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How much does your 8 month old eat?

28 replies

Melly · 13/03/2002 09:38

Am interested to know what and how much other eight month old babies eat. My dd eats well and seems contented enough most of the time, but sometimes I wonder whether she is having enough or too much! I'd be very interested to hear from other mums how much their little ones eat.
On an average day she eats:-

Breakfast is approx 4-6 dessertspoons of ready brek or other baby breakfast cereal usually mixed with a small amount of fruit to make it more interesting.

Lunch is usually a chicken based meal, with say tomato sauce and pasta or similar. She usually eats the equivalent of a small jar i.e 125 grams followed by fromage frais (she usually manages to eat two of the tiny pots).

Tea is say another 125 grams of cauliflower cheese or similar plus a mashed up banana or rice pudding.

Last night for tea she had a savoury dish plus apricot custard and still seemed hungry, so I offered her a rusk mashed up with some milk and she woofed this down as well.

She has three 7 oz bottles per day and always seems desperate for these. She is none too keen on lumps in her food, I am persevering but she protests if things are too lumpy and then refuses to eat it. The only way I can get her to finish is to give it a quick blast with the hand blender.

I know we should be "guided by the baby's appetite" but sometimes I find this quite difficult. My dd hasn't any teeth yet, I have tried offering small pieces of toast, rusks and bread sticks but she just doesn't seem that interested...well only to spread around the highchair!

Her weight is spot on the 50th centile and HV seems happy with her.

OP posts:
jolou1 · 13/03/2002 10:56

My little boy is just seven months and eats virtually exactly the same as your dd. He's a huge child (well to me anyway!!) and still has five bottles a day. I too worry that I'm not feeding him enough, but the voice of reason that is my dh points out that he would wake in the night, would scream for more food and would be failing to thrive if he didn't eat enough. Looking at all 22lbs of him, I guess I'm doing something right!

Art · 13/03/2002 13:10

Melly - sounds like you and dd are doing fine. My ds eats almost exactly the same, and I think he eats quite a lot compared to what the baby books reccommend(sp?). He is now 9 months and is quite big but his weight gain has just started to slow now that he is on the move.
Ive always found it hard to be guided by his appetite as I think he would just go on eating until he popped if I didnt stop him!
He sleeps through the night though, has plenty of energy and isnt overweight so I imagine what he eats is ok.

honeybunny · 13/03/2002 13:25

Melly- sounds ideal to me too. Lucky you! My ds probably ate about half the amount you've mentioned and his weight hovered between the 9th and 25th centiles on the chart. He was most adamant when he'd had enough and simply refused to eat more. Those lips almost whitened in his effort to keep them clamped shut!
Without teeth, I would have thought toast and bread sticks would be quite difficult for dd. My ds loved sucking on homemade rusks (from ?Carol Timperly Veggie cook book-think thats her name)and marmite rice cakes. But during teething itself he loved "bickiepegs" (Boots stock these) and cold raw carrot sticks from the fridge, but be warned as occassionally he'd bite a piece off and choke a bit on it at times.
I'd be guided by dd, if she's happy and content, give yourself a big clap on the back, you're doing brilliantly!

Melly · 13/03/2002 13:41

Thanks everyone, especially your comment Honeybunny, that's really nice I do tend to get a bit paranoid about what everyone else's baby is doing and eating etc. My latest concerns are whether she will ever get off purees and when will she start to crawl!!! I keep referring to my baby book that my mum kept about me and can't help making comparisons! I know I should chill out a bit and enjoy my dd, but I'm one of life's worriers! We are sort of trying for another baby (I say sort of because my husband is away a fair bit in the Navy) and I would imagine (hope!) that things are easier the second time round ??? !

OP posts:
Shaila · 13/03/2002 14:51

I have exactly the same story as honeybunny's ds. My son does the same things and would not eat if he is full up. I am really worried about him as he is gone down his line now (25th Percentile as well). I wieghed him y'day and he is not on his line any more.I just do not know what to do. I try to feed him home made meals so he can get fresh vitamins/minaral etc.

He has got 2 teeth now and he is teething very much too. He loves his finger food but would not eat if there are lumps in his meal.

Also, we are vegetarian (no meat and no fish) so I am really concerned about his weight. My HV seems to think that he is doing ok but I am not working because I wanted to lookafter him myself makes me think that I am doing something wrong. It may be that I am first time mum and I don't have anyone here in the same situation as me to talk to.

Can anyone help?

dm2 · 13/03/2002 15:17

Melly - my ds is only just 8 months and eats the same as your dd except he has rusk/toast/biccies for elevenses and for an afternoon snack and he drinks 3 7oz and one 4oz bottle of milk per day. He is a very big and active baby though.

Shaila - don't know if this helps but when ds was teething his appetite was tiny, soon perked up after the teeth were through. We're veggie too, and I do worry if I think he's not eating a good mix of foods over the course of a week or so - but he's growing and he's active so I guess I ought to relax.

Shaila · 13/03/2002 15:26

I have exactly the same story as honeybunny's ds. My son does the same things and would not eat if he is full up. I am really worried about him as he is gone down his line now (25th Percentile as well). I wieghed him y'day and he is not on his line any more.I just do not know what to do. I try to feed him home made meals so he can get fresh vitamins/minaral etc.

He has got 2 teeth now and he is teething very much too. He loves his finger food but would not eat if there are lumps in his meal.

Also, we are vegetarian (no meat and no fish) so I am really concerned about his weight. My HV seems to think that he is doing ok but I am not working because I wanted to lookafter him myself makes me think that I am doing something wrong. It may be that I am first time mum and I don't have anyone here in the same situation as me to talk to.

Can anyone help?

Shaila · 13/03/2002 15:30

I have exactly the same story as honeybunny's ds. My son does the same things and would not eat if he is full up. I am really worried about him as he is gone down his line now (25th Percentile as well). I wieghed him y'day and he is not on his line any more.I just do not know what to do. I try to feed him home made meals so he can get fresh vitamins/minaral etc.

He has got 2 teeth now and he is teething very much too. He loves his finger food but would not eat if there are lumps in his meal.

Also, we are vegetarian (no meat and no fish) so I am really concerned about his weight. My HV seems to think that he is doing ok but I am not working because I wanted to lookafter him myself makes me think that I am doing something wrong. It may be that I am first time mum and I don't have anyone here in the same situation as me to talk to.

Can anyone help?

bundle · 13/03/2002 15:30

Shalia
I too used to worry about how much my dd was eating - but luckily around 8 mths or so she discovered her favourite food (not now any more, of course!) - avocados, which helped her put on those lbs we all yearn for on the visits to the clinic. I too found that stopping constant weighing reduced the anxiety levels and she just 'got on with it'. she's now over 30lb at 20mths, backbreaking stuff.

Shaila · 13/03/2002 15:35

thanks bundle and dm2. I will try to relax but u know it's just that we are mums and we do worry....!!!

Shaila · 13/03/2002 15:44

I have another problem with my son. He will not drink any milk while he is awake so I have to feed him while he is sleeping during the night (I wake up to feed him) and day. He sleeps throughout the night and about 3 hours during the day so usually he has about 2 bottles of 4oz at night and 2 bottles 4oz during the day which is well under what he should be drinking.

Does anyone has this kind of problem?

Shaila · 13/03/2002 15:54

I have another problem with my son. He will not drink any milk while he is awake so I have to feed him while he is sleeping during the night (I wake up to feed him) and day. He sleeps throughout the night and about 3 hours during the day so usually he has about 2 bottles of 4oz at night and 2 bottles 4oz during the day which is well under what he should be drinking.

Does anyone has this kind of problem?

leese · 16/03/2002 16:08

Shaila - my dd doesn't drink much in the way of milk either, tho' she is still b/f and three b/f is all she'll take. don't worry about it too much tho' - she's getting calcium etc from other sources (yoghurts, cheese spread, milk with cereals etc). If you little one is taking four x 4oz feeds, then thats perfectly adequate isn't it? About a pint a day is recommended I think, and you've got that covered. If you are worried about any shortfall, you could add childrens vitamins to his food.

Shaila · 18/03/2002 10:06

Thanks Leese. I think that my ds doing ok now. I think he likes change like Sat and Sun we went out for Lunch and he ate all his food which is one jar of savoury and desert.
I just had one question though. Which cereals do u give an 8 month old?

leese · 18/03/2002 18:15

Shaila - I'm not very inventive I'm afraid (lazy), but dd has either weetabix or ready brek with whole milk, and loves both. sometimes I add a sprinkling of a packet baby cereal to the top (ie organix banana cereal, creamy oat porridge etc) as she likes this. Pretty much anything that will mush up enough would be fine (so long as its not sugar laden!) Hope this helps

Tinkerbell · 02/04/2002 13:57

Help! It's been a huge comfort reading these messages and knowing now that my 11mnth ds is not alone in being quite 'picky'. He used to be an angel and eat anything; even if first intro was not a success he would always eat it the following time.

BUT, went away and left him with grandmother for 11days when he was given jars for lunch, fruit jars and yoghurt for ease. Now he won't eat anything that isn't from a jar or out of a packet (exception being toast and breadsticks!). All my lovingly prepared chicken casseroles, cheesey vegetables (so Annabel Karmel!) are being spat out in anger.

Has anyone got any tips on how to get him back on fresh food?

Pupuce · 02/04/2002 16:07

A friend who had a similar problem use to keep the empty jars and fill them with what ever she had prepared so that the child would not see the difference.
I have read (Christopher Green I think) that another solution would be to mix your stuff with the jar (presumably similar things ) - in an ever increasing percentage of your food in the jar.
HTH

leese · 02/04/2002 18:30

Tinkerbell - just to let you know I'm going thru exactly the same at the moment with dd, nearly 11mths. My problem just rose out of the blue - can't recall any reason for it, she just suddenly decided she likes jars better. Very demoralising when all the food Ive prepared gets the grimacey face and fiercely clenched lips!
I try as Pupuce suggested, mixing my food with part of a small jar of mixed veg - seems to work most of the time. I also add baked beans to casseroles etc, and mash them a bit - she seems to be fooled by the texture and tomatoey base of them. Anyhow - you're not alone! Today was a petits filous day!

Tinkerbell · 07/04/2002 19:17

Thanks Pupuce and leese, not thought of mixing fresh food with jars so will give it a go. It normally works with fruit disguised by banana so hopefully will work on other stuff too.

On baked beans...are there special baby friendly ones or do you get the weight watchers no added salt/sugar variety?? That sounds like a winner because ANYTHING tomato based goes down well...

Pupuce · 08/04/2002 11:55

There was a discussion last week on baked beans - you might want to read it.
IMO I'd go for organic : salt and sugar free.

Enid · 08/04/2002 12:01

I agree with Pupuce but be careful of some of the organic baked beans - the apple juice concentrate used in some of them makes them even sweeter tasting than Heinz.

Enid · 08/04/2002 12:12

Or if you are feeling very Nigella you could always make your own! My dd loves beans and I used to make up big batches of cannelini beans in tomato sauce. Just make a simple tomato sauce and mix them with tinned (no salt/sugar) cannelini or haricot beans. Later on I used to add sausages too to make a 'cowboy casserole'. Very popular.

bundle · 08/04/2002 12:47

I made the Nigella meatballs at the weekend (but with pork, not beef as it was all I had in) and dd loved them with rice & the gooey tomatoey sauce..needless to say, we ate them too. yum yum. a bit fiddly, with all that browning but worth it, and you could freeze them in batches plus sauce separately.

Enid · 08/04/2002 14:19

bundle, snap, so did I, but with half beef and half pork. Dd is going through a picky stage and they are the only thing she is guaranteed to eat. I was supposed to freeze half but keep picking at them straight from the fridge...

Enid · 08/04/2002 14:20

Oh, and I never bother with the browning part (even Nige leaves it out in the 'Nigella Bites' version), just bung them straight in the sauce. It keeps them really tender that way and although they look a bit more pallid, the sauce disguises it.