How much does/did your 8 month old eat?

[sk8boarder15]

Mark will be 8 months soon and LOVES solids. We recently started including him in all three meals each day, and occasionally even a 4th "meal" if we eat as a family a 4th time.

For a while I had a scare that he was eating too many solids too fast, and limited him to twice a day, but he didn't seem to nurse much differantly with the change so I just decided any time we eat at the table (and he's awake lol) I'll offer him something. We are doing Baby Led Weaning, but kind of modified. He's had a touchy stomach so I'm slowly introducing new foods and food groups. He pretty much can have any fruits veggies, and meats at this point. It just floors me how well and how much he eats already, I've never seen a baby who has done BLW eat this much so soon. I know they are out there, but I'm looking for other mom's who's babies eat lots of solids. My supply has dropped a little in the past month, so that it is hard for me to pump enough to leave the one time a week I'm away for 3-4 hours, so he gets a good nursing time before I leave then dad has to give him solids while I gone and he does fine. 

When we eat (as long as he didn't just nurse, like within 5 minutes) he will easily eat something like, 1 piece of chicken, and 2 peices of brocolli, or for Breakfast, half a banana (that is EATEN, not on the floor or given to the dog). Or 1 strawberry, almost the whole thing! 0.0  

How much does your 8 month old eat? Is this as crazy as I think it is?? 

[MSWmama]

We're not doing BLW, but we give DS (he's 6 months) mashed up real food, and we offer brown rice with every meal (on his tray for him to feed himself if he wants). We just started offering two meals / day, and in a typical day (spread out over lunch and dinner) he'll eat: several baby handfuls of rice, 1/3 banana. 1/3 avocado, and a 2-3 tablespoons of some other veggie (sweet potato, carrots, etc). He eats even more when I'm at work (he refuses to take a bottle)!

Even though we're not doing BLW, we're very respectful about only giving him soonfuls when he lunges for the spoon or otherwise shows great interest, don't encourage him to "finish his plate", etc. I know what you mean about being shocked that a baby can put away that much food! I haven't noticed any dip in nursing either ... I guess some babies just like to eat! 

[Erin77]

My 8 month old has suddenly started DEVOURING food! We've been doing BLW for about 4 weeks and before this week, he would sort of eat some, maybe less than a tablespoon but I could see it in his diaper later. Anyway, we gave him some spanakopita on Friday and he ate a TON, like 3.5 tablespoons, and then later half a banana. And then the next day he ate the rest of the spanakopita leftovers and a strawberry and Sunday almost an entire manicotti tube filled with ricotta and mushrooms. I haven't noticed that he's nursing less, so he must just like eating- maybe something clicked for him? 

I plan to offer it to him whenever we're eating, I don't think I can overfeed him if he's feeding himself. He's just moving much more quickly than I expected- I really thought the "food before one for fun" thing would mean he'd just casually taste for a few more months. But he eats like he means it!

(ETA: My son is 10 days younger than your Mark, OP (9/28/2010) born at West Suburban in Oak Park. Hi!)

[Parker'smommy]

Sounds like he just enjoying his food! And you are being mindful of making sure he nurses often so go for it! 

My dd is also loving her food! We are not doing full on BLW, but she feeds herself about 1/2 of what she eats, and 1/2 is purees and spoon fed food like yogurt and oatmeal cereal. I always nurse her before she eats solids so that the solid meal doesn't replace her nursing. 

[JulieInChicago]

Also not BLW, but my son is 7.5 mos and eats 3x a day.  On a typical day he'll eat 1/2 banana, a 1/2c applesauce or mashed pear, two 1/2c of veggies (squash, carrots, sweet potato, peas, green beans) plus 1/2c whole grain cereal.  that's a LOT of food!  Plus he eats 3 4oz bottles while I'm at work and then nurses at ~6pm, 9pm, 12 midnight, 3am, 6am.

Some evenings he'll just keep eating and eating...

[MamitaM]

My boy is 8 months and doesn't eat much. I really wish he'd eat more. I do BLW and I know I need to offer him more food more often. He might eat 1 broccoli and one rice cake at a feeding.

[KempsMama]

My LO is 9 months, we BLW, and so far today he has nursed 7 or 8 times and eaten several pieces of cereal, several pieces of zuccinni, a couple of cherry tomatoes, some salmon dip, some spaghetti with olive oil, about a quarter cup of yogurt and whatever his older brother has given him. 

[holz]

My son is the exact same way- he has an amazing appetite for solids. I never meant to have him eating so much food so early, but he loves it and is still nursing quite a bit. His typical day is as follows- solids vary, but these are some favorites-

7a wake & nurse

8a 3/4 banana, a few handfuls of Trader O's

9a nurse to sleep

10:45a wake & nurse

12p 1/2 avocado, 1/2 pear

1:30a nurse to sleep

3p wake & nurse

4:30p starts whining for food- i try to nurse him, and he'll have a little, but seems to really want solids- will do some fruit or puffs

6p 1/2 sweet potato, handful of lentils coated in asparagus puree

7:30p nurse to sleep

10:30p nurse

2:30a nurse

5:30a nurse

I feel like this is A LOT, but I don't want to cut down on his milk intake at all, and he just loves his solids. I do have to limit him- he'd finish a whole banana or avocado in one sitting if I let him, but I'm worried about constipation with the bananas, and then avocados are just too expensive to go through one a day. When he started eating like this two weeks ago, I thought it was a growth spurt, but he really hasn't let up.

[osker]

Wow, okay, my DD eats like a horse! She must have a hollow leg or something! She nurses on demand and it doesn't matter if she just had a full feed five minutes ago, or if she goes from the breast right to the table, she will EAT! 

This is a pretty typical day for her:

5am nurse while "sleeping" (ha ha for us)

7am nurse

8:30 breakfast - 1/2 c yogurt or cottage cheese, 1/2 pear, 1/2 c oatmeal (yes, all three!)

9am nurse and nap

11am nurse

12:30 nurse and lunch - 1/4c grains, 1/2c veggies, 1/2 c fruits  (these are estimates based on the size of her dish) finger foods, cheese, peas, carrots, melon, lentils, barley... probably offered 1T of finger foods and eats about 1/3 of it.

nap

4:00 nurse

5:30 nurse

6pm dinner- same as lunch, plus 1/2c cottage cheese or 1/2 avocado

7:30 nurse and bed

10pm nurse

We haven't started wheat, eggs, or potatoes yet so I feel like her foods are lighter than they could be... but goodness that seems like a lot of food! She's not all that big either, 38% for weight, 60% for height... she just loves food!

[MsDolphin]

I am wondering if I need to start my 8.5 month DS on more table foods. Right now he is eating stage 2 "plain" (not mixed) foods. He has three meals with bottles in between. His normal eating schedule:

7:00am 2 oz rice/oatmeal cereal, 3.5 oz fruit (apples, pears, peaches or bananas)

10:00am 6 oz formula

1:00pm 2.5 oz poi, 3.5 oz veggie (squash, sweet potatoes, or green beans)

4:00pm 6 oz formula

6:30pm 2.5 oz poi, 3.5 oz veggie (squash, sweet potatoes, or green beans)

9:00pm 6 oz formula

1:00am 6 oz formula (night feeding)

4:00am 6 oz formula (night feeding)

[motherhendoula]

My 9 month old is also eating TONS of food - and seems to LOVE purees!  My older two were 'so over it' by the time they were 7 months old....this one just gets more and more comfortable with food coming off a spoon.  He is still nursing on demand - probably 5 - 7 times during the day and 2 - 3 X's at night.  I always make sure there is some cut up fruit or something for him to practice with - but as soon as he sees a bowl and spoon in my hands - he giggles,  and gets all excited....lol - one of his favorites is Cauliflower puree...(equal parts roasted cauliflower, cooked brown rice and chicken stock - all in the blender - comes out the consistancy of mashed potatoes......he eats a half cup at a sitting and could eat it every day.   So i made the same thing only with broccoli - he had one bite, spit it out and started crying! 

[MsFortune]

Mine eats all day.  At least four meals.  Never seen such a hungry kid.

[Amanda_Reyasmom]

DD likes a variety, but doesn't eat much at all.  When she's eating baby mash she'll eat about 2oz or 1/2 a jar.  I was going to skip it totally, but she really does seem to enjoy it.  She LOVES chicken and thought the tilapia was a-ok.. (It's no chicken, but what is really?) I don't think there's anything she just didn't like other than eggs.   Well, she didn't like frozen peas, but did like the baby mash peas.  This was a pretty big strawberry, and it was dinner. lol  She did some damage to it, but really she's just not a big eater I think.