What am I doing wrong? Baby formula?

Question

My 9 month old drink 11 cans of baby formula a month. Is this normal? When is the best time to start her on second foods?
Help!

The doctor told me to start her at 6 months on baby food. I've been giving her 1st foods, because when she eats 2nd foods she seems to get constipated. The cans I'm giving her are 12.9 ounces of Lipil Enfamil

I give her 6 ounces every 3 hours

Answer 1

You can start 2nd foods at 6 months. She needs to start eating solids that will take down the amount of milk she drinks.

Answer 2

Older baby should drinks less formula now because they should be eating more solids. Drinking too much formula and not consuming enough solids can cause constipation. The rules here is that babies older than 6 mos should drink no more than 28-32 oz/24 hr. They need room for solids for their growing needs and calories needs. Pay attention to how much he actually drinks, not just how much you made. Keep baby physicall active by rolling, crawling, and walking, to reduce constipation.

Did you try all the baby cereal, one at a time (preferably in this sequence-->rice, wheat, barely, and mixed last)? If not, start on that. It's rich in all nutrients that bb needs. See instruction on box to mix it properly.

Wait a few days when trying new foods so if bb has allergic reactions, you can pinpoint what food cause the reactions.
Once you know most foods are safe, try offering high fiber foods (mainly homemade baby foods); fiber is known to soften stools and makes passing easier. You can call the local WIC Program for infant feeding information. They have excellent infant feeding resources! The internet has a wealth of resources as well. Good questions you asked there. Happy feeding!

Answer 3

At 9 months she should already be off the bottle. Make sure she gets 3 meals a day. She can have baby cereal or cream of wheat, cream of rice, or malt-o-meal with fruit in the am. Lunch could be baby food chichen and rice, stew, turkey and veggies, etc. along with some type baby veggies and fruit. Then dinner can be some of the same type foods as lunch. Only give her her 2% milk in a sippy cup. If she demands a bottle only put water in it. She'll soon learn the good stuff is in the cup. Give her baby juices during the day. Also, she might like snacks between meals that can be fresh bananas, grapes, cantaloup, or baby cookies and milk. She's old enough to be eating from the table. Just use good judgement on the foods you feed her. Cream corn, mashed potatoes, english peas, etc. Nothing that can choak her. Get her off that bottle!!!!

Answer 4

Totally normal. All of my children had at least that amount of formula. You should only worry if your child isn't producing enough diapers equal to his/her intake.
As far as the second foods go, it is best to ask your pediatrician. HOWEVER, every child is different, and nobody knows your child better than you, and therefore, nobody can tell you how to do it. I have three small children of my own, and I only followed the doctor's advice when I thought it applied to them. The doctor's information is only what they read in a book. They don't know your baby like you do. All three of my kids progressed differently. (Walking, talking, eating, etc.).
The best advice that I can give is to try it. If your child doesn't digest it properly, wait a while and try it again. This also applies to foods they don't like.
Beware of the over feeding factor. While some "chunky" babies are perfectly healthy (and cute), too much is still too much!
Hope this helps, and good luck as a mom.
P.S. All of my children are in perfect health and none of them are overweight.

Answer 5

My kids would have eaten and eaten if I let them. I had to set a limit. After a few minutes they wouldn't care for anymore, but if I had an ample supply of formula, they would have kept on drinking. As long as they can go the 2 1/2 to 3 hours before needing another bottle, they are fine. how many ounces are you giving her and how often? Give her other foods besides jarred food. Cheerios, peas, cut up bananas. Things that are small.

Answer 6

how many cans isn't the issue. you may have a different size can than another. make sure you are mixing the formula correctly and then figure out how many ounces of milk she is getting in a day. at her age she should be drinking roughly 32 ounces a day. if she hasn't already you can (after discussing it with her dr.) start her on cereals, such as rice, and then slowly add some fruits and vegetables. at this age she would almost be ready for finger foods, but you will still need to ease her into it.

check out this site for an age guide to baby feeding.
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babyfeeding/1400680.html#4


good luck to you.

Answer 7

If she's going through 6 ounces every three hours, she's trying to tell you that she's still hungry and the formula just isn't doing enough for her. I would give her some easily digestible foods to start with....no cheese or milk products if she's having constipation. But things like veggies or dried fruits should be just fine for her.

Answer 8

Absolutely normal....WIC gives you nine cans of formula a month and tell you that you'll have to supplement by buying a few more...so it's normal!!! your baby can start stage two foods now. The first year of life formula is more important than food...give her cereal mixed with formula when she wakes up, then a bottle a bottle an hour or two later, then lunch followed by a bottle an hour or two after that, then dinner and a bottle before bed. It worked for my son. good luck to ya!!

Answer 9

at 9 months my daughter was eating scrambled eggs, mash potato's, as well as the Gerber foods. How are you mixing the second stage foods. are you putting it in his cereal. Giving it by themselves. My youngest is 4 months old eating cereal, fruit, and i still go through 10 cans ( powdered) a month. He is healthy:). Your child may have a fast metabolism. It may be a texture thing. If overly concerned talk to his ped.

Answer 10

you can start foods now!! when you start the food, your daughter should cut down the formula naturally. have you offered other things to drink? watered down juice or just water? my daughter went thru about 8 or 9 1 lb jars of formula a month so i think she is okay. but definately start the baby food, so she gets the nutrition from other things as well! good luck!