When to transition from baby food to table food?

Melanie - posted on 07/30/2009

You can start now. Steam all different kinds of vegetables (either individully or together, individually may be best at first to see which foods your child likes) and blend them till smooth, if you find that you make too much, use an ice cube tray to divide out all the remainder and then you can freeze, and then defrost as you need them. An ice cube tray is perfect as they are great portion sizes. I used to make apricot chicken, spag bolognese, chow mein and use the stab blender (meat included, the food doesnt look so appatising after this process, but still tastes the same!) so that the food had a smooth consistency.

Jennifer - posted on 07/30/2009

Just as long as its bite size and soft you can let them eat it! My daughter LOVED mashed potatoes and soft cooked carrots. Pudding is a good one too! She didn't have teeth until she was over a year old but she ate graham crackers and french fries with her gums!

Jenifer - posted on 07/30/2009

10 months is definitely old enough for table foods - we went straight to mostly table foods when my son started solids at 6 months. Start out with fruits or veggies that you know he likes, and cook them until they are soft enough that you can squish them with your fingers. Then just set them out in front of him and let him play and explore with the new textures. You can follow his lead as to how much he wants to eat, and what foods he prefers.

September - posted on 07/30/2009

I never have given my son baby food (jarred foods) since he was able to start solids at 6 months. I started with fruits and veggies that I would puree in the food processor and recently at 9 months added meats which I just cut into small bite size pieces. I just steam his veggies and some of his fruits like apples and pears and he just loves it! Some of his favorites are butter nut squash, green beans, celery, bok choy, swiss chard, carrots, summer squash, mangos, watermelon, honeydew, apples, pears, bananas, grapes and the list goes on. I think that it’s much more nutritious for babies to have homemade foods rather than store bought jarred foods. I mean have you ever tasted that stuff? Eww! There is also a great website that I use a lot that you could check out….Good luck and enjoy!

www.wholesomebabyfood.com

Michelle - posted on 07/30/2009

Nicole, I've been giving finger foods as her pediatrician recommends, and he's been happy with her development. I thought about the lack of teeth too, but it hasn't been an issue.

Nicole - posted on 07/30/2009

Michelle, maybe you're right. I guess I'm just thinking about my own children. My daughter got her first tooth at 4-1/2 months and more followed quickly, giving her a total of 7 by her first birthday. My son is just a late bloomer and I worry that he'll choke.

Michelle - posted on 07/30/2009

I started my baby off on the Gerber corn puffs and the Mum Mums (both melt in your mouth) when she was about 6 months old. She did really well with both. So after another few weeks, I tried other Gerber snacks for slightly more advanced babies, and she did well with those too. She also was on Cheerios right around then. Once I was comfortable with her eating these without issue, I started in on a few random bites of lunch meat, cheeses, etc. By 9 months, she was pretty much an expert on the softer foods, having already successfully eaten various restaurant breads, chicken nuggets, french fries, sweet potato fries, cheddar cheese, and bananas (all made into small pieces, of course). She was also on Gerber's Stage 3 foods by then. Now she's eating my pasta and meatballs, as well as green beans and grapes (also still cut up).

If you've moved up the stages from the baby food company to stage 3, your child should have no trouble with small, soft pieces of other foods you typically eat. Just remember to stay away from known allergens, like nuts and honey. But if you've made yourself a sandwich, pull off a few small pieces of the lunch meat and cheese, and see how your child does with it.

In response to something Nicole said, I don't know if number of teeth has anything to so with it. My daughter only has her two bottom teeth so far. She just really likes to chew things.

Nicole - posted on 07/30/2009

Do it slowly and take cues from your child. Also, take into consideration how many teeth your child has. My daughter had more teeth earlier than my son currently does, so it's a little slower going with him.

What I'm doing: since my son has figured out how to feed himself cheerios and pieces of graham cracker, I have introduced him to foods that are a little messier, like little pieces of cut up banana and watermelon. I have also started feeding him cottage cheese. But, as I mentioned above, because of a lack of teeth, it will be awhile before he is eating much of the same food that the rest of my family is eating.

Kattie - posted on 07/30/2009

My 8 month old is still mostly on breastmilk and baby food, but I have started giving her bits of wheat bread, a smooshed bit of peach (which was unfortunately returned to us), a little cheese, mashed potatoes (before the milk and butter). She wanted to take a bite of everything I had, so we try to include her in our meals by giving her a smooshed up version of our vegetable or fruit, especially if she already had it in baby food form. I would only try one thing in a small portion at a time, though, because you never know what reaction you are going to get. Our daughter didn't give the peach back until about 8 hours later. Babies are pretty good at letting you know. Good luck.

Jessica - posted on 07/30/2009

Once they reach about 8 months you can start with mushed veggies. Each child is different and only YOU will know when is the right time. My ten month old only eats table food and formula. He just started on meats about two weeks ago and is doing really good with it.

Kristie - posted on 07/30/2009

I found that when ever your child starts to reach for the food on your plate is a good time to start!