Feeding Your Older Infant
Your child's diet is going to change quite a bit during these months. In addition to continuing on breastmilk or formula, your child will be eating a lot more baby food at this age. You will be able to introduce finger foods and table foods, which your baby is sure to enjoy. Your baby also will start feeding himself more.
Breastfeeding and Formula
Although your child will be eating more food at this age, he probably will still be breastfeeding four or five times a day. If you and your partner had the goal of letting your baby breastfeed until twelve months, don't let little problems stop you now. One of the biggest mistakes is thinking that a temporary nursing strike means that your baby is ready to stop breastfeeding. Even if he loses interest for a while and doesn't want to breastfeed, he will likely get back to breastfeeding in just a few days. In the meantime, your partner may have to pump to keep her milk supply up.
How can I tell the difference between a nursing strike and my baby wanting to wean?
Most babies wean slowly, dropping one feeding every few days or weeks. If your baby suddenly refuses most or all of his feedings, then it is more likely to be a nursing strike than weaning, which means that he should be able to continue breastfeeding once he gets over whatever is bothering him.
By this age, your baby may have cut his intake of formula down to just three or four feedings a day. This isn't the time to totally stop formula though. You may be eager to switch to regular milk, but there is no need to make that change before he is a year old. Instead of a gradual change to milk at this age, wait until he is twelve months old. Then you can either switch to milk “cold turkey,” or start the gradual change at that point.
Baby Food
In addition to single-ingredient cereals, fruits, and vegetables, there will be a lot more variety in your baby's diet at this age. You can now start more multi-ingredient or mixed foods such as rice cereal with applesauce, mixed vegetables, and vegetable beef dinners. Just be sure that your infant has eaten and tolerated all of the ingredients in a multi-ingredient food. For example, if your baby didn't tolerate bananas, then don't give a banana-apple dessert.
Finger Foods
Your baby should be ready for finger foods once he is sitting up well on his own and is able to pick up things with his thumb and finger and bring them to his mouth. This usually happens at about eight to nine months, although some infants aren't interested in finger foods until a little later. The first finger foods are usually offered as a snack and can include dry cereals like Cheerios, baby cookies and crackers, and plain wafer cookies. Be sure to always supervise your baby when he is eating and don't offer foods he can choke on, such as whole grapes or raw vegetables. Remember that you don't have to wait until your baby has teeth to start safe types of regular food. As long as you choose foods that are soft and well cooked or that can easily break down in his mouth, he should be able to eat them without teeth.
Most parents know not to give honey to their baby in the first year, but it is also important to avoid foods made with honey. This includes honey cereals and honey graham crackers, a popular finger food among some parents. If a food has honey in it, and it is not pasteurized, then you should avoid it until your baby is older so that you don't risk his getting botulism.
Table Food
Once your baby is doing well with textured baby food and finger foods, you can start to offer more regular food that you are eating. You still want to avoid foods that your baby can choke on. Also, don't add a lot of salt or other seasonings to the food. If you do add a lot of seasonings, separate the food that you are going to give your baby from the food that the rest of the family will eat. Table foods that your baby should do well with include cut-up meats, well-cooked vegetables and pasta, and small pieces of cheese and ripe fruits.
