Is my 9 month old underfeeding?

Question

I worry my 9 month old isn't etin enough, she's jsut not an eater!!! i exclusively pump so she has breastmilk from bottle...
at her 6 month her weight seemd ok...nothing to woryr about, she seems to be growing fine...but she seems real restless at night and seems really hungry when i nurse her at night!!

This si what she eats:
at 5 is her last nursing of the night (eery 2 hrs she has some).its hard! anyways, then: approimate times

7-8: 4 oz milk (and she barely drinks 4 oz at a go!)
10-11: oatmeal or cereal (mind u shes doesnt eat that much food either, not a full quarter cup)
12-1: 4 oz milk
2-3: food
5-530: milk
730 : dinner (depends on her mood sometimes she barely has 3 bites)
800-900: i try 6 ounces, but she drinks between 4 and 6...

I am just wondering i always hear her age babies eating a loott more, and all i want to know is if others are going through this too.

Thanks

Answer 1

She eats about the same as my 9 month old daughter and Alicia is at the perfect height and weight... I wouldn't worry about it... a lot of parents over feed their babies and that could be why they eat more. Your baby's stomach is the size of her fist. That's why she can't eat as much in a sitting but why she still eats every 2 hours or less... which is exactly how she should be eating. I was kind of worried at first about my daughter but I work for a doctor and she reassured me that it's okay. Just make sure that she eats rice and oatmeal at least once a day so that she gets the extra b vitamins that are in it, Good luck!

Answer 2

OK, first, by "milk", I hope you mean breastmilk.

Babies under a year cannot digest the proteins in cow's milk. (Processed milk, like yogurt or cheese is OK because the protein is partly broken down. So is cooked milk (like as an ingredent in something). But no fluid cow's milk till over 1 year.)

If you're worried about her food intake, check her weight gain.

Seriously, breastmilk will be her primary source of nutrition until she's about a year. Follow her cues as to when she's had enough. Offer her healthful snacks throughout the day to complement her breastmilk.

Also... at 9 months, she's probably progressing from spoon-feeding to self-feeding. Try giving her Cheerios instead of oatmeal. Try giving her bite-sized bits she can pick up herseld. (Frozen veggies -- thawed or not -- work well for this.)

At 9 months, she's looking for more control over her eating than when you first introduced cereal. She may respond much better if she does it herself than if you give her foods (like baby cereal) that must be fed TO her.

ANd don't stress on how much she consumes. Really, she won't let herself go hungry!

Answer 3

I have been a mom for 27 years and breast fed all 4 of my children. I have also provided daycare in my home for 20 years. Each baby is different and will eat as much as he/she needs to. At her age, your daughter will not starve herself nor will she overeat. Is she growing? Is she learning new things? Is she happy and healthy? If so, she is probably getting enough nourishment. If she is nursing every 2 hours at night until 5 AM, she may not be using that for nourishment as much as she is for comfort. If you are able to, I might suggest that you eliminate some of the pumping and nurse your daughter more often during the day. Pumping is not as efficient as your baby is at emptying the breast and extracting the hind milk which is higher in fat content and thus more filling and satisfying. If your baby nurses at 5 AM, then try giving her breakfast of cereal and fruit at the 7-8 time frame followed by a nursing or pumped milk in a bottle or in a sippy cup. Give her lunch about 11-12 followed by nursing or pumped milk. After nap, she may not need anything until dinner at the 5-5:30 time followed with nursing or pumped milk. A bedtime snack (a little more ceral perhaps) with a nursing at 8-9 PM and she should sleep through most of the night, possibly waking at 5 AM for a nursing. If she is nursed more during the day, she may not wake so often at night. Her hunger at night may not be hunger at all but her contentment at being able to nurse. I currently have a 9 month old boy in my daycare. He drinks 4-6 ounces of formula at a time. At my house, he eats cereal and fruit about 8:30 followed by a bottle and then vegetables about 12:30 followed by a bottle. He gets another bottle about 4:30 after his nap, but does not always drink very much. So, that seems pretty comprable to what your daughter is eating.

Answer 4

That does sound like not enough. My son is 10 months old and has 8oz formula three times a day, 3-6T oatmeal, 1-2T fruit or veges and a T meat at each meal. Plus he will eat some crackers or fruit or vege puffs after each meal. He eats at 7:30am, 12:00pm, and 5:00pm He is on target for weight and above average for height. He sleeps very well through the night, too. Write down exact amounts for a week and talk to your Pediatrician. He will advise youas to whether he thinks she is eating enough and can give you a list of what kinds and how much food is appropriate for your child and see if mybe something is upsetting her stomach making her want to avoid eating. Hope this helps!

Answer 5

add in fruits and veggies and cut back on the milk. your over feeding her if anything. she doesnt need milk between noon and one and then a meal at two those feedings are too close together space them out more. my son at that age would have cereal and fruit at 8 am he slept through the night veggies at noon and a bottle for a nap when he woke up around three he had another bottle. dinner around six 2 jars of veggies and a bottle before bed around 9pm would be a bowl of cereal and 1-2 ozs of formula bath and bed

Answer 6

Well as a mother of three wonderful girls, i think that as long as your baby is not loosing weight then there is nothing to worry about the doctors and midwives give you guidlines every baby is very different maybe he/she has a small appetite.Little and often is better anyway. Good luck.

Answer 7

I think your feeding her to close together. Try moving up her breakfast to 9. Then space out her feedings around the lunch time and so on. She seems to be getting enough. If you wanted to cut out more bottles so she eats more food, do it gradually and cut out the one she's least interested in. Good luck

Answer 8

i dont know how much will you agree to my idea. but since i am orginially from india and thats how our parents did to us.

at the age your daughter is - we were given - real soft plain white rice with little boiled patoto smashed and mixed and fed for lunch or dinner or 2 times a day. some times with real soft boiled chicken pieces like all crumbled.

so its proteins, vitamins and nutrition food and your child will be healthy along with milk try this new food.

she might not like it for some time but then she will be fine.

Answer 9

She is ok, my friend. With my first child we freaked on everything. She eats the way she wants. You can try and modify it, I would speak to her doctor about this. Best of Luck.

Answer 10

If her weight gain and diaper output are fine, then she is fine.