8 Month Old Feeding Schedule, Food Ideas, Recipes & Tips

If your little one turns eight months old, they must have already started having foods other than breast milk. By this time, they also have found some favourite foods, which they enjoy more than others. Your little one is by now easily swallowing soft foods like mashed potatoes and chewing some semi-soft foods. At this time, kids still take most of their calories from their mother’s milk or formula milk. Now that your little one has started on solids and semi-solids, their feeding schedule will start to look a lot different from what they had in their first three months. You’ll tiny pumpkin will have breast milk or formula milk for the usual breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bedtime, along with mid-day meals and evening snacks in their 8-month infant feeding schedule. We have tried our best to present you with an 8-month-old feeding schedule in a concise and easy-to-understand way. Check out meal ideas for 8-month-old babies and stay worry-free about your tiny tot’s nutrition.

What to Feed an 8-Month-Old?

Young parents often look for advice on what foods to give 8 months old, when to feed and how much to feed to their eight-month. Knowing what healthy and wholesome diet to feed their kids can have a big impact on a child’s nutritional growth. Ideally, the diet should have the correct quantity of protein, minerals, carbohydrates, and vitamins to aid in the proper growth of the child. Learning about 8-month-old food ideas is the best way to ensure they eat healthy and grow healthy without any hitch.

The 8-month-old food ideas menu should have the following foods:

1. Fruits/Vegetables

• Fresh fruits have a variety of minerals, vitamins, and micro-nutrients.
• Ensure fruits are fresh and cut into small cubes.
• Get local fruits/vegetables or the fruits/vegetables that grow in the region as they lower the risk of an allergic reaction.
• Vegetables can be cut into small pieces and then steamed to feed the baby.

2. Non-Vegetarian

• The eight-month-old baby can start having fish such as tuna and salmon.
• Fish are an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids and aid in the development of the brain and overall growth of babies.
• Fish can be made into a soup or puree for easy feeding to the baby.
• Chicken, beef, egg (yolk only), turkey, and pork are good sources of protein for the baby. 

3. Other Food Items

• Yoghurt and cheese are excellent food sources of calcium.
• Ensure they are made from pasteurized milk.
• The cheese can be Cheddar or Cottage.
• Include the cheese cut into small cubes for easy feeding.
• Blue cheese and brie cheese are soft, so avoid them for now.
• The baby can be introduced to bread and muffins in her/his meal.
• Nicely boiled, soft pasta cooked with cheese is also a good meal option.

How Much Milk Is Enough for an 8-Month-Old?

The quantity of milk an eight-month-old can have should be no more than four milk feeds in the day. The baby should be breastfed on demand and offered up to 600 ml equivalent of infant formula. If the baby is on infant milk formula, then the quantity should not exceed 600 ml divided into four servings in a day. Though as the baby starts increasing the quantity of other solid food, his/her intake of milk might decrease, so don’t get worried about it.

8-Month-Old Feeding Schedule

The parents of an eight-month-old baby need to make a proper food schedule. The 8-month-old feeding routine depends on the eating habits of the child and might differ from one child to another. As the child grows, the parents know more about what the child likes and dislikes and develop a schedule for them for their activities like playing, sleeping, and eating. Hence, to make a feeding schedule for an eight-month-old baby, the diet planner should also include these basic things:

• The kid should be fed solid food at least two or three times a day. Along with the solid food, feed 25 to 32 ounces of formula milk or breast milk.
• Slowly increase the variety and quantity of solid food in your kid’s food chart.
• If possible, try to feed the kid soup or pureed food through a sippy cup.
• The kid should ideally sleep for about 13-14 hours, including the daytime and night naps.

A sample meal plan for an eight-month-old will be as follows (1):

Foods to Avoid for an 8 Months Old Infant

There are some foods that parents should avoid for their eight-month-old. They are:

• Cow Milk
• Raw vegetables in excess quantity
• Peanuts
• Popcorn
• Honey

Baby Food Recipes 8-Month-Old Babies

The parents are always wondering how to make nutritious food for their eight-month-old child or what dinner recipe to make. So here are some eight months baby food recipes that are easy to make and have all the essential nutrients.

1. Sweet Potato Porridge

Ingredients 

• Sweet potato – 2, cut and boiled
• Grated jaggery – 1 tsp
• Milk – 1 cup
• Cinnamon powder – ¼ tsp

How to Prepare 

1. Mash the sweet potatoes.
2. Remember to take out the thread-like fibre.
3. Heat milk in a pan.
4. Add mashed potatoes and cinnamon powder.
5. Add jaggery. Mix.
6. Switch off the heat.
7. Let it cool.

2. Carrot and Apple Soup With Potatoes

Ingredients

• Apples –chopped- ½ cup
• Carrot- diced, peeled – 2 tbsp
• Potatoes- chopped – ¼ cup
• Oil- 1 tsp
• Onion- finely chopped- 1 tbsp
• Water – 1 cup

How to Prepare 

1. Pour oil into a cooker, add onions to it and sauté.
2. Add all the other ingredients and cook till three whistles.
3. Blend and serve warm.

3. Potato Beans and Pea Puree

Ingredients 

• Sweet potato -1
• Water – 3 to 4 cups
• Rice- ¼ cup

How to Prepare

1. Peel and cut the sweet potato into cubes.
2. In a pan, add the potato, water, and rice. Boil them.
3. Cook for 35-40 minutes till it blends completely.
4. Serve warm.

4. Dal Khichdi

Ingredients

• Rice – 1/4th cup
• Moong Dal – 1/6 cup or 1 tablespoon
• Carrot or pumpkin – 1 inch
• Water
• Ghee – 1 teaspoon

How to Prepare

1. Wash rice and dal thoroughly with water and soak them together for about 30-60 minutes.
2. In a pressure cooker, add soaked dal, rice, and chopped carrot or pumpkin. Pressure cook the ingredients on a medium flame for about two whistles.
3. Once cooked, mash the ingredients and add one teaspoon ghee. Mix everything together and serve warm.

Feeding Tips for Parents

While feeding the eight-month-old kid, parents need to remember these feeding guide tips:

• To know how much solid food to feed the kid, remember the kid needs 750-900 calories per day. Out of these, 400-500 calories should come from mother’s milk or formula milk.
• Ensure that whenever you feed the baby, you stick to one feeding position and feed the baby at one location. This helps to make the kid understand the relationship between food and place.
• Keep the consistency of the food somewhat grainy. Don’t mash it completely.
• Don’t add sugar or salt to the meals or finger food.
• For snacks or finder foods, serve steamed vegetables or fruits. Strictly avoid fried foods.
• Do not introduce cow milk to your baby before they turn 1 (2). Cow milk does not have essential nutrition your baby needs at this stage, therefore, waiting until they turn one year of age is essential.
• Be careful about allergen foods, like cow milk, wheat, peanuts, eggs, and fish, and your family history of allergies while introducing new foods to your baby (3).
• Avoid storing baby food or milk in plastic containers. Use glass or steel, instead.

FAQs

1. How often should my 8-month-old baby feed?

On average, an eight-month-old feeding schedule will look like six feeds a day, which includes three meals and six snacks, considering breastfeeding or bottle feeding is included.

2. How much should my 8-month-old baby eat?

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that babies between 8 and 12 months of age need around 750 to 900 calories a day. Breast milk or formula milk should solely make up about 400-500 of those 750-900 calories, as they contain important vitamins and minerals for a baby’s brain development (1). WHO suggest continuing complementary feeding up to two years of age or beyond (4).

3. How much water should my 8-month-old baby drink in summer and winter?

It is strictly advised not to introduce water to babies until they turn one year of age. Breast milk or formula milk is enough to provide all the hydration they need, even in summer and winter.

4. My 8-month-old baby does not breastfeed well and keeps latching off. Should I worry?

Babies around 8-9 months old begin observing their surroundings and responding to outer stimuli and thus get distracted very easily (5). This distraction may cause them to feel disinterested in breastfeeding and more interested in knowing what is happening around them. However, there is nothing to worry about, as this is a part of growing up. Try to breastfeed in a quiet and less distracting place so your little one breastfeeds well and fully.

Feed your eight-month-old using these easy-to-make recipes and feeding schedules. These will help the young parents make a feeding schedule and help them understand what their little ones can eat. They will also know what food items to avoid and what feeding guides to follow.

References/Resources:

1. Sample Menu for a Baby 8 to 12 Months Old; American Academy of Pediatrics; https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Sample-One-Day-Menu-for-an-8-to-12-Month-Old.aspx

2. Recommended Drinks for Children Age 5 & Younger; American Academy of Pediatrics; https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/Recommended-Drinks-for-Young-Children-Ages-0-5.aspx

3. Food Allergies in Children; Johns Hopkins Medicine; https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/food-allergies-in-children

4. Infant and Young Child Feeding: Model Chapter for Textbooks for Medical Students and Allied Health Professionals. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2009. SESSION 3, Complementary feeding; NCBI; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK148957/

5. Breastfeeding Mealtime Milestones; American Academy of Pediatrics; https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/breastfeeding/Pages/Breastfeeding-Mealtime-Milestones.aspx

Next Month: 9 Month Old Baby Feeding Schedule, Recipes, and Tips

Also Read:

8 Months Old Baby Milestones
Your 8 Months Old Baby Growth and Development
Developmental Activities For an 8-Month-Old Baby