Hetal and all other moms here,
My baby is 6 mo. and 2 weeks and is on solids 3 times a day. 5 spoons of cereal in morning, 2.5 oz of gerber veg in afternoon and 6-7 spoons of kichidi at night. In between milk is fed but if I count altogether it is only 16-20 ozs thats getting in form of milk - including bm and formula. I was reading somewhere that baby needs min. 24-32 oz at this stage. But dr. said increase solid feed to 3 times when we were doing only twice before and the dr. said 16 oz. is ok in form of milk. Am concerned on what is a reasonable intake of milk and what I can do to set it right here. Should I cut down 1 time solid food, if yes what can I cut down? bcos am giving vegs. in kichidi can I skip gerber? but I want baby to get used to all kinds of food as suggested here. pls let me know if any alterations are needed in my food plan.

Hetal replied. reasonable intake of milk depnds on :
1. bm or formula offered.
2. apetite.
3. way in which baby accepted solids and his solid intakes !
4. time gap between solid and milk feeds and baby whole days schedule.
5. last but not the least, it dpnds on certain days/growth spurt days,where in the regular feeds go up by 5-10oz per feed or 2-3extra feeds of milk/formula..

now about reasonble or expctd amt of milk/bm or formula that a healthy 6months old is expected to take is :
breastmilk/bf == 5-6 feeds on demand, in daytime.
formula == iron fortified formula = 4-5feedings of 6-8oz each which is in the range of :
1. 4feeds of 6oz=24oz a minimum
2. 4feeds of 8oz =32oz on a moderate.
3. 5feeds of 6oz=30oz
4. 5feeds of 8oz = 40 oz !!!!
so in all your baby intake should be around 24oz=40oz !! could be newhere in between or a couple 5oz here and ther,,doesnt matter, if the baby is acceptng solids very well or is alternatng formula milk or bm feeds on his own with those solid feeds,,
upto 1year of baby life, baby primary diet has to bm or formula, if not until 1year, atleast until first 9-10months or until you start them on proteins,,,
if i were you and if my dr asks me to give only 16oz,,i will look at my child acceptance to solids and increase the solids,,if so,,if he is not intersted in solids that much, i will not alter his feeds to solids,,and make sure that atleast until 1year, he drinks formula or bm well !!!!
but at the same time, you have to try to increase the solid feeds,,,balance it well !! dont force your child to take solids nor force him to replace his feeds for formula ! but rathr balance it wel,,,if he likes certain solid foods,and you think its the complete food(like it contains dal,rice,vegies),,thn its ok to avoid offerng a sep serving of vegies ! instead as a sep serving of vegie,,introduce a new vegie or a new fruit and let that time b his introductn time,,as it by 6months you might not have introduced him with all the vegies or fruits,,you have so many things to introduce !!!
other thn that,,make sure to balance the qty,,check his intake and see how long he stays on that feed of solid,,and if he is able to stay for more thn 3-4hours,,it means he needs to reduce the qty,,and take another feed of formula or solid or juice by 3hours,,likewisse...if not, his qty is good and his acceptance is good and he isready for other serving of full solid or full formula or bm !
at 6months,,you have to cnsider the latest 3hours time.
so introduce all the foods, at the same time balance the qty if required and not the quality or variety ! and never try to replace bm or formula for another 2months,,let your baby enjoy the benefits of bm and formula until 9months !! by thn make him ready for multigrains, proteins and fats,,once he does that,i will not force you to make him drink good formula or bm !!!!!
look at whats your baby acceptance to both the feeds and it will give you idea.
good luck.