i have an 8 month old girl and i was wondering what i can feed her other than baby food?

Question

if you have any suggestions please answer this question.

Answer 1

If you're unsure about whether a finger food is safe, ask yourself the following questions:

Does it melt in the mouth? Some dry cereals will melt in the mouth, and so will light and flaky crackers.

Is it cooked enough so that it mashes easily? Well-cooked vegetables and fruits will mash easily. So will canned fruits and vegetables. (Make sure to choose canned foods that don't have added sugar or salt.)

Is it naturally soft? Cottage cheese, shredded cheese, and small pieces of tofu are soft.

Can it be gummed? Pieces of ripe banana and well-cooked pasta can be gummed.

If it can do any of these things then I would try it with your little one. Keep experimenting with different foods.

Answer 2

If you haven't started start trying finger foods. Cut anything into small sizes. The foods should be very soft. She can eat anything you are eating just watch for spices, salt, sugar, etc and no eggs, milk, honey, nuts until after a year old. My daughter (11 months) eats a lot of beans (balck beans, lentils, etc). The frozen veggie aisle is great! I nuke the forzen veggies and puree in a food processor. YOu can even use the frozen veggies as a finger food after being cooked and cooled. Look at these websites for more info:

www.wholesomebabyfood.com
www.home-made-baby-food.com

Answer 3

Shredded cheese was a favorite for my kids. Also, deli meat that is finely chopped. Peas and carrots from a can go down really fast. Bananas or canned fruit (peaches and pears- watch out for hard spots) That was a typical meal for my 8 month old.
Gerber makes all sorts of cool treats for babies learning to self feed. They are pricy but good.

Answer 4

At 8 months old, my oldest was eating table foods cut into tiny pieces. She never ate babyfood. I liked the Gerber Graduates for convenience. I only ever bought the vegetables or fruits, not the puffs or the meals or the meat sticks. I also gave her canned beans, rinsed of course, rice, lentils, diced steamed veggies, soft fruits diced up, canned fruits diced up, potatoes cut into small pieces. Pretty much anything soft that I could put into small pieces, other than highly allergenic items such as egg whites, peanuts, etc.

Answer 5

Agreed--anything that is really soft and can be easily gummed. But favorites of both of my boys (off the top of my head....it's been a while): mashed potatoes (no salt or butter added, just plain) cheerios and/or rice crispies (great finger food they can feed to themselves), soft cooked carrots, cream of rice cereal, soft cooked pasta (I used too cook them the rotini pasta and cut it up into little bits...also a great finger food). Applesauce is also good, so is very soft cooked apple pieces.

Oh, I loved this age. It was so much fun finding new foods for them to try. Agreed though that you want to keep a good eye on her when you feed it to her, to make sure she doesn't choke.

Answer 6

At 8 months, your baby can enjoy a wide variety of foods, including meat, tofu, all kinds of vegetables and finger foods. You need to avoid salt, of course, but some mild spices are OK - visit http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com for ideas. You will find lots of recipes for simple foods and more exotic things like baby curries, plus feeding guidelines and allergy information.

Good luck.

Answer 7

It depends on how many teeth she has. I know everyone gives their babies Cheerios, but I don't think they dissolve quick enough for younger babies that aren't use to chewing their food yet.

Doctors recommend you NOT give your child egg whites or products made with cow's milk before 1 year because the proteins are harder for them to digest. However, you can give them fully cooked egg yolks. You can also try avocado, which you can mash. Mashed potatoes or mashed cooked veggies.
Also, do NOT give your child any products containing nuts before a year to prevent allergies.

Babies get most of their nutrition from breast milk or formula for the first year. Giving them baby food and table foods just helps to teach them how to eat solids. Some choking (as long as it's not life threatening) is natural because it helps them learn how to eat solids. Just make sure to gradually increase the textures of the foods as your child gets accustom to them.

Answer 8

I have a 10 month old son and when he was 8 months I was feeding him just plain mashed potatoes and grits without seasoning and salt. But just a little at a time, not too much. My baby also like oatmeal. Try mashed potatoes first, they are much softer and easy to swallow and for them to roll and smash it around in their cute little mouths.

Answer 9

If she is sitting unsupported, you can start to introduce table foods. Cheerios is a great place to start. Some other ideas would be cheese, nutri-grain bars, tomatoes, canned veggies, waffles/pancakes, eggs, soft fruits, etc. Make sure you cut it up so that it is no larger than a pea. Gerber also has some good starter foods.

Answer 10

Do you have a blender? If so you can feed her pretty much anything ( no salt or other spices) if you mash it into a sort of liquid food.You can just blend boiled potatoes, boiled vegetables and a piece of meat or fish in your blender and mix the whole lot together for her.( or even serve seperately). The same applies to fruit although you have to be careful about feeding her bananas, they mash easily but could cause constipation.