Portion sizes for Weaning
When it comes to knowing how much to food to prepare for our weaning infants, or how much they ‘should’ be eating, many of us are lost. We scour the internet for guidance on portion sizes but can’t find the information. This is because there are no agreed portion sizes for infants.
Why are there no portion sizes for infants?
Mostly, because all babies are different, and whilst all adults are different too, the difference when it comes to babies and weaning can often be very pronounced and dependent on a lot of factors. One baby could be eating large portions 2-3 times a day by the time they are 7 months and others may still be taking a few tastes once per day at the same age.
So what influences how much a weaning baby may eat?
State/mood: Y,our baby needs to be in an appropriate state to eat. This means not too tired and not too hungry or full especially in the early days/weeks.
Health: Babies, like adults won’t eat well if they are feeling unwell, sick or in pain. Going off their food is often the first sign that they are coming down with something.
Skills: Eating is a skill which needs to be learned. Each baby will develop their eating and self-feeding skills at a different rate. A baby who doesn’t yet have the skills for eating or self-feeding may not eat much. However the experience of tasting, the feeling of food on their hands and in their mouth and working out how to use their mouth muscles to learn to eat and swallow food is invaluable and an important first step to eating. This is also why milk remains very important during weaning.
Their size: Babies who are bigger need to eat more than a smaller infant.
How much milk they are drinking: some babies are milk monsters and are feeding frequently day and night as well as eating solids, others may only be taking milk during the day and may reduce their intake quickly in favour of solids. There is no right or wrong with this as long as your baby is making some small steps of progress towards learning to eat, but it may impact on how much they eat.
It can be really easy to compare your infant to a friends’ baby in terms of how much they eat and how weaning is progressing for them. Try to remember all of the above, and also know that what you see one baby eat one day may not be indicative of what they eat all the time. Babies will be variable in terms of what they eat across a day, and from day to day.
How do you know how much food to offer?
You can learn your how much your baby wants to eat by watching their cues and following their lead. You may have heard about responsive feeding when it comes to infant feeding (breast or bottle), this extends to introducing solids too. It requires you to know that if you have a healthy infant, they will eat and drink what they need in a day in order to thrive and grow. Trust them to know when they want to eat and when they are done.
Signs that your baby is finished and doesn’t want any more may include:
Lifting hands up to leave the highchair
Whining, moaning or crying
Losing interest in eating and becoming distracted
Not opening their mouth for the spoon
Pushing your hand or the spoon away or food of the tray
Communicating no more in a range of ways
Signs that your baby wants to continue to eat include:
Looking for more food
Opening mouth readily for the food and leaning towards you
Picking last remaining pieces of the tray or an empty spoon
Looking around the kitchen
Moaning and crying when the food is gone or when you go to take them out of the highchair
Pointing or gesturing for more food
Learning your infants eating behaviours is key to knowing how much food to give them and how much food they want. It can be disconcerting for you if they show cues they are finished after just a few bites and equally that they want more after two bowls, however do try to go with it.
This responsiveness in feeding your little one will be key to instilling lifelong positive eating behaviours. The division of responsibility in feeding method outlines key ‘roles and responsibilities’ for both the parent and child when it comes to eating. Effectively, ‘you provide, they decide’. As long as you offer a varied diet, appropriate to their age and skills at regular intervals during the day then you are doing your job and your little one will show you what their natural portion sizes are!
The ultimate in letting your child decide is to follow the baby led weaning approach, where they have total control over what they eat, however this isn’t the right approach for all families and babies. You can be responsive to your baby whilst spoon feeding also. So choose whichever weaning route you decide is right for you and your baby.
How to manage portions?
We could all still could do with a little guidance on how much to cook and prep whilst our babies finger out how much they want to eat.
Observe what your baby chooses to eat and follow their lead. Always aim to put a bit more in their bowl or on their tray than they typically eat, then they will decide their own individual portion size. Having an idea about how much they may eat won’t always mean that they will eat that amount, nor does it guarantee they will be satisfied, but it should serve as a guide for you.
If you are struggling with weaning your infant and want more support then please contact me to see how I can help you.
