Do you think that my baby is eating what he needs?

Question

My baby will be 11 months next week. We lost our health insurance in March so he has not been to the doctor since March. I am reading baby books. In the morning he has two tablespoons of rice ceral or oatmeal ceral with 6 ounces of formula. He has a number 3 jar of vegetable or meat in the afternoon and a number 3 jar of fruit in the evening. He has 4 ounces of juice and water during the day. He has a few mor 6 ounce formula bottles during the day. He drinks about 26 ounces a day of formula. At bed time he has another two tablespoons of rice ceral with a 6 ounce bottle. Does this sound okay.

I should clarify that I do not put the cereal in a bottle. I put it in a dish and wet it with some formula and spoon feed him. Also, I apllied for New Jersey Family Health Care for the baby right after we lost our insurance. I call and I call and I have mailed in everything they requested. A social worker called me last week and said I should have the coverage soon for the baby only so I am anxiously awaiting that.

Answer 1

When both my boys were 11 months old, this is what they ate:

1/4 cup baby cereal (mixed with enough water to make it sort of thick) and about a half jar of stage 2 fruits in the morning, about 6 oz. of formula in a sippy cup.

Mid morning: handful of cheerios or starpuffs, or a few ritz crackers and a small piece of cut up fruit for a snack, small cup of water

Lunch: Jar of stage 2 meat and jar of stage 2 vegetable, about 6 oz. formula in a sippy cup

Afternoon snack: Same as morning snack

Dinner: Jar of stage 3 dinner (lasagna, for example) or, if what the family was having for dinner was mild/soft enough, we'd mash that up really well and give it to the baby; 6 oz. formula in a sippy cup

Answer 2

It sounds pretty okay. Babies get most of what they need from breastmilk or formula the first 12 months. You should look into getting low cost kids health insurance through your state government you can qualify even if you make $75,000 a year. We live in New Mexico and my kids have Newmexikids we pay a $5 co-pay for office visits and $10 for prescriptions. My sister lives in IL and her kids have something like that too. Look on your states home page. Good Luck!

Answer 3

As long as your baby is getting enough nutrition, your baby will be fine...beleive me, your baby will let you know!!!!!!! My baby is 8 months old and I gave her breast milk until she was 7 months, I also started solids @ 6 months. She eats whole oat bran and rolled wheat (like oatmeal) for breakfast, kashi mighty bites, crackers, any fruit that I buy at the market...loves mango, for her snacks, and a mixture of meat, veggies, and a starch for lunch and dinner...I give her a bottle when she wakes up in the am of formula now, but lately, she hasn't been drinking much of it...I have kept track of her bms, to make sure that her body is digesting everything...wanted to make sure she wasn't just eating the food and getting no nourishment out of it. She weighs almost 20 lbs now, and she's dense not fat...which would concern me a little if she were...I hope all works out with your insurance, I know how helpless that feels, to be in your situation...hope that is a little help for you...wish you and your little one the best :)

Answer 4

My boys also ate what we were eating at that stage except I held off on the seasoning and salt until I had taken out their portions to be blended or mashed up. I am so sorry you lost your health insurance this happened to us and I did a little research and found out that there are lots of programs out there for people who kind of fall through the cracks. There are health care programs that are primarily for children when a working family loses their health insurance it covers the all the children in the family and is on a sliding scale so that if you are required to pay anything it will be minimal. Please contact your local Department of Social Services or Human Services, whatever it is called in your state, they are there to help you. I know this is a humbling experience for those of us who have always worked and made our own way but you can't afford to make medical decisions concerning your child dictated by your lack of health insurance. Good Luck honey contact me if you want to talk.

Answer 5

why are you still putting cereal in his bottle? I think this is ridiculous for any mother to do....no matter what the age! Everything else sounds ok to me, but i'm not a doctor, just a mother of 2. With all the rice cereal added to his bottles, plus the food, formula and juice...sounds like he is probably on the chubby side...which is ok...chubby babies are cute. are you mixing the cereal with formula because you don't want to take time and 'feed' it to him or are you putting it his bottle to make him sleep longer? And remember, babies also have to see their pediatrician for shots and checkups, not just because they are sick.....have you checked into a income based insurance program? most of those have little to no waiting period and it is highly adviseable to have insurance on your infant,,,,no matter what the cost is. good luck and sounds like you are on the right track to becoming a wonderful mother.

Answer 6

When my son was 11 months he wouldn't eat anything but real food. He wouldnt even let me feed him with a spoon. When they get that old don't worry much.as long as they are eating fruits and vegetables it should be fine. So to me it sounds like a well balanced meal. Try so meat tho. If you want in the baby section at the store they have a small tv dinner like meal. My son loved them at that age, you can try that.

Answer 7

First off, I can relate to how you feel about losing your insurance. That happened to us as well, and it's very scary. But remember that children and babies have been raised for thousands of years without getting baby well-checks. So don't spend one more second worrying about that. You are your baby's mother. You will know when something is wrong.

About the food, that sounds like plenty of food. If a baby or child is given choices and opportunity of having healthy, fresh and tasty food, he or she will eat what his or her body needs. I have had four children and my kids never ate baby food. They were breastfed and then once they started showing an interest in food (for example, reaching out to grab food while I'm eating), I would let them try little bits. I never made special "kid" foods. They just ate whatever I had prepared for my husband and I.
My kids are now 16 through 7, and they are all healthy and fit. They enjoy ALL kinds of food, spinach, fresh tuna, broccolli, salad, etc, etc.
People are always surprised at the food choices my kids choose. but I think the reason is that I always just made what my husband and I liked, and the kids saw us enjoying it and they enjoyed it as well. I never forced them to eat, just let them try it. And even the foods they didn't like at first, oftentimes they came to like it.
Anyway, I know that wasn't really your question. But for an 11-month-old baby, your child seems to be have a good diet. You may want to add some fresh foods, though. You have to remember that baby food is canned, therefore alot of the nutrients have been cooked out. Soft bananas, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, avacados, pasta, there's all sorts of things your child can eat that you can prepare fresh.
Good luck to you! It sounds like you are a very concientious mother.

Answer 8

I'm trying to remeber what my children ate, it wasn't that long ago, but it sounds about right. The only thing I did different was to feed the meat at night so the protein would hold them through the night better.

See if you can find a free clinic for your baby, or apply for Medi-cal until you guys get your insurance back. Your baby is going to need shots at 1yr.

Good luck.

Answer 9

i don't think you need to worry so much. At 11 months, our kids were still nursing and so much of their nutrition came from there. Then, they ate whatever soft foods we were eating, in quantities to suit themselves.

My children wouldn't tolerate 'baby' good or cereals, so it was just all read food. No measuring, counting, just eating until they weren't hungry. Very easy.

I've always hear you should never put cereal in a bottle, but maybe that's just for younger kids.

Answer 10

It sounds fine. But just to let you know you can get your baby state medicaid if you cannot afford health insurance. This is something that you need to do because he needs to see the doctor. This is especially important in the first year of life. Get in contact with your public services office and see how you can get medicaid for your baby. Also if he gets sick what are you going to do. Babies get sick and you have to be prepared.