How to feed a baby at 8 months
In order to fully meet the needs of a growing child's body for valuable nutrients, its menu should be varied, balanced and age-appropriate.
How to feed an 8 month old baby, according to the recommendations of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences
At eight months, the baby's diet consists of five feedings. Night meals are no longer available at this age. It is believed that at this time it is necessary to introduce a third complementary food into the child's menu. Baby feeding experts recommend that these are various fermented milk products.
With the timely beginning of the introduction of complementary foods into the child's diet, it is recommended to include fish in his menu by the 8th month. Fish meat is a source of easily digestible complete protein, valuable polyunsaturated fatty acids necessary for the full development of many organs and systems, a complex of B vitamins and minerals.
The process of digestion of fish is more gentle than digestion of meat. At the same time, fish should be introduced into the baby's diet with caution, since this product can act as a potential allergen. For this reason, at first, fish should be included in the menu no more than once a week, while carefully observing the child's reaction.
In baby food, the priority is given to white ocean fish, as it is the most hypoallergenic. It can be cod, pollock or hake. At later stages, you can include salmon in the menu, as well as the pulp of some types of river fish - carp, pike perch, etc.
Fish for feeding an eight-month-old baby is prepared separately, chopped and served with mashed vegetable puree or healthy vegetable broth. Canned food containing fish for baby food is not uncommon on the shelves of modern stores, but the percentage of fish itself is quite small.
On other days - that is, six times a week, a child, starting from five to six months, should definitely receive a portion of meat. It should also not be forgotten that each new product is introduced into the child's diet gradually.
How to feed a baby at 8 months with breastfeeding
How to feed a baby at 8 months if he is breastfeeding and started receiving complementary foods at four to five months? To answer this question, the first menu option has been developed:
- 1st feeding (6 hours) - 180-200 g of breast milk or an adapted milk formula;
- 2nd feeding (10 hours) - 180 g of milk porridge, a teaspoon of butter, half of a hard-boiled chicken yolk, 40 g of fruit puree;
- 3rd feeding (14 hours) - 180 g of vegetable puree with the addition of 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon of meat or fish puree, a slice of bread, fruit juice;
- 4th feeding (18 hours) - 150 g of breast milk or adapted milk or fermented milk mixture, 40 g of cottage cheese, 2-3 cookies, 40 g of fruit puree, 40 ml of fruit juice;
- 5th feeding (22 hours) - 180-200 g of breast milk, either an adapted fresh or fermented milk mixture, which can also be replaced with kefir.
How to feed a baby at 8 months if, having reached this age, he also continues to receive breast milk as the main component of the diet, and complementary feeding was started at the age of five to six months? An approximate weekly diet is as follows:
- 1st feeding (6 hours) - 180-200 g of breast milk;
- 2nd feeding (10 hours) - 180 g of milk porridge, 5 g of butter, half of a hard-boiled chicken yolk, 40 g of fruit puree;
- 3rd feeding (14 hours) - 180 g of vegetable puree with the addition of 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon of meat puree, 50 g of fruit puree, a slice of bread, 40 ml of fruit juice;
- 4th feeding (18 hours) - 40 g of breast milk, 40 g of cottage cheese, 2-3 cookies, fruit juice;
- 5th feeding (22 hours) - 200 g of breast milk or baby kefir.
What to feed an 8 month old baby who is breastfed and allergic to cow protein? The third menu option is designed specifically for these children:
- 1st feeding (6 hours) - 180-200 ml of breast milk, fermented milk product, mixture based on protein hydrolyzate or soy;
- 2nd feeding (10 hours) - 180 g of dairy-free porridge with the addition of 8-10% breast milk or hydrolyzed protein, fermented milk product or soy mixture and 1 teaspoon of butter, 30 g of fruit puree;
- 3rd feeding (14 hours) - 170 g of vegetable puree with the addition of 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 50 g of meat puree, 30 g of fruit puree;
- 4th feeding (18 hours) - 170 g of cereal-vegetable mixture with the addition of 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 30 g of meat puree, 30 g of fruit puree;
- 5th feeding (22 hours) - 180-200 ml of breast milk, fermented milk product, a mixture based on protein hydrolyzate or soy.
Nutritional standards for an eight month old baby
Thinking about the question of what to feed a child at 8 months of age, any menu should be perceived by parents solely as a guide. It should not be forgotten that mother's milk remains the main component of a baby's nutrition at this age. If it is absent, the basis of the diet should be an adapted milk mixture, and all other products are introduced into the child's menu individually.
In order to assess the sufficiency and nutritional value of the child, their development and growth rates, the presence of appetite and normal intestinal activity, and the absence of diseases are assessed. If the listed indicators are normal, then even without adhering to the "academic" menu, you can be sure that the children's diet is chosen correctly.
If any of the parameters causes an alarm, then the first step is to determine the cause of the failure. If in general the child eats by age, then the earlier or later introduction of some component will not affect the overall picture.
So, many doctors recommend to inject yolk only at 9-11 months of life. As for mashed potatoes, not only chicken or beef is used for its preparation, but also rabbit or turkey. Milk porridges are also alternated, or they offer the child an assorted porridge made of several types of cereals (oatmeal, buckwheat, rice, semolina, barley). Vegetable purees should be prepared with local, seasonal vegetables. Cow's milk is offered to the child necessarily boiled and always from a cup.
If the child is not enthusiastic about the new product, then it can be gradually mixed into the already familiar and favorite dishes. It is worth starting with 0.1 part, increasing the amount day by day. Often children are reluctant to accept changes, but this does not mean that they really do not like the product or do not suit them. To speed up the habituation process, you should not season or salt the dish, or add various sauces to it.
Thinking about the question of how to feed an 8 month old baby, it should be remembered that breast milk, as before, plays a huge role. Lactation should be maintained as much as possible and the baby should be provided with at least two breastfeeds per day.
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