Refusing Finger Foods & Solids
I started feeding our 6 and a half month old baby solids at five months. She
is on pureed vegetables, fruit and cereal. I want to know how and when I
should move onto more "solid" finger food. My problem is that she has 6
teeth and bites anything put into her mouth. When I tried to give her, for
instance, a slice of apple she bit off pieces and I am afraid that she'll
choke. Has anyone any advice about how to deal with this and when an
appropriate time would be to move on from pureed food?
Thanks
Janet
Regarding finger food, I found waiting til my kids showed interested
really worked. My daughter loved being fed and was not very interested in
finger foods for quite awhile (can't remember specific ages, but it was
after she was walking). My son, on the other hand, was very eager to feed
himself from early on. He would watch the rest of the family eating --
eyeing all the food as it went from our plates to our mouths with the
intensity of an avid tennis fan. He also wanted to use utensils and cups
and could feed himself before he could walk. They both learned to walk
around 13-14 months so there is quite a range in there.
In terms of types of food, cut things into tiny bits that are too small to
choke on, e.g. cut apple slices up into even tinier bites. Taking the skins
off fruits like apples and pears helps too. Also cooking vegies, and fruit
until it is very mushy (and then cutting it small) so they can gum it
works. My kids liked things such as cooked broccoli (the florets),
potatoes, and carrots. Cooked frozen peas and mixed vegetables were also a
big favorite. It helps to mash the peas a little. Also noodles cut up,
canned soups like minestrone work after they've been cooled. As do small
slices of cheese, bagel, and the ubiquitous cheerios. Basically anything
the family eats as long as it's small bits and soft enough to gum. Be
creative.
We had good luck starting with bread products. They are less of a
choking hazard because they turn into mush inside your baby's mouth
even if they aren't properly chewed. Cheerios are a wonderful food:
they're fairly wholesome, babies like them, and they even promote
manual dexterity! I'm not sure about the age for introducing them.
I'd guess that if you have no reason to worry about wheat allergies
then introduce them around 7-9 months, but you should ask your pediatrician.
Beth
My 10 month old didn't start solids til 6 months, as he was fine without
them. He had some eczema, so our pediatrician said, he may be prone to
food allergies so don't push the solids too early. After all, in many
(most?) other cultures, infants are on breast milk solely for much
longer than their first 6 months. Don't rush the solids; offer when
the child is interested and in need of more (lasting) calories.
If your child has finger dexterity and can pick up bits of food, a good
choice that is easy (no prep work) and virtually no choking hazard is
bananas (my son loves them). Don't give him a big piece to hold and
chew off of, unless you watch him carefully (too big a bite and he could
choke) and if you don't mind the big mess-- my boy certainly doesn't!
Instead, cut thin round slices and cut these in half or so. Then, even
if the child can't chew/mush the piece smaller, if he swallows it, it won't
get stuck in his/her throat. But still, always ALWAYS watch your infant when
he is eating any solids. Always. Regarding peas, instead of mashing them up,
I simply pop them (a bite between my teeth) (helps with swallowing, tasting,
digesting, etc) and feed them to him one by one or a few at a time,
letting him do the picking up and feeding of himself as much as he wants.
Now, at 10 months, I might let him try them whole and see how he does.
Bits of bagel are great when he's got some experience with solids. Bagels
don't crumble much (compare scones!); bite size bits of bread is ok also.
Peg
That depends. Is she reaching for the solid food on your plate? If so,
let her experiment with it but be vigilant. If not, don't worry about
moving on, solid food is mostly for tasting at this age.
At 7 months we started giving our son "Healthy Times" teething biscuits.
They used to melt and fall apart in his mouth and he'd start gagging. We
called the company and they said that they really weren't intended to be
eaten entirely, which I interpret as meaning they weren't intended for kids
his age (then they sent us a freebie box of samples which was very kind as
I love most of their products).
On the other hand, a certain amount of gagging is part of the learning
process. I can't tell you how many times I lurched towards an apparently
choking child only to see that he had worked it out on his own. As of a
year he's been handling most foods, including "chokables" such as raisins
and grapes, quite well (though I'd never give these to him unsupervised).
Sophie
Jan. 2004
Does anyone have advice about starting their baby on finger
foods? Our son is 10 months old and has been eating solids
since he was 6 months. We feed him all kinds of cereal, fruit
and vegetables, in pureed form. He enjoys being spoon fed very
much and eats everything willingly. However I find myself
terrified to try feeding him finger foods, as I am so afraid he
will choke! We tried feeding him some mashed banana over a
month ago and he gagged. He does enjoy eating solid fruits and
vegetables with his ''baby safe feeder'' which has been very
helpful but I wonder if it's holding him back. I know some
babies are feeding themselves a wide variety of finger foods by
now and wonder if he should be too. Any advice for a first time
mom? Thanks in advance.
Oakland Mom
Go for cheerios. They turn to mush and they are great for
helping the baby to figure out how to hold things between
finger and thumb and negotiate them into the mouth. Other
things work, too. Go for the Toddler carrots and green beans.
These are basically mush in the solid form and are great for
that self feeding thing.
Don't worry. Gagging in the beginning is normal. I was afraid
that my child would never eat finger foods after a gagging
experience when I first tried cheerios. Dad got her hooked on
them however when I wasn't around and able to object. :-)
anon
Our pediatrician is very big on finger food for babies 7 to 14
months old. You're lucky that your son is still enjoying the
pureed foods, both my kids (my youngest is 10 months old)
started turning down baby food at 9 months.
You might check with your pediatrician. My has a pamphlet on
introducing solid food that touches on early finger foods and
then has hand-outs on menu suggestions as the children get older.
The rule of thumb seems to be if the food can fall apart in
water, it's not a choking hazard. Eggs and peanut butter are to
be avoided until after 12 months; strawberries until after 9
months. Some great suggestions from the doctor:
breakfast: pancakes or french toast (cut up, no syrup); yogurt
spread on bread; cottage cheese spread on bread; fruit breads
cut into strips
lunch/dinner:
-protein: meat spreads on bread or toast; cheese in all
varieties (I've found that shreaded or sliced cheese works
best); hamburger patty broken up; cheese melted on bread
I've also fed my baby sliced deli-style turkey, chicken and
bologna, cut-up turkey dogs (skin peeled) and my own chicken
shreaded.
-veggies: peas, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, asparagus tops--all
cooked until tender but not mushy; beets; regular and sweet
potatoes or yams, baked and cut up or mashed (my baby loves to
feed herself handfuls of mashed potatoes; you can melt cheese
over it, too)
-starches: pasta in all shapes with different sauces (mine loves
the corkscrew pasta); rice (you can firm it up with some
cheese); bread and toast; crackers; potatoes (see above); beans
fruit: bananas; soft pears; minced apples; canned fruit (drain
off the liquid); strawberries (after 9 months); grapes (skinned
and quartered)
Have fun and don't be afraid to experiment. This is a really
neat time; you can actually take your baby to restaurants
without packing a separate meal!
Gwynne
A 10-month-old should be able to eat a pretty good variety of finger
foods that are either pretty soft (fruit chunks like pear, melon, kiwi;
avocado chunks, tofu chunks, tortellini that are slightly overcooked),
or
that will dissolve when wet, like cheerios, bread, or crackers (like
graham). Start with the stuff that feels softest to you, and see how
it
goes. It's not so much that you're ''holding him back,'' but right now
he
would probably enjoy learning to eat a wide variety of foods, and
babies
who eat a wide variety tend to be slightly less picky toddlers
If you're worried about choking, just make sure you a! re right there
beside him when he does it, and that you have had the appropriate first
aid classes. Probably the latter's as important for helping you relax
as it
is likely that you'll ever need it.
Karen
Mine's the same age, and lately she wants to do all her own
feeding. Things she likes:
Os
banana chunks
frozen peas
whole-grain bread, biscuits, and rolls (white bread *is a
choking hazard)
graham crackers
tortilla chips (surprised the heck out of me)
Sara
March 2004
I am seeking suggestions on how to add more variety to my
daughter's culinary experience! She is only 11 months old and
I am already in a rut- ugg. She LOVES to eat, so I want to
encourage her interest, rather than give her the same thing day
after day. She currently eats what I would assume is normal
(and not much more than what is on this list): cereal, banana,
yogurt, pureed veggies & fruit (broccoli, carrots, sweet
potatoes, apples, plums), tofu, avocado, cheese, and, her
favorite, chunks of pears. I find myself grabbing from the
freezer the same foods day after day for each meal. My mom
sent us a baby food cookbook by a cordon bleu chef (??), but
the recipes are more elaborate than what I prepare for myself!
However, I love to cook for our baby and would appreciate any
yummy suggestions/combinations (even if they seem obvious or
too simple to you, please pass them on). What do you suggest I
add to encourage my baby's interest in food? By the way, she
has 8 teeth and is working on her molars if this makes any
difference. Thank you for your help.
PS- For all of you breastfeeding advocates- we are with you!!!
She nurses 5 times a day, but really loves the solid food!
Encouraging a Future Food Connoisseur
Hi! I'm pregnant now with my first child, so I can't give you
advice from my experience, but my mother-in-law and my sister-in-
law say to just give the baby whatever you are eating. You can
mash up or cut up some on your own plate and then feed it to
them. You don't need to give them their own special food. My
little niece who turns one this week loves to try and eat
EVERYTHING her parents eat. I have seen other parents do this
too. As long as there is some variety in your diet, your child
will get that too. Hope this helps,
anon
Once my daughter had her first taste of ''grown-up'' food, she
turned her nose up to baby food. Now, she frequently eats what
we're eating unless it's spicy (in which case, I set some aside
for her before I spice it). I make sure everything is small
enough and soft enough for her to eat and she does beautifully!
Here are some things I've been feeding my daughter since she
was at least 11 months old:
Hummus
chunks of avocado
garden burgers
steamed baby carrots (I leave them whole so she can pick them
up but make sure they are soft enough)
beans - she loves white beans cooked in stewed tomatoes, plain
black beans, chick peas cooked with sweet potatoes and curry,
lentils and spinach, mild veggie chili
tofu stir fried in tamari and garlic
small pieces of steamed brocolli
quiche
scrambled eggs
soft bread with almond butter and a bit of jam
poached salmon
whole wheat pasta
mac n' cheese
blueberries
goat cheese
My kid nurses a bunch still too. But she does love her food.
Hope this helps!
raising a foodie
You didn't say if you were vegetarian, but it sounded like it, so I
will only
mention chopped chicken and ground beef just in case my impression
was wrong.
But there's LOTS of other stuff. At this point, she probably doesn't
need
the veggies and fruits pureed; the veggies can just be steamed until
soft,
and can include cauliflower, baby carrots, baked winter squash,
zucchini and/or summer squash, edameme. roasted bell peppers, peas,
and sweet corn.
For fruits, try kiwi, melons, sliced grapes, sliced blueberries. At 1
year
they can have strawberries and raspberries as well.
Milk products can include cottage cheese, and other sources of protein
would be various kinds of beans, and egg yolks (pretty soon she'll be
able to eat whites too -- then scrambled eggs are great!).
Pasta is a big hit, with or without sauce; ravioli and tortellini were
some
of my son's favorites. Crackers that dissolve work well (and if she's
got
her molars, you don't even have to worry so terribly much about this).
Slices of toast cut into pieces, or pancakes, french toast, or waffles
are
nice. Some babies really like sticky balls of rice. Good cereals are
nice
too, of course.
My son ate all of this at about a year (and he's a terrific eater now
-- all through his twos he would eat almost anything); most of the cooked
stuff
I just made in quantity and froze in ziploc bags, pancakes and waffles
included.
Also, you can start to try bits of whatever you're serving for dinner,
cut up
into small pieces, as long as it's not too spicy, or chewy. Pasta with
sauce is popular with some babies, as are stir-fries.
Babies also often like to dip their food. My son at 18 months liked
mild
salsa; I have a friend whose child to this day loves hummus and baba
ghanoush (sp?)
There's lots of great stuff out there -- have fun!
Karen
At 11 months old, and given her eagerness, she should be eating
pretty much whatever you eat. There is no need to puree her
fruits and veggies any more! (Some things, like apple, you
probably need to peel still, but slices or chunks are fine for a
baby with 8 teeth.) And unless there is a family history of
allergies (in which case you might delay certain things, like
eggs, longer), by 1 year the only things you need to avoid are
shellfish, peanuts and peanut butter (best to wait until age 2
or 3, for allergy reasons) and the obvious choking hazards like
raw carrots and whole nuts. And don't give her too much citrus
fruit or tomato at one time, because the acidity can cause a
very painful diaper rash!
Other than that: Pasta, with a variety of sauces. All kinds of
bread, muffins, crackers, noodles. Soups and stews. Seasonal
fruit (try adding berries to her cereal to give a little extra
interest to a staple). Sushi. Potatoes, in any form. Any type
of meat, as long as it's cut into small pieces. Smoothies.
Incidentally, since you say she loves to eat, I doubt you really
need to ''add'' anything to ''encourage'' her! But it certainly
can't hurt if the fun of introducing her to new foods gets *you*
out of a diet rut. :-)
Holly
My preschool-age daughter eats all types of food and always
has. I never made anything special for her. I just fed her
whatever I made for myself, just less spicy and cut/mashed in
small pieces. This also forced me to eat better, more whole
foods and on a regular schedule.
LC
We gave our 11 month old just about whatever we were eating (except
nuts, egg
whites and honey). He, of course, had his preferences... his favorites
were: paella-
like rice with tomato-based sauce, chicken and peas; lentil soup with
vegetables;
chicken cacciatore, garden burgers (this is a great standby!), pasta
with sauce. He
also really liked the broccoli flowerettes (cut small), and small
slices of raw
vegetables like cucumber and tomato. My son at 16 months has as many
teeth as
yours now and eats nearly everything (it is amazing what they can chew
with so little
in the way of teeth!) I don't think you need to puree things if you'd
rather give
pieces of food or more textured food. Have fun!
cooking in Berkeley
hi,
Yes, the feeding rut is a tough one - but easier to get out of
than you think.
Fruits: Pick a new one every month or so, and let her try it -
remember in the beginning they may not like it. Try coating in
yogurt. My baby loves: blueberries, honeydew, mangoes,
strawberries (organic), oranges, bananas, apples, nectarines
(almost in season!), and cut grapes. Also, they may love one
thing for a week then hate it - don't get stuck, just rotate,
try something new. Most of them I cut and/or peel - get ripe
fruits to prevent a choking hazard...wait till after 1 year for
the citrus (watch for allergic reaction) and strawberries. If
getting fresh produce is tough, try getting a whole honeydew and
cutting up and freeze in individual portion sizes...
Your baby already has teeth so you don't have to puree anymore!
They will love trying soft chunks of food. Try roasting the
sweet potato (just wash, cut in halve/quarters and brush olive
oil) and bake in the oven. Give baby 1/4-1/2 inch chunks and
watch her stuff her face! As long as you moniter them w/ the
food, they usually handle it and prefer to the soft ''baby'' stuff!
Pasta: try fun curly q's and spiral pastas that are easier for
them to hold onto. At this stage just serve plain. Then you
can add some veggies (like peas or little tomatoe bits (after 1
year)mix in some soft spinach), then cheese or butter...
Cous Cous: so easy to make and fast! Try using chicken or
veggie stock instead of water, add some (i like black beans)
beans, cheese, and butter for fat and flavor. Trader Joes has a
convenient small box. Remember, as little as 1/2 a cup makes
several servings!
Yummy rice: This is super easy: Using rice cooker add one cup
of rice (white, or long grain or basmati too), one can chicken
stock, one can diced tomatoes, one can black beans, you can add
garlic and salt to taste (depending if your chicken stock is
salted or not). Just set your rice cooker as usual and tadah!
fast yummy rice and beans - a perfect protein!
good luck!
fast and fun cooking
Hi, I have a one year old and he likes variety so I have gotten
to the point where I give him almost everything I eat. He likes
picking up the food and putting it into his own mouth. He has
to inspect everything first. He stopped accepting pureered food
at 6 months so we have been searching for ideas for a long time
and now have a much easier time feeding him since we give him
what we eat. Cooked kidney beans he loves ( i get them pre-
cooked in a can, rinse them off and he's set) he also eats tofu
and steamed veggies and fruit chunk without pureeing it. Just
in chuncks. eggs are another favorite. he likes meat. peas,
whatever I eat I let him try except (pb, honey,and lettuce)
hope this helps a little. I know I went through days I didn't
know what to feed my baby but realized I was making it harder
on myself then nessesary.
Laurel
This one's easy -- she should eat what you eat, cut up into
finger foods. Really! I know after months of baby food, you're
in the habit of thinking of baby food as something different
than your food. But you're about to have a toddler, and the
earlier she's brought to the family table, the better. Less
work for you, too. I was a little concerned making the
transition at first but my daughter has been fine and enjoys
it. If I am having something that seems too spicy or less
wholesome than I would wish, I can fill in those old baby-food
standbys. You still have another month of avoiding egg whites,
milk, and honey, and you'll have to decide what you're
comfortable with for peanuts and peanut oil, but, other than
those, give her your food and have fun!
home cookin' mama
I am the french mother of a 9 months old girl and a 3 years old
boy, so I went through this stage of food diversification.
Examples of recipies for NOON here after, with ingredients you
didn't put in your list. Ask for more if your child is pleased
with that(for 4 o'clock...).
FIRST RECIPY, CAULIFLOWER-EGG:
150 g cauliflower,
50 g potatoes,
10 g fat (either butter or wheat germ oil, no standard
vegetable oil yet);
Boil potato chunks into 150 ml water (NO SALT),
3 minutes, and
add cauliflower chunks. Keep gently boiling until
fork tender (about 12 minutes total, if the potato chunks are
small enough... otherwise a little bit more !)
puree with a fork (so that there are still recognisable bits !)
add 10 grams butter (a little bit less than a tbsp) OR wheat
oil germ.
Add an egg yolk (no white yet at this age because there is a risk
of becoming allergic).
Add 1 tsp finely chopped parsley (not if people allergic
to celery and related plants in your family).
SECOND RECIPY, ARTICHOKE:
150 g artichoke hearts,
35 g ground meat (either chicken or lamb or beef),
10 g butter or wheat germ oil (this recipy better with butter).
Cook the artichoke hearts in water (NO SALT) together with the
meat, until fork tender (10 minutes ?).
Puree artichokes and meat separately with fork. Add butter to
the artichokes.
OTHER combinations without details (but the basic rules are
always the same: cook in water with NO SALT, puree not too
finely, try to separate ingredients, add 10 g FAT).
TURNIPS MIXTURE:
150 g turnips,
50 g potatoes,
35 g meat or an egg yolk,
10 g fat (butter or wheat germ oil).
SPINACH MIXTURE:
300 g spinach,
100 g potatoes,
35 g meat or fish or an egg yolk,
10 g butter or wheat germ oil.
ADVICE FOR BEING ABLE TO COOK EVERYDAY AT NOON:
always have 35 g portions of meat frozen. I usually buy
half a pound of ground meat (chicken, beef or lamb) and make
7 or 8 portions of it, which I freeze. I always have at least
two sorts frozen at the same time. Considering that you can
give an egg yolk once a week, fish once a week, and ham once
a week, you need 4 portions of meat each week... with the frozen
one, you never turn saying: oups, I have no proteins to give
today).
Claire-Colette
Here is the list that my mama's group put together some months
back -- finger foods, mostly, but lots of yummy treats that your
almost-one-year-old should enjoy and have fun with!
FUN FINGER FOOD IDEAS!
(for when babies want to feed themselves)
DAIRY
any cheese -shredded, cubes, or cut into sticks
string cheese
FRUITS
melon chunks banana chunks or whole
kiwi, chunks berries (chunked or halved, then whole)
avocado chunks grapes - peeled and quartered or halved
apple sticks, whole apples, peels removed
soft pear chunks frozen berry mix (from Trader Joes)
VEGGIES
cherry tomatoes sliced tomatoes
asparagus broccoli (chopped or trees)
cauliflower, cooked squash cubes
sweet potato fries from Trader Joe's
cooked carrot/potato/other root veggie chunks
LEGUMES
edamame cooked peas
cannellini beans green beans (canned cut or fresh cooked)
garbanzos black-eyed peas
PASTA/RICE
radiatore fusilli long noodles cut up
farfalle macaroni pennette
tortellini ravioli farfalle
sticky rice
MEAT/POULTRY/FISH/EGGS/OTHER PROTEIN
deli ham or turkey slices ripped into quarters
chicken nuggets, cut up or whole (try frozen for teething)
scrambled egg (or egg yolk)
hardboiled egg (or egg yolk)
frittata
tofu cubes or sticks (soft, firm, baked)
rotisserie chicken, cut across the grain
salmon, cooked, flaked, or chunked
BREADS/CEREALS
pancakes toast (cut into quarters)pancakes
croissant toasted Eggo waffles
crusty bread bagels/mini-bagels (frozen for teething)
Cheerios Rice Crispies
Rice cakes small graham crackers
zwieback sweet/savory bread pudding
biscotti
COMBINED ITEMS:
quesadillas (bean and cheese, salmon and hot pepper cheese, veggie)
pizza with ricotta, mozzarella, tomato sauce; cut
zucchini pancakes
Eggos (with cottage cheese, cream cheese, cinnamon and sugar, or jam)
bread, bagel, or pita with hummus
bread or bagel with avocado
grilled cheese sandwiches (remove crusts if desired and cut into chunks)
tuna or egg salad on bread (remove crusts if desired and cut into chunks)
soft cheese spread on bread chunks
Jane
I have a 9 month old who was not ever crazy about pureed foods
(mine or store bought). We're basically feeding her whatever we
eat -- and then saving leftovers for her. 11 months is
certainly time when you can leave pureed foods behind and go to
pretty much anything that doesn't create an allergy worry. You
can serve pieces of meat, risotto, rice, beans, vegetable bits,
yogurt, egss (scrambled or hard boiled are easiest for them to
pick up), cheese, whatever. Mine is crazy about fish, chicken,
beef and pork (no vegetarian here) and potato (cooked however).
A real meat and potatos girl, I guess). Of course, the pieces
should be quite small and I stay away from asparagus stalks and
the like -- things that are too ''stringy'' (but she loves
asparagus tips!).
sabrina
It sounds like your child is already eating a nice variety of
foods, and maybe you're worried about her diet not being varied
enough because you're comparing to our adult diets where the sky
is practically the limit! You probably haven't been feeding
your child solids for more than five or six months, so if you
think about it, it's an amazing thing that she's eating the
variety of foods that she is. I'm just adding this in because I
think we parents are sometimes so hard on ourselves about
feeding our little ones. But regardless, I somtimes feel like
I'm feeding my ten month old daughter the same thing over and
over too. A friend recommended the book, Super Baby Food by
Ruth Yaron which I've found very helpful. Some stuff is just
too structured and rigid for me in the book, but I've found the
suggestions for different foods very helpful. Have you
introduced different grains, i.e. barley, oats, millet, quinoa,
etc. in addition to the standard rice cereal? Have you thought
of adding ground up flax meal to cereal to add omega-3 fatty
acids to your child's diet? Also, you might want to try egg
yolk. Crumbled pieces are good for picking up. And Oatios are
good fun for them to eat also. I've found some in bulk at Whole
Foods that do have wheat germ in them, but not sugar. There's
also beans-pureed and eaten on their own, or mixed in with other
veggies to make ''stew''. Have you tried mango yet? My daughter
LOVES sucking the mango off the pit! What about kiwi?
Yoghurt? These are just a few more suggestions for you.
Monika
My baby, who just turned one loves the following:
toast, whole wheat or white
pretzel sticks or bread sticks, try to find ones with little or no salt
cheerios
chicken and turkey lunch meats -- the Diestel brand is good because
there are
no preservatives used, though salt is
pasta
rice cooked in homemade chicken broth until it is very, very soft
homemade chicken and rice or pasta soup
meatballs cooked in broth so that there is no crust on them; I use
beef, but you
could also use ground turkey or chicken
crackers
potatoes
''real'' oatmeal
cream of wheat
grilled cheese sandwich, cut into small cubes
The following contain eggs, which some doctors say to wait until 1 year
to
give:
scrambled eggs
silver-dollar pancakes
french toast
fritatta
I have found that the best way to find new foods is to try to give the
baby a
little of what you're already eating. For example, if you're having
pasta, you
could take your portion out and leave your baby's portion to cook a
little
longer. I then shred some parmesean cheese onto the pasta and have put
a
little butter on it, though that gets greasy, and I don't know now
necessary
butter is. I also made a frittata with potatoes, eggs and onions, and
discovered
that my son really likes things with cooked onions. You could also try
cottage
cheese, though I haven't had any luck with that.
Have fun!
personal chef for baby
I work full-time, so I don't have much time to cook at night,
either. Things my 1-year-old likes: quesadillas (rolled up so she
can hold it and eat it), rice with pieces of chicken in it, soup,
noodles (not the long ones, but the short fat pastas) with sauce
and parmasan cheese, scrambled eggs with chunks of tofu, macaroni
and cheese and bran muffins (she really likes the blueberry bran
muffins from trader joes). Trader Joe's also has frozen mexican
and brown rice that you only need to put in the microwave for 3
minutes and its GREAT.By the way, she also has 8 teeth, and has
never choken on any of it.
Not-so-gourmet chef
With my second child, I stopped making ''baby food'' and simply gave
her what we were eating (within reason - nothing she couldn't handle
without teeth). I would maybe water a few things down if I thought
they
were too spicy, or cook it a little longer in the microwave if it
needed to
be a bit softer.
It's a lot easier, and for now, anyway, she eats a more interesting
variety
than my older child did at the same age (younger one is now 19
months). She does like spicy and highly seasoned foods, even olives
and other pickled items (cut up small), tomatoes off Zachary's deep
dish
pizza, curries her sitter makes, salad dressing (she sucks it off the
lettuce), etc.
I just hope she doesn't follow her older sibling's very narrow view on
food later...!
Still learning...
First, you can probably stop pureying the vegis. If you baby
has teeth, she can eat peas, and soft cooked broccoli, green
beans, zuccini, carrots and other vegis. My baby at that age
loved beans, including garbanzos, red beans, pintos, etc, and
trader joes sells cans of organic ones. Cut them in half if
you're worried about choking. Also try small pasta, rice,
barley (the whole grain, not the cereal), all kinds of dry
cereals, small pretzels, toast, and tamales. Some people say
wait until one year for eggs, but I think I started scrabbled
and hard boiled eggs around 11 months,and my baby loved them.
Have fun!
Lee
I would suggest other tastes such as different kinds of cheese, even
strong
ones, olives, pickles, different sauces on pasta, etc. My daughter
liked all of
the above from the time she started solid food.
good luck to your future connesseur!
My baby is 11 months old and has 2 1/2 teeth.
Somewhere I've read that this age is good for
self-feeding with a spoon due to the urge to imitate etc. My baby is very
familiar with spoons through play at mealtime and other times, but I
haven't seen her put it in her mouth with the "right" side yet. Since her
food is mostly mashed due to the limited number of teeth, I think it
might be too early for her to spoon-feed herself. Any tips or
clues about when a baby is ready for this? She loves fingerfood,
which works snackwise but what about lunch and dinner? I don't want
to limit her in her newfound abilities, yet, as a full-time working mom, I'm
not creative about "training food" for her and have been feeding her the
baby jar food for main meals. (My husband and I eat out big for lunch
and only snack in the evenings. So, we don't really cook during the
week). So, any tips on fingerfood that dissolves easily in the
mouth, are welcome as well!
For
fingerfood that dissolves easily in the mouth, try frozen miniwaffles.
Don't cook them though, give them to her frozen. This way they do not
crumble, but "mush" instead, and as an extra added bonus they help with
teething pain because they are cold. We got the mini's because I noticed
my daughter usually got full before finishing the bigger waffles. Hope
this helps!
Huan
this page was last updated: Aug 2, 2004
The opinions and statements expressed on this website
are those of parents who subscribe to the
Berkeley Parents Network.
Please see
Disclaimer & Usage for
information about using content on this website.
Copyright © 1996-2013 Berkeley Parents Network