8 Month Old Nutrition

My Daughter weened herself around 1 1/2 she started taking less and less as a result I produced less and less then it got to the point where my milk wasn't cutting it any longer for her. It made me sad to stop, though it was a mutual thing between us two.

way to go mama!!!

at 9 months I introduced 'protein' as in beans, poultry, meat...

I read this article which states, as I believe, there is no reason to start foods in any particular order: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9646449/

American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement on Breastfeeding
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/ped...

cons of pureees: http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21924...

I started w/ avocado, banana, sweet potato & pretty much just gave oatmeal or barley cereal sometimes to mix in w/ jarred fruits/veggies (all organic)
I did not introduce proteins until babies are 9 months old- beans, poultry, soy, meat, yogurt, egg yolk, etc

I am very interested in this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby-led_weaning

http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/vast_voeds...

http://www.babyledweaning.com/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/B-LW/

http://blwbaby.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_blwbaby_archive.html

http://www.myblwexperiences.blogspot.com/
http://www.babybanana.biz/page4.htm
http://kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html

this is what I do/did.
~L.

At that age my sons were eating "Floorios"...Cheerios that were always on the floor.
I used to be consumed with their nutrition; but now that they are grown I realize they were fine. And breast feed as long as you two are comfortable. My advice is to not worry about your baby eating too many foods right now. He's not even one! Ask your ped for a vitamin supplement, perhaps. I cannot see an 8 month old eating solids. He doesn't even have teeth yet. This can mess with digestion.

My son is almost 9 months old and weighs 22 pounds. I breastfeed him when he wakes up in the morning. About 45 min-1 hour later he eats the following for breakfast: 1/2 cup dry cereal, 3/4 of a cup of pureed fruit mixed with 1/4 cup infant cereal. If possible, I give him small pieces of fruit to pick up too.

Sometimes I breastfeed him for just a couple of minutes after his morning nap. Then, for lunch he usually has about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of food which will be some type of protein mixed w/ a veggie and/or fruit, or fruit on the side. He often will eat 1/2 slice of bread and 1/2 of a banana as well. Occasionally, I give him some yogurt or small pieces of cheese. I attempt to breastfeed him again before his afternoon nap, but he often isn't interested.

After his nap, I breastfeed him for maybe 5 minutes (10 at the most), and then he has a snack of some sort. This will usually be 6 crackers with some small pieces of cheese, 1/2 cup of goldfish crackers, 2 graham crackers, etc.

For dinner, he eats about 1 1/2 cups of food--whatever we're having, pureed in the blender if necessary, or cut up into small pieces. I will also give him something like Gerber's wagon wheels, 1/2 banana, crackers, 1/2 slice of bread, dry cereal (Cheerios, Kix, Corn Flakes, etc.) or something he can eat himself if he's having pureed food. In addition, he drinks water with every meal and snack except for breakfast. Some nights I breastfeed him a little bit more before dinner and/or before bed, but many nights I do not.

Hope this helps!

Sound like he is right on track. I always did a dinner too. Finger foods would be good for lunch then on to the main meal. Try veggies with some purred chicken aded to it.

Hi, G.. You're doing GREAT with nutrition! For the entire first year, the most important source of nutrition for any infant is breast milk or formula.

If you want him to eat more solid foods and less milk, try introducing some meats, unless you're vegetarians. If you can feed him some meat, try making small, finger-sized hamburger patties or ground turkey patties (less fat in the turkey). If he's got a lot of teeth, small slivers of chicken meat are good, too. The reason I suggest it is because it sounds like he might be craving some more protein, since he's eating a lot of excellent solids, but these are a little light on concentrated protein. Cheese is a good, solid source of concentrated protein, plus it has calcium. The main benefits of milk are protein and calcium, so this would be a good substitute for some of the breast milk he's eating now.

Make sure, though, that if he eats more solids and less milk, that he gets enough liquid. Some of his desire for breastmilk now may be because he's thirsty. Try introducing a little water here and there. Some fruit juice like apple juice is good, too. As a beverage, carrot juice has tons of vitamins in it, but it's full of natural sugar, too. If you're watching his intake of sweet things, take that into consideration.

Again, I'm really impressed with what you're feeding your baby. Keep up the good work!

Peace & good health,
Syl

Hi G.!

I actually have a 7 month old who I also breastfeed and I give him three meals a day. I give him his cereal with applesauce in the morning, his vegetables for lunch, & dinner. He only breastfeeds between 2-3x's daily. He also eats every 3hrs. I want to breastfeed till he's one but i've noticed that i have to wean him off now because he's too attached. He should be eating less breast milk now. Just add another actual meal.

At 8 months, Breastmilk provides excellent nutrition and everything a baby needs. Think of adding food as a condiment to breastmilk, an exploration of textures and flavors! Rice cereal is really just filler and not nutritious at all. Maybe try oatmeal run through a blender adding breastmilk. My DD loved sweet potatoes, applesauce, mashed bananas, and such. All homemade by the way! Not too hard to do once you get into the swing of things. But what you list is a great list to continue with! Maybe also add cinnamon or mild spices/herbs to the foods, to try different flavors? And check out goat's milk instead of cow's milk - more nutrition in that!

Also check out La Leche League for more info:
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBsolids.html

i feed my DD 3 times day with solids. I tried giving her baby yogurt but her DR. says to wait till she's 1 yrs.old.

She was breastfed till 5 months and now she's strictly on formula.

her 9 month visit is until March, so until then ..I'll just keep feeding her solids 3 x a day and her milk 3 times a day as well.

Hope this helped.

I encourage you to view these two links, I think you'll find the information in them very helpful to you.

http://www.helpingwomenonline.com/introducingsolidfood.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_introduce-solid-food...

I give my daughter (7 1/2 months) anything that is soft and gummable and I have since she was 4 months old. She eats anything that I can put between my fingers and crush to mush, including some meats (chicken, ham steak, chop meat, turkey, fish) whatever i make for dinner is generally what she eats. For instance, last night we had tilapia in a white wine lemon sauce, with green beans and brown rice. I cooked her green beans and rice a little longer and took most of the sauce off her fish, but she ate it all and loved it. My son was the same way. At 12 weeks he was eating what we ate and he now eats EVERYTHING. there is not one thing he doesn't like and he will try anything once. I am not one for holding off on the food. (I should mention I'm a chef by trade, so food is my life). I do stay away from peanuts and honey for the first year. But both my kids had Yogurt and cottage cheese and sour cream and eggs from very early on. If they can tolerate it, I say give it to them. (No bad food though, fast food, junk food, etc) Healthy, but anything they can handle. Also, we have no food allergies in our families. If you do, I would be cautious and make sure only one food is introduced at a time to be sure they are safe. Good luck.

I feed my eight month old:
1 stage two fruit and oatmeal for breakfast
1 stage two veg and rice for lunch
1 stage two veg and 1 stage two fruit for dinner
and four to five 6 oz bottles throughout the day
She doesn't always eat this much food, but usually does.
I have also started introducing her to the Gerber "puffs" since she already has a mouthfull of teeth.

Breastmilk should be your son's main source of food until the age of 1. You are on the right track with him with the solid foods.

My 3rd child self-weaned just before he turned 16 months. At the age of 1 he was breastfeeding 4 times a day and was eating solids 3 times a day.

HTH

S.