We have an almost 5 month old and we are so caught up in how much she eats, its making us crazy. We are currently feeding her about 8 oz of formula 4 times a day, sometimes she eats 9 or 10 oz. We just started adding in rice cereal at about 2 of those feedings and she's taking a couple tbs of that. Is there a certain number of calories that CF babies should eat? She had a meconium ileus at birth and has done well in the weight department, but we are so afraid of getting behind. Any advice for these first time parents?
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Nutrition for a 5 month old
- Thread starter ajb900
- Start date
We have an almost 5 month old and we are so caught up in how much she eats, its making us crazy. We are currently feeding her about 8 oz of formula 4 times a day, sometimes she eats 9 or 10 oz. We just started adding in rice cereal at about 2 of those feedings and she's taking a couple tbs of that. Is there a certain number of calories that CF babies should eat? She had a meconium ileus at birth and has done well in the weight department, but we are so afraid of getting behind. Any advice for these first time parents?
We have an almost 5 month old and we are so caught up in how much she eats, its making us crazy. We are currently feeding her about 8 oz of formula 4 times a day, sometimes she eats 9 or 10 oz. We just started adding in rice cereal at about 2 of those feedings and she's taking a couple tbs of that. Is there a certain number of calories that CF babies should eat? She had a meconium ileus at birth and has done well in the weight department, but we are so afraid of getting behind. Any advice for these first time parents?
We have an almost 5 month old and we are so caught up in how much she eats, its making us crazy. We are currently feeding her about 8 oz of formula 4 times a day, sometimes she eats 9 or 10 oz. We just started adding in rice cereal at about 2 of those feedings and she's taking a couple tbs of that. Is there a certain number of calories that CF babies should eat? She had a meconium ileus at birth and has done well in the weight department, but we are so afraid of getting behind. Any advice for these first time parents?
We have an almost 5 month old and we are so caught up in how much she eats, its making us crazy. We are currently feeding her about 8 oz of formula 4 times a day, sometimes she eats 9 or 10 oz. We just started adding in rice cereal at about 2 of those feedings and she's taking a couple tbs of that. Is there a certain number of calories that CF babies should eat? She had a meconium ileus at birth and has done well in the weight department, but we are so afraid of getting behind. Any advice for these first time parents?
S
sdelorenzo
Guest
Great book for you to read - Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter. You can get it on Amazon. It really helped me feed my second child (also with cf) well. The book goes through what a baby should be eating and what age. It also addresses special needs babies. The only thing you can do is offer high calorie foods when your child is hungry. Children and babies will only eat what and how much of what they want. You will always hear "how many" calories you cf baby will need. But as my children's pediatrician says, babies don't read how much they need to eat. I had tons of feeding problems with my daughter starting at a month of age. My best advice is to try not to get too worked up about how much your baby is eating. I know it is hard when their weight is a concern. The dietitians often don't know this, but how many much your baby eats is out of your control. Babies do best when they get to decide how much they eat. The more you force, the less they eat. I learned the hard way. My daughter is 8 and I still have to pick up the fork to feed her. Let your baby try and feed themselves soon. I have a baby who is 6.5 months old. He is sitting at a highchair a few times a day putting cheerios in his mouth. He is also feeding himself bananas and shaved turkey meat. He is starting to want my older kids foods (pasta, yogart, etc). So he is now eating that at meal times too. I wanted to control my daughter (first born with cf) so much as a baby that I just kept feeding her baby food because I was in control. Big mistake. With my son, he screamed when I would open a jar of baby food about 9 months old. Good thing, because it was so much easier for him and me if he would eat regular food. He also learned to enjoy eating. Just try and enjoy feeding times. Weight gain for our kids is a life long struggle. I would just focus on getting your baby to enjoy eating so it is less of a struggle later on.
Sharon, mom of Sophia, 8 and Jack, 5 both with cf, Grant, 6 months no cf
Sharon, mom of Sophia, 8 and Jack, 5 both with cf, Grant, 6 months no cf
S
sdelorenzo
Guest
Great book for you to read - Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter. You can get it on Amazon. It really helped me feed my second child (also with cf) well. The book goes through what a baby should be eating and what age. It also addresses special needs babies. The only thing you can do is offer high calorie foods when your child is hungry. Children and babies will only eat what and how much of what they want. You will always hear "how many" calories you cf baby will need. But as my children's pediatrician says, babies don't read how much they need to eat. I had tons of feeding problems with my daughter starting at a month of age. My best advice is to try not to get too worked up about how much your baby is eating. I know it is hard when their weight is a concern. The dietitians often don't know this, but how many much your baby eats is out of your control. Babies do best when they get to decide how much they eat. The more you force, the less they eat. I learned the hard way. My daughter is 8 and I still have to pick up the fork to feed her. Let your baby try and feed themselves soon. I have a baby who is 6.5 months old. He is sitting at a highchair a few times a day putting cheerios in his mouth. He is also feeding himself bananas and shaved turkey meat. He is starting to want my older kids foods (pasta, yogart, etc). So he is now eating that at meal times too. I wanted to control my daughter (first born with cf) so much as a baby that I just kept feeding her baby food because I was in control. Big mistake. With my son, he screamed when I would open a jar of baby food about 9 months old. Good thing, because it was so much easier for him and me if he would eat regular food. He also learned to enjoy eating. Just try and enjoy feeding times. Weight gain for our kids is a life long struggle. I would just focus on getting your baby to enjoy eating so it is less of a struggle later on.
Sharon, mom of Sophia, 8 and Jack, 5 both with cf, Grant, 6 months no cf
Sharon, mom of Sophia, 8 and Jack, 5 both with cf, Grant, 6 months no cf
S
sdelorenzo
Guest
Great book for you to read - Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter. You can get it on Amazon. It really helped me feed my second child (also with cf) well. The book goes through what a baby should be eating and what age. It also addresses special needs babies. The only thing you can do is offer high calorie foods when your child is hungry. Children and babies will only eat what and how much of what they want. You will always hear "how many" calories you cf baby will need. But as my children's pediatrician says, babies don't read how much they need to eat. I had tons of feeding problems with my daughter starting at a month of age. My best advice is to try not to get too worked up about how much your baby is eating. I know it is hard when their weight is a concern. The dietitians often don't know this, but how many much your baby eats is out of your control. Babies do best when they get to decide how much they eat. The more you force, the less they eat. I learned the hard way. My daughter is 8 and I still have to pick up the fork to feed her. Let your baby try and feed themselves soon. I have a baby who is 6.5 months old. He is sitting at a highchair a few times a day putting cheerios in his mouth. He is also feeding himself bananas and shaved turkey meat. He is starting to want my older kids foods (pasta, yogart, etc). So he is now eating that at meal times too. I wanted to control my daughter (first born with cf) so much as a baby that I just kept feeding her baby food because I was in control. Big mistake. With my son, he screamed when I would open a jar of baby food about 9 months old. Good thing, because it was so much easier for him and me if he would eat regular food. He also learned to enjoy eating. Just try and enjoy feeding times. Weight gain for our kids is a life long struggle. I would just focus on getting your baby to enjoy eating so it is less of a struggle later on.
Sharon, mom of Sophia, 8 and Jack, 5 both with cf, Grant, 6 months no cf
Sharon, mom of Sophia, 8 and Jack, 5 both with cf, Grant, 6 months no cf
S
sdelorenzo
Guest
Great book for you to read - Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter. You can get it on Amazon. It really helped me feed my second child (also with cf) well. The book goes through what a baby should be eating and what age. It also addresses special needs babies. The only thing you can do is offer high calorie foods when your child is hungry. Children and babies will only eat what and how much of what they want. You will always hear "how many" calories you cf baby will need. But as my children's pediatrician says, babies don't read how much they need to eat. I had tons of feeding problems with my daughter starting at a month of age. My best advice is to try not to get too worked up about how much your baby is eating. I know it is hard when their weight is a concern. The dietitians often don't know this, but how many much your baby eats is out of your control. Babies do best when they get to decide how much they eat. The more you force, the less they eat. I learned the hard way. My daughter is 8 and I still have to pick up the fork to feed her. Let your baby try and feed themselves soon. I have a baby who is 6.5 months old. He is sitting at a highchair a few times a day putting cheerios in his mouth. He is also feeding himself bananas and shaved turkey meat. He is starting to want my older kids foods (pasta, yogart, etc). So he is now eating that at meal times too. I wanted to control my daughter (first born with cf) so much as a baby that I just kept feeding her baby food because I was in control. Big mistake. With my son, he screamed when I would open a jar of baby food about 9 months old. Good thing, because it was so much easier for him and me if he would eat regular food. He also learned to enjoy eating. Just try and enjoy feeding times. Weight gain for our kids is a life long struggle. I would just focus on getting your baby to enjoy eating so it is less of a struggle later on.
Sharon, mom of Sophia, 8 and Jack, 5 both with cf, Grant, 6 months no cf
Sharon, mom of Sophia, 8 and Jack, 5 both with cf, Grant, 6 months no cf
S
sdelorenzo
Guest
Great book for you to read - Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter. You can get it on Amazon. It really helped me feed my second child (also with cf) well. The book goes through what a baby should be eating and what age. It also addresses special needs babies. The only thing you can do is offer high calorie foods when your child is hungry. Children and babies will only eat what and how much of what they want. You will always hear "how many" calories you cf baby will need. But as my children's pediatrician says, babies don't read how much they need to eat. I had tons of feeding problems with my daughter starting at a month of age. My best advice is to try not to get too worked up about how much your baby is eating. I know it is hard when their weight is a concern. The dietitians often don't know this, but how many much your baby eats is out of your control. Babies do best when they get to decide how much they eat. The more you force, the less they eat. I learned the hard way. My daughter is 8 and I still have to pick up the fork to feed her. Let your baby try and feed themselves soon. I have a baby who is 6.5 months old. He is sitting at a highchair a few times a day putting cheerios in his mouth. He is also feeding himself bananas and shaved turkey meat. He is starting to want my older kids foods (pasta, yogart, etc). So he is now eating that at meal times too. I wanted to control my daughter (first born with cf) so much as a baby that I just kept feeding her baby food because I was in control. Big mistake. With my son, he screamed when I would open a jar of baby food about 9 months old. Good thing, because it was so much easier for him and me if he would eat regular food. He also learned to enjoy eating. Just try and enjoy feeding times. Weight gain for our kids is a life long struggle. I would just focus on getting your baby to enjoy eating so it is less of a struggle later on.
<br />Sharon, mom of Sophia, 8 and Jack, 5 both with cf, Grant, 6 months no cf
<br />Sharon, mom of Sophia, 8 and Jack, 5 both with cf, Grant, 6 months no cf
The first time that Luke was in patient, the nutritionist at the hospital told us to try to get him to eat 100-150 calories per kiligram of his body weight. (I think you divide the pounds by 2.2 to figure out the kilograms). But that may be the "catch up" rate because he was really underweight at the time. But I agree with Sharon--you can drive yourself crazy with this stuff and at the end of the day they are going to be like any on other baby/toddler. They are going to eat what they want to eat. It is a good idea to try to add calories wherever and whenever you can. We concentrated Luke's formula to higher calories so that at each feeding he was getting more. We also added cereal. It gets easier to add calories as they get older. There are just more options--more stuff you can butter, add cheese to, drown in syrup and ranch dressing! lol.
Angela, Mom to 7 including Luke 2 yrs. old w/CF
Angela, Mom to 7 including Luke 2 yrs. old w/CF
The first time that Luke was in patient, the nutritionist at the hospital told us to try to get him to eat 100-150 calories per kiligram of his body weight. (I think you divide the pounds by 2.2 to figure out the kilograms). But that may be the "catch up" rate because he was really underweight at the time. But I agree with Sharon--you can drive yourself crazy with this stuff and at the end of the day they are going to be like any on other baby/toddler. They are going to eat what they want to eat. It is a good idea to try to add calories wherever and whenever you can. We concentrated Luke's formula to higher calories so that at each feeding he was getting more. We also added cereal. It gets easier to add calories as they get older. There are just more options--more stuff you can butter, add cheese to, drown in syrup and ranch dressing! lol.
Angela, Mom to 7 including Luke 2 yrs. old w/CF
Angela, Mom to 7 including Luke 2 yrs. old w/CF
The first time that Luke was in patient, the nutritionist at the hospital told us to try to get him to eat 100-150 calories per kiligram of his body weight. (I think you divide the pounds by 2.2 to figure out the kilograms). But that may be the "catch up" rate because he was really underweight at the time. But I agree with Sharon--you can drive yourself crazy with this stuff and at the end of the day they are going to be like any on other baby/toddler. They are going to eat what they want to eat. It is a good idea to try to add calories wherever and whenever you can. We concentrated Luke's formula to higher calories so that at each feeding he was getting more. We also added cereal. It gets easier to add calories as they get older. There are just more options--more stuff you can butter, add cheese to, drown in syrup and ranch dressing! lol.
Angela, Mom to 7 including Luke 2 yrs. old w/CF
Angela, Mom to 7 including Luke 2 yrs. old w/CF
The first time that Luke was in patient, the nutritionist at the hospital told us to try to get him to eat 100-150 calories per kiligram of his body weight. (I think you divide the pounds by 2.2 to figure out the kilograms). But that may be the "catch up" rate because he was really underweight at the time. But I agree with Sharon--you can drive yourself crazy with this stuff and at the end of the day they are going to be like any on other baby/toddler. They are going to eat what they want to eat. It is a good idea to try to add calories wherever and whenever you can. We concentrated Luke's formula to higher calories so that at each feeding he was getting more. We also added cereal. It gets easier to add calories as they get older. There are just more options--more stuff you can butter, add cheese to, drown in syrup and ranch dressing! lol.
Angela, Mom to 7 including Luke 2 yrs. old w/CF
Angela, Mom to 7 including Luke 2 yrs. old w/CF
The first time that Luke was in patient, the nutritionist at the hospital told us to try to get him to eat 100-150 calories per kiligram of his body weight. (I think you divide the pounds by 2.2 to figure out the kilograms). But that may be the "catch up" rate because he was really underweight at the time. But I agree with Sharon--you can drive yourself crazy with this stuff and at the end of the day they are going to be like any on other baby/toddler. They are going to eat what they want to eat. It is a good idea to try to add calories wherever and whenever you can. We concentrated Luke's formula to higher calories so that at each feeding he was getting more. We also added cereal. It gets easier to add calories as they get older. There are just more options--more stuff you can butter, add cheese to, drown in syrup and ranch dressing! lol.
<br />Angela, Mom to 7 including Luke 2 yrs. old w/CF
<br />Angela, Mom to 7 including Luke 2 yrs. old w/CF