My 8 month old has been doing great on baby food and now table food for the past few months. (We of course started slow and have experimented more in the past month.) I'm looking for some advice about how to increase her food intake over the next few months and when to start decreasing her formula.
All I've seen on line is how to introduce cereal and that babies should get cows milk at 1 year. I'm looking for some advice on the middle. How much table food should she be getting? Is it OK if she's dropping half a bottle?
Thanks Mommas!
Thanks for all of the advice. We'll stick to her regular eating schedule and let her eat as much as she wants.
To answer the question - she's great with table foods. Bananas, rice, pasta, avocado, tons of soft fruits and cooked veggies and of course puffs. She loves the independence of feeding herself!
Until just after a year old... the bulk of her nutrition should come from formula. But - honestly - formula and solids both lack specific nutrition needed anyways - so I guess you can do whatever you want in regards to phasing out formula.
I don't know if you have started little finger food snacks yet, but they are a good mid-step in the puree to table food transition. Gerber has the Puffs made from whole grains, but there are also many store brands that are very similar. There are also freeze dried fruits that are good little finger foods. They melt quickly in their mouths so there isn't much chance of choking. There is always dry Cheerio's. But those little steps worked well with both of my kids. If she is staying full on a bottle there probably isn't a need to add too much table food for her. I haven't read the responses yet, but I am sure there are a lot of Moms saying not to really give her solids and keep the bottle, which is true, unless she is crying for it more often that before. But little table foods are good additions to her diet and get her used to eating more solid foods.
When I transitioned from breast milk to cow milk for my 1 year olds, my children got sick on 2% cow's milk so I gave them dried cereal like cheerios and fed them Similac II (design for toddlers). They drank that until 18 months and switched to regular milk. I never had a problem after that. They also loved french toast, pancakes and waffles for breakfast.
She needs the formula the most over table food. I wouldn't decrease her bottles too much until closer to one year. The majority of her daily intake needs to be formula. I would ask her doctor about how much she should be drinking and go with that.
A great reference is www.wholesomebabyfood.com
At 8 months, I'd say a good 75-85% of her nutrition should be coming from formula....and that doesn't necessarily mean you should be decreasing her formula just because she's increasing her solids. She's growing and moving more and needs those calories.
What I would do is keep her regular bottle schedule and just *add* the solids. It doesn't matter how much solids she eats, just that she's *learning* to eat them.
From 9 months until about age 2, my girls ate every 2 waking hours; whether it was a nursing session or a piece of cheese. Don't expect your baby to eat a meal. At her age, a few teaspoons of apple sauce and a dozen cheerios can be a meal.
