Am I feeding my 6 month old enough?

I am concerned about how much, or in this case how little, I am feeding my 6 month old DD.  Her ped doesn't seem to be too concerned even though she just fell into the 10th percentile for weight. (She was in the 50th)  She drinks about 20 ounces of formula/breastmilk a day, has cereal around 11:00am (3 Tbsp) and usually veggies around 5:00 (about 3 tspns).  She doesn't seem to have a big appetite. I try to give her more milk, but she just won't take it.
Her day care keeps asking me if she eats anymore and that I should bring more food in for her.  I feel like they think I don't give her enough.  The caregivers are around other children her age and I am guessing am comparing my DD eating habits to the other kids.  
Should I be giving her more food? Does anyone have any 6 months olds that are eating more than my DD?

[kellym]

My dd will be 6mo. next week.  I think I OVERFEED her, ha, ha.
She weighs about 16lbs.  She gets cereal and fruit in the am and cereal and veggies in the pm. All together she eats about 30-35 oz of milk a day as well. How much does your dd weigh?

[nikki2274]

She is 14 lbs..but she was 8lbs 3oz when she was born (not too small).  I read that they should double their birth weight by now.  SHe is growing in the height dept (26 inches).
Wow...30-35 ounces...now I am definitely concerned.  The thing is when I give her the veggies at night, she doesn't want her milk after. It usually is about 2 hours later that she wants milk and even though she only takes about 4 ounces and is then ready for bed.
She is very "nosy" too...easily distracted.  If she stops feeding, she won't take the bottle till some time later.  My DH can't even walk into the room if I am feeding her for fear that she will stop and look.  It takes us almost two hours to feed her 6 ounces.  THen on top of that,  bottles are only good for an hour, so we are stretching it to two.  THere are the rare occasions that she will drink 6 ounces in an hour.
Maybe I will try the fruit and cereal in the morning.

[kellym]

I read that they should drink the milk first and then the cereal/fruits/veggies. This way they get the milk and the rest is just extra's. Lily eats her bottle in the morning and then about  1 1/2 hrs later will get the cereal/fruit or veggies. I do this in the am and night. I usually give her the veggies/cereal then about 1/2 hour later at night giver her a bath and then when she's ready for bed about 7-7:30 will give her the bottle. Sometimes this will keep her until 4-5:00! (sometimes:)
I'm sure  your little one will tell you if she's hungry, mine does. Plus, I use the 8-oz bottle and put the 3 scoops (for 6 oz in) fill it up and she sometimes doesn't drink it all. (she's getting a little chunky though). Do you have any teeth coming yet? She sure is acting like it's right around the corner!

[nikki2274]

I will try the milk first and then veggies/fruit.  We will see how it goes this weekend.  She has no teeth yet, but is definitely teething like crazy.

Thanks for all your info

[AndiJ78]

Breastmilk/formula is definitely more important than anything else right now. I am concerned she dropped percentiles and am quite surprised the pedi isn't. My son, who will be 5 mos on the 28th, weighs almost 19 lbs (was 8lbs 14 ounces at birth but had serious jaundice issues so he lost a bit of weight) and he eats nothing but breastmilk, no solids, no formula.

Defintiely push the breastmilk/formula and save the solids for extras.

Andrea

[yoursmineours]

My son is 6 1/2 months.  He is drinking 6 oz of formula every 3 hours.  He gets a bowl of cereal for breakfast and supper along with 2-3 teaspons of baby food.  He is almost 18 pounds (50th%) but he is short 25in. (10th%).  I have struggled to get him to drink his bottle after the cereal and baby food.  To solve this problem I now begin with the bottle and have him drink an ounce or so.  Then I begin feeding the cereal and baby food.  I stop often to give him a "drink" of formula.  Then I finish with the rest of the bottle.  Kind of like when we eat a meal...we eat and drink....My little Ryan seems to like this routine.  He is definitely teething but we have no teeth yet.  He still gets up twice a night for a bottle, but he doesn't drink the full 6 ounces.  I hope this helps!

[decogrl]

Okay I have just the opposite problem ---DD is 6 months and is in the 100% for everything!  She eats like every 2 1/2 hours.  6 oz milk alternated with a solid and water only per the docs instructions.  She is 23lbs and 29" long.  Her face is soo fat and I bought all of these cute little dresses and she will never wear them.  We think that by her 1st birthday she will be in 3T--she is already wearing 2T.    We are doing everything based on the doc's instructions but are worried about what others are telling us.  I was 9lb 3 oz DH was over 8lbs at birth.  I am 5'8 DH is 6'4 --we knew we would never have a little baby and we are just going to accept her how she is---I suggest you do the same and don't worry if your doc is not worried

[nikki2274]

I tried the cereal and pears this morning and she ate nearly all of it (about an ounce of pears and five Tbps of oatmeal) Before that I gave her 4oz of milk.  She had some water while eating, which I think helps her eat.

I will give her milk for lunch, followed by cereal for and veggies for dinner.  Of course, I will keep giving the milk as her main source of food.  Hopefully I can put some meat on her bones by her next dr visit.

Thanks again for all your comments

[girlybuff]

My DD is 25 pounds at 6 months and 28 inches (98%) and she was born 6 pounds 7 ounces.  I have been feeding her baby food since she was 4 months because she was always hungry.
I give her almost 3 full 2 ounce jars of baby food and oatmeal or ceral with fruit in it at each sitting.... breakfast, lunch and dinner.
She is still on the boob before and after each meal though.
I say feed the child as much as they want.  They will let you know when they're full but breast milk and / or formula is supposed to be the main source of nurtition at this age with solids being secondary.
.
  

[jackie53074]

my baby is 6 months and drinks about 20 ounces of formula a day, but he also eats 5 of the gerber 1st foods jars a day, and 4 ounces of juice. i thought this was a lot of baby food but the doc said it was ok. he weighs about 18 pounds.

[carlyellis]

my son is 6 months i give him 8oz at 8am 7 oz at 11am with baby rice about 2.30pm he has dinner fruit for pudding and juice at 5.30 he has dinnner pudding juice and at 8.30pm 8oz of milk he has slept through the nght since 12 weeks old since i started him on solids.... dont worry about over feeding ur babies they will be sick if there to full around six or 7 months they will decrease there milk in take 18 to 20 oz a day is fine i cook my sons meals for the week and freeze them annabelle karmel trays are great he loves butternut squash fruit and veggies and its so good for him he is 21 pounds but very long he is in one years clothing already i was so worried i was over feeding him but trust me i did one day and i soon knew about it carly

[carlyellis]

oh also forgotto add my husband is 6 foot 11 so my son takes after him is always hungry but so tall they dont look fat hehe wish i was that lucky

[ginge159]

my daughters 6 month and shes not eating baby food wat can i give her

[tiredbuthappy]

Some babies simply aren't ready for baby food at 6 months. It took my girls several months to get used to taking baby food. Just keep trying a little every few days. One day, she will probably take it. In the mean time, continue with formula or breastmilk, which is actually enough nutrition to carry them through tthe entire first year.
Also, when you try cereals, try different textures and thickness. My first would only eat solids that were super runny- mostly breastmilk with a little cereal. My second would only take cereal that was extremely thick. Also, I thought my second didn't want any solids because she kept refusing it when we offered it at 6 months. Turns out she wants NOTHING to do with plain cereals or fruits- she only like peas and green veggies, and will take cereals mixed with these veggies. At 8 1/2 months, she's still the same way, although she'll happily eat many other foods in solid form. Experiment with different foods and textures, keep reoffering, but don't make a big deal out of it. Soon enough, she'll be ready.