When Starting Solids- How Often and How Much?
It’s time to start your baby on solids, but now what! One of the most common questions that I get from clients is “how often should I feed my baby and how much should I feed them?” Every baby is different, so no feeding journey will look the same. Some babies will want more food, others will want less. These are recommendations, but it is best to follow your child’s hunger cues and look for signs of fullness. Read my previous article 'Is your baby ready for solids?'
Between 6-7 months, you really only need to feed your child once a day. It is also okay to skip a day now and then in the early weeks.
Between 7-9 months, I recommend feeding about 2x a day.
Between 9-12 months, your baby could be ready for solids up to 3x a day. It is important to watch your child’s hunger cues.
When it comes to offering your child food, it is important to remember that up until 12 months of age, your child’s main source of nutrition will still be from their breastmilk or formula. A lot of times, feeding solids can feel overwhelming, especially if you think that your child isn’t eating enough solids. Please don’t stress! I prefer to let the child guide their food intake, and parent’s respecting their signs of fullness. It is important to remember that it is a parent’s job to offer food, and a child’s job to eat it. Parents should continue to offer food until their child shows signs of disinterest.
How do you know if your child is full?
If you are offering your child purees and they are full, they will turn their head from side to side, indicating that they don’t want anymore. Although it is tempting, don’t try to sneak some spoonful’s into your child’s mouth. We want the child to lean towards the spoon, demonstrating that they want the food
If your baby is fed by baby led weaning-link what is baby led weaning , your child will go from eating and exploring their food to wanting to play with it.
A lot of times I hear from parents that their child ate a certain food one day and didn’t want it the next. That is ok! Continue to offer foods that your child rejects, but don’t try and feed it to them if they don’t want it.