My son eats every 4 hours and I want to structure him to breakfast lunch and dinner. He is 7 months old. Help?

Question

8am-6onc Milk, 12 cereal, 4p soup, 8p cereal, 12 6oun milk, with fruit in between. ..He weighs about 22 pounds....He does whine and cry every 4 hours, like clock work..as he is hungry..... Any experienced mummies out there..oh and pappas..?

Answer 1

I think that is very healthy. My 8 month old daughter has 8 oz of formula when she wakes up, breakfast 2 hours later, lunch 2-3 hours after breakfast, 6 oz of formula 3 hours after lunch, dinner 2-3 hours later then 6 oz of formula before bed. She gets 4 oz of formula after each meal too. She is 18 lbs in the 50th percentile. As long as he is eating healthy food I think he's perfectly normal for his age. When he starts to crawl his weight gain will decline a little.

Answer 2

It's not the parents schedule, It's the babies. try mine LOL. He ate every hour and a half to 2 hours since birth and still does. 4 to 5 ounces. He is 8 months old and 18 pounds, and tall as can be. Some babies just drink more often. Don't say cereal because he eats about three meals of solids too. He's just like that and I don't mind as he's my only one. We tried making him wait longer, but the doctor said to feed him when he's hungry so we do. You can't change it by feeding hi more! He won't eat more than 5 ounces and that's a rarity anyway. A babies stomach is the size of his fist. Try stretching it now and you might have problems with obesity later. Too many children eat too much already. Why create more problems. Let the child eat when she wants. Why starve her so she eats more later? Must be the same parents who let their babies cry it out at night that starve a child to meet their own schedules. I can't imagine torturing my child to make him sleep alone, or to eat more later.

Answer 3

At 7 months old, he won't be able to just get by on 3 meals a day. You can certainly start preparing him for it, but 7 monmth olds should still be getting the bulk of their calories from formula. The best way to start transitioning them is to serve solid food mostly at mealtimes, with a few healthy snacks in between. But again at this age it can be tough. Usually once they are 12-18 months they can move more towards "meals" at mealtimes with snacks in between. You can try giving him his baby food and cereal only at mealtimes, but he'll still need formula with meals and in between.

Is he waking up at night every 4 hours still? (If not disregard this next part.) One thing we know is that babies do NOT need to wake up in the middle of the night to eat after about 6 months of age. It is now basically only a habit. Unfortunately the only clinically proven way is the "cry it out" routine, other than to just keep doing what you are doing and wait and see if she learns on her own. But the key is doing it correctly. Trust me, we did the "just wait and see if she grows out of it" method with our first child and she finally slept thru the night at 18 months!

If you want to try this, first of all, establish a bedtime routine (for example: what I call the 3 B's: Bath, Bottle, and then a Book - or Bath and Book if shes off the bottle). Whatever you choose, make it the same every night.

Next, put the child to bed awake, and without a bottle. And do not go back in the room unless the child is hurt or something is wrong. It's OK to check on her (whether you let her see you or not is up to you).

Set a goal initially of sleeping 6 hrs (most kids who can sleep 6 hrs straight will sleep 8 or 9 very soon). The first 2 nights are the worst, but whatever you do, do NOT decide to "give her a break just this once" - that resets the whole process. It may take up to a week, but usually 3-5 days is average.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Make sure the crying is not for attention, that comes first. My seven month old makes noises all the time, but it is not always for food. Try to feed him a bit less each time, sort of like a snack, but increase the 3 important meals. It takes time, but soon he sould be sleeping through the night. If you have problems try playing with him, however silly you may feel, kep him awake during the day and he should sleep through the night. These are just my thoughts here is a web site that may help
http://www.williamgladdenfoundation.org/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentServer?pagename=FaithHighway/10000/3000/901WI/early&gclid=CPfqx8m41YUCFSgDSAodDHL2JQ

http://www.womenshealthmatters.ca/Centres/pregnancy/newborn/caring_newborn.html

Answer 5

I have two boys that are both very healthy and I had the same problem with one of them. I asked the pediatrician and she said that if my kids are hungry then I should give them something to eat. Don't deprive them of food especially at a young age because they need more calories and vitamins for all of the growing they're doing. Your son just may be ahead of the curve in size....maybe he'll be really tall. Good Luck

Answer 6

Babies this young need a lot more than three squares a day.They need to eat often because their little bodies are growing and adjusting to their new environment which unfortunately is filled with germs and disease.Feed him healthy things and lots of it.His appetite will decrease in time but for now he needs food to help him gain strength and a strong immune system.When he gets a little older his appetite will decrease and increase drastically from time to time,but this is no problem as long as he doesn't begin to lose weight or become lethargic.Relax,Everything is okay!!

Answer 7

My son is almost 6 months old and here is the schedule we have him on.

7am: Breakfast-Fruit and Bottle
11am: Lunch- Veggie and Bottle
3pm: Snack- Bottle
7pm: Dinner- Cereal and Bottle

My son loves that we're on a tight schedule. I read somewhere that babies thrive on routine. Anyway, this is what we do and it's definitely worked for us!

Answer 8

It's ok for him to still eat every 4 hours. Actually, it's healthier to eat 6 small meals a day than 3 large meals. As long as he's not overeating and eating a variety of healthy foods, I wouldn't worry about it.

Answer 9

I would check with your pediatrician, but 7 months seems a little young to be worrying about his weight. He is a baby and he needs fat to help his brain develop properly. Just make sure you are giving him healthy foods and not empty calories. Also, try giving him water. He may just be thirsty when he fusses. Or he may be crying for some other reason such as gas or boredom or he may be teething.

Answer 10

I'd check with the doctor. 7 months old and 22 lbs already> My Daughter is 18 mos and is just 23lbs and shes a very healthy eater. Maybe you need to alter the diet.