BF 7 or 8 month old food menu and portions

steph311psu · February 2016

Hey all,

I wanted to reach out to see what everyone fed their BF babies for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as how many ounces of each? Do you use iron supplements as well?

Thanks in advance!

n3na94 · February 2016

My son is EBF and we just got into a routine of feeding him solids once a day only for lunch. He still nurses as much as before the solids. I nurse him on demand except when I leave to school or work, then I leave 5 ounces for 3-4 hours but when I do come home, he will eat both breasts. The portions I give him are probably 1-2 ounces of solids but that's because we just started a few weeks back and I know it will change as he grows. To give you an idea, is half of the small Baby bullets storage containers. I was also asking about the iron supplements, I am taking the prenatal vitamins but I don't know if to give my son the iron ones and how much to.

ChelcLynn123 · February 2016

LO is EBF and also eats solids 3 times a day. I BF him when he first wakes up and then an hour or so later we do fruits. I BF him about 3 hours later and then for lunch he gets veggies. I offer him the breast not long after eating the veggies and he will usually feed for only about 2-3 min in each side. I then breast feed him again between lunch and dinner and then for dinner he does a meat with veggie mix. Then it's bath and bed time and I breast feed him one more time just before bed. For each of the solids he is offered 4oz. He doesn't always finish the full 4oz, but usually does. The only supplement he gets is the Vitamin D drops. I will mix it into one of his feedings. No iron. He doesn't get his iron checked until his 9 month appt in April, so I don't want to give it to him unless he needs it.

steph311psu · February 2016

@ChelcLynn123 Did your doctor say that your LO needed to eat iron fortified cereal at all?

kristyn831 · February 2016

We offer LO food 3-4 times a day. He eats much better for DH than me. For breakfast, we do fruit and oatmeal that's iron fortified. Lunch I try a veggie and fruit, dinner a veggie and oatmeal, and oatmeal before bed. Today, he only ate for me at 7:30pm! He had 1 oz of sweet potatoes and 4+ oz of oatmeal with 1/2 oz apples. He ate a ton which is good because he's not that interested yet. The doctor recommended iron fortified cereal.

ChelcLynn123 · February 2016

@steph311psu Our Dr didn't say that he had to. Sometimes his morning fruits will be mixed with iron fortified cereal. But LO is not a fan of the cereal. I have tried it lots of different ways, and he just won't do it plain or in large amounts, so I have to sneak it into his foods. Even then, he will sometimes taste it and refuse to eat.

VToman · February 2016

We give her food at three of her four feedings, but we are probably gonna add food to that last feeding soon. In the morning it's oatmeal and formula, lunch and dinner is meat and either fruit or veggie and formula.

It's about 3 oz of food at a time, with 6.oz of formula.

cmbt2015 · February 2016

I nurse when he wakes up. For 15 to 20 minutes. Then an hour later we do oatmeal and an oz of fruit. After his nap I nurse then an hour later lunch. For lunch we do rice cereal and an ounce of veggies. For supper its the same routine. We have fruit and veggies. Then before bed I nurse him.

lmw4 · February 2016

We BF right after waking up. About an hour later is her biggest meal. About a third cup iron fortified cereal plus water and then usually fruit until full/an ounces or two. Then breast milk after first nap. Lunch around 1; usually veggies until full, 4 to 6 oz on a good day. Breast milk mid afternoon. Dinner either fruit, veggies or protein at least an hour before bed, 2 to 4 ounces. Finish with 5 oz milk before bed. Just started giving light snacks when out and about as well as a couple ounces of water or watered down pear juice. How much solids vary by day but our activity affects it greatly. She just turned 7 months and we are on vacation. We've been giving her little bits of what we are eating at each meal and supplementing with pureed if needed. I recommend just feeding until they're not interested. Each baby is different and will tell you when they're done. No need to worry about over feeding so long as you're offering nutritious options. Baby's needs are always changing. Some days she takes a lot of "real" food; others she relies mostly on milk.

wheresilenceismusic · February 2016

EBF and on demand. Her fourth tooth is coming in, which interrupts her eating. A typical day looks like this:

Wake up, nurse. Nurse before nap. Mom eats lunch; I share it with baby. Nurse before and after second nap. Mom and Dad eat dinner. We try to give purees (she almost never takes); we share our dinner with her. Nurse after dinner. Nurse to sleep. Nurse twice at night.

I have learned that Hazel will only eat food if she can feed it to herself. She grabs the baby spoon (hates when we try to use it). The best way to help her eat purees is if I give them to her in pouches, so she can squeeze the food into her mouth. She eats a surprising variety of our food -- soups, chicken, pizza crust, whatever. I made chocolate pudding for dessert last night (egg yolk, milk, corn starch, cocoa powder, and minimal sugar) and she went wild. I admit to giving her a taste of bacon

I wish she would eat purees because they are healthier than what we typically eat. We eat tons of veggies, whole grains, and beans... But we also have friends over and make easy meals. Also, now that she crawls, I wonder if feeding our babies organic spinach is just a way to balance all the cat hair and paper shreds they eat off the floor? I figure their tummies are pretty tough.

As for iron - I make sure to feed egg yolks or meat every day. Dark greens are another great source. Baby's liver should have good iron stores from his time in utero, but if you want to supplement, a natural, whole - food source of iron is much more readily absorbed than iron fortified cereal. If you buy iron vitamins or serve fortified cereal, etc, only about 10% of that iron is absorbed, and the supplement can cause constipation. All of the iron is absorbed and no constipation if you feed greens or meat.

Hope that was helpful. Best of luck! Keep us updated.

steph311psu · February 2016

Thanks everyone for your comments! All of your input & schedules really help.

I am on the fence on what to do....my LO's iron levels have never been measured, but my pediatrician advises me to do two 4 tbsp servings a day or oatmeal, & if not, do the iron supplements. He is in the lower percentile in terms of weight, & is EBF.

For awhile, I just did a fruit or vegetable in the morning (4 oz), a vegetable for lunch (4 oz) & a fruit at night (4 oz) mixed with 2-4 tbspns of oatmeal (he won't eat oatmeal with BF, only if I mix it with something). I do give him chicken or turkey mixed with a veggie on some days too.

I'm afraid if I up his servings to oatmeal twice a day (it just seems a lot to me), he is eating way too much & not enough BM. On the other hand, I'm worried that he's not getting enough iron.

n3na94 · February 2016

steph311psu said:

Thanks everyone for your comments! All of your input & schedules really help.

I am on the fence on what to do....my LO's iron levels have never been measured, but my pediatrician advises me to do two 4 tbsp servings a day or oatmeal, & if not, do the iron supplements. He is in the lower percentile in terms of weight, & is EBF.

For awhile, I just did a fruit or vegetable in the morning (4 oz), a vegetable for lunch (4 oz) & a fruit at night (4 oz) mixed with 2-4 tbspns of oatmeal (he won't eat oatmeal with BF, only if I mix it with something). I do give him chicken or turkey mixed with a veggie on some days too.

I'm afraid if I up his servings to oatmeal twice a day (it just seems a lot to me), he is eating way too much & not enough BM. On the other hand, I'm worried that he's not getting enough iron.

Talk to your pediatrician. I definitely think before you start supplementing iron they should measure his levels. My pediatrician has not said anything and like previous post I think he will get that checked by 9 months. Renewed formula or BM should be the main source of food until 1 year. If you're worried get a second opinion. Let us know how everything goes mama and don't worry, you're doinggn great!

BF 7 or 8 month old food menu and portions

Re: BF 7 or 8 month old food menu and portions

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