Need Advice on Feeding 8 Month Daughter Solids

C.,
I know you are getting lots of advice. My son just turned 8 months and here is how our day tends to work out:

7:30am - 5-6 ounce bottle of formula
11am - oatmeal and 1 jar of fruit mixed together and then a 2-3 ounce bottle
2pm - 1 jar of vegetables and 3-4 ounce bottle
5:30pm - 1 jar meat & fruit and 3 ounce bottle
8:30pm - 5 ounce bottle for bedtime
I give him some puffs in between feedings if he is fussy and I bring along a sippy cup of water when we're out and about.
Also, I've sometimes skipped one of the feedings in the middle because he is sleeping and then wakes up pretty close to the next feeding.

Let me know if you have any questions. I know it can all be a bit overwhelming. I had the same problem when my daughter was born (she is now 3 years old).
Just do whatever you are comfortable with and whatever works for you and your daughter :)
D.
SAHM to a 3 year old daughter and an 8 month old son.

Hi C.,
L. the Lactation Consultant here.
Every new mother has concerns about nutrition for her child, so please be kind to yourself and know you are doing your best!
It's wise to remember that your baby has not read 'the book', but she knows when she's hungry and her mommy is offering nutritious foods, so she'll be fine : )

Babies need breastmilk or formula through the end of the first year of life, so at 8 months, you're just beginning to establish a "routine" for solid foods.

Offer the breast, bottle or sippy cup followed by solids and the solids will take care of themselves. It's best to follow baby's lead - she will determine when she's had enough to eat and will stop. Encouraging her to eat more has not been shown to be helpful in the long term.

Some pediatricians use a general guideline of one Tablespoon of solid food per year of life. So if she's eating a little less than a tablespoon of any given solid food, that should be fine.

Her weight gain will slow during this second half of the first year of life, so as long as she's happy, healthy, and developing normally, please try not to stress about solid foods. Her appetite for solids may increase as she grows closer to that one year milestone.

Take good care, and remember - you are doing a terrific job!
L.

Don't worry about all you're reading, mom. Your baby needs cereal and fruit in the mornings with about 6/8 ounces of milk. You can feed her the first or second foods, depending on the price and how much she wants. Two to four ounces of each.

For lunch she can have cereal again with a fruit and veggie or you can leave out the cereal and include a meat. She only needs one ounce of meat; but you can give her the entire jar if you like. Another 6/8 ounce bottle sometime after she eats, even if it's a couple of hours later for a snack. Your call.

Supper is the same as lunch and however much she wants of a bottle.

Bedtime you can give her cereal if you like....but a 6/8 ounce bottle is fine.

You really can use your own judgement about how you want to give her the bottles. If she's not just starving first thing in the morning, I'd give her the food first...then she doesn't load up on milk and leave out the food. It is time for her to cut back a little on the milk and she will do that on her own as you add the foods.

She's big enough to start giving her a cup when she's sitting in her chair...just to experiment with. And, she is, or soon will be, ready for simple snacks like dry cheerios, graham crackers, toast, and vanilla wafers.

Sounds to me like you're doing fine and just need to settle into a simple routine.

http://www.missbrenda.com

Formula is the most important food for your baby. The baby food is only for the experience not the nutrition. If she only eats a few tablespoons a day that is fine. Give her a few bites of finger food for the experience. IN one of the parenting magazine there is an artical with 60 great table foods for 9 months old children.

Do not rush people food. When she get to be 12 months she will switch to milk and her nutritional needs will change. Food will become more important.

Take it slow.

My child is Breastfed and here is her schedule at almost 8 months.

8:30 Morning nursing
9:30 one tablespoons of cereal with 1/2 jar babyfood and a few puffs.
10:30-12:30 nap
12:30 Lunch nursing
2:45 Mid afternoon short nursing
3:00-5:00 5:30 nap
6:00 Dinner nursing
6:30 Sit at table in highchair with family while we eat. Watches and learns. She has 1/2 to a whole jar of babyfood or finger food. I will also give her soft food from our plates instaed of babyfood at this time. If she is stil hungry I nurse her.
8:15 Bedtime nursing
Sleep 8:30 to 8:30

I hope this helps

Hi C.!

My daughter is 8.5 months and has been eating solids for about 2 months as well. I FEEL YOUR PAIN! I read and read so much on eating solids and talked to her pedi but it always felt like I was getting conflicting info. I finally, just threw out the info I was getting in the books, online, etc and just listened to my pedi and my mom.

As long as your little one is still on formula or breast milk, they do not NEED to eat solids for nutritional completness until 1 year. Eating solids at this point is more of a learning experience rather than a requirement.

What has worked for me is to let my daughter drink as much formula as she wants at the start of each feeding (every 3-4 hours). If she starts to push away the bottle and is still acting hungry only then do I offer her solids. This way I know she is getting all the formula she needs (about 30 oz/day) and still getting a chance to eat some solids. She usually eats about 2-3 oz of solid food 2-3 times a day. I don't push it and let her tell me what she wants. It's more important for her nutritionally to get her required amount of formula every day as it provides everything she needs.

Hope this helps!

C.,
Listen to your gut. I was told on the solids that a babies stomach, like ours, is the size of their fist. Dont worry about how much milk/solid they are telling you she needs to be cosuming....if she is happy then you are doing just fine. All babies are different. Let her start to tell you when she is full and dont force the food or milk on her if she doesnt want it. By about 8 mths my son was eating 3 meals a day including 1/2-1 vegie pack, 1/2-1 fruit pack(with cereal in the morning), and a 6-8 oz bottle (I would put 8oz in it and just let him drink as much as he wanted); and then a snack of just a 6-8 oz bottle btwn lunch & dinner. I found that if you alternate the bottle - before the solid one meal, then after the solid the next meal - they wont get too much of one and not enough of the other. I let him tell me when he was done with the solid and with the bottle. If he only ate 1/2 of something at one feeding he got the other 1/2 at the next. Mother's insticts are usually right too, so listen to your gut...it will tell you if you are missing something. Good luck!!
A.

Ok, here's what I did with my son at that age. I started feeding him like an adult to pattern the meals that my DH and I eat:

Breakfast: I think I cut out the bottle in the morning at this time and gave him a cup of milk. Then I would give him oatmeal, malt o meal, or such things that have I had to mix with milk.

Mid-morning: You could give a snack, but I didn't. My son wouldn't be hungry for lunch. I just gave him a cup to sip on all the morning full of milk.

Lunch: Same kind of lunch as I had, but I think my son had baby food at this time. Cup of milk with lunch.

Snack: Any kind of snack. Cup of milk to go with it.

Dinner: Same dinner as us or baby food. Cup of milk.

Before bed: Bottle

You could substitute a bottle for a cup of milk with any meal, but that's just how I phased out the bottle. My son never took the recommended amount of milk that his doctor suggested, and he is fine. I kept trying to give him calcium in other forms. I also gave him liquid vitamins every day. I was also worried about how much fruit, vegetables, and milk my son was getting each day. I just think sometimes that it's impossible to get all that in them in one day. My pedi doc told me one time that as long as they eat really well during the WEEK then they should be fine. That will help you when they become those picky little toddlers like my son is! :) Good luck!

First of all, remember that right now formula is her best source of nutrition until she is one year of age.

2nd of all every 1st time mother has these concerns. I know I did.

3rd of all this is what I do. I learned this from my ped. who gave me a wonderful guideline...

Bottle in the morning right after she awakes.
2 hours later rice cereal and a fruit
3 hours later a bottle (unless she is sleeping) give her the bottle after the nap.
later I give a lunch or a snack. Lunch is a veggie and a fruit. A snack is crackers, etc.

Dinner is a meat, veggie and a fruit. I usually do this a couple of hrs. before bedtime and then a bottle before bed.

The guideline was 20-32 ounces of formula per day
2 veggies
2 fruits
1 meat
2 servings of cereal or bread
1 fruit can be subbed out w/ 4 ozs of fruit juice.

Remember this is just a guideline. Feed her solids until she turns her head or spits them out. If I cut out a solid meal it is usually lunch b/c baby is sleeping.

Goodluck!!!

My daughter is 10 months old and I had her on the following schedule:

- 5 ounces of milk when she wakes up in the morning
- cereal and fruit about 1-2 hours later (breakfast)
- 3 ounces of milk about 2 hours later (and maybe a snack if she wants...cheerios, goldfish, etc)
- lunch is a fruit, a meat and a veggie (but you can sub cereal for the meat if you want);I use the stage 2 foods
- 3 ounces of milk in the afternoon
- dinner, same as lunch
- 4 ounces of milk before bed

Now, I'm told my daughter ate A LOT of baby food. She would eat a whole container of stage 2 meat, a container of fruit and a container of veggies...all in one sitting. So, you can scoop some of the food out into a bowl and just give half of a container (or as much as your little one wants) and save the rest for another meal.

Bottom line is that I staggered the meals and milk every couple of hours. Also, as you can see, she doesn't get anywhere near 28 ounces of milk a day. I think with solids, that will drop off. My pedi said more like 16-20 ounces as long as they are eating 3 meals of solids and my little one just isn't as interested in the milk as she is the food, so I think it's different for every kid.

In general, try not to stress yourself out about it. If there is one thing I have learned, it's that the kids are tougher than we are! She is gonna thrive just because you're her mommy and you care so much. As long as she's happy, then just go with it! :-)

This food thing is really tricky. My DD just decided yesterday (all of a sudden) that she won't eat baby food anymore (until yesterday, she was eating the baby food on the schedule I mentioned above, although I had started to subsitute one meal per day with table food). So, my biggest challenge now is getting her to eat something besides a grilled cheese sandwich and goldfish crackers! Good luck to you!