I was reading Caring for Your Young Baby and Young Child by the American Academy of Pediatrics and was caught by surprised by the sample menu provided for an 8-12 month old.

Breakfast
1/4 - 1/2 cup cereal or mashed veg
1/4 - 1/2 cup fruit
4-6 oz breast milk or formula

Snack
4-6 oz water, breast milk or formula
1/4 cup cheese or cooked veg

Lunch
1/4 - 1/2 cup yogurt, cottage cheese, or meat
1/4 - 1/2 cup orange or yellow fruit or veg
4-6 oz breast milk or formula

Snack
Teething Biscuit
1/4 cup yogurt or diced fruit

Dinner
1/4 cup diced poultry, meat, or tofu
1/4 - 1/2 cup green veg
1/4 cup pasta or rice
1/4 cup fruit
4-6 oz breast milk or formula

Bedtime

6-8oz water, breast milk or formula

In reality, my daughter eats:

Breakfast
1/4 - 1/2 cup cereal
4-6 oz breast milk or formula

Snack
4-6 oz breast milk or formula

Lunch
1/4 - 1/2 cup fruit
4-6 oz breast milk or formula

Snack
4-6 oz breast milk or formula

Dinner
1/4 - 1/2 cup veg

Bedtime
4-6 oz breast milk or formula

I am going to push more solids during snack time, but this seems like a ton of food to me. My daughter is 30% for weight, but is quite healthy. What does or did everyone else's child eat at this age?

Dan

I'd say on average my boys have eaten a little less than that. I think what they're trying to suggest is offering them that much, not expecting that they'll eat all of it any time.

For each of my boys, when we had them eating regular food for lunch, their first rounds with Ravioli were epic. Both of them ate 8 raviolis the first time they got them and then backed down. My older boy is 50% for his height (65% weight for age, I think) and our newly 1 year old is something like 30% for height but 50% for age. So they're not heavy.

What we go by is their eating isn't a meal by meal or day by day struggle. Essentially, they'll take in what they need over the course of a week. As long as things are presented, it'll work out. Of course, if they prefer milk or formula, it's going to skew quite a bit.

Our baby doesn't like to eat fruit unless it's the baby food fruit. He doesn't mind juice, though. But getting him to eat more than applesauce has been a real challenge. Aside from that, he's a good eater.

We called it the pupating stage in our house.

There were stretches where our boys would devour everything we put in front of them (except vegetables). And yes, it seemed like an enormous amount of food, but there are a couple of 'growth spurts' that little ones go through and I think their bodies need those calories and protein to grow.

Our older boy is now 2 1/2 and his appetite has slowed down quite a bit compared to his little brother, and his weight has leveled off as well.

Good luck and keep your fingers clear of the little teeth.

Generally, my kids ate less than the suggested menu by the AAP. My oldest was in the 70-90th percentile in weight and probably at the most, but not quite that much on average.

My kids were/are the same as pfanndad's. We have days where you can't seem to feed them enough, and other days when they eat hardly anything.

We just give them a healthy amount of nutritious food (quantity varies on age) and let them eat until they're full.