8 month old meal

[Mumtobe202310]

Hi everyone.

My baby just turned 9 months yesterday.

I'm struggling with knowing how much food to give and if he is getting enough food and my breastmilk as to me he looks not that chubby not that skinny either but I would say he looks weak and it's getting to me.

So this is our schedule.

9 to 10am wake up

10.30am- ready brek 3 tablespoons mixed with cows milk and boiled over hob til desired consistency and sometimes I add mashed bananas.

He will play and then have breastmilk and fall alsep around 1pm till like 3 to 3.30pm

3.30pm- sweet potato, carrots, rice and lentils and brocolli boiled and then pureed.

6pm-fruit puree and 2 heniz biscotti

10pm-same thing I gave for lunch.

Then he has breastmilk and sleeps.

He has breastmilk in between for a few minutes here and there between all his meals.

I don't know what to do. I look at different recipes too now as I feel like he can handle texture so am waiting to try them out like pancakes, muffins, pastry etc.

Please help. Please also advice me on portion sizes. That would really help too x

Firstly, what do you mean by 'looks weak'?

There is so much value in the old saying 'food before one is just for fun', because there is very little purpose in getting stressed over solid foods with a baby of this age. They can eat a lot, if they wish too, or they can eat next to nothing. The entire purpose is to introduce them to the CONCEPT of tastes and textures, not the goal of what volume they consume. Their main source of nutrition and bulk should be in milk until they reach 1yr old, by which time they should be well versed in the concept of food and you begin to transition into meals and volume of meals.

Baby led weaning is an excellent way to do this – with this method children learn their own appetites and become more easily accommodated to tastes, textures and the motor skills of physically eating.

I would say it's slightly odd to give a solid meal at 10pm as presumably this would not be a mealtime into childhood. A 10-10 wake time is also a little strange at this age. An infant's most restorative sleep occurs from 7-midnight, so it's not the best idea to deprive them of sleep during that period.

thank you so much for your reply!

to me personally I just feel like he looks like he isn't gaining enough weight.

I tried baby led weaning but I was too scared so stick to purees a lot.

now he is 9onths so have introduced oatmeal and foods which are just mashed with fork and also finger biscuits etc as I'm less scared now.

I don't mean to deprive him of sleep at that time. it's just that he isn't really tired at that time. Usually he would wake from his afternoon nap and then sleep around 5ish to 7pm and then I would play and read with him bath etc and by 10 he is hungry and then I feed and then breastfeed and sleep.

Also, we practically live in the living room as we sleep on the sofa bed and the kitchen is attached. The bedroom we never sleep in as it is too cold and the landlord refuses to fill the massive insulation cracks which we been asking them to fill for ages.

All other buildings have theirs filled except ours, both bathroom and bedroom which are the only 2 places which are cold.

Thats why we do everything in the living room and it's quite difficult toske sure he gets adequate naps because I have to cook and do laundry etc and although I try not to make noise he is quite a light sleeper at times. Only after midnight he isn't a light sleeper

You poor thing. I can sympathise, having many years ago been in similar conditions with baby twins. Their naps were also terrible!

In that case I would just give yourself a huge break with worrying about solids. He is still very little, it's fine he is just exploring and then hopefully when he's reached over one he will have explored enough to begin the transition to more plentiful meals. Just keep his milk volume on track for how hungry he is, and and long as he is drinking that, then I see no reason for him to be dropping weight worryingly.

You can weigh him for peace of mind, but it's another thing that us mums can become anxious about for little reason. My little girl went from 3rd percentile to 30th to 7th and is now back on 3rd. It's all very changeable as they are growing and shifting!

It sounds like you're doing a good job! Every baby is different and they all go at their own pace. How does he do with the little baby biscuits and feeding himself them? I found my baby really liked cucumber sticks, slices of pepper and breadsticks at that age. They are not a high risk for choking. You can slowly build both you and your babies confidence with food and move away from purées. It is much easier being able to give them what you are having - pasta, a sandwich etc. solid starts is a good website for how to safely serve different foods. I found this reassuring.

My baby is also breastfed and was a real chunk before starting solids, I've found he has also slowed down on his weight gain and slimmed down a bit. I think this is normal, especially as they become more mobile.