what table foods are good to start with at 9 months old

Rebekah - posted on 01/08/2010

When my kids were first starting table foods I started with mashed potatoes,green beans,the infant cereal mixed in a bowel with a little milk and sugar,little bites of banana,yogurt without big bites of fruit they did have baby yogurt,oatmeal.I talked with my doctor before I tried them because I was worried about if they could handle these types of food but my doctor said they would be fine.

Brandi - posted on 01/01/2010

at nine mos. old, you really shouldn't NEED to be pureeing his food. Whatever you are eating is ok for him (with the listed exceptions of eggs, nuts, honey, and other common food allergy foods. Also avoid whole grapes, raw carrots, things like that that could be more difficult to chew). I always cut up our regular dinner into smaller pieces for my kids. They did beautifully. Definitely be careful when adding foods he hasn't had before, but by this age, you really shouldn't have to do anything special to his food, besides make it smaller and avoid choking hazard foods. Overcook the veggies slightly. I feed my kids fruit cups (they are easy and already cut small, just drain the extra liquid away to prevent messes). Cheerios are really good for little ones and vienna sausages are good (cut them up small), cooked veggies of any kind, soft fruits (that's also why I used fruit cups or canned fruit-it's all soft). As for meats, take it slow, they don't like the texture of chicken or a roast beef, but usually ground meats work well (just be sure they are broken down pretty small as you cook them). I fed my kids lots of tacos with rice, spaghetti, meatloaf, (whatever you can think to make with ground meats). Good luck, most importantly at this age is to be sure everything is cut up small, avoid choking hazards, and be careful of some of the foods that are not recommended until after the child turns 1 (i.e. strawberries, honey, peanut butter, and other foods that may contain bacteria or are common food allergies. also, I didn't feet honey to either of my kids until they were 2 as it contains some kind of bacteria or something from the process the bees use to make it, so just to be extra safe, I waited until my daughter was 2 and my son is not 2 yet and doesn't get it at all). good luck and I'm sure you won't have to worry too much about daycare. They are pretty competent in knowing what is age appropriate and will probably help you out a lot in regards to helping your son to try a variety of foods. This will make him a really good eater later. Try to relax.

Beck - posted on 01/01/2010

Do not feed your little one eggs, citrus fruits, fish and seafood, nuts (including peanuts and peanut butter), or honey for a start, but if you havent got a blender/food prosessor, get one, they are great, you can make all kinds of mixes,start with one food at a time to check for reactions, have him on it for a week then add a second and so on. My little one loved pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots, (cook all in boiling water first till soft then blend till smooth) mashed banana, place these in a jar for the day care centre, or list them as special requirements if they do not offer food preperation, otherwise bananas are soft, yogurt, pre boil vegetables till very soft then place in container, if your son enjoys soft cookies, you may want to make a carrot and banana loaf at the week end which you can slice a peice off each day for day care, or other combinations, as the texture in this is similair to soft cookies but more filling and nutritious. Make all servings of food small enough for your son to handle and soft enough to chew/swallow.