What should be the diet for an 8-month-old child?

Q: My daughter is about 8 months old, she weighs 7.3 kg. She has three semi solid meals - fruits in breakfast, vegetables in lunch and a cereal at around 8:30 at night. She mostly has breast feed 4 times a day and I give her NAN 2 only once in a while. I also express my milk if I leave her at home I know that its usually between 4 to 5 ounces at a time from both the sides. Please tell me if a total of 15 to 18 ounces of milk is enough for her at this stage? Is giving Cerelac daily recommended? She really likes it a lot. I have never added sugar or salt to her food. Can I do it occasionally? Apart from Cerelac, suji, rice and pulses, what other cereals can be given? Is Oatmeal good for her?

A:I think you are doing a great job with your daughter’s diet. Three semisolid meals in a day along with adlib breast feeding is adequate for her. Let her decide the amount she needs to take. Do not force feed. She can take all usually available cereals & pulses. Try & give her home cooked foods as far as possible. It makes shifting to home diet a lot easier later. She can take sooji /atta based foods, dal & rice combinations, thick soups/stews made from combining vegetables, cereals & pulses, pureed/ mashed fruits etc. The list is endless. Oats are also fine. Basically, the food should be fresh, hygienic, and mashed up for a child of this age. As she erupts some teeth, you may stop mashing the food and just chop it coarsely. Give her a separate serving of her own & sit with her and feed her your self since she obviously is too young to self feed. You can add small amount of salt/sugar to her food as appropriate.