What, How Much, and How to Give Solids to My 8 Month Old!

To be honest I never even gave my son the stage three foods. When he was ready for solids, as far as having his teeth and stuff, I just started feeding him regular foods that were appropriate for him that is. I kinda found the stage three foods a waste of money and just a way for Gerber to make more money, lol! Simply because it is food that you are eating, for the most part, but just in a jar. I would just stick with the healthy track that you are on and just use your instincts with what you feel is appropriate to feed your child.
My son started at his current daycare when he was 11 months old and they actually used real vegetables and what not and chopped them up really finely in one of those food thingys, sorry but cant think of the name off hand, been a long day.
Also try giving him more vegetables then fruit. Not saying that fruit is bad for you but fruit is naturally sweetened and it may lead to him having a "sweet tooth" later in life.

Try feeding him the same foods that you eat, only more mashed up. I found with 2 of my 3 kids, they would refuse to eat unless it was the same stuff as me. My son was 6 months old when he started this, and I was afraid of him choking, but he did wonderfully, he had only 2 teeth, but seemed to really know how to use them. My baby, who is 11 months now, was about 8 months when I started her on table food. She refused to eat any thing else and didnt want a bottle all that much either. There is a huge benefit to this, I make sure what I eat and the kids eat is extremely healthy and we are really enjoying it. Yes it makes eating out a bit harder, but thankfully, they are starting to make healthier choices. Good Luck!

Nutritionally, babies only need breastmilk and/ or formula until they turn 1. The baby food is there for thhem to experiment with the new flavors and texture, not really for nutrition. Once they turn 1, then they are supposed to get more foods than milk. Try to expose the baby to the healthy food now (he doesn't have to eat it, just taste it) so that after his birthday he won't refuse the healthy foods.

This website - wholesomebabyfood.com - gave me great ideas for foods I could give my son during all the different stages. It also discusses making your own food or using table food instead of buying specialty baby food, which can be so expensive.

Buy or borrow the book Super Baby Foods. It's the best and gives you options for making your own baby food, which if you can handle it once a month, saves a ton of money and is soooooo much better for your kid!

I think every baby is different as far as amount of food. At that age, my baby was eating anywhere from 24-30 oz. breastmilk/day. And was getting a couple ounces of 1-2 solids at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was transitioning into lumpier puree; not runny like the stage 1, but lumpy like thick oatmeal. I prefer to make my own baby foods- it takes a little time once a month- but it saves a ton of money and then I know precisely what my baby is eating. As for food, here are some ideas: steamed carrots, green beans, sweet potato,
butternut squash, summer squash (zucchini and yellow), peas, broccoli, pureed spinach, potato,
tomatoe minus skin, raspberries, blueberries or strawberries (although I know some people wait on this because of allergies), banana, applesauce, pears, peaches, ripe cantelope, honeydew, watermelon, I've also made a honeydew/strawberry puree that was good, grapes, pineapple, avacado. I meant to try eggplant but I don't really know how to cook it so
didn't. I think the rice and oatmeal cereals are great- you can add so many different flavors to them. At that age I liked the sweet potato puffs that are finger foods, they dissolve easily and also the wagon wheels (also made by gerber I think).
Hope that gives you some ideas.

If he likes getting real food and not the baby food then just give him the real food. As long as he is still getting formula or breastmilk that is all the nutrition he needs. Feeding him solid is just to teach them how to eat and different textures. My son eats pretty much anything that you don't have to grind up with your molars since he doesn't have any yet. He gets chicken, pork, hamburgers, carrots, corn, avocados, cantelope, cucumbers, tomatoes, lima beans, noodles, asparagus, beets, you name it. pretty much anything that is good for you that he can chew on. Everything has to be small bite size portions but he loves to feed himself and eats really well that way. He still takes about 24 ounces of formula aday and eats solids 3 meals and 3 snacks. Good luck