Milk and Beikost How much should babies eat per day?

Feeding as needed: so much should babies eat
When mothers breastfeed their babies, milk supply and need are usually regulated naturally. When feeding with bottled milk and complementary foods, it is important for parents to know how much the little ones should eat. Experts have some important tips here.

Ability to self-regulate
In the first year of life, babies grow very quickly. When the baby eats or drinks a little less, parents quickly become worried. Breastfeeding is the recommendation "as needed by the child," reports the Federal Center for Nutrition (BZfE). But what about Formula (milk (milk)) and porridge? Here, too, parents can trust the child's hunger and satiety and even support their ability to self-regulate, advises the network "Healthy in life" in the BZfE. Through so-called responsive feeding.

If babies are fed with bottled milk and complementary foods, according to experts, parents can trust the child's hunger and satiety. (Image: Reicher / fotolia.com)

Healthy eating behavior of the child
As a "responsive feeding" is called in English a feeding behavior that supports the self-regulatory ability of the child and thus long-term healthy eating habits of the little ones.

This is a two-way dynamic process in which parents and children play an active role. The child shows through body posture, facial expressions, with sounds, later with words, that it is hungry or does not want to eat anymore.

The parents perceive these signals and respond adequately. If the need is met, then the child feels understood and reacts contentedly, which in turn makes the parents happy and both are encouraged in their actions.

On the other hand, if the starvation and satiety signals are ignored, misinterpreted in the long run, or any malaise is answered with food, this can lead to excessive or too small amounts of food.

In strengthening self-regulatory ability, experts see an important starting point for overweight prevention.

Hunger and satiety signals of the child are crucial
"Breastfeeding, of course, regulates the amount of milk and your needs, as most people know. It is less well-known that even when feeding with the bottle and porridge, the hunger and satiety signals of the child are crucial - and not the indicated portion size, "said Maria Flothkötter, director of the network Healthy in life.

When should be started with the first food, the experts said in a previous communication: namely, at the earliest with the beginning of the 5th month and no later than the beginning of the 7th month of life.

For starter and follow-on formulas, the child does not have to drink the bottle empty and should not be encouraged to do so.

If the child is developing, growing and being healthy, parents can expect to eat enough.

But if parents are worried that their child is uneducated, refuses to eat or spits food, they should contact the child and adolescent doctor. He regularly checks the healthy development and growth during the check-ups. (Ad)