Help with What to Feed an 8 Month Old

I had the same problem with my youngest at 7 months old. He refused baby food and the Gerber Graduates prepackaged meals. I spoke to his Dr. about it and he said that typically the 2nd child (this is actually the 5th, but who's counting) will want to mimic older siblings. He said keep it healthy and supplement with formula or breast milk and everything will be just fine. He said babies are very resiliant and will pull from their food the nutrition their body needs. We eat very healthy so he was great with steamed veggies, small fruit, etc. I waited on meats until he was almost a year. Now, he eats asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. like it is going out of style. Great habit to begin adn he is healthy as can be.

Hi G.,
I have the same problem with my 6 month old and I found that feeding her baby food prior to breastfeeding has significantly helped the situation.

Also, my daughter seems to be very independent and wants to be more involved in the feeding process by helping me guide the spoon into her mouth (with both of her hands) which truly slows down the eating process and creates an enormous mess but ultimately, she eats more that way. She gets the food all over her fingers and then sucks it off them (and then of course smears it on her face and the high chair).

Do you feel like your daughter is wanting to have more control/involvement in the eating process like mine does? If so, some of the things I've done is put some smashed bananas on her high chair tray to allow her to feed herself a little. I also have given her those Gerber Graduates puffs which I'm sure she is too young for but she loves them - I just have to stay close to ensure she fully dissolves them in her mouth before she tries to swallow to avoid choking. But by far, our situation has improved the most by nursing her after she's eaten her solid food. (However, there are a few days where she doesn't eat nearly as much baby food as she does on others so we just have to take it one day at a time.) Good luck!

I would try breastfeeding her after she eats, to see if that is a factor.

One thing I did was mix a little rice cereal with my son's baby food. It made it a thicker consistency and gave him more iron, plus, it was easier to feed to him.

As long as she is still gaining weight, I wouldn't worry.

Statistics say, it can take up to 13 different times of introducing a food before a child will learn to want it.

So you feel you aren't wasting baby food, take a couple of spoonfuls out of the baby jar and put it in a bowl. Feed her from the bowl and serve out more from the jar with a clean spoon into the bowl if she wants more. This way, the jarred baby food won't have bacteria introduced into it so you can safely refridgerate the leftovers. Baby food is good for 2-3 days when refridgerated (check the label).

Hi G.. I had the same problem, with my now 10 mo old! He recently has stopped eating baby food! He won't take ANYTHING! from a spoon. Everything is now finger foods and he is driving me crazy! hahha
Maybe she's just not ready...?
I wouldn't cut down your nursings, unless your baby wants to. Nursings should be the primary source of her nutrition. Maybe try feeding her an hour or so after nursing (that's what i did) or nurse her after her solids.

Remember to be patient and be consistent. I wouldn't keep changing the consistency of her food (purees to finger foods)
Gerber.com has some helpful tools like menues and how to introduce foods and stuff.

Hope that helps!

I have a 10 month old son that we are working on less baby food and some more table food. I was having trouble with him eatting his baby food and table food for a while and it was because while I was getting his other food ready I'd give him either a juice cup or bottle to keep him calm. He was getting to full on the bottle and cup which ended up being why he wasn't eatting his other food. Once I stopped giving him his bottle or cup until after he ate his other food his appitite was much higher. That's what I would suggest is to not nurse her until after she has eatten her baby food and then most of the time she will get full off that and not need nursed until later on. My son is down to fewer bottles because I feed him baby food now and inbetween those he will have a bottle. Hope this helps you! :)

As long as she's nursing well and staying on her growth curve, I wouldn't worry. And, wanting to get her hands on "real" food and smear it all over is entirely normal. Both of mine were done with baby food by 8 months. We just served them whatever we were eating and chopped it up (except meat - didn't introduce that until closer to a year). Favorites were canned french style green beans, mac n cheese (of course), spaghetti, steamed broccoli, steamed or baked sweet potato chunks, soft fruits (pear, banana, canned mandarin oranges). Yes, it's a mess, but the tactile experience of mushing food through their fingers is pure joy for her. We just kept baby wipes in the kitchen, and we have a small dog. I would just turn her loose in the kitchen after meals. I rarely had to sweep :-)

I have a 9 month old daughter, I have not fed her any baby food, just purees of people food. She LOVES it - and, it doesn't have the perservatives that are in baby food and it it tastes better. You can buy organic frozen vegatables and fruits, cook them according to package directions and then puree them in a Cuisinart. You can also mash avacado and banana. I have just recently started doing meat, same basic thing, cook and puree. A great website is www.wholesomebabyfood.com. Good luck!

At less than 12 months old, her primary source of nutrition should be breastmilk. I would continue to nurse her first before offering baby food. She is getting what she needs from your breastmilk. As long she is growing, don't worry so much about her refusing solid food. My son was still getting most of his calories from breastmilk at 12 months old and he is a big baby (95th percentile). Babies are very good at knowing exactly what they need. They don't emotionally eat like adults. They eat when they are hungry.

My son is in daycare as well. Up until 12 months old, they always offered his bottle of breastmilk first before offering him solids. Nothing compares to breastmilk for nutritional value.

Good luck!
S. N

If you are nursing her before meals, that is probably why she isn't as eager to eat "regular" food. But, I wouldn't worry. The fact that you are nursing means she is getting the nutrition that she needs. I wouldn't worry about how much she eats until you are ready to wean her.

Hi G.,

What your precious daughter is doing with food is completely normal. Continue to offer her all different types of food. I would suggest, however, to breastfeed her after you offer the food. If you are responded to her hunger cues vs. feeding her everytime she cries, you are not feeding her too much. Trust your baby, and she will let you know.

I could write a bunch of suggestions here, but it would be best to refer you to the Gerber website. They have great information, and it's presented very well. There was tons of research into putting this information together, and they worked with the American Dietetic Association to offer this information free to the public. Take the time to read it, and you should feel encouraged.

Also, I contribute to an online website for pediatric nutrition and it offers great information as well. Here are both the websites. No strings attached, just a group of dietitians that want to help mothers. I hope that helps!

http://www.gerber.com/promos/fpindex?promoid=155

http://www.sbanutrition.com/

Good Luck and God Bless,
A.

Under one year of age, you really can't nurse too much and breastmilk should be their primary source of nutrition. Solid foods at this age are for experimenting and getting them used to that as a form of nutrition. I think babies have a good intuition about that, as well, as my second child ate no solids at home until he was over 9 months and he's a very good, healthy eater now (he's 11). So, I wouldn't worry too much yet at all. Also, keep in mind that for a child that age, a serving of any food is less than a tablespoon (e.g., a tablespoon per year of age is the rule of them for determining a normal toddler serving). You can try feeding her small portions of whatever the family is eating (e.g. plain steamed veggies, plain rice, etc.). Also, things like frozen peas and other finger foods are great for keeping them busy while the family is eating.