by Mirae
(Florida)
I have a 10-month-old and I am worried I am not feeding her enough. She is 16 lbs 14 oz and 28 inches long and was 8 lbs 10.3 oz and 21 inches at birth. Here is her schedule. Any help would be appreciated, especially from breastfeeding moms:
7 am- breastfeeds for 10-15 minutes
sleeps from 7am – 9 am
10 am- medicine and nurses for 10-15 minutes
12 pm – 3 tablespoons rice cereal, 4 oz jar baby food, then nap
2 pm – breastfeeds for 10-15 minutes
4 pm – juice/water and snack (typically sweet potato puffs)
6 pm- breastfeeds for 10-15 minutes
8 pm – 4 tablespoons rice cereal, 4 oz jar of baby food
10 pm – medicine and breastfeeds for 10-15 minutes, then bed.
Baby Help Line:
Feeding Schedule For Skinny 10-Month-Old
Your daughter seems to be on a good feeding schedule and unless she appears hungry, lacks energy, or becomes cranky or tired, she likely to be just fine even if she is a bit skinny.
The general rule of thumb is for a baby to triple the birth weight by their 1st birthday, but that is just the average. How well your baby is thriving and growing in length is a better indication of if she is getting enough food.
That said, if you want to give her some more to eat, why not offer her a more filling breakfast. At 10 months, many babies have a portion of porridge for breakfast, maybe topped with some mashed fresh fruit. In your case, this would for example mean to breastfeed when waking up, then a bowl of rice cereal, oatmeal porridge, or similar 1 or 2 hours later, preferably at the same time as the rest of the family is having breakfast. (Or if your baby wakes up late; make the porridge the first meal (with the family) and breastfeeding 1 or 2 hours later)
Lunch seems fine. Just make sure she is offered food until she is satisfied, no matter how much it is. You can top her up with breast milk afterward if you think she ate too little to really be full.
In the afternoon, try a more filling snack, like some healthy finger foods. You can also add a bit of fat to her foods if you want, like organic olive oil or unsalted butter. (Read about adding fats to baby food here.
That was about it. But again, don’t worry too much about your daughter’s weight unless she lacks energy and loses weight and don’t compare her with other babies. Being skinny, if eating healthy foods, growing in length and hitting milestones as expected, is not dangerous in any way. Being obese is a much bigger problem. If people comment on her looks because they expect a baby to chubby, then too bad for them – she is fine just the way she is! Just have fun with her and offer her healthy foods frequently. Most babies will make sure they get the foods they need to be full if we just let them. (Learn about children’s eating habits here.)
You can check the feeding schedule that I used for my babies at 10 months here.
And here are some more feeding schedules for 10-month babies, shared by other moms.
Good luck,
Paula
Paula Dennholt founded Easy Baby Life in 2006 and has been a passionate parenting and pregnancy writer since then. Her parenting approach and writing are based on studies in cognitive-behavioral models and therapy for children and her experience as a mother and stepmother. Life as a parent has convinced her of how crucial it is to put relationships before rules. She strongly believes in positive parenting and a science-based approach.
Paula cooperates with a team of pediatricians who assist in reviewing and writing articles.
