauryn Can you share where you’re getting that info from? The amount they consume will vary depending on how big they are. The NHS actually states that from 7-9 months babies may need around 600ml which is 21oz. My baby is nearly 6.5 months, so I feel he’s getting plenty and I don’t think it makes sense to cut back on solids when he’s not going to consume more formula anyways

https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/baby/weaning/what-to-feed-your-baby/7-to-9-months/#still-give

@Naz the point I’m trying to make is that you can’t substitute food for milk at this age. If you aren’t worried about iron and other vitamin deficiencies etc then feel free to carry on. Your baby is 6 months not 7-9 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Lauryn I already addressed vitamin intake in my initial post - pretty dumbfounded by the accusation that I don’t care about my baby having the right vitamins and nutrients. What an unnecessary comment. You haven’t cited any source for your claim that all babies require 32oz of formula at this age, nor any scientific justification for decreasing the amount of solids I offer. Unless you’re a nutritionist, paediatrician or researcher, or you have material experience in child nutrition, you should consider whether you’re qualified to share such assertive claims. I was only asking for photos of food.

My first was formula fed and he was great when we started weaning too. I remember doing an online course with the local HV team and they said introducing solids should not drop their milk intake at all. On back of a tin they will recommend how much formula a baby should be consuming depending on age/weight. My first was always on point with that. My 2nd is now 6m. Not ready for solids and he is breastfed but I have no way of telling how much he is consuming. All I know is he is growing and he’s healthy. Every baby is different. I think Lauryn is just saying don’t increase his food intake if it’s going to reduce his milk as that’s his main food atm.

@Dal Respectfully, she is also saying that if I carry on doing what I’m doing (feeding my child a normal range of formula) that I don’t care about his vitamins and nutrients. I said in my initial post that I know that formula/milk is their main food, and I have also said that his intake of solids is not reducing the amount of formula he consumes, which was never a huge amount because he’s a small baby. As a formula fed baby, I know that the back of the tin *suggests* how much they should have based on their age and a weight guide but also states that all babies are different and should be fed on demand, just like breastfeeding. Yours may have been on point with the guide, but not every baby will be. For what it’s worth, mine gets more or less the amount suggested for his weight. I’m not going to force feed him more, and I haven’t been given any scientific source to suggest I should give him less solid food.

@Naz I apologise for coming off rude, sincerely. Before replying I just went off what you said in your reply and didn’t re- read what you posted and got it mixed up with another conversation I was having with someone trying to reduce their baby’s intake. It has been one of those days and I took it out on you so I am sorry. They say portions should be around a tablespoon but babies are intuitive eaters and won’t eat more they than they can so as long as they are having the right amount of formula for them (like I said, my girl doesn’t eat much either) then it’s fine to give them what they want - this is information from a baby led weaning group so I think you just have to be a little more careful with purees

@Lauryn Thank you for the apology, all good. We don’t do much puree but I’ll keep that in mind 👍