Infant vs. Food

[Chatter Box]

So I have an infant. She's 7 months old. I need to ask if I'm crazy because I don't feel as though she's being fed enough. I also don't feel like she's developmentally where she should be probably because she's not eating right however she does go to the doctor once a month due to the fact that she was born with an issue to her sinus cavity and acid reflux.

Basically when she started her mom wrote me out a note that says that she is fed 1/2 a 4 oz jar of baby food & 2 tsps of oatmeal at 10am and she will probably still act hungry. If she still screams after an hour to go ahead and give a 4 oz bottle of formula. Repeat at 1pm. The child is here from 7:50am till 4:30-5:10 (depending on who is picking her up). So I'm lead to believe that she only wants me to give her formula if I think she's hungry enough for it but I feel like even with the formula she's probably still not eating enough through out the day.

She's rolling from her back to her belly but not from her belly to her back. She is barely pushing herself up. She is very tall for her age but I feel like she's so waif. She is so boney! There is nothing to her really. I feel like if she were eating more she might have more energy and might be progressing faster.

Am I wrong?

[Chatter Box]

I was feeding her a little more but I think her mom is limiting what she brings now because she doesn't want me feeding her more.

They are a nice family. She is a sweet baby. I would think the doctor would talk to them if they had concerns but I still feel like she should be eating quite a bit more. I don't want to offend them at the same time...

[Willow]

I don't think you're wrong at all. And her deficits could definitely be due to a lack of nutrients. If you're not eating enough there's no way you're going to have enough energy to do much of anything!

My 5 month olds (here from 7:15/8-3:30) have 6oz bottles at breakfast with a couple of tablespoons of rice cereal. A couple ounce bottle around 10am. Another 6 ounce bottle with a couple of tablespoons of rice cereal at noon and they top it off with a couple ounce bottle around 3pm.

I would expect they'd be eating loads more by 7 months of age.


My food program gave me a great "Infant Meal Pattern" magnet for quick reference.

For children ages 4-7 months:
Breakfast - 4-8 fluid ounces of breastmilk or iron fortified infant formula and an optional 0-3 Tbsp infant cereal

Snack - 4-6 fluid ounces of breastmilk or formula

Lunch - 4-8 fluid ounces of breastmilk or formula, optional 0-3 Tbs infant cereal and/or optional 0-3 Tbsp fruit and/or veg.

Snack - 4-6 fluid ounces of breastmilk or formula



To compare when she hits 8 months what is *required* to be fed:

Breakfast - 6-8 ounces, 2-4 Tbsp infant cereal AND 1-4 Tbsp fruit or veg.

Snack - 2-4 ounces formula or 100% fruit juice and (optional) 1/2 slice break or up to 2 crackers

Lunch - 6-8 ounces
(one of)
2-4 Tbsp infant cereal
1-4 Tbsp meat
1/2-2 ounces cheese
and
1-4 Tbsp fruit and or veg

Snack - 2-4 ounces formula or 100% fruit juice and (optional) 1/2 slice break or up to 2 crackers




A good go if you don't know how to address it is to let the parents know you've been reading up on nutrition more because that's important to you. If you're not on a food program share with them that you've learned all federally funded food programs expect a child her age to be eating such and such amount and you need to start implementing that in your home. If there is a medical issue and her pediatrician thinks she needs to eat less you'd feel much more comfortable having a note from him/her advising how much is recommended instead.

It's possible that they just don't know she should be eating much more at this point.

[blandino]

She should be getting a lot more formula than that in a day. The food isn't a necessity at her age, but the formula is. Food program guidelines would want her to have 3 bottles a day that were 4-6 oz. Even if you aren't on a food program, those are food guidelines to follow. Most babies that age take a bottle every 3 hours (maybe a little longer once they start eating food). Our licensing guidelines state that babies should be fed on demand, and no child can go more than 4 hours without being fed. So if your state has similar guidelines, I would use those guidelines to talk to the mom about feeding her more. And say you HAVE to be feeding her more and more often.

Aside from the child being hungry, that is just not enough nutrition for one day.

[Chatter Box]

Where would I look for food regulations regarding this? I am legally unlicensed. I don't really follow a specific meal plan but I've been curious about it. I have no idea where I would even look.

[countrymom]

this is why I supply all baby food. Not only do I know that its not expired but then I feed the children how much I think they need. And baby food isn't going to kill anyone budget. Also, I found that by adding cereal in with baby food is really good too because it makes it thicker and makes the child full too. Does she get enough tummy time, maybe at home she doesn't thats why she doesn't know how to roll.

[itlw8]

It is not enough I would need to know WHY she is limited on food and formula.

I would print off the USDA guideline and underline where it says those are minimum servings. I would then give it to mom and point out those are minimum/

Then I would print out what she says to serve and ask her to take it to the dr and have him sign it stating this is all the food the child is to eat and why. He needs to write it on the feeding schedule she provided so you know for sure. I would want him to state the USDA minimum guidlines are not appropriate for this child and why.

If mom is severely under feeding and it is not dr orders it could be considered neglect and you are participating. Cover your butt and get everything in writing. It could be money they are tring to save. If so guide them to WIC ( if in the STates)

[blandino]

I couldn't find requirements in Indianas guidelines. The only thing I found was that children over a year have to be fed at least every 3.5 hours.

The CACFP food program guidelines are national, and can be googled. Those are based on national standards, so they would be helpful to show her when talking about it.

I would at minimum start buying the child baby food or even just cereal to feed her. Is the mom sending pre-made bottles each day ? If you are making the bottles, I would feed the child whenever she seemed hungry.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

4 ounces is wayyyy too little of an amount, and when it comes to formula/breastmilk infants are not "greedy" or "fat" and can't be overfed.
Please feed that baby some food. She's starving.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care/Infants.htm

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care/Reg...2002-05-28.pdf --- look at page 7. It shows the lunch patterns for infants ages 4-7 months. 4-8 ounces of formula/breastmilk, 0-3 tablespoons of infant cereal, and 0-3 tablespoons of fruit or vegetable or both.

[Chatter Box]

I was feeding her more here. Her mom dropped her off (she's been here 2 weeks) with about 8 jars of food and i was giving the whole jar with oatmeal for each feeding twice and I put a note on the door on Wednesday that she was out of food. She brought one jar today....

So not looking forward to this conversation. I thought about just feeding her more food while she's here but that doesn't help her on the weekends and when she's not here.

[Chatter Box]

4 ounces is wayyyy too little of an amount, and when it comes to formula/breastmilk infants are not "greedy" or "fat" and can't be overfed.
Please feed that baby some food. She's starving.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care/Infants.htm

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care/Reg...2002-05-28.pdf --- look at page 7. It shows the lunch patterns for infants ages 4-7 months. 4-8 ounces of formula/breastmilk, 0-3 tablespoons of infant cereal, and 0-3 tablespoons of fruit or vegetable or both.

This is what I needed. I had no idea where to find it. Thank you!! happyface

[AfterSchoolMom]

Wow, that's not very much at all. My own baby is 3 months old and has about 20 ounces of formula between 7am and 6pm!

[renodeb]

The calories, and nutrition are in the formula not the foods (at that age). At that age the baby should be getting atleast 2-3 full bottles a day. You are not crazy. I think you need to ask mom why she is limiting the babies foods so much at dc. Be understanding and tactful but you need to find out. I have have had all kinds of weird theries on feeding babies in my dc. Is she a first time mom? They can be a little on the nutty side with stuff like that.
Deb

[Scout]

this is why I supply all baby food. Not only do I know that its not expired but then I feed the children how much I think they need. And baby food isn't going to kill anyone budget. Also, I found that by adding cereal in with baby food is really good too because it makes it thicker and makes the child full too. Does she get enough tummy time, maybe at home she doesn't thats why she doesn't know how to roll.

Do you supply just baby food or formula as well? If formula as well, I am afraid I have to respectfully disagree about it breaking someone's budget. The cost of formula is specifically what DID break our budget when my first was young. This is one of the main reasons my second ds never had the stuff! But, baby food itself can be pretty reasonable.

[Bugsworthy]

My ds is 7mo. At 5 a.m. He drinks 6 oz. of formula. At 9 am, He eats a full, stage 2 jar of fruit w/about 2oz of cereal and formula. Followed by a 3 or 4 oz bottle. Around 12/1:00, he eats a full jar of veggies w/about 2 oz of cereal and formula. Followed by a 3 or 4 oz bottle. At 4:00 pm, He has a 6 oz bottle. Around 6 pm, he has a jar of stage 2 baby food (mainly because our family is eating, and he seems to like to eat when we do.) about 11 pm, he will have a 6 oz bottle.