How much food does an 11 month old need to eat?

amother

Sun, Aug 30 2020, 9:29 pm

Basically still nurse only when my 11 month baby goes to sleep and sometimes during the night.
How much food does he need to eat? I'm always worried he's hungry

lucky14

Sun, Aug 30 2020, 9:33 pm

Why are you worried? Does he not eat much at meals? What is making you worried about his hunger? Maybe offer more snacks during the day? How much is he eating?

nchr

Sun, Aug 30 2020, 9:38 pm

I think they need around 800-900 calories per day and around 400 should come from formula/breast milk so make sure s/he is esting 400-500 calories of other food. Try to feed the rainbow plus grains. I do three meals and two snacks and one large feed at that age. Also be careful not to forcefeed since it can chv send mixed messages and babies natural can stop feeding when they don't need it (especially careful not to forcefeed a bottle fed baby).

Last edited by nchr on Sun, Aug 30 2020, 9:41 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Sun, Aug 30 2020, 9:41 pm

lucky14 wrote:

Why are you worried? Does he not eat much at meals? What is making you worried about his hunger? Maybe offer more snacks during the day? How much is he eating?

Worried because when he wakes up at night I'm always nervous that he's hungry and I feel bad letting him cry.

lucky14

Sun, Aug 30 2020, 9:52 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Worried because when he wakes up at night I'm always nervous that he's hungry and I feel bad letting him cry.

Does he seem hungry during the day? I give my kids 3 meals and 2 snacks each day (plus more if it seems like they are hungry).
You will get different answers regarding the night feeds. Some people continue those for a long time.
I stopped night feeds a lot earlier than that (so you can guess what my answer would be-unless the dr. says there is a medical reason otherwise).

amother

Royalblue

Sun, Aug 30 2020, 10:19 pm

If your worried his hungry then nurse him in middle of the night. I personally don’t think that’s a big deal at all and it’s definitely far better then letting a child go hungry. If your older baby is crying always offer water as they may be thirsty as well.

amother

Sun, Aug 30 2020, 10:40 pm

Thanks for the responses. Ended up giving him a formula bottle in his crib and he hardly drank it. So now I don't feel guilty I let him cry. Currently trying the Ferber sleep method.....

amother

Royalblue

Sun, Aug 30 2020, 11:54 pm

Isn’t the Ferber method not the best? Like didn’t Ferber himself take back his method? There are gentle ways to get your baby to fall asleep without letting them cry... good luck!

mommy3b2c

Sun, Aug 30 2020, 11:56 pm

According to my pediatrician, 11 month old babies don’t need to eat at all. I exclusively breast feed until my babies are 12 months old.

amother

Mon, Aug 31 2020, 12:26 am

amother [ Royalblue ] wrote:

Isn’t the Ferber method not the best? Like didn’t Ferber himself take back his method? There are gentle ways to get your baby to fall asleep without letting them cry... good luck!

Like what?

amother

Firebrick

Mon, Aug 31 2020, 1:04 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Like what?

Google sleep training methods and try to offer more bottles during the day.

amother

Firebrick

Mon, Aug 31 2020, 1:09 am

mommy3b2c wrote:

According to my pediatrician, 11 month old babies don’t need to eat at all. I exclusively breast feed until my babies are 12 months old.

That’s an unusual viewpoint. Why does she recommend waiting that long?

tichellady

Mon, Aug 31 2020, 1:23 am

amother [ Firebrick ] wrote:

That’s an unusual viewpoint. Why does she recommend waiting that long?

It’s pretty mainstream. You offer food before a year but it’s for practice and fun not because babies need to be eating

amother

Firebrick

Mon, Aug 31 2020, 1:38 am

tichellady wrote:

It’s pretty mainstream. You offer food before a year but it’s for practice and fun not because babies need to be eating

Every pediatrician I had recommended starting solids by 6 months.

amother

Oak

Mon, Aug 31 2020, 8:49 am

tichellady wrote:

It’s pretty mainstream. You offer food before a year but it’s for practice and fun not because babies need to be eating

Yes but it’s also, as you said, for practice. To get them used to different tastes and textures so that when they turn a year they know what they’re doing.

nchr

Mon, Aug 31 2020, 8:52 am

tichellady wrote:

It’s pretty mainstream. You offer food before a year but it’s for practice and fun not because babies need to be eating

Yes, babies need real food before a year. Please do not think it is fun and please discuss it with your child's pediatrician. Obviously another poster's pediatrician recommended something different, but that is not the mainstream opinion at this point.

trixx

Mon, Aug 31 2020, 11:12 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Like what?

Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems

An 11 month old should be able to sleep thru the night without waking for food. Don't offer breast or bottle during the night. Offer more solids during day. And if you offer solids after nursing/bottle, and keep mealtime going until baby is finished (baby led weaning is great for this) - he turns his head away, starts playing instead of eating, crawls away etc - you'll know he had enough to eat. That's intuitive eating.

amother

Pumpkin

Mon, Aug 31 2020, 11:24 am

You offer 2-3 times a day. They will eat what they need.

amother

Lime

Mon, Aug 31 2020, 1:35 pm

4 months ago I was despairing with mine at that age. Now dd is 14 months and is finally starting to eat. She took ages to catch onto the idea of food but now suddenly she's eating fine. If your baby is having wet and dirty diapers as normal and is content, they are fine.

amother

Pink

Tue, Sep 01 2020, 11:33 pm

amother [ Pumpkin ] wrote:

You offer 2-3 times a day. They will eat what they need.

and my daughter will eat what's down there on the bottom right and still want a string cheese or something... Smile