Normal amount of pureed solids to feed per meal?

[lkmiscnet]

My 8.5 mo old started on purees 6 weeks ago. I try to feed him breakfast and dinner, but it's still hit or miss. Some meals he only takes a few bites and other meals, he finishes what I've made, but slowly. He is still not ready for any thicker textures as he sticks out his tongue and makes gagging noises when I've tried.

I'm wondering what quantity I should be attempting to feed him at each meal?

I still use a baby multi-grain or oatmeal cereal, which he first started on. I mix either 2 Tbl dry with 2 oz of BM and add in a thawed cube of a pureed veggie or fruit. Or, I just give him the cereal on its own, which is 3 Tbl dry with 2 oz BM.

Is that a normal quantity for me to expect him to be eating per meal? Sometimes if he's only taken a few bites at breakfast, I refrigerate the leftovers and try again at lunchtime and normally can get him to finish it up.

[mergirl]

My 9month old eats almost no solids, pureed or not. He just doesn't like the idea of a spoon coming at him, I think. Our pediatrician wants me to take him to a nutritionist to learn how to eat, but his weight gain seems fine. I think some babies just take their time in learning such a different way of eating. Mine is certainly a creature of habit!

[Girlo]

My dd is 8 months and has been on solids for about 2.5 months. She's taken to them VERY well. She's a big girl (97th perc.) and loves her chow.

I started with a little liquid-y avocado (mixed with EBM) and gradually brought up the thick quotient on that until she could eat the texture of a jar of baby food. She had many days of meals that were just veggies before I introduced any grains in her diet. Now, I only use a grain to thicken up a meal, if necessary; she doesn't get a grain at every meal....today she had none.
Now, I still nurse her about 4x/day....AND she gets 2 solid meals a day - breakfast and dinner. For breakfast, she will get either oat bran (about 3 heaping tsp and cooked with hot water) or plain yogurt (2 heaping Tbsp) mixed with a fruit (a half banana or an entire jar of pureed fruit or unsweetened applesauce). For dinner, she gets 4 cubes of mixed veggies (I love choosing a selection) with either soft tofu or rice cereal. If the 4 cubes aren't too runny, some nights, it'll just be the veggies. I can count on one hand when there have been leftovers....ever.

For the OP's situation, I would just continue serving the single cube and just let your little one decide when they're ready for more....more variety and more thickness. You can't just say "my child is x number of months old, and should be eating x amount". Every kid is different. My dd is eating WAY more than my ds did at this age....and she's eating WAY more than her little friends are right now! Because of her voracious appetite, I'm really working to keep her food choices in check. She gets WAY more veggies during the day than fruit, NO sugar, and very little grains. I don't want to set the stage later on for bad food choices.

[MaddieMay]

I think it just depends on the baby. My DS has been on solids since the holidays and he's a good eater. But like anything, he has his days and he has off days. Since he's breastfed and his feedings haven't decreased, I don't worry about quantities. If he's not interested, I just stop feeding him (or he stops eating whatever is on his tray). If I had to guess, I would say he eats anywhere between 3-6 ounces of whatever we're eating per meal.

[CourtBChase]

My little one is 7 months old and she will have *no part* of purees. She gags and makes horrible faces and I won't push the issue. Lately we have been letting her gnaw on big pieces of soft veggies and fruit, which interestingly she *loves* and does manage to swallow some.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_rFOnkGohit0/S3...0/P2160015.JPG

We have taken the attitude that "before 1, it's just for fun". She gets everything she needs from breastmilk, so eating is just about exploring new tastes and textures and learning to move things around in her mouth and swallow.