8 month old milk & food diary comparisons

[momabroad]

I have been reading mumsnet for months now and this is my first question as I usually find everything I need in the great discussions, sorry its a long one and probably one that has been asked before but I would really appreciate some daily food diaries of 8 month olds. My DD is almost 8 months and so far amounts of purees have been very small but she is slowly getting it, I am hoping to start finger foods v.soon too and i am very interested in blw which I have only found out about this week. Here is a small sample of what we do at the moment and it would be really benefical for some comparisons

I also live in Thailand so the heat plays a big part in the food intake - 1) that is available and 2) that is required when it is so hot, so mornings and evenings are good but daytime foods are mostly a no no and night time feeds are easy for her when it is cooler;

2am - 4 oz milk
5am - 4 oz milk
7.30am Banana porridge and 4 oz milk
10.30am - 4oz milk
1.30pm - 4 oz milk
4pm - 4 oz milk (occassional fruit)
6;30pm rice cereal and yes you've guessed it 4 oz milk

I know that 7 bottles a day is a little excesive and I would like to give the same amount of formula in thre feeds a daybut its the only way so far that we can complete the daily amount. We have only recently got to 4 oz and if I try any oz more than this she is instantly sick its almost like she has a cut off switch built in. She had a milk intolerence very early on and now has an anti allergy formula.

I would like to decrease the night feeds for sure and I would like opinions on BLW - When introducing a specific food how many days to leave it before starting another? Or have people added foods one after the other?

Any advice is more than welcome. Thank you very much.

Okay, here's roughly what my 8 mth old takes. Not sure if you can really compare as they're all different, but for what it's worth here we go...

7 or 8am breastfeed -probably about 4-5 oz milk
9am breakfast - weetabix or toast with banana
11am - 6oz milk
12:30 - lunch - savoury meal (eg. mashed macaroni cheese/ toasted cheese/ chicken & veg followed by yoghurt and fruit.
4pm - 6-7 oz milk
6pm - dinner - mashed fish/chicken and veg, with fruit to follow, or more yoghurt
8pm - 5-6oz milk then bed.

ps. this is on an ideal day ie. doesn't always run to plan . Also, I'm trying to faten my dd up hence all the yoghurt!

Oh, and as for blw, she also gets cheese cut into sticks, or similar with fruit - pear, avacado. Seemed to get the hang of it quite quickly. Pear is good to start as v soft, but you'll have lovely fruits out there I'd imagine.

at 8 months, assuming no family allergies, you don't have to worry about introducing foods little by little, that really goes back to when babies are weaned from 4 months (before they're really ready) and it has to be taken VERY slowly. at 8 months he can have everything you're having, except whole nuts, honey and anything with added salt.

Here's mine. No particular advice because weaning is so dependent on knowing your baby. DS is 8 months and started weaning late (7 months-ish):

8.45/9am - breastfeed
12.30/1pm - small amount of veg, sometimes meat, + fruit or baby yoghurt, then breastfeed
5pm - breastfeed
7pm - small amount of veg or fruit + yoghurt/cheese
8.30pm - breastfeed before bed

I'm not sticking to any set timetable, I just give him what we're having or if that's not suitable I'll rustle up something from the fridge. He has a mixture of purees and finger foods at the mo.

By timetable, I mean a strict one of when to give new foods, not daily schedule.

Did you ever do a late night feed around 10/11pm & if so why did you cut it out???

MY ds is 8 mths and a very hungry baby: 7am b/f, 9am: porridge with cows milk, banana, toast, omlette. 12.30pm: fish, lentils chicken or meat, veggies, potatoes, rice or pasta. 2pm b/f. 5pm: same as lunch. 7pm b/f and 11pm b/f. snacks: fruit, bread sticks, toast, cheese, slices of meat, rice cakes. I am also adding in a extra bowl of porridge before bed......didn't I say he was starving all the time!!!

Thank you everyone, this is all very positive and encouraging for me to offer a more varied food choice, I can't wait to get stuck in!
I did start to introduce a feed at 11pm but she would still wake up at around 2am everytime and would not go back to sleep unless milk was offered, I tried for about a week, in anybody's experience has the late evening feed reduced the night feeds and if so how long should I perservere before we should see a drop in the night feed?
Also the night feeds are not too stressfull as she literally wakes feeds sleeps but I would much prefer to try and establish a longer undisturbed sleeping regime for her.

I like the idea of introducing yoghurt but have always refrained as we have no specific 'baby yoghurt' available here can anybody confirm if a standard natural yoghurt mixed with some fresh fruit would be suitable? We do have childs yoghurt but I imagine that the sugar content is through the roof as with all Thai produced foods here as the food standards are non-existent.

One more thing... this may be a new thread entirely but can I also have your views on baby rice cereal put into the last bottle? Not something I've tried yet and I would like to hear the pros and cons? Thanks!

I'm not a weaning expert - you'll find plenty of advice from those who know more than me on MN- but all the advice is against doing this. I think because there is a potential choking hazard and it probably won't help as the milk has more calories then the rice. A friend suggested this to me when I was weaning (using a farleys rusk) but when I looked into it and read all the DoH stuff I was given I found out it was a big no no. I'm sure someone will be along soon who can give you a bit more advice.

moma- natural yoghurt is the way to go. look for a full fat one with no sugar or flavourings added. then it's up to you how you serve it and what you add to it.

adding food to bottles is a real no no. there is a risk of choking more than anything. in fact the is really no need for marketed baby cereals at all. do you have normal 'adult' porridge where you are? he can have that.

Baby cereals are almost compulsory here (France), weaning is so different. Interesting that it's considered a choking hazard over there. Babies here have a bottle of milk with cereal for breakfast, dinner sometimes another bottle of soup. I have never done this this with mine and people must think I'm mad to give them porridge and weetabix.

bizzy - this is really helpful, I can get all natural porridge oats infact my DH has them everyday for breakfast and I will defo use it now mixed with her own formula, and natural yoghurt is easy to find I just got so hung up on thinking everything had to be 'baby' styled. I have tried weetabix today and she loved it, also gave her a banana to munch on and although none actually went down it made her laugh and she sucked on it for ages. I am really looking forward to progressing.
I am never going to add the cereal to the bottle, it did seem pointless, just thought it might provide a little comfort before bedtime but you can't beat a cuddle and a song