8 month baby food menu

Sample Menu for a Baby 8 to 12 Months Old

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Now that your baby is eating solid foods, planning meals can be more challenging. At this age, your baby needs between 750 and 900 calories each day, of which about 400 to 500 should come from breast milk or formula (if you are not breastfeeding)—roughly 24 ounces (720 mL) a day. Breast milk and formula contain vitamins, minerals, and other important components for brain growth.

At about eight months, you may want to introduce foods that are slightly coarser than strained pureed foods. They require more chewing than baby foods. You can expand your baby's diet to include soft foods such as yogurt, oatmeal, mashed banana, mashed potatoes, or even thicker or lumpy pureed vegetables. Eggs (including scrambled) are an excellent source of protein, as are cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and avocado.

Sample menu ideas for an 8- to 12-month-old baby:

1 cup = 8 ounces = 240 ml
¾ cup = 6 ounces = 180 ml
½ cup = 4 ounces = 120 ml
¼ cup = 2 ounces = 60 ml

Breakfast

2 to 4 ounces cereal, or 1 mashed or scrambled egg
2 to 4 ounces mashed or diced fruit
Breastmilk or 4 to 6 ounces formula

Snack

Lunch

2 to 4 ounces yogurt or cottage cheese, or pureed or diced beans or meat
2 to 4 ounces cooked pureed or diced yellow or orange vegetables
Breastmilk or 4 to 6 ounces formula

Snack

Dinner

2 to 4 ounces diced diced poultry, meat, or tofu
2 to 4 ounces cooked green vegetables
2 to 4 ounces cooked soft-whole grain pasta or potato
2 to 4 ounces diced or mashed fruit
Breastmilk or 4 to 6 ounces formula

Before bedtime

Breastmilk or 6 to 8 ounces formula, or water. (If breastmilk or formula, follow with water or brush teeth afterward).

More information

Sample Menu for a One-Year-Old
Starting Solid Foods
Breastfeeding Mealtime Milestones
Ask the Pediatrician: Is it OK to make my own baby food?

Last Updated: 8/12/2022

Source: Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5 7th Edition (Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Pediatrics)

The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

Sample Menu for a 1-Year-Old Child

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Babies and young toddlers should get about half of their calories from fat. Healthy fats are very important for normal growth and development at this stage of their development.

All fats are not created equal, though. Healthy fats like those found in avocado, olive oil, fish, nut butters, and dairy are good for your child (and you). Unhealthy fats such as those found in fried foods, fast foods and many packaged foods are not healthy at any age. If you keep your child's daily caloric intake at about 1,000 calories, you needn't worry about overfeeding and risk of weight gain

Here is a sample menu for a one-year-old child who weighs about 21 pounds (9.5 kg):

1 cup = 8 ounces = 240 ml

1 ounce = 2 tablespoons = 30 ml

½ ounce = 1 tablespoon = 15 ml = 3 teaspoons

1 teaspoon = ¹⁄³ tablespoon = 5 ml

BREAKFAST

½ cup iron-fortified breakfast cereal or 1 cooked egg
½ cup whole or 2% milk
½ banana, sliced
2 to 3 large sliced strawberries

SNACK

1 slice toast or whole-wheat muffin with 1–2 tablespoons cream cheese or peanut butter, or ½ cup yogurt with cut-up fruit
Water or ½ cup whole or 2% milk

LUNCH

½ sandwich: sliced turkey or chicken, tuna, egg salad or peanut butter
½ cup cooked green vegetables
½ cup whole or 2% milk

SNACK

1 to 2 ounces cubed or string cheese, or
2 to 3 tablespoons fruit or berries
Water or ½ cup whole or 2% milk

DINNER

2 to 3 ounces cooked meat, ground or diced
½ cup cooked yellow or orange vegetables
½ cup whole-grain pasta or potato
½ cup whole or 2% milk

Remember

Talk with your child's pediatrician if you have any questions or concerns about your baby's diet.

More information

Discontinuing the Bottle
Unsafe Foods for Toddlers
Selecting Snacks for Toddlers
Water & Juice

Last Updated: 8/12/2022

Source: Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5 7th Edition (Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Pediatrics)

Diet for an 8-month-old baby

In the ninth month, fish can be introduced into the diet of children. Along with animal meat, fish is a source of complete protein with a well-balanced composition of amino acids, fat, vitamins B2, B12 and minerals. Compared to meat, fish contains 5 times less connective tissue, due to which it is quickly boiled soft, has a delicate texture after heat treatment and is easier to digest. Fish oil is characterized by a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, including the ω-3 class. These substances are necessary for the child to mature the brain, retina, strengthen the cardiovascular and immune systems. Sea fish contains such important trace elements for the child's body as iodine and fluorine. The child should be given 1-2 times a week instead of meat, be sure to monitor how the child tolerates fish in general and its individual varieties. Preference should be given to oceanic fish, preferably white (cod, hake, pollock), red salmon can be recommended, river pike perch, carp.

Self-cooked fish is given to a child with boiled and mashed vegetables. You can also offer your baby fish and vegetable canned food, but they contain only 10 - 20% of fish.

At this age, when all the main food groups have already been introduced, special attention should be paid to the diversity of the composition of dishes. New, possibly combined products are introduced, for example, not only purees from various fruits and berries, but also their combinations with cottage cheese, cream, cereals, etc.

From the age of 8 months, the child's diet can be expanded to include fermented milk products (baby kefir, biokefir, bifidokefir, yogurt, bioyogurt, biolact). Fermented milk products are prepared using a special starter culture that breaks down milk protein, so that the baby can get an indispensable set of amino acids in a well-available form. Fermented milk products improve the composition of the intestinal microflora of the child, are rich in B vitamins and calcium. Their regular use favorably affects the functioning of the intestines, stimulates appetite, and increases the absorption of micronutrients. Children's dairy products are introduced into the baby's diet gradually, starting with 1 tsp. and with good tolerance increase their volume to 150-200 ml per day.

Sample menu for a healthy baby 8 months

I feeding 6 hours	Breast milk or infant formula	200 ml
II feeding 10 hours	Dairy-free* or milk porridge Butter Boiled egg yolk Fruit puree Fruit juice	180 g ½ tsp 1/2 pcs. 20 g 30 ml
III feeding 14 hours	Vegetable puree Vegetable oil Meat puree Fruit juice	170 g 1/2 tsp 50 g 50 ml
IV feeding 18 hours	Cottage cheese Baby biscuits Fruit puree Supplementation with breast milk or baby kefir/yogurt	40 g 1 - 2 pcs. 40 g 100 ml
V feeding 22 hours	Breast milk or infant formula	200 ml

* - diluted with breast milk, infant formula or water

Approximate daily ration for an 8 month old baby allergic to cow's milk proteins

I feeding 6 hours	Breast milk or formula for children allergic to cow's milk proteins	200 ml
II feeding 10 o'clock	Dairy-free* porridge Vegetable oil Fruit puree (apple, pear)	120 g 1 tsp 80 g
III feeding 14 hours	Vegetable puree Vegetable oil Meat puree	170 g 1 tsp 40 g
IV feeding 18 hours	Vegetable puree or porridge Vegetable oil Meat puree	170 g 1 tsp 30 g
V feeding 22 hours	Breast milk or formula for children allergic to cow's milk proteins	200 ml

* - diluted with breast milk or therapeutic formula for children with allergies to cow's milk proteins

Baby's menu at 8 months: what you can, diet

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The older the child gets, the more questions young parents have about feeding. The introduction of products has already begun, but what's next? What does an 8 month old baby eat? What is impossible? What to feed the baby? What is the feeding schedule? How much does an 8 month old baby eat? And if he is breastfed or artificial?

By this age, the baby should be receiving adequate complementary foods, but breast milk and its substitutes are still the mainstay of an eight-month-old baby's diet (World Health Organization, American Academy of Pediatrics). Recall that the purpose of the introduction of complementary foods is to introduce the child to foods and new textures, teach him to chew, replenish the supply of nutrients that is missing for a growing body and prepare for the transition to a common (parental) table. By the way, do you know what a baby should be able to do at 8 months? Look in this article.

At 8–9 months, in addition to nutrients from breastmilk or its equivalent, a baby needs approximately 400 kcal, 6 grams of protein, 200 mg of calcium, 3. 5 mg of iron, as well as fats, carbohydrates, and a range of vitamins and minerals daily, which should be supplied with complementary foods.

What does a baby eat at 8–9 months and what new foods should be introduced?

By the age of eight months, the baby already has a sufficient set of complementary foods: various vegetables (zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, sweet potatoes), fruits (apple, pear, banana, peach, apricot), cereals (buckwheat, rice, corn), meat (turkey, rabbit, beef, chicken), butter and vegetable oils.

Experts in the field of baby food recommend that at this age fish should be introduced into complementary foods as a source of Omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, minerals and trace elements. You should start with white fish (hake, cod, perch, pollock). Serving size should not exceed 30-50 grams per serving, 1-2 times a week instead of meat dishes. Fish can be combined with vegetables or cereals.

8 months is the time to start introducing fermented milk products (kefir, unsweetened biolact or yogurt up to 150 ml per day), cottage cheese (no more than 50 grams per day) and cheese into the diet. An additional source of calcium is extremely important for a fast-growing organism. In addition, lactic acid bacteria help the baby's digestion.

Parents often have a question: is it possible to give milk to a child of 8 months? No, WHO does not recommend doing this before 12 months due to the high risk of developing an allergic reaction.

As an additional source of fat, it is recommended to add 1 tsp. butter in cereals and 1 tsp. vegetable oil in vegetable dishes.

What to give a baby at 8 months - what consistency should his food be?

The consistency of food for an eight-month-old baby should be soft, but not homogenized - mashed potatoes, minced meat, ground on a grater. From 8 months it is recommended to introduce pieces into complementary foods: you should start with small ones, no more than 0.5 × 0.5 cm of soft consistency (for example, boiled zucchini, banana, ripe pear, etc.).

In addition to the food that the baby receives from a spoon, it is important to offer him the so-called finger food - food that the child will independently hold in his hand and eat. For example, fresh fruits cut into large pieces (banana, peach, melon) or cooked vegetables (potatoes, carrots, bell peppers). Eating on your own while holding the product in your hand is an important skill that a child must acquire at the stage of acquaintance with food. So the child will learn to bite off small pieces, chew and swallow them. In addition, it is great for training coordination and fine motor skills, and learning the texture of the product is an important part of development.

What diet should an eight-month-old baby have?

At 8 months, the baby should have approximately 2-3 full meals and 2-3 snacks, while breastfeeding may still be on demand.

And there are no fundamental differences between cooked food at home and in industrial conditions. Use the one that is comfortable for you.

Regarding how much a baby eats at 8 months, there are disagreements in the opinion of experts. Experts from WHO and the Union of Pediatricians of Russia recommend increasing the volume of complementary foods to 180-200 ml per feeding. However, if parents plan to continue breastfeeding, such large serving sizes may crowd out feedings, so the volume of a single serving should not exceed 120 ml.

We figured out the feeding regimen. What about your baby's sleep schedule? Are there problems? Find out how to solve them with our guide, which contains the most important tips for parents from a pediatrician and a baby sleep consultant.

What should one refrain from in feeding a child?

For a long time, fruit juice was used as the first complementary food. However, now pediatricians around the world recommend including these drinks in the baby’s diet no earlier than a year. A large amount of sugars (even natural ones) has a negative effect on the immature gastrointestinal tract of the baby, and especially on the liver and pancreas. Therefore, it is worth waiting 12 months.

Also, currently fashionable cow's milk substitutes - oatmeal, coconut, almond, buckwheat and others are of no use. Such products have a low energy value, and they only take up additional volume in the stomach.

Tea, even for children, even herbal, should also not be introduced into complementary foods at 8 months. WHO experts recommend introducing your baby to this wonderful drink no earlier than 5 (!) years.

And, of course, in recipes for an 8-month-old baby, you should refrain from refined sugar (including baby biscuits), honey (risk of botulism infection), mushrooms, fatty fish and meat, sausages and sausages.