[OakShannon]

I know that at that age my son was eating more solids and taking less forumla. He was also self-feeding a lot of foods. Just looking at your post, it doesn't look like you son is self feeding yet - is that right? It's so individual, though. Kids can grow and eat very differently. I've always heard that a healthy child, if offered adequate food, will eat as much as he/she needs. So if your son really doesn't seem interested in eating any more than that, then maybe it really is just because he is going to be a small boy.

Have you tried offering solids at other times a day? When he gets a jar of baby food, does he seem done when he gets to the end of the jar, or is he still going strong? Maybe he would continue eating? David really liked eating small chunks of squash, sweet potato, tofu, very ripe pear, sticky rice, etc. at that age that he could feed himself. Anything that was soft enough to mash up in his mouth and held together well enough to pick up with his fingers. But that was just him.

Aclee - I would have been seriously annoyed if David's pediatrician had yelled at us for not giving him meat protein! He's STILL never eaten meat - and isn't going to for that matter - and he's a healthy, growing boy.

[sbaglio]

I agree with aclee on the avocado. Our DD loves it, luckily. We usually mix it with pear or banana, then add a drop of vanilla for taste. We also add olive oil to most savory foods, and substitute olive oil in recipes that require vegetable oil. Our DD has been 25%ile her whole life, so she's also on the small side. It's encouraging that your son is meeting or exceeding all his milestones, and is a happy baby - these are huge signs that he's actually doing fine.

ETA: Good on you for having a scale at home! We do too, and it was vital in monitoring our DD's growth several months ago.

[minibus]

My son is a little chunky monkey. 22 lbs, 4 oz at his 9 month check up.

His eating:
6 oz bottle around 5:30 am
Stage 2 food (usually fruit) at 7:45 am
8 oz bottle at 9:30 am
Stage 2 food at 12:15 pm
6 oz bottle at 2:00 pm
Stage 2 (usually mixed with Stage 3) food at 5:00 pm, starting some finger foods
8 oz bottle at 6:15 pm

So ... 3 servings of mostly stage 2 foods (he HATES the meats) - 3.5 oz tubs. A teensy bit of finger foods (generally about a dozen Gerber Puffs. 30 oz formula. He's getting less calories than your son, is also pretty active (pulling up, crawling, cruising).

[Celesyee]

To me, it doesn't sound like he gets enough carbs (rice cereal or oatmeal). Devin eats about 9tbsp of carbs a day, whether it's pasta, rice, oatmeal, or rice cereal.

Have you met his birth parents or do you know anything about their height/weight? My cousin's 10month old baby is only in the 3rd percentile for both weight and height, but it's because of her genetic make-up (mom is 5'5 120lbs and dad is 5'5 115lbs).

Devin used to be VERY chubby...but once he started crawling and cruising he slimmed down. At his 9month appointment he was 21lbs 6oz (70th percentile) and 29"tall (80th percentile).

Here's Devin's schedule:
7:30am 3tbsp oatmeal with 5 tbsp apple sauce (or 1/2 baby french toast with 3tbsp apple sauce, or baby pancake with 3tbsp apple sauce) and 4oz watered down juice

10:30 7oz bottle

12:30 About 1/2cup of food (starch, veggies, and meat)...it's hard to say because he eats table food and/or finger foods with 2oz of water

2:30 Sometimes he has a small snack of 10 puffs or a Baby Mum Mum

3:30 8oz bottle

6:30 Again 1/2cup of food (starch, veggies, and meat) with 2oz water

8:30 8oz bottle

[aclee]

Originally Posted by Amber76

Aclee-3 to 3.5 hours is too long between meals?

it's longer than Ty goes, so maybe my measure is just different. Ty eats something, even a snack about every 2 hours. I guess all kids are different.

[Amber76]

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions!
Ben actually does finger feed himself puffs and cheerios, but since it isn't always easy to tell how much actually makes it in his mouth, I didn't count that in what he eats each day. I also do mix oatmeal into all of his stage 2 foods because he likes it thicker and wants to chew. I just got back from the store buying him an avocado to try!

[aclee]

Originally Posted by Amber76

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions!
Ben actually does finger feed himself puffs and cheerios, but since it isn't always easy to tell how much actually makes it in his mouth, I didn't count that in what he eats each day. I also do mix oatmeal into all of his stage 2 foods because he likes it thicker and wants to chew. I just got back from the store buying him an avocado to try!

I bet he loves it! Ty loves the wholegrain fishies too. That's about as close as he gets to junk food. Well he eats ice cream too...lol.

I used the little tiny pastine star pasta to thicken some of Ty's food at that age. He loves it with roasted chunky squash. Which says a lot cause we had a lot of food issues He still loves it now actually!