Feeding 8 Mo Old Baby.

Set it aside for now and offer again in a few days. She's taking a little break - maybe she's concentrating on some other developmental milestone right now. At this age, any food other than formula/breastmilk is just for practice anyway.

Have you tried the purée without mixing in cereal? Or adding a few seasonings?

Or maybe some puffs or biter biscuits?

You could also try using a mesh feeder and putting soft foods or frozen cubes of purée in that.

I wouldn't worry too much... At this point it's more about practice than nutrition, so it won't hurt her not to be eating as long as she is still drinking her milk. She could be teething a bit, and doesn't like the texture, gearing up for a growth spurt and just doesn't feel like eating, or just not into it at the moment. Just keep offering her the food, and eventually she will most likely eat up. If not, you can address it as an issue then.

Though... My Dd was, to my dismay, one of those babies who preferred the jarred over fresh. :/

Maybe you need to just try something new. I do baby-led with some purees. have you introduced meat yet? How about a nice chicken casserole? 8 months is for sure when my kids start wanting real food, with spices, lot of ingredients, etc. Simple purees become boring.

I would just relax and let her try (or not) a little of whatever you are eating (either pureed or cooked soft enough to safely gum/chew). She get most/all of her nutrition at this age from formula or breast milk so 'real' food is just for practice. I would NOT start giving her the jarred stuff. Taste it for yourself and see. Also a few bites is really all she should be eating at a time right now.

I agree with Marie C......there are plenty of reasons she might be doing this that aren't bad. Growth spurt is what pops to my mind first. And while her taste buds are still developing, her tastes just might be changing, too. As long as she's still taking formula, I would not worry too much.

I wouldn't worry about the foods, under a year all they need is breast milk or formula, and you say she is still doing fine with that. It could be that she's not hungry, how much are you offering her per day? At that age, my son would have just one serving of fruits or veggies with dinner and a bowl of cereal mixed with breastmilk at breakfast. He'd then nurse the rest of the day. Give it a break and then try again later, or cut down on the frequency you are offering food. It doesn't sound like she's ready for finger foods yet at all, I doubt a few weeks will change that so be careful if you still want to try them again. There are also commercial Stage 2 and 3 baby foods that have a bit more consistency than purees, but don't require chewing and swallowing like finger foods.

I would hold off a bit on the food. Make your own. It is a waste to buy the prepared food - have you ever tasted it?

When you do make it, use frozen or fresh veggies and use a blender. For peas and corn use a strainer so that the outside shell is not included in the food. Any liquid you cook the food in can be used to thin out the food and then freeze in individual containers (baby fruit jars). I would make food up about every two weeks and it took one night a week. Just make sure you date the food before you freeze. Some things I made were chicken vegetable soup, frozen veggies of sweet potato, carrots, green beans, peas, corn, chicken livers and beef kidneys were seasoned with celery and onion in the cooking water and strained prior to pureeing.

Formula is still the main food so don't get upset. In days of old baby ate what everybody else at the table only mashed up good.

Good luck to you.

the other S.

PS I worked with my first child and still made the food. I was home with my second.

I wish I could copy and paste....

Every bite of food you give your baby at this age is robbing her of nutrients she needs from her formula. She doesn't even need food yet. Food, purees, stage 1 simple single foods are only used to teach your baby to chew and swallow which is something they can't really do yet. Maybe in a couple of months.

So please give your baby the food they need, formula. She can have other stuff but formula first, before anything else, filled up to the brim with formula. Then if you feel the need to give them food only a couple of bites. Nothing too substantive. She doesn't need it.

The reason babies start acting like they're starving and eating and eating more and more is because parents stop giving them formula and giving then baby food instead which has not nutrition in it. SO the baby is starving for nutrition.

Since you're making your own purees that's better than store purchased baby food but still, formula has DHA and is jam packed with tons of nutrients that baby needs for growth and development.

Offer her a few bites of foods she likes but she really does not need it. She needs her formula and until you start transitioning to whole vitamin D milk around 11 1/2 months so she'll be switched to regular milk by 12 1/2 months she really needs it first. As you start transitioning her from the formula she'll naturally start wanting more food, that's when she needs to be able to chew and swallow well. Even then, it's not like some magic age where she'll automatically be able to do that.

She may not chew well and swallow until she's a bit older, maybe even up to 15 months.