Ms. Mary Silva
Specializing in feeding and nutrition.
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 Ask Mary Silva
Feeding Schedule for a Hungry Six-Month-Old | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Ms. Silva,
I need a guideline for feeding my baby. Do you have any example daily menus that show suggested feeding schedules with serving sizes and frequency? I used to have one from the WIC program 11 years ago with my first baby, but I seem to have forgotten a lot of the basics. I'm feeding him 1/4 C. of rice with bananas, cereal and first foods fruit in the morning, a first foods fruit and veggie in the afternoon, and a veggie and plain rice cereal in the evening. When do I cross over to the larger jars? My son never seems to get full and is in the 95 percentile for his height and weight. I don't want to over feed him, but at the same time he is bigger than most babies his age. It seems that he needs more for his rapid growth spurts. He is six months old, 28" tall, and 21-1/2 lbs. My daughter was 22 lbs at two years of age but very tall.— Cher in Palmer, Alaska | | | ANSWER |
March 22, 2001 | | | Dear Cher,
This is a question many parents have about feeding their babies. Generally, six-month-old babies eat solid foods three to four times a day. Feedings usually consist of one quarter to one half cup of iron fortified infant cereal once or twice a day and the same amount of strained fruit or vegetables once or twice a day.
As you point out, babies come in different sizes and have different appetites. Your baby is bigger than average, therefore he needs more food than others. At some feedings he may want to have as much as three fourths cup (the size of the large jars of commercial baby food) or you might just start adding another feeding.
To avoid overfeeding, look for the signals he gives you when he's full and avoid the temptation to feed him another spoonful to finish the jar of food or to keep him satisfied longer.
The WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) is a good source of nutrition information, and you can find information about your local office at www.fns.usda.gov/wic.— by Mary Silva, M.S., R.D. |
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