Foods 8 month baby can eat

Sample Menu for a Baby 8 to 12 Months Old

Ages & Stages

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.

Giving Baby Finger Foods at 7-8 Months

Written by Rebecca Felsenthal Stewart

Month 7, Week 3

Once your baby is a pro at eating soft mashed foods, they may be ready to move on to finger foods around 8 months. They have the dexterity to pick the food up and release it or mash it, and will become more efficient and independent as they master the pincer grip around 9 months. At that point they'll be able to use their thumb and forefinger to pick up the small chunks of food.

Your baby may grab at everything on your plate, but follow these guidelines for healthy and safe feedings.

Start with menu items like pieces of soft cheese; small pieces of pasta or bread; finely chopped soft vegetables; and fruits like bananas, avocado, and ripe peaches or nectarines. These foods should require minimal chewing, as your baby may not yet have teeth. Do NOT let them have hot dogs, raw vegetables, nuts, meats, hard candy, or sticky textures such as nut butters that have increased choking risks at this stage.
Introduce new foods one at a time in case there are any concers about allergies.
Chop all foods into soft, bite-sized pieces, 1/2 inch or smaller.
Watch out for choking hazards: Avoid round, firm foods like carrots, grapes, and hot dogs and skip anything like raw veggies and peanuts. Raisins and popcorn are dangerous for babies.
Keep up your formula or breastfeeding schedule, but as your baby eats more solids, they’ll naturally start to take less milk. Your baby needs to start eating more solids and drinking less milk for the nutritional value at this stage.

Your Baby's Development This Week

Your baby is getting stronger and may even be moving around, whether they are sliding around on their belly in reverse, scooting on their behind, or actually crawling forward. If you haven’t childproofed your house already, don’t wait any longer!

You may notice these growing signs of motor development:

Your baby is probably now able to sit on their own for several minutes, without using their hands for support and they may be able to get up into a sitting position all by themselves.
While you offer them support, they should be able to bounce up and down, and possibly even pull up to a stand.
Their little hands are increasingly agile -- they are getting better at passing a toy back and forth from one to the other.

You might wonder about:

Their vision. Your baby should be able to see nearly as far as an adult by now and can track moving objects with their eyes.
Stranger anxiety. You’re not imagining it: They may fear new people and situations. So give them time to warm up and reassure them if they are upset.
What they can understand. Your baby might comprehend more than you realize, so it’s important to keep talking to them about everything you’re doing and try to be consistent about the words you use for familiar objects.

Month 7 Week 3 Tips

If food allergies run in the family, talk to your pediatrician about introducing highly allergenic foods like peanuts and eggs.
Fried foods are not good choices for babies. If you offer them at all, do so rarely.
Avoid feeding your baby juice unless it is fresh-squeezed.
By now, your baby’s diet should include grains, fruits, vegetables, and meats, and they should be eating two to three meals a day.
In addition to rice, barley, or oat cereal, you can introduce grain products your baby can grab, such as toast, crackers, and dry cereal. Avoid any colorful, sugary cereals.
Sit baby in their high-chair for feeding time. If they eat finger foods while crawling around, they are more likely to choke.
You’re not done with breast feeding or bottle feeding. Your baby is starting the transition, but breast milk and formula are still key.
Pureeing or mashing vegetables may make them easier for your baby to eat when they are first transitioning from a liquid diet to solids.

How to feed a baby at 8 months

Shalunova Anastasia Ivanovna

Member of the Russian Union of Nutritionists, Dietitians and Food Industry Specialists

— Anastasia Ivanovna, does the nutrition of a child at 8 months differ from the diet of a one-year-old child?

— Yes, different. By eight months, additional baby foods with greater density and nutritional value are needed as the more active baby develops new needs. The most important stage in the formation of a balanced diet begins, the purpose of which is to lay the right eating habits in order to transfer the child to the common table by the year and feed him with adult food, which is customary to eat in the family.

— What is the optimal combination of complementary foods with breast milk and infant formula?

— During the day, complementary foods and the usual milk food for the baby — mother's milk or an adapted formula — are given in different feedings. In the morning and evening, the mother will continue to breastfeed or formula, and for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea she will offer the child complementary foods.

— In what cases is the start of complementary foods delayed?

— There are a number of reasons for delaying the introduction of new complementary foods:

allergic reactions;
unformed gastrointestinal tract and rejection of complementary foods;
unformed nervous system;
complications or operations after childbirth;
chronic diseases;
benign and malignant neoplasms;
lack of nutritional interest with an unformed need for complementary foods.

— Why is it important to expand the baby's diet at 8 months?

— Eight months is a period of increased activity, intensive growth, formation of the food apparatus, digestive, urinary, and immune systems. All this requires the expenditure of a large amount of energy and the introduction of additional complementary foods that contain nutrients, vitamins, minerals in greater quantities than dairy food and the first complementary foods.

— What to feed a baby at 8 months?

- By eight months, the child can already try a large number of puree food options - these are vegetables, fruits, cereals. But the older the baby becomes, the less the products are crushed so that he gets acquainted with the pieces, learns to chew and swallow them. Age-appropriate foods are numerous. But it is worth remembering that at least four days are allotted for adaptation to one new nutritional component in order to have time to track the body's reaction. If the baby responds well to one product, move on to the next.

What can a baby eat at 8 months

— What foods are harmful at eight months?

- The cooking method will play a role here. For the baby, the products are not fried, but boiled. It is not recommended to consume juices, soda, products with food additives, sweeteners, flavors and preservatives. We do not give the child sauces, canned food, fatty meats, as well as poorly digestible semi-finished products. Whole milk as an independent product at this age is too early to give.

8 month old baby menu option

Cream-soups MAMAKO ^® with goat's milk is a natural product for normalizing digestion and adapting the baby to the adult menu.

Why does the child not want to eat complementary foods?

— Such behavior is possible due to the lack of food interest or due to the immaturity of some functions or organs of the child — not everything depends on the mother here, it will be necessary to resolve the issue with doctors and try to introduce new products.

Food interest is considered to be situations when a child reaches for a spoon, looks into a plate, is interested in different tastes. If this is not the case by eight months, it is worth contacting an allergist, a nutritionist, a gastroenterologist through a pediatrician.

Read also

Why a child refuses to eat complementary foods and what to do in such situations.

— How can I tell which complementary foods my baby is allergic to?

- The easiest way to track allergies is through observation and keeping a food diary. Flushing, screaming and crying, and constipation can occur alone or along with other symptoms of a food allergy. It is necessary to introduce new food very carefully, not to give everything at once, so that the body adapts to complementary foods, and in the case of an allergic reaction, it is easier to recognize its pathogen.

Nutrition at eight months should be varied and balanced. The nutrients of each new product are important, because the child needs to be supplied not only with energy, but also with dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. Vegetables, fruits, meat, cereals already complement fermented milk products - kefir, yogurt and cottage cheese. But whole milk should be postponed to an older age.

* Breast milk is the best food for babies. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a child's life and continued breastfeeding after complementary foods are introduced until the age of 2 years. Before introducing new products into the baby's diet, you should consult with a specialist. The material is for informational purposes and cannot replace the advice of a healthcare professional. For feeding children from birth.

#advice for mom #baby formula #breast-feeding #lure #Baby development #organic porridge rice banana #wheat with pear

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.