TF ideas for an 8 month-old

[JoyfamMama]

Hi Ladies,

My baby is now 8 months, and eating like a horse. Unfortunately, he lost weight again at his last appt.

We've been doing TF feeding with him since birth. He started on egg yolks and avocado at 4 months, and now eats most veg, meats, butter, applesauce, yogurt, and just this week - cottage cheese. NO wheat, corn or egg whites. I am still BF 3-4 times/day, and he sleeps through the night 10-12 hours.

The problem is, I'm just out of ideas. It seems that he either gets applesauce or yogurt for breakfast (sometimes egg yolks), mashed veg and maybe some chicken for lunch, and the same thing again for dinner.

I try hard to give him what we have, but sometime that doesn't work - like spaghetti - he not eating wheat or tomatoes yet.

Am I missing something here? Making it too hard?

Thanks!

[Koalamom]

My baby is 8 months old too. Although he still has no teeth, he loves to eat. He had lentil veggie soup, pureed and gnawed on raw celery. I find he eats almost what we eat but we are going easy on the grains for now.

[Gingercat]

We started with egg yolk too at 5.5 months and did not give him any grains in the first year. This was my son's typical menu then (he was also breastfeeding):

Breakfast: a fruit mash with whatever fruit we had in season (did not give him citrus fruit though in the first year) + an egg yolk.

Lunch: red meat (usually beef or lamb) plus different veggies

Afternoon snack: plain thick sheep's milk yogurt

Dinner: A kind of legume (e.g. lentils, kidney/ white/ black beans, chickpeas) + veggies

[JoyfamMama]

Ahhh...ok, so you didn't find any problem with beans?? I've been hesitant to try them at all. That would greatly add to my available variety for meals. Thank you for that idea!

[farmerjess]

That doesn't seem like much nursing for an 8 month old. Just 3-4 times in 24 hours right? Is there any way you can nurse him more often to see if that helps his weight gain?

[kellykins]

Would the goats milk yogurt work for a baby who is dairy sensitive?
I also have an 8mo old and am looking for new ideas for him

[sarah_bella1050]

Originally Posted by farmerjess

That doesn't seem like much nursing for an 8 month old. Just 3-4 times in 24 hours right? Is there any way you can nurse him more often to see if that helps his weight gain?

I was going to make this point as well. At 8 months his MAIN source of food should be breastmilk. If you for some reason can't BF more I would try the NT formula recipe. The foods you are giving him already are great, but I wouldn't up his solid foods any more. He just can't get all of his nutrients from table food he needs BM or formula. Good luck, I hope this helps and that he gains for you!

[spughy]

I agree that doesn't sound like enough nursing for an 8 month-old baby. When my DD was that age she was eating all those solids, but also nursing WAAAY more than that.

I would add a couple more nursing sessions (a dream feed or two at night would work well), and ditch any of the foods you're giving him that are less or equally calorically dense as breastmilk. (That'd be the veg, applesauce and yogurt.) The meats, butter and avocado will certainly help.

Have his poops been ok?

[Koalamom]

Originally Posted by kellykins

Would the goats milk yogurt work for a baby who is dairy sensitive?
I also have an 8mo old and am looking for new ideas for him

My baby is dairy sensitive to all dairy, so I am going to wait for a long time to trial some.

[Koalamom]

Originally Posted by JoyfamMama

Ahhh...ok, so you didn't find any problem with beans?? I've been hesitant to try them at all. That would greatly add to my available variety for meals. Thank you for that idea!

I would not try undercooked, improperly soaked tougher beans yet. And no soy at all. I on;y feed ds lentils, and well cooked pinto beans. I am not comfortable with black beans and kidney beads. They just seem to tough for a young one. I actually got the idea about lentil from a mom on here that said it was traditional in Greece to feed a baby lentils as a first food.

[ltlmrs]

At that age (and to this day at 19 months) Ladybug's favorite food was vegetable lentil soup in bone broth. I would add meat to it sometimes and always a dollop of cream.

Here was her menu:
B: Egg yolk (daily)
and
Piggy links (she was into finger foods very early)
or
Yogurt
or
Cottage cheese

L: Soups: Lentil veggie, chicken & veggies, use your imagination; always in bone broth, pureed

D: Soup and pieces of meat off of our plates, veggies off of our plates.

She started out very picky, but we persevered - always giving her something she disliked first - and now she eats everything that we eat: spicy/bland, all textures, everything

Oh and she never got *any* sugar or sweets ever. The other day I gave her a gummy fish and she loved it! This is now her "treat."

BTW, good for you on holding off of wheat My mother gave her white bread at 6 months and I'm constantly worried now that she'll be gluten intolerant when she is older...

[becalive]

I have a 7mth that is on the WAP formula.....she doesnt get her nourishment from food but she wants to be "eating" when we do, but she isnt interested in purees. So I have just been giving her whole foods she can put on a spoon/fork or use her hands. She has had gnawed on chicken bones, pickles, brats, bacon dipped in yolk and broccoli.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

[kellykins]

Wondering if theres any correlation, gave my ds egg yolk (along with melon - a fave around here) for breakfast - cooked enough till still squishy but pick-uppable, is that right?? well- anyhow-- he took an unprecedented 1hour 45 min - nearly 2 hour nap. wow. keep the ideas coming!!! more ideas for portable and finger food-ables would be super appreciated!!

[JoyfamMama]

Hmmmm...whenever I try to nurse him more, he's soooo distracted! He does pretty good first thing in the morning. He snuggles with Momma in bed and nurses very well for a long time, before his naps go ok, and before bed we snuggle again. But any other time - bottle or breast - he just plays. Pops it in and out of his mouth over and over...that kind of thing. LOL!

The lentils and replacing the veggies with more dense foods are both great ideas! Thank you so much ladies.

And his poops are great - about 3 to 5 per day. Lol!

[farmerjess]

Ground meat sauteed in lots of coconut oil or lard goes over really well here.

Since he can do dairy, will he eat lots of butter?

[JoyfamMama]

Originally Posted by farmerjess

Ground meat sauteed in lots of coconut oil or lard goes over really well here.

Since he can do dairy, will he eat lots of butter?

Oh my yes! He looooves his butter!!

Do you not have any trouble with the cooked meat being easily choked on? Right now, unless I put it in the blender, I have to chew all his meat and spit it out before I feed it to him. I know it sounds GROSS!! LOL, but there really is no end to what I mother will do for her children. So far he chokes on it if I don't, because I simply cannot mash it well enough with a fork.

[Gingercat]

Originally Posted by JoyfamMama

Ahhh...ok, so you didn't find any problem with beans?? I've been hesitant to try them at all. That would greatly add to my available variety for meals. Thank you for that idea!

If you get freshly dried organic beans and you soak them properly for a long time (at least overnight) and then cook them on a very low heat and with lots of veggies then beans are no problem at all for babies that young.
In fact they tend to love them because of their buttery texture; my son was crazy about lentils and white/kidney beans!

[Gingercat]

Originally Posted by bluebirdmama1

I actually got the idea about lentil from a mom on here that said it was traditional in Greece to feed a baby lentils as a first food.

Perhaps that was me!

Yes, lentils are popular here for babies and toddlers and my Naturopath (who is a WPF member and also amazing as she adapts their guidelines to the Greek tradition) highly recommended them as a first food.

I'd start with lentils and then slowly add all other kinds of legumes.

[farmerjess]

We pre chewed the meat for our LO too. Eventually he could start eating ground stuff. I don't remember when though.

[lindsayjean]

My babe just turned 9 months old today! He still has breastmilk as his primary source of nutrition, but BOY does that chunker love to eat. Oh my word. He pretty much just eats whatever we're having, I don't plan out anything different for him, I just dice stuff we're eating into little finger foods. Or if it's too spicy I give him diced avocado or something like that. So yeah, he's had beans, meat (I pre-chew, except for things like meatloaf which is already pretty smallish), eggs, any veggie we eat except greens because they are hard for him to chew, and then avocado and banana and some other fruits. I don't think variety is such a huge deal when they're this young. He gets a variety of flavors from your breastmilk if you are eating a varied diet.

I think my DSs favs are meat and bone broth. He would drink bone broth instead of water from a cup, silly boy! You can tell what I ate when I was preg with him.... meat meat MEAT.