7-8 Month Old Feeding Schedule

Updated on February 08, 2010
S.H. asks from Melrose Park, IL
7 answers

Hello,

My daughter is almost 8 months old and I am wondering if she is getting enough formula throughout the day. I keep hearing different answers to how much formula she should be drinking each day and was wondering if anyone can share their feeding schedule with me. She was drinking four 8 oz. bottles a day, eating every 4 hours.You would think with this being my 3rd daughter I would have this down without a problem.

Her new schedule is like this:

7:00am- Wakes Up and has 3oz. of formula - Baby cereal with apple juice mixed in - and then finishes the remaining 3 oz. of her formula.

Around 9:30 she takes a nap and wakes up around 10:30

Noon- She has a full jar of stage 2 baby fruit and a 6oz. bottle

Around 2-2:30 she takes a nap and wakes up around 3:30

5:00pm she has a full jar of stage 2 vegetables with 2 oz. of Apple juice

6:00 she has a 6 oz. bottle of formula and is asleep by 7 for the night.

She will be starting on the meat dinners shortly, but I don't like to start her on anything new when she is sick, and we have had colds going around this house like crazy.

Does this sound like a healthy schedule? I would appreciate any advice or thoughts. Thank You.

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So What Happened?

I know this sounds stupid, but I never even thought of giving her water instead of the juice. I thought the juice would flavor her cereal enough where she would like it. For the juice after dinner, I just thought it would be something different for her. Tomorrow, I am going to give it a try with the water.

More Answers

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K.H.

answers from Washington DC on

The schedule sounds good , going to bed at a good time and having 2 good naps during the day. The part that got my attention was the apple juice bit...why do you mix apple juice in with her cereal? She is just getting unnecessary sugar , if you want to flavour the cereal why not add some banana to it? At 8 months she could have it left a little more lumpy , you could also give her a weetabix for her breakfast with milk on it or oatmeal or cream of wheat (all these can have fruit added). I would also avoid the apple juice with her dinner aswell , and give water instead. I am not overly fussy with what my kids can and cannot have , I just found at this young age when they know no different you can get away with giving them just water!!

1 mom found this helpful
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M.R.

answers from Chicago on

Sounds like what I did with my first child at that age, except he had a 'snack' when he woke from his nap. The only thing I'd change is the apple juice. It's really just unnecessary sugar and has little nutritional value. Water would be sufficient.

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G.B.

answers from Tulsa on

Excuse me, fruit juice that is 100% juice is a serving of fruit.

My soapbox here: formula is complete nutrition. Now that said....

If it was banana juice in the cereal would you think the same way? It's like you're adding a couple of slices of apple not pouring sugar over the cereal. Kids needs to follow the food pyramid too. The daily requirments of fruits and veggies needs to be considered. A 7 month old on formula really doesn't need more than the formula. But most parents add foods anyway. If it's juicy juice or another 100% fruit juice then go ahead and use it.

The only thing I would change is making sure you are giving the baby enough liquids. It doesn't seem they are getting enough to drink here. Since you are still using formula don't add another bottle of that but add maybe 4-6 oz. of water during the day somewhere.

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B.S.

answers from Chicago on

NOt sure if you got my last response. I think your baby should get between 32-36oz of formula daily. Include what you use to make cereal in this count. Also, pediatrician said not to give juice at this age..water is fine. Add some gerber/earth best fruit to your baby's cereal; mine loved prunes or blueberries in his cereal. If he's getting enough formula he probably doesn't need extra water..plenty in the formula. For solids at 8 months I gave my baby gerber/earth's best, avocados, sweet potatoes, yo baby yogurt, & egg yolk.
Enough formula is more important than solids at this stage. The formula has all of the calories and nutrition that he needs. At meal time I would give him formula first then follow with the solids.

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C.G.

answers from Chicago on

My 10 month old does not drink a ton of formula. For whatever reason, she just isn't into it! At her 9 month appt, my ped told me most babies her age are drinking between 24-30 oz per day, but that my baby would never be that baby and that was ok. We revised that schedule to cater to her "personality". Ped told me as long as she is getting 16-18 oz per day, she's good.

As for your schedule, I really don't think that is of great importance. At this age, as long as your baby is getting 3 meals a day in solids and drinking the amounts of formula I noted above, you're good to go. Let your baby be your guide in terms of when and how much she eats. : )

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J.G.

answers from Chicago on

I give my son who is the same age cereal mixed with baby food which eliminates the need for juice and gives it flavor. I also give him different kinds of cereal (rice, oatmeal, multi-grain) to have him adjust to different textures. You could also use formula to mix with cereal...

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T.C.

answers from Chicago on

Hi S.,
I asked my pediatrician this same question for my 6 month old. She said that the minimum amount of formula needed is 15 oz, because he needs that much to get the required amount of daily iron. My son is getting about 18-20 oz of formula a day. I give him the baby food first and then formula. He's eating a jar of baby fruit&grain for breakfast at 7am. For lunch he has baby cereal and a jar of fruit/veggies. For dinner he has a jar of veggies/meat. After every meal he has a little formula, usually about 3oz. He has a 6oz bottle before bed at 6pm. Then he has a 6oz bottle when he wakes up at night, usually around 1am.
I don't know, but I think there's a lot of leeway in what they can eat as long as they're getting the nutrition needed. I just want my little one to get used to eating food and he really seems to like it. I'm hoping it will make the transition to less bottles later easier. That being said, this is my first child, so I'm not speaking from experience just going by doctor advice. :)

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