Babble

My son is 11 months old, and since we started on solids at about 6 months, I've been pureeing various stuff, trying to add variety and texture... But now that he's almost a year, I feel like I should be offering more finger foods, giving him practice eating "like a grownup."

He has only 2 teeth, so he can't really chew yet, and of course I have The Fear that he will choke on a pea or piece of carrot or fruit or, well, anything. He does gum Cheerios and i give him teething biscuits, but don't quite know what else to try, or what is the right size to avoid choking hazard...

 Advice?
 

Our son is 9 mos old and refuses to eat pureed food, so our only option is finger foods. I had a fear of choking, too, until I started trying (he has only 2 teeth as well). So far, he's had soft pieces of pasta, well-cooked (to the point of almost mushy) carrots and peas, tofu, pear (sliced or diced--he'll bite off the slice and mash it with his gums), banana (not a big fan of it), sweet potato (cubes or strips), rice puffs, various kinds of bread (just give him a chunk and watch him go at it), even a piece of oatmeal cookie yesterday (just to see what he does--he bit off a small piece and gummed it). He is not a big eater, so he'll always only have a few bites from all of these. But he has not choked yet, and my understanding is that by this age they should be able to do pretty well. Just watch him and if you see a huge piece going in (quarter or larger), take it out, even though with softer things he'll mash it pretty quickly even if it is big. Sorry can't write more. Nap time is over.

 

 

Pasta is great, so is tofu, brown rice, couscous, mashed sweet potatoes, cream spinach, flaky fish ... anything with a soft texture or that dissolves quickly and easily (like cheerios). It does get tricky, though, to keep the meals interesting and new when you're limited by a lack of teeth and such. Good luck!

Thanks, all... We've been adding new stuff, and he also is still eating some prueed stuff from the spoon, so now an average meal is usually: 1 part finger foods (such as cubes of sweet potato or squash, little tofu cubes, whole wheat toaster waffle spread with butter and fruit) then 1 part (a few ice cubes worth) of some pureed item, then fruit for "dessert" (either pieces of pear or else pureed stuff like applesauce). It just feels like so much more work and thought goes into it now that he;s not just eating purees but is still not ready to just "eat what we eat."

Anyone else here have issue with the fact that once your babies get old enough to eat with a family dinner, you have to really plan and prepare nutritious meals every night? Before we had the baby, we ate probably 2-3 homemade meals a week, 2-3 takeout meals, and the occasional bowl of cereal or a bagel for dinner if one of us was working late or went out with friends, etc. All of a sudden, we're supposed to be a family with family meals that include a protein, a vegetable, etc. It's a ltitle daunting. i kind of liked having cereal for dinner sometimes, and miss it.

gaga:

...so is tofu...

 

Be really careful with the soy products you feed your child before two. I was a Tofu, soy everything advocate until my son developed a severe allergy to it. Soy is apparently as big of an allergen as peanuts are and since these days everything has soy in it, we've had a really difficult time finding products without soy. And since manufacturers are always changing their ingredients, you'll find something that's soy-free one week and the next week they have replace an ingredient with a soy-based thing like soy lecithin.

According to our pediatric gastroenterologist, soy lecithin is generally safe for kids with soy allergies, as is soybean oil. Those two soy-based ingredients don't seem to trigger the allergy.

squawks:

According to our pediatric gastroenterologist, soy lecithin is generally safe for kids with soy allergies, as is soybean oil. Those two soy-based ingredients don't seem to trigger the allergy.

That's what we were told as well. Unfortunately for my son, both of those things trigger an allergic reaction for him. Like I said, his allergy to soy is pretty severe.

Yes, figuring out what our son is going to eat on a daily basis demands some real time and creativity. My husband and I tend to eat after we've put our son down, so we still have those cereal, pb&j, etc nights although now that our son is eating adult food, it requires us to have more easy-to-prepare meals around. We tend to have a few basics like steamed broccoli, mashed sweet potato, steamed carrots, creamed spinach, wheat bread, fish sticks, chicken tenders, etc around so that when we're not in the mood to prepare an elaborate dinner, our son is still getting some good basic nutrition which only requires us to warm it up.  

My dear daughter never ate "baby food" and not for lack of pureed food on hand.  She had fun with the home-made and store bought pureed foods but they never made it into her stomach.  Even bananas were a play thing for her.  She held out until she was about 14 months old.  Her first solid food meal consisted of curried chickpeas.  As was the habit, she began nursing as the rest of the lunch party began eating.  Seemingly satisfied, Bella sat up in my lap and watched me eat as usuall only this time she chose to participate.  Before I realized that she had a handful of chickpeas, she had shoved them into her mouth and fully savored them and reached out for more  (she nursed to cool her mouth).  She finished my chickpeas and has loved indian food since.  My daughter prefered the foods we were eating.  So instead of making separate foods, Isabella shared table food.  You must be a bit more mindful with ingredients, such as removing a portion before adding too much red pepper and not using possible allergens such as peanuts.  But these steps seem easier than preparing a whole separate food or meal for the babe. 

Enjoy your dinner tonight! 

 My son is 11 months old and has always been a bit of a challenge to feed at different stages.  He hated breast milk and then he hated formula and then he didn't like formula with rice cereal, blah blah blah.  Now he doesn't like milk, yogurt, green veggies and is just difficult on most things.  I can get him to eat a gerber cereal bar at breakfast and veggie soup at lunch.  He definitely wants what I have to eat, no matter what it is, he must try it.  If it's something he doesn't like then he won't try anymore.  I just have to keep roaming the grocery store looking at potential meal ideas for him.  Plus I am trying to get in the habit of cooking a wholesome dinner every night.  It is daunting, but I'm not going too overboard, entree and a veggie is all I'm striving for at this point.

 I am in the same situation with my 12 month old. Everyday it is hit or miss with what he'll eat.

The 2 things I can count on him eating are oatmeal & spaghetti....so I have started making "power" versions for him.

I make the oatmeal (regular, not baby oats) with whole milk & flax. Sometimes I will add mashed up banana. I make it on the thick side so that once it cools he is able to pick up globs of it & feed himself (pretty much the only way he will eat).

You can get very creative with the spaghetti. The sauce has a pretty over-powering flavor, so you can add all sorts of food & they won't be noticed. I use the blender or a fork to puree a variety of things that he would normally refuse to eat. I have used spinach, cooked carrots, peas, milk, a little flax or wheat germ, pumpkin, sweet potatoes....lots of possibilties. The 2 constant ingredients are spag. sauce & whole wheat pasta (cooked till mushy). I just puree it until it is a consistency that he can pick  it up himself & all the big chunks are gone.Sometimes I add baby cereal to thicken it. I know...Yum, right?:) But, the Little Guy loves it. Perhaps yours will too?

Oh, also wanted to mentions mangoes. They are nice and soft...you can usually find them in the frozen fruit section of the market.