Feeding 9 month olds

Hello! Here is what we currently do for our 9 month old girls. Mind you both my husband and I work full time and we like to feed the kids at home in the morning and at dinner time.

630 am 4.5 oz of BM and oatmeal
1000 am 5.5 oz of BM
200 pm 5.5 oz of BM and 3/4 jar of vegatable or fruit
530 pm 5.5 oz of BM
800 pm 4.5 oz of BM and oatmeal

I have been trying to introduce puffs, mushy noodles, smashed carrots but they don't seem interested.

I am concerned that I am not feeding them enough, they are a healthy weight and seem satisfied but I just "think" it isn't enough.

Any suggestions?

 

I have an 8.5 months schedule (which I did for my mum when she looked after them) and this is how our day panned out then, in relation to feeds:

(ETA: it looks as if this was during a growth spurt)
6.00am 8oz milk
8am Breakfast – Pear or Apple (2 cubes), yoghurt, cereal (mix with a little water), a little lumpy, 1 piece of toast with butter, cut in fingers, drink of water in sippy cup
11-11.15 8oz milk,
12.00 Lunch, main meal, meat & veg, grated cheese on tray, drink of water, fruit puree/pieces after
2.45-3pm 8oz milk
4-4.15pm Dinner, vegies mixed with a little apple/pear, something to chew (like dried bananas, watermelon in a feeder)
4.50-5pm 8oz bottle - this was a hit or miss, sometimes more, sometimes less.
5.30pm In bed

Also have a 10 month schedule:

6.30am 8oz milk in cot
7.45am Breakfast – soft pear, cereal and yoghurt, then corn puffs soaked in milk, piece of toast cut in fingers, no crust, with butter and vegemite, water in sippy
10.30ish 4-6oz milk
11.45am Lunch (meat & vegies, fruit, biscuit or treat)
2.45-3.00pm 4-6oz milk
4.30pm Dinner (vegies, fruit and cracker)
5.00pm Sierra 6oz, Liara 2-4oz
5.15pm Bed, asleep by 5.30pm

I think at this age, it's recommended they have approx 24-32oz per day, but that's formula, I'm not certain with breastmilk. From what I know about baby nutrition, is that breastfed babies are more likely to be lacking in iron from 6months when their iron store from birth depletes, so I can see why you don't think they're eating enough even though they are healthy weights.

You could try adding iron-fortified cereal to breakfast (although not too much as this can constipate) as well as fruit for digestion. Also try adding some finely grated and well cooked meat into their vegetables. Chicken and lamb are great tasting meat for babies. Until recently I gave my girls dinner at lunch time, as this is when I tried new foods with them and it gave me some time to see if there were any reactions.

A good baby food site is www.wholesomebabyfood.com she has some very simple and easy to follow recipes. I made big batches and froze them (I still do)... making healthy food for babies can be really easy (even when you are working) - give it a try, you'll be amazed at how much they can eat

 

At 9 months, my singleton was doing roughly:

6:30am nurse
8:00am breakfast (whatever we were having - usually some combo of cheerios, scrambled eggs, fruit & yogurt, toast with jam, etc)
9:00am nurse
11:30am lunch (again, whatever we were having - veggies or fruit with cheese, chicken, ground beef, etc)
1:30pm nurse
3:00pm - 4:00pm usually nursed a couple of times - "drive by"
5:00pm dinner (same as the rest of us - pasta, casseroles, veggies, fruit for dessert, etc)
6:30pm nurse
10:30pm nurse
Then overnight it's usually an all night co-sleeping buffet. :laughing:

We skipped purees entirely & went straight to table food when Emmett started solids at 6.5 months. He can eat pretty much anything now, with little issue, although I still peel some fruits & veggies. You can read more about this approach here.

As Tas mentioned, iron can be a concern for some babes - premature & low birth weight babes are at higher risk of iron-deficiency anemia and a lot of twins fall into those categories. If you'd like to read more about that you can here.

I would encourage you to trust your babies! Before one, food is just for fun. The majority of their nutrition should still be from breast milk/formula. Other food is supplemental & an opportunity to introduce flavors & textures & a chance for your babies to learn how to move food around in their mouth, chew & swallow. If they are a healthy weight & they are satisfied then they are doing fine! I promise. :good:

 

Thank you ladies! I willl check out your refrence sites today...

 

With my boys it goes a little something like this;

7am - 6 oz formula
10am - juice, 4 oz baby food, and a handful or two of snacks (yogurt melts, puffs, arrowroot cookies)
1pm - 7 oz formula
4pm -juice, 6 oz baby food, snacks
7pm - 7 oz formula and put to bed

If they wake at the same time in the middle of the night the only way I can get them back to sleep is to feed them so ill do a 6oz bottle. The nights my husband is home he can console one and I the other so they go to sleep with no bottle but I alone have to give them the bottle because I can't comfort both.
This has been working great for me, they are at a healthy weight and a little above average size for 9mo. They are off the charts for preemies but not overweight or chunky. I know I'm feeding them plenty bc they never cry for more and don't fuss in between.