How to Know If Your Baby Is Getting Enough Food + Milk

Do you constantly wonder if your baby is actually getting enough… or are you just overthinking every feed, diaper, and bite?

If you’ve ever found yourself second-guessing how much your baby is eating or stressing over whether they’re getting enough milk, you’re not alone. With so many moving pieces in the first year, it’s easy to feel like you’re missing something or doing it wrong.

In this episode, Kathy breaks down the three most important signs that your baby is getting enough nutrition and how to interpret them with confidence. She explains why growth charts are only one piece of the puzzle, what actually matters when it comes to milk intake, and how giving your baby autonomy at the table plays a bigger role than most parents realize. 

She also shares what to do if something feels off, why volume isn’t the full story, and how to step out of the comparison trap so you can focus on what your baby truly needs.

Tune in to hear:

• Why growing along your baby’s own curve matters more than percentiles 
• What growth charts can tell you… and what they can’t
• How to know if your baby is getting enough milk (without obsessing over ounces) 
• The key signs to look for beyond intake like diapers, play, and milestones 
• Why milk should remain the primary source of nutrition before age one 
• The truth about “food before one” and what actually matters during this stage 
• How giving your baby autonomy supports both nutrition and development 
• Why more food doesn’t always mean more nourishment 
• What to do if your baby seems to eat well but something still feels off 
• When it’s time to seek additional support beyond your pediatrician

Connect with Kathy:

IG: @theminimedietitian

Website: https://theminimedietitian.com/ 

Watch my FREE 60-minute Masterclass: The 5 Habits That Are Sabotaging Your Toddler's Nutrition (and what to do instead)

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Hey there, welcome back to Food for Tot. Today we are diving into a topic that I get questions about all the time. And that is how do I know if my baby is getting enough food and milk? Because let's be honest, it's a lot to juggle. There's a lot of different moving pieces, and every parent wants to know, is my little one getting what they need? So grab your coffee, grab a notebook, or open the notes app on your phone because we are going to dive into three signs that your baby is getting enough food and milk and how to interpret those signs, or what to do about it if you're worried about your little one's intake. Just as a general disclaimer, information shared in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes and does not replace individual recommendations that may be necessary for your child. Okay, so let's jump in. Sign number one that your little one is getting enough food and milk. This is probably the most obvious one and probably the first thing that comes to your mind if somebody says, is your little one getting enough? And that is that they are growing along their own growth curve. Okay, so let's break down the growth chart because something I see a lot is parents thinking that their little one is A perfectly fine and getting what they need because they're higher on the growth chart, kind of saying, you know, well, we're above the 50th percentile, so we don't have to worry about food because they're growing perfectly fine. Or maybe saying, like, I have a chunky baby, and so that makes me feel like they're getting the nutrition that they need. Or B thinking that they're not fine because they're lower on the growth chart. Maybe we're thinking they're not getting enough, they're not growing quickly enough, maybe they're not getting the right amount of calories that their bodies need. But the growth chart is really only one piece of the puzzle because you can still be undernourished in a bigger body, and vice versa, because body size is not what determines how much a little one needs to eat, and it doesn't take into account specific nutrients that are important for brain development, building an immune system, and so many other things. So this is something that actually surprises a lot of my clients is how little I do focus on weight or individual percentiles. Like someone will come to me and say, My little one is in the 90th percentile, so I think they're fine, or my little one is in the 25th percentile, so I'm worried they're not getting enough. But what I need in order for these numbers to be helpful is context. Like I need to know what has their growth looked like since birth, how has feeding been going? Where are we at developmentally? There's so many other things that play in here because nutrition intervention can be warranted regardless of weight. And something I tell parents all the time is if you don't feel good about your little one's eating habits, or you feel confused about what to be offering when that is a sign that getting extra support could benefit you and your baby because your confidence around food directly impacts theirs. And growth chart monitoring is just that. It's monitoring, it's watching trends, it's kind of keeping a bird's eye view on what's going on, but it's not supporting you, it's not getting into the mud with you and working through the day in and day out of your little one's eating habits. So when we're looking at a growth chart, we're looking at trends, not single plot points. So if your baby is growing along their own growth curve, not somebody else's growth curve, that is a good first, not only. So it's a good first indicator, but it's not the only indicator that they're getting what their body needs. Sign number two is that milk is primary. So regarding milk, this is talking breast milk andor formula before 12 months of age. So this should be your baby's primary source of nutrition. Whenever we introduce solid foods before the first birthday, they are considered complementary. So what that means is that we're not intentionally decreasing volume of milk feeds once they start eating solid foods. That solid food should be in addition to their either breast milk or formula. Now, as your baby gets closer to their first birthday and starts to make that connection that food fills them up, they will likely start taking less milk and eating more food, which is a good progression to follow. But we don't want to be intentionally doing that for them because we want that their breast milk or their formula to be their primary source of nutrition before the first birthday. When they are getting enough milk, they will be having frequent wet diapers, periods of content play, and overall be meeting age-appropriate milestones. So when we're looking at checking that milk box, we're looking for those things. Those are the things that you are observing. Volume is going to change based on age, and as they move from six to 12 months, that specific volume is going to change. But similar to food, when we're looking at milk and food, your baby should have autonomy in how much they're taking. So that's sign number three is that your baby is being given autonomy and that they are advancing food skills as they are being exposed to more foods and as they are growing and moving more or moving closer to their first birthday. So when it comes to food, it can feel really good as the parent to have a specific amount of food you know you're supposed to give. And this can apply to milk too. And really appropriate volumes for babies are going to look like ranges. It's not going to look like specific numbers because every baby is a little bit different. And so, as the parent, it can feel really good to have a really specific amount that you know you're supposed to give. You make sure they get it in that day, and then you check the box and you think, yay, I did my job and my baby got what they needed, right? Now I can move on, I can go to bed with peace of mind that I made sure my baby got how much food they needed that day. But unfortunately, and I say this unfortunately and fortunately, is that it's not that simple. And you as the parent really shouldn't have that much control. You may have heard the idea that food before one is just for fun. And while I don't believe that to be true, and research supports that, it should be led by the baby. And what that means, and why I connect that to food before one is just for fun, is a lot of people take that as, oh, it's not too much pressure. I don't need to make sure that they're getting a certain amount of food in because it's just for fun. And from that aspect, I do encourage parents to kind of jump on that thought process, is it's not your job to get a certain amount of food in your baby's body. Okay, but nutrition is still important before the first birthday, exploring a wide variety of foods, learning how to chew, learning how to move food around in their mouth, learning how to self-feed, all of those things are super important. And if we just write food off as just for fun, sometimes we miss some of those developmental milestones and nutritional means that are also really important. But when we look at food intake and how it should be led by your baby, this also applies well into toddlerhood too. Because if we were to look at guidelines, and yes, guidelines do exist in terms of about how much of different foods or food groups babies or toddlers should be consuming at different ages, guidelines are just that. They are guides, they are not prescriptions. So the same thing goes for adults. If you think about you or any other person as an adult, right, every individual has different nutritional needs. So to say that every baby should be consuming this much food at this time of day completely takes away their autonomy and ability to listen to their own body. So instead of doing that, I want you to watch your baby's cues and honor them. This means that when they are closing their mouth, turning their head away, no longer interested in eating, we don't force it. This also means that we are creating a predictable eating schedule or routine in their day where eating opportunities are regular and consistent so that your little one knows food is coming. Every baby develops on their own timeline. So intake is going to look different. I talk to moms all the time who feel stuck in the comparison game of seeing other people's babies or toddlers eat a certain amount and thinking to themselves, wow, I wish my baby would eat that much. Or, yikes, am I overfeeding my toddler? And here's the thing: it is important to have realistic expectations of your little one. I often see way larger portions than are age appropriate being served. And even parents who say, well, if I don't feed them that much, then they're hungry in 30 minutes or they're asking for a snack. Obviously, we're talking toddlers now. But this is where what is being offered matters because this is something I frequently work on with my clients. And one mom in particular who went through my group coaching program comes to mind on this topic because she was feeding her little one regular meals and snacks and felt like he was eating a lot, but he was always asking for snacks, and she was worried that he wasn't actually getting the true nutrition that he needed. I was able to identify for them that it wasn't a hunger issue at all. It was a nutrition issue. It was an issue of what was being served and when food was being served. So once we tweaked that, the snack requests decreased. Portion sizes at meals were age appropriate, and based on the foods and variety he was eating, he was meeting overall nutritional needs and improved his growth trends. So going back to that growth chart, right, it's one indicator that we're getting enough, but there's a lot more to it than just that. But when we don't hyperfocus on weight, we can still improve growth trends. So your focus doesn't have to be primarily on weight or on growth percentiles in order to still see improvement, there is my point. So volume of food doesn't always necessarily equate to fullness. Again, I know that can feel really good to see your little one clean their plate or feel like they ate enough at a single meal or eating opportunity, but what we often miss when we're looking at meals through that lens is the bigger picture. So we need to be able to identify the makeup of meals and snacks being served so that we can ensure little ones are actually getting the nutrition that they need overall, not just in single meals, single snacks, or even single milk feeds. So, what do you do if you're worried about your little ones' intake? I recommend first assessing these three signs. Are we growing appropriately on our own growth curve? If not, that is a place to ask questions. And if we even are growing appropriately along our own growth curve, but we don't feel good about our little ones' nutrition, or you don't feel good about your little one's nutrition, and you're watching those day in and day out eating habits, and you're like, okay, I know you're growing fine, but I don't feel good about what you're getting, and there's no way this is nutritionally complete. That is something to look into further, right? Because again, that growth chart is the monitoring piece, it's not the support piece. Number two, addressing are we having frequent wet diapers, periods of content play, and overall meeting age-appropriate milestones? Because those are signs that we are getting enough milk. Also, that milk is still primary. That is your other sign that we're getting enough milk. And third, are we giving our baby or toddler autonomy at the table and allowing them to lead in how much they are eating? If questions or uncertainty are still coming up regarding your individual child after walking through those three signs, my next step is seeking out more support. When I became a mom, I thought the pediatrician was going to hold my hand and tell me everything I needed to know about feeding my little one. And I quickly realized that wasn't going to be the case. And it's not because I had a bad doctor. We loved our pediatrician. She was so great. But her job was to monitor growth and food milestones, not support them. This is exactly why, as a pediatric dietitian, I created my 12-week online coaching program to actually support you and walk you through step by step exactly how to navigate feeding your baby or toddler to ensure they're getting the nutrition that they need in this critical window of development while also building lifelong healthy eating habits and relationships with food. So to learn more about working with me inside the Minimi Method, you can fill out the typeform application linked in the show notes or send me a DM on Instagram at the Minimi Dietician. I'd absolutely love to chat with you and get you the support that you need. As always, thanks so much for tuning in and I will see you next time.