Worrying about babies not eating enough is common but so is worrying that your baby may be eating too much! It can be surprising how much some babies can eat in one sitting.

Can a baby eat too much?

In theory, yes, a baby can eat more food than they need are there are certain factors that may make this more likely. They include being fed by others, adults not being responsive to baby’s cues that they are finished and the spread and timings of foods being offered by parents across a day.

What is a good portion size for a baby?

There are no portion size guidelines for weaning because babies are so different and will have variability in the time it takes them to wean to solids, their appetite day to day and across the day. There are many factors which can influence how much our babies eat (or don’t eat). As a result I would recommend that you watch your little one, learn their feeding patterns and behaviours and trust them to show us how much they want to eat and when they are done.

Top five tips to prevent your baby from over-eating.

If you are concerned that your baby may be eating too much you can try the following tips:

1. Support your baby to feed themselves

If your baby is feeding themself, they are more likely to stop when they are done and won’t over eat. Self-feeding can be done by your baby using their hands to feed themselves. Typically they are offered ‘fingers foods’ but almost anything can be eaten with hands – just watch your baby get stuck in! Another way that babies can feed themselves is using cutlery. Although it may seem that a weaning baby will not be able to feed themselves with a fork and spoon if you choose the right utensil and present it pre-loaded for them, they will be able to take it to their mouth themselves. I recommend short handled spoons and forks for self feeding and particularly like the doddl cutlery (use code doddlfes10 for 10% discount).

2. Ensure that there is an appropriate eating/feeding schedule to the day 

Babies who are being weaned should build up to eating 3 meals a day with milk feeds interspersed between. Snacks don’t need to be offered until after 12 months. Aim for your  baby to eat and feed at regular intervals across the day so that they don’t come to the table too hungry or not hungry enough. Over the course of weaning milk volumes will likely reduce (or overall time spent breastfeeding) meaning that solid food volumes gradually increase.

3. Trust your baby

Understanding that even at as young as 6 months a healthy baby is able to regulate their own appetite is important. If you have a baby who tends to eat a large volume of food in one sitting, then it may be that at another meal across the day they eat much less. It is also to be expected that bigger babies eat more food than smaller babies.

4. Check timings of milk feeds

Some baby’s reduce milk intake very quickly in the early stages of weaning and this is not ideal, mostly because milk is still playing a very important nutritional role. If this happens you may notice that your baby is eating very large volumes of solids at a time – sometimes this can be hard on their small tummies and can interfere with their digestion. If you feel this is happening to your little one then you can bring milk feeds closer to mealtimes helping them fill up a little more on their milk, leaving slightly less room for solids.

5. Be responsive

This is especially important if you are feeding your baby. It is important to know when they are finished so that you can stop feeding them in order to prevent them from over-eating. Signs that your baby is done eating solid foods may include;

• Turning their head away from the spoon

• Closing mouth when offered spoon

• Spitting food out

• Throwing food

• Playing with food

• Becoming distracted

• Becoming upset in their highchair

If you see any of these signs then you can stop the meal.

Weight and growth.

Ultimately regardless of how much your baby appears to be eating if they are growing steadily and are in proportion (weight to height) then you do not need to be concerned.

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