Ask Me Help Desk - How should I go about feeding my 5 month old son

My son just turned 5 months and Im a new mom as well, I decided to try feeding him solids this month. And he did pretty well at it, But Im wondering How much solid food should I be feeding him in a feeding and should I follow up with formula after or later on in the day. I just don't want to give him what he doesn't need, since sometimes he eats a whole thing of veggies or fruit when I feed it to him and I'm not sure if I'm suppose to feed him that much at a time.

Honestly feed him the amount that makes you feel comfortable, I did that with my daughter. She's healthy and well. I would make my regular meal throw a cup in the food processor to purée it and then portion them to the amount that makes them full [you'll soon find out that either 1/4 or 1/2 cup makes him full, once you know you'll be able to portion his food and have pre-pureed food ready to go!]. Make some roast beef throw some potatoes and veggies grind it up- presto he'll be a healthy boy =)

In the morning give him some formula/breast milk, afternoon give him some food with some water, make formula a in between snack between lunch and dinner, then for dinner give him some more food then at night his formula!

That's how I did it and well it worked for me=)

MRS.S

Just be sure he is taking in an adequate amount of formula each day... as this will be his main source of nutrition in the first year. Think of solids as a compliment to the formula. When starting with solids, it is suggested to offer the formula first and follow-up with a little of the solids. This way you can be sure they aren't filling up on the solids and then not taking in as much formula as they should. They often will gladly eat more solids if you offer it first, but they will not get the same amount of nutrients from the solids as they would from the formula.

Unlike older children and adults, who have a drink as the side to their food... infants will have some solids as a side to their milk. During the first year you will see a gradual increase in solids intake and decrease in milk intake.

Be sure to offer only one new solid at a time for several days before trying another. This would make it easier to determine which food might be the culprit if he were to have any problems with them.

Please let me also add to start with veggies and wait until later on with fruits. Fruits are sweet and babies will tend to turn their noses up at the veggies in preference for the fruits. This can tend to make a picky eater. It also carries with it a good deal more sugar (natural sugars) than the veggies.

Another thing to remember is to add one new food a week. If your baby has any food allergies this will be the best way to easily narrow down which food the baby is allergic to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoulaLC

Just be sure he is taking in an adequate amount of formula each day...as this will be his main source of nutrition in the first year. Think of solids as a compliment to the formula. When starting out with solids, it is suggested to offer the formula first and followup with a little of the solids. This way you can be sure they aren't filling up on the solids and then not taking in as much formula as they should. They often will gladly eat more solids if you offer it first, but they will not get the same amount of nutrients from the solids as they would from the formula.

Unlike older children and adults, who have a drink as the side to their food.....infants will have some solids as a side to their milk. During the first year you will see a gradual increase in solids intake and decrease in milk intake.

Be sure to offer only one new solid at a time for several days before trying another. This would make it easier to determine which food might be the culprit if he were to have any problems with them.

Totally agree. Although I think by around 8-9 months if your child is eating a healthy variety and quantity of solid food, you can switch it up and start offering solids first and then formula. By the time you get to 12 months, formula or milk will complement solids and they will be getting most of their nutrition from solid food at that point.