eating solids

Michele - posted on 06/09/2010

OH! And he loves French toast. I read a recipe for it somewhere called "Eggy Bread." I make it with regular whole grain bread. For the batter use ONLY egg yolks due to medical recommendations, a touch of sugar, and some milk, blend it, coat the bread slices in it, then just cook it in a pan like normal with some nonstick spray. He adores this stuff. I cook several pieces at once then refrigerate the extras. Remove the crusts and chop it into little bites for him.

Michele - posted on 06/09/2010

My son will be 11 mos this week. He had a hard time transitioning to solids - threw them up a lot at first. But it's getting better. Easiest to start with (for him): mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes, well cooked green beans, very soft elbow macaroni (extra boiling time), mashed bananas, yogurt, and other mashed fruits or veggies. Also, Gerber makes a really good line of stuff for crawlers, such as cheese puffs (lower sodium than regular brands), yogurt melts, sweet potato puffs, etc. And there are those commercial organic puffs in misc. fruit or veggie flavors. These commercial items give that solid feel in the mouth but dissolve well so they won't choke. Just feed them slowly. I call these my son's "Scooby Snacks" because he makes a beeline for them when he sees the can come out!!

Brenda - posted on 06/08/2010

I also would stand in front of her while she ate and put food in my mouth and said chew it up and made chewing motions..it helped a lot.

Brenda - posted on 06/08/2010

My daughter is 10months 3weeks and she eats everything we eat. From peices of tender steak and lil peices of chicken and pork chops to toast, mac n cheese, green beans, spaghetti o's, cookies, I make her cheese sandwhichs and cut them into cubes, scrambled egg yolks, and fruits and pretty much everything except things she cant eat before age 1. I started her out with gerber graduates lil puffs, lil crunchies and yogurt melts. I cut them in peices the size of her pinky finger when she was around 9mnths bc I didnt want her to choke. She has 6 teeth and 2 more comming in right now. 4 on top and 2 on bottom. Just start out with soft lil pieces and work ur way up. its important she learns her pincher grasp too! so finger food are awesome!

Jasmine - posted on 06/08/2010

My son is the same age and he is on solid foods. You just haveto work with them so that they can be comfortable with eating solid foods. Just keep at it and they will get the hang of it... Shoot we did lol

Michelle - posted on 06/08/2010

Lists of food are great however I would be careful of salt and sugar contents as their kidneys are still immature and a lot of either, especially salt is really not good for them. Cheesy foods, salty chips, adding sugar to things to make them eat it...I don't think are good habits to get into. Just my opinion...

Shalaina - posted on 06/07/2010

Leslie, why did your ped say not to give your child fruit such as strawberries, etc?

Leslie - posted on 06/07/2010

Its always easier to remain objective and give advice for others...don't feel bad! That's why this site is fantastic. My sister and I call each other all the time for reassurance on what to give our kids. Tabitha gave a GREAT list of things of your child can try and will love. I give Jax who is always also 11 mos all of those things. One thing I also gave him to transition him to table foods was campbells chunky vegetable soup. Because it is canned in broth everything is very soft. Then after that I would put it over some mashed potatoes. Other things he loves is instant flavored oatmeal. I mixed it with his baby oatmeal for flavor and it also cuts down on the amt of sugar in the instant. He also love french toast/waffles/pancakes all cut up small. My pediatrician said the only foods they didn't want him trying yet were eggs, reg milk, nuts (esp peanuts), grapes (choking factor), fresh berries (strawberries blueberries etc- process ones in baby food/flavoring are fine) and Honey. One thing we learned with my neice is that early exposure to nuts can create an allergy. My neice will be five and everything has to be checked thoroughly. So just becareful esp with nuts berries and honey. things processed in peanut oil should be avoided as well. Hope this helps a little. I love the advice I get from here. GOOD LUCK and most importantly...try not to worry...you'll do great!

Shalaina - posted on 06/07/2010

Solids include the baby food you are giving him from the jars. To help our son get used to different things we gave him snacks like the Gerber Puffs and Yogurt Melts. (He would cough a bit at first because he wasn't used to them since they were a different consistency but he got used to them quickly and loves them. I also didn't give them whole at first.) They are good because it is new and helps them learn to chew but also melts quickly. You can also mash up some of your food (veggies, fruits, etc.) Good luck!

Jessica - posted on 06/07/2010

Your daughter is the same age as my youngest and she eats everything just modified (mashed a bit, small chunks etc.) Try the gerber puffs, shredded apple, small banana chunks, pasta, CHEERIOS!!, bread crust.

I also have no allergies in my home so my daughter eats fish, egg (since we do not immunize, this is the reason we are asked to wait on egg due to the MMR being egg based so therefore if they have a reaction they cannot have the MMR. You usually don't have an allergic reaction the first time). Small pieces of all veggies steamed untilsoft. My daughter really likes peas, carrots, corn, broccoli, mushroom and cucumber. Also try shredded cheese and slowly change to chunks.

Do what's right for yours. My daughter has 7 teeth so I know she is going to do some chewing. But remember that those gums can do some damage! They can eat cheerios and other foods without them!

Go slow and good luck!

Heather - posted on 06/07/2010

My daughter will eat anything. She was 11 months on June 5th and she only has two teeth. The little pieces are best and somtimes she uses her fingers to smash bigger things against her teeth. I started with the mum-mums and puffs at about 8 months. Just remember it has to be a small piece and not too hard.

Jackie - posted on 06/07/2010

My little guy will be 11 months on June 11th and typically refuses anything offered to him on a spoon these days (except yogurt)! He started trying to grab off of my plate at around 6 or 7 months so I started offering bits of our food then. He only has 2 teeth but has no problems eating buttered or cream cheese slathered toast bites; farfallini with butter and parmesan or a cheese sauce made with milk, flour, butter and grated cheese; well-steamed chunks of broccoli, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, etc. - as long as it is really soft. You can check out websites like http://www.nurturebaby.com/ or http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ for more ideas about what kind of foods to introduce and easy recipes. Good luck!

Rikkie - posted on 06/07/2010

Let your baby feed herself small snacks, such as gerber puffs, bananas, anything that will desolve easly. thats what im doing with my 11 month old. He has no interest in eating anything but a bottle.

Agnes - posted on 06/06/2010

my girl will 11 months to on june 11th. I started giving her solid when she was 7 months. maybe this will help too... cheerios, yogurt for baby, rice soup w/chicken, avocado, gerber finger snacks, fish, steamed vegetable (pea, brocolli, carrots).

Cathy - posted on 06/06/2010

I am a mother of three, I remember feeling like you when I had my 1st. I begin w/ crumbs so that the baby gets the feel for different texture then gradually those crumbs get larger. My kids started gumming food at 7 months. They were not baby jar eaters, my youngest is 10 months and she is on only table food. I started to crumble small amount of cereal, bread, cookies, anything you can crumble then after that they learn to move the food around their mouth.

Jennifer - posted on 06/06/2010

the gerber puffs helped my daughter chew, they dissolve on the toungue

Stephanie - posted on 06/06/2010

my daughter is 10 months and since she has been about 6 months i have given her foods that she can hold so the she can chew on them at first she just sucked them but she has now got the hang off it. i also try to eat at the same time as her when ever posible as she then copies me. i hope this in some way helps.

Sadie - posted on 06/06/2010

I would suggest handing her half of an INFANT mum mum (available at Walmart near the baby food, and make sure to buy the infant Mum Mums as they come in toddler also), that way she can learn to bite off little pieces and move them to the back of her mouth. They are like a rice cake (and they look like Styrofoam) but they dissolve almost as soon as they hit the mouth. My son is the exact same age, even the same birthday, and when he first started eating food other than the #2 baby food he would often gag on the bigger pieces. Baby boy did a LOT of gagging at first because he would try to swallow the food without chewing, but eventually he figured it out. All babies develop differently.

Manjari - posted on 06/05/2010

In your pureed food just add a little very little sugar it helps..

Manjari - posted on 06/05/2010

Dont worry so much...I have 2 kids now so I have experience...Now at this point U can give her anything to eat but it should not be very solid like the rice should be over looked so its easy for her to eat...also study say that if small kids have to chew less the intake is more and they like it too....over few months she will change. Good luck. I hope this helps...

Franchesca - posted on 06/05/2010

My daughter just turned 10 months. She's been eating solids for awhile. She loves to gum everything. And she won't swallow it until it's sufficiently gummed enough. She loves puffs, Mum Mums, and other teething type cookies. She loves chicken, just small pieces that are easy to breakdown. Loves to eat real rice, but needs to drink water with it. And only will eat stage 3 foods, because she hates too pureed food. Just put stuff in front of your child and let them figure it out. Just make sure it's small enough to not cause choking!

Tabitha - posted on 06/05/2010

My son is also 11 months. Let me just give you a simple list of "solids" (food that is not pureed or in a jar) that he likes to eat and eats well.
Mac N Cheese
Graham crackers
Buttered elbow noodles
Scrambled eggs
Half a slice of toast
Saltines
Yogurt
Mashed Potatoes
Cheerios
Whole peas
Whole green beans
Whole banana (of course I make those following items bite size for the convenience of the baby)
Anything he can pick up with his fingers (finger food).
I still use the baby cereal to thicken some foods like yogurt.
As for the meats, my son will eat chicken if it is flavored. So we do flavor it for him and with beef he will suck all the juices out and then spit it out. Even with that he is still getting some essentials from the beef.
If you would like more info, just let me know. Be more than happy to help. I am a first time mother as well and am learning too. Fortunately, I have plenty of family with babies just older than Luc and they have just gone through it. So it seems to be quite recent in their heads. LOL
Good luck, girlie! Get your daughter some REAL food. She will appreciate it!

Sarah - posted on 06/04/2010

also if you give her like baby cookies and toast so she can hold it and feed herself it would help improve her chewing.

Sarah - posted on 06/04/2010

My son is 10 months and eating table foods.
its like cut up noodles, pieces of toast, little pieces of meats, cheerios, mashed potatoes.. like if you give her a variety of diffrent things your eating she will love it but tiny pieces.

Tia - posted on 06/03/2010

My son is just a few days older than your little girl and also has 7 teeth. Our dr. said that he should be eating anything we eat other than the stuff you are supposed to wait until they're a year for. So, I fix him a plate of what we are having cut up into pieces he could swallow whole if he chose too and set it in front of him. He makes a big mess but he's learning feed himself so I don't mind. I would stop with the jarred food altogether. I've known some babies that have turned into picky eaters in regard to texture because they ate jarred food too long. Maybe just stick to softer stuff like pasta until she gets the hang of chewing.

Natasha - posted on 05/30/2010

every child is different my 10 month old has no teeth but eats everything that we eat including meet. my eldest son had to have his food runny or solid he couldnt handle anything in between. but he is a great eater now at the age of 5

Chantelle - posted on 05/29/2010

thank you everyone so very helpfull she seems to just swallow the food skips the chewing i practice chewing with her alot but doesn't seem to help anymore and she has7teeth, she loves real food but doesn't chew it

Anuradha - posted on 05/27/2010

Actually teeth has nothing to do with chewing food. My friend who has a close to 11 months baby girl has no teeth and can eat almost every food that is offered to her. She even eats the cookies by herself. My Baby boy is 10 months old, will be eleven by June 15th i give him different varieties...mashed/lump/semi solid/pureed and he is fine......but usually whenever i eat i make sure he eats with me that way he eats the food much faster.

Ashley - posted on 05/26/2010

My daughter didnt chew foods for the longest it seemed. She still will just spit out decent size bites of food. How many teeth does your baby girl have? That also can be an issue, I think now that my daughter has almost 6 teeth things are easier to chew, when she was first starting though, I would give her these cracker type things called "Baby Mum Mum's" they dissolve really well and they can hold them and just gnaw on them. As for teaching her, just keep giving her little bites of soft food, bananas, or bread. The more she has them the faster she will learn how to eat them :)

Carol - posted on 05/26/2010

I know this might sound weird but showing your baby how to chew will help, by now she should be eating what you do really just mashed down. also snacks are great to help her start to chew. Best of luck

Anika - posted on 05/26/2010

I think just continue with the jars for 8 months, and gradually add more lumps/bits of food to it, she will slowly get used to it. Also, do you eat with her? Whenever I eat with my son he always wants some of my food, and that's normally the only time he'll put the food in his mouth by himself! I found pasta or noodles he will feed himself too, just chop them up a bit so they're small.

Vicki - posted on 05/26/2010

Solids usually means anything other than breastmilk or formula. Just try putting normal food in front of her, pieces of your own food, and see if she picks them up and eats them. She will eventually. You don't need the food in her mouth for her.

Melissa - posted on 05/25/2010

blend your own foods try different consistancies also try mashed vegies goodluck..