Foods to Give My 8 Month Old

J.,
Start with one vegetable at a time for 2 - 3 days at a time at lunch and dinner. If he tolerates it well then go onto another one. If he doesn't like one vegetable try another and go back to that other one in a few weeks. Babies are like us, they have their own likes and dislikes.
At 8 months of age my kids were eating everything, but I had to start them on cereal at 6 weeks because they were so hungry all the time. I also made my own baby food, giving them whatever we ate except for fish which I didn't give them until they were a year old or very close to it.
T.

J.,
I have a 6 month old who started cereal at 4 months. We moved on to #2 foods at 6 months- with cereal in the morning and evening with jar food. Our pediatrician suggested trying the chicken, turkey combos (#2) which we have been doing. I think you can move on to #2 at this point. They are a thicker consistency, but many of the flavors are the same. You don't have to buy the combos, but we have been. I often mix the #2 fruit in with the cereal just to mix it up a bit. The #2 flavors are much better and there is a much greater variety. Good luck!

I guess I may be the only one so far, but I read in several places it's okay to give them small amounts of meats that are pureed. I've mixed jarred baby food with food I made with a steamer basket in a pot and then in a regular food processor, then freeze in ice cube trays (transfer to glass for freezing after). It takes a short evening after dinner/bedtime to do, but lasts two or more weeks. My daughter loves it. I mix veggies and some fruit into it sometimes for variety, but the possibilities are endless. I want my child to appreciate all foods and be adventurous, so this week I introduced other meats and asparagus (pureed well). I also do all the other foods others mentioned and have sprinkled a dash of dried parsley or dill into the foods when I make them. Don't be too scared to do something inventive. My daughter eats all of it, especially when hungry!

Also... I decided to do full fat non-sweetened yogurt to avoid the sugar and my daughter loves it, even plain! Greek yogurt is great as is any other full fat plain yogurt. Remember to put off as much sugar as possible, except fruits.

I'm a very big fan of home made baby food- at 8 months we pured vegetables- carrots, string beans, squash, pured pasta is great, pured chicken soup. pretty much anything pured- actually what I did was go to the store and write down all the different kinds of stage 2 and 3 baby food. I mimicked those recipies and for serving size, simply used old jars. You need a good food processor- whatever leftover you put into ice trays and freeze. I used to spend 1-2 hours a week putting it all together. It was so worth it because of the better control over what they eat. Also I just felt better- like I was taking care of my children instead of some faceless corporation.

hope that helps!!
-S.

I'm no expert, as I am a new mother of an 8 month old myself, but here's what I give my baby girl. Our Dr. recommend she sticks to mostly fruits, veggies and cereal until 9 mos (but I mix it up a lot). I make a mixture of fruit for breakfast (blueberries mixed with banana / applesauce mixed with blackberries, etc) and for lunch I mix up veggies (sweet potato and zuchinni, avacado and carrots, etc.) and for dinner I give her mixed grain cereal or oatmeal. And of course 4 bottles of 5 oz formula a day. I also am doing figner food with grain puffs, tiny pieces of whole grain bread and teething biscuits. Hope that helps, enjoy!

Hi J.,
COngratulations! I cannot imagine how busy you are in so many different ways with a baby and two older kids. :)

8 months is a good time to introduce mushy veggies like carrots and peas. Also, yogurt and cheeses is another safe bet. We give our son (21 months now) Activia yogurt, because it consists of the BL Regularis, a friendly bacteria that remains active in the digestive system and helps their immune system, but also because he LOVES it. Like 2-3/day. If he ever doesn't want to eat I always know I can ask if he wants the yogurt and he says yes. Nice healthy alt. sometimes. I hope this helps! P.S. Avoid the meats as long as possible as they make the poos so very very stinky. :) Take care.

Hi There,
When My kids were around this age, I started giving them a YO Baby yogurt for lunch... it was something different, and the babies can have yogurt before whole milk and cheese because it is easier to digest. Also, some table foods we started with were really soft fruits and veggies... ie. ripe banana's, small chunks of sweet potatoe, the Gerber Puffs, little pieces of taost, scrambled eggs (yolks) etc. Just be creative! My daughter always liked veggies more than fruits and started inhaling steamed spinich and brocolli at about 10mos- my 18 mos old son is more into fruit, but will eat soft veggies cut into little pieces in rice. Good Luck

When my baby was 8 months, he was still eating pureed fruits and veggies only with cereal as well. But i started making it more lumpy.

I gave him fruit and cereral for breakfast; veggie and cereral for lunch, and fruits and veggies for dinner with nursing in between, first thing in the morning and before going to bed. I would make blends of the fruits and veggies or just steam up and mash whatever we were eating. I would also give him a sippy cup of water with his meals to get used to using a sippy. by just over 8 months he figured out how to use it and would drink about 2-3 ounces of water per meal also.
I also gave him some finger foods as well....buttered toast, baby rice crackers, and cheerios. As the month went on, he wanted to feed himself more, so my 9 months he was eating a mixture of finger foods (small pieces of fruit or veggies) along with his pureed foods and cereal.

by 10 months, he was only eating finger foods (except for yogurt and cottage cheese which i would spoon feed him).

Sounds like you are on teh right track.
Hope that helps.

You could definitely start some table foods. My son didn't start eating solids until 6 months, and then I made my own baby food. When we went out he had stage 2, we completely skipped stage 1 foods. By 8 months he was having soft foods. He loves to eat cut up avocado, banana, pears, cheerios. 1/2 beans,etc. This is a great time to start introducing him to table food, since most likely he will be receptive to different textures and tastes. I also never gave straight cereal, I always mixed it with something like a fruit. He only gets cereal in the morning and typically I puree a peach/nectarine to go into it. The cereal itself is so bland, I like to add somethings to it.