Feeding 8 Month Old

Breastmilk should still be the main food. He should have at least 24oz a day or nurse about every 4 hours. As far as solids go, let your baby be your guide. Usually 8 month olds can start meats and have 3 meals a day. It is important for infants to get enough iron and you may want the doctor to check the hemoglobin at the 9 month checkup. Babies can chew without teeth. As a general role, if you can mash it with your finger and thumb your baby can chew it. When buying baby food meats skip the combination dinners (chicken w/apples, beef w/veggies, or meat w/pasta) these have very little meat in them. Instead buy the meats in gravy and mix in the fruit or veggie yourself.

We also made our own babyfood and breastfed through a year with our son. A site I liked was www.wholesomebabyfood.com. It has a variety of recipies for babyfood, but what you may want to look at is just a daily menu of what a child may be eating from 6-8 months, or 8-10.

just take it easy. yes, the general idea is that breastmilk is all your baby needs for complete nutrition for the first year, of course, as long as you are getting good nutrition as well.
are you on wic? they will supply milk and that kind of thing for you as long as you are breastfeeding! :D your breastmilk will always have proper nutrition no matter what, but it will be better for your health if your diet is adequate ... :D
AWESOME JOB BREASTFEEDING!
find your local, or a nearby la leche league group - they are absolutly fantastic for support and advice - and i encourage you to test out the idea of extended nursing... my son self weaned at 19 months and it was awesome! :D its not for everyone, but as long as your child drinks breastmilk during the 2nd year, they dont need whole milk! :D

anyway, www.askdrsears.com has great awesome information on just about everything - but can answer your questions about diet too. just follow your heart. i knew my son just wasnt ready for milk, so i just kept on breastfeeding, and giving him soft foods, etc.
pretty much, 8 month olds can have whatever you have, as long as its soft and mushy. :D but, youve got a great connection to your kid that doesnt even compare to anything any doctor, friend, family member, of random advice giver on mamasource could have : trust yourself to know when to feed what, not any book, etc :D

I started my son on solids at 4 months. Because there are few or no allergies in our family line I have been very relaxed. by seven months I let him try anything as long as I think he can mush it up in his mouth and not choke. The only thing I am avoiding by this point is eggs milk nuts and honey. early on I kept three days between each new thing, but now I don't worry.

Good Luck,

B.

Nutrition-wise, babies only need breastmilk for the first year of their life. Everything else is just supplemental (to fill them up, but don't have much nutritional value). So you are doing the right thing by introducing some rice cereal and baby food veggies. They are good supplements. But they are only to satisfy and fill up your babies tummy. Good luck!!

I echo everything that was already said, and only add this thought: for the first year, eating solids is basically practice eating and some extra calories. Breastmilk (or formula) is meeting all your baby's nutritional needs - the other stuff is bonus. Always give the breast first, let him eat until he's satisfied, and then offer the other stuff, which he will eat until he's full. I hope this doesn't sound condescending, I really feel for you, but this was much harder for me with my first than it has been with my second, so just relax, give yourself a break, and enjoy feeding your baby.

As a mom you have to read everything about what you "should" do for your baby and then you have to filter it and apply it to your own child, because no one knows your baby like you do. i have read many of the same things you mentioned. All babies are different so one idea willnot work for all children. My son is breast fed and 8 months old, he started cereal at 4 months, veggies and fruit at 6 months and now at 8 months he eats 8 oz of food (2nd foods fruit and veg) plus 3 tbls cereal at each meal 3 times a day. He also has 6 teeth and so he eats little chunks of food and gerber puffs. i introduced a new food about every 3 days at breakfast time. i tried some of the meat purees (2nd foods) and even blended some chicken but he wasnt a fan so i am holding off on meats but when he asks to try my food i let him if it is within reason (no candy or things like that) but he has shown a big interest in trying what we eat. Watch your son for cues if he still wants to eat after a little fruit and veggies give him somemore, let him tell you when he is full. my son often wants a sip of water in the middle of his solid foods. good luck

Hi K.,

You're right. There's a lot of "advice" out there, and much of it conflicting. If your baby is continuing to grow and has healthy "output" (poop & pee), you have nothing to worry about.

I can share with you how my son's feeding habits changed as he grew. For liquids, he had both formula and breastmilk until he was 6 months, then I stopped breastfeeding. From 6 months to 10 months he drank formula, and at 10 months we switched over to goat and soy milk. (He can't tolerate cow's milk.)

Around 4-5 months, we gave him oatmeal and bananas. Other first foods he had included: apricots, pears, peaches, peas, sweet potatoes, and green beans. We hardly ever bought commercial baby food. Mostly we would just buy canned fruits & veggies and pureed them ourselves.

He was late to get teeth (10 months), so his diet was pureed foods for a good 5-6 months. It seemed like an eternity, and I got some flack from others for not giving him a broader diet. I stood my ground--he didn't have teeth, how could he eat anything else?

When two teeth finally came in, his eating habits changed overnight. At 11 months old, he now eats whatever we're eating. I just chop or cut up our food, and then he feeds himself. I still feed him applesauce and other runny stuff with a spoon, but he can eat hotdishes, meats, noodles, etc., all by himself.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope you'll get something out of it. Good luck to you, and trust your instincts!

i think you should just take your cues from your son. keep up the nursing but if he seems interested in food let him try different things. my son was formula fed but he has always been interested in food and at 8 months he ate mostly what we did (besides meat) as long as he could gum it or chew it with his couple teeth. we introduced meat at 9 months per his pediatrician and he has always loved everything. he is almost 16 months old now and still loves everything. just go by what you think he is ready for. try something and if he dont like it or dont seem interested try again later. he gets good nutricion from your milk so just try things slowly and see how he does.

Basically when your baby starts smacking his lips and looking longingly at food you are eating, this is when you can start helping him explore the wide world of foods. I think for a healthy-sized baby, breastmilk only for the first year is a bit extreme. Food is okay to introduce at eight months or so. Introduce vegetables such as peas and beans first, and then move onto fruits. It is fun keeping a calendar or chart of what baby first tried, and when. Just remember to start small and supervise him closely each time. Don't give him the obvious danger foods, such as honey or wheat or dairy. Wait 'til he's a year for those. Also, when you give him baby food with a spoon, make sure you give him baby spoons to hold while you are feeding him so he will be a good self-feeder a few months from now. It will be a gigantic, horrible mess and you'll always be cleaning the high chair....it won't be like that forever but it will feel like it! On lazy days, I used to feed my daughter in the bathtub while we took a bath, and while the food I was feeding her were purees (no solids)...totally unconventional but the cleanup was way easy and the novelty never wore off for my baby!

K.,
You are right, there is a lot of info out there! Keep in mind, our culture pushes independence earlier than many other cultures. If your little one is nursing, good for you and keep it up. He will be on solid, processed, foods soon enough, and for the rest of his life. This is the one era and opportunity that you can provide complete nutrition for him through breast milk. Breast milk changes in taste daily, unlike formula, and changes in definition, depending on the needs of your child. Nurse a little longer on each side, so he gets more of what is called the hind milk, which is richer and thicker. The longer you can nurse the better his long term health will likely be. It also offers health benefits for you that outlast the time you actually nurse.

If he is happy after nursing, wetting/messing diapers regularly and of course growing, then he is more than getting nourished by nursing.

Watch the baby, not the clock or the calendar. He will tell you what you need to know.

It would be good if you could hook up with a La Leche League group who can help you with nutrition, weaning and other goals you have for you and your baby.

Also, www.lightlink.com/hilinda/Diane/breastorbottle.html is a wonderful Web site to look at for the benefits of nursing.

Ask Dr Sears Web site is wonderful and has info handy. Dr Sears has never failed me no matter what the subject.

Congratulations on your son, enjoy this fleeting era in both of your lives.

J.

I'm in a similar spot as you, K., although my daughter is a bit younger. She nurses frequently still, and isn't too in love with anything other than rice & oatmeal. :)

Yes, you can provide all of the nutrition your son needs with your milk for his first year, although many pediatricians caution against delaying solids too long for fear baby may not accept solid foods as readily. I think a happy medium that works for you & your child is the best course of action. As long as your son gives you enough dirty diapers & is progressing along his growth curve, you should be fine!

Our ped advises against meat, citrus & berries until after 9 months, and advises us to wait on obvious things like honey & nuts until much later. At the rate my daughter is going, she probably won't be eating fruit until 9 months. :) It's too tart for her palette still, so we're sticking with blander foods & working our way out from there - just doing what feels right & following her cues.

Most docs advise introducing a new food every few days, so spotting a potential food allergy/reaction is easier. We're going really slowly & probably only introducing something new once a week.

Hope that helps!
Happy Holidays!

I think it's really a personal decision and it's based on how hungry or ready your child is. My son turned 7 months on the 2nd and he eats everything while still nursing every 3 hours, 24 hours a day. He's eating Cheerios, 2nd stage foods, those puffs that disolve in their mouths...you name it he's had it. He's even eating things like well cooked moist chicken that he can mash with his lil gums (no teeth yet). He happens to be ready for all this and is a great eater, just like my first son was. My daughter didn't start all this til she was about 10 months old, she was on cereal and 1st foods for a while. She was a dainty eater and still is, but my boys are pigs and can't seem to eat enough. There's gums are powerful things and can squash more than you realize, as long as they are able to move the food around in their mouths and swallow without choking a lot of foods are ok. My doc actually recommended meats first, then veg then fruit. The meat for protein and then veg and fruit last because of the sweetness. The recommenadation changes all the time, do what you feel your baby can handle...after all, you are the mom and your gut will tell you most of their life what is ok and what isn't. Good luck.

I would wait on fish and honey until two and you can do baby foods like lasagna that have meat in them but I would wait until they are about a year. Breast milk is really good for your baby so if you can wait a few more months I would do it!! just do it less, wean the baby. Also they should have whole milk until about the age of two for whenever you decide to stop breast feeding