How Much Should My 8 Month Old Baby Eat?
- April 19, 2016
- by Melissa Lawrence
Hello mamas. As moms, all of us tend to worry a bit too much about what others think. To me, shutting out that noise is a key part of living a happy, confident life as a mom. I believe in following your gut and trusting your instincts when it comes to what’s right for your baby.
When Paulina Moses wrote in concerned that her baby Xavier who is 8 months old and weighs 23 pounds is overweight, I just had to respond. I spent so much time when my babies were little worrying about things like “how much should my baby eat?”, “am I feeding my baby too much?” and “when should my baby walk” that my heart went out to this fellow mama.
Is My Baby Overweight?
Paulina, the only person who can answer your question is your pediatrician. She will have kept records of your baby’s growth and she can review with you your baby’s dietary needs. That being said, I’m happy to share what my doctor offered to me as general guidelines for a baby of this age.
SO, you wrote that your baby is drinking formula from bottles. In today’s video I lay out my approximation on how much formula an 8 month old baby should eat.
8 Month Old Feeding Schedule
OK, so here’s an 8 month old baby food schedule… First, your baby should be getting 4-5 bottles daily of approximately 6 ounces of formula each, for a total of approximately 24-32 ounces of formula per day. If your baby takes his first bottle at 8am, he can have his second at 12pm, his third at 4pm, and his final bottle at 8pm. Hopefully, at that point he is going down for a full nights sleep.
In terms of feeding your baby solids, I recommend giving solids after the milk since at this stage, my doctor advised me that the primary nutrition is still coming from milk. By now, though, you should be trying to fit in three small meals and sampling a variety of fruits, vegetables and protein. Try the following fruits in pureed form: apples, pears, bananas, peaches, plums. For veggies, try broccoli, sweat potato and squash. Try pureed chicken or tofu for protein. If your baby is eating all that, that’s one healthy little guy. For how much of these solids to give, check out my Schedule: Eating and Sleeping for Babies at 6 Months to 9 Months video.
Your next question is when should my baby be walking and I plan to tackle that one in my next video. So everyone please stay tuned for that.
Thanks so much for reading. Paulina, your baby is beautiful and pay attention to what your doc says and NO ONE ELSE. Anyone asking the questions you are asking is a concerned, loving mama. So, you are rocking it, mama! Remember that.
Thanks for reading and watching everyone and check back in soon for some more fun posts. Love, Melissa
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