Once you have begun introducing the basic solid foods to baby, the little one is ready to go ahead and have 3 solid meals each day. The quantity of food may differ from one baby to another, it is best to go as per your baby’s cue and likability of food.
Once your baby is done with the food, you can add a few teaspoons and check if she wants a second serving. You may notice that during the 8 months baby may have got few lower teeth if not the jaws are strong enough to bite chunks of food.
From now onwards, you can replace the regular purees with well-cooked soft food. Breast milk or formula milk should be the primary source of nutrition.
Best Food for 8 Months
- Pulses and Whole Grains
Feed your little one with well-cooked and not spicy dal and whole grain. Try to include millets too. Offer soft chapathi and dosa. The hard chapathi and crisp dosa can lead to choking. Instead you can soak in diluted milk or dal water and offer.
- Millets and Cereal
Try to feed the cereals rich in iron and calcium. The millets and cereal contain way too high nutrients which are normally not present in veggies.
- Fruits and Vegetables
Make sure to steam the veggies and fruits well. Offer it as a finger food. Try to include varieties like Apple, Avocados, Peaches, pears, beans, carrots etc.
- Eggs
Eggs are the best source of proteins and nutrients. It is easily digestible too and can be offered in multiple ways. In order to begin, offer egg boiled whites first.
- Fishes and Animal Protein
You can begin by offering small pieces of well-cooked fish and chicken to the 8 months little one. Avoid adding any spice, you can just add basic seasoning. It is best to use organic meat and mercury free fishes.
Feeding Time Table for 8 Months Old
By the age of 8 months, the baby should have at least 3 meals a day along with 1 or 2 snacks. Make sure you keep a track of the hunger cues and follow a strict feeding schedule. It is totally okay to feed a small amount of food to the baby, make sure it is sufficient. Offer a lot of finger food and thick solids.
8 months is the best time to offer a wide range of solid foods to meet the nutrition needs. The best practice is to include all the necessary nutrients every day. It can be the right mix of everything.
1.1/4 cup of dairy essentials (It can be in the form of ghee, paneer, curd, cheese or flavoured yogurt)
- 1/2 cup of soluble iron (it can be included in the form of spinach, cereals, millets)
- 1 Cup of mixed fruit
- 3/4 cup of mixed vegetables
- 4-5 tablespoons of the plant as well as animal protein like eggs, legumes, lean meat, sprouts.
Solid Feeding Schedule for 8 months old baby
Early Morning 7 am – Breast milk or formula feed
Breakfast 8:30 am-9 am – A bowl of oats porridge/soft chapathi/idli
Brunch 11:30 am -12 pm – steamed vegetables/fruits.
Lunch 1 pm- 1:30 pm – Rice and dal/Khichidi
Mid Afternoon – Breastmilk
Evening 5 pm-5:30 pm- Vegetable soup/fruits
Dinner 7 pm-7:30 pm –Idli/Soft Dosa/ Rasam Rice/Porridge/Sattumaavu
Bed Time 8:30 pm -9pm Breastmilk.
Always follow your baby’s cues while feeding, avoid force-feeding the little one. Make sure you offer soft foods and offer finger foods to prevent the choking hazard. In addition to it, offer a few sips of warm water after each meal. This will promote better digestion.