What is the Best Way to Start Introducing Table Foods?
Hello.
My baby has been eating baby foods for about 5 months. I started him on veggies, then added fruit. About 2 months ago, I started giving him veggie or fruit puffs (the kind that dissolve). My pediatrician has agreed that we can start trying to give him table foods but I'm unsure how to do that. I've read everything I can get my eyes on and I still can't figure this out. Please help!
For example:
- When they say carrots, should I mash them and feed him mashed food or should I slice them and feed him little sticks?
I have the same question for peas and green beans.
- When and how do I introduce meat?
How do I get over my fear of him choking? He has six teeth but I'm still afraid that he will choke.
I have friends who have 12 month olds who eat graham crackers and pear squares with half as many teeth as he has. But I am not comfortable at all with giving him such hard foods. I always cut things into tiny pieces and I still worry that he will choke.
Huh?
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You know what's funny...I never knew to mix it with formula so I always used water...I'm usually a few steps behind the crowd
Thanks for the tips on water. We have been mixing it with formula, hadn't thought about water! I am still a bit unsure on juice so I will try water for starters.
Cereal...ah yes...I remember those days! Aiden didn't like rice cereal, but oatmeal did the trick. It kept him regular too
JaMae,
When we did cereal with Joa he ate it best when I mixed it with water. My mom to this day yells at me to mix it with formula, juice of baby food, but my little one does not eat it. Keep playing around with it. Before you know you baby will be screaming for it! Hope that helps.
As for "real" food - still working on it. He just wont take it. I think we are running into his molars cutting through because he has been acting strange at other times, not just meal times. I will continue to be patient, but boy, I feel so tested!
Thanks!
Debra
These will be very useful tips. I don't plan to start table foods yet but these tips will be very useful when the time comes. We haven't started baby food either, only cereal and that has had its own ups and downs.
Thanks for your thoughtful advice.
Sunday I was in the nursery at church and decided to try and give Joakim some Cheerios as a snack. I bit them in half before feeding him. He ate them well. He actually grabbed them out of my hand and stuffed them in his mouth. I was so excited. The other worker and I just chatted about baby's first time with cheerios. We planned my scrapbook page and all!
When my husband came over after church, I told him Joakim had his first Cheerios. He told me that he had been feeding him cheerios for weeks when it was his turn in the nursery. I was soooo mad at him. But we laughed about it. Guys vs Girls. I wanted pictures and wanted to cry; he didn't even think to tell me
Gotta love Daddy.
Debra
Debra-It was so hard getting used to Aiden eating. He'll still stick too much in his mouth sometimes and gag. Shocked Scares me to death! I started with bananas and yogurt because both of those foods were easily mashed. Avocados are another great soft food that mashes up well--and full of great fats and nutrients. I think those were the main 3 that I started with. I eventually added cheerios and harder foods...
I hope some of those ideas help.
~Elsie
I know what you mean about being concerned they will choke, especially with the first baby. I want to throw in that it does get easier with the second, something happens when we have our second child and all those uncertainties no longer exist
If he has been eating baby food for 5 months then he has a pretty good idea about swallowing things that aren't liquid, but his belly is still inexperienced in digesting most things, which can lead to tummy aches and constipation. I see many moms handing their babies solid foods like graham crackers a lot and while their baby doesn't choke on them it has other impacts in digestion. When you gradually introduce new things always consider both his ability to chew it and not choke and his ability to digest it and absorb nutrients.
You don't have to mash his food completely at 10 months, he will chew them and chew them well, but as be sure the food is completely cooked (especially carrots) and then mash them with your fork much like you would a baked potato. This leaves them a little clumpy but very easy to chew and digest. The same for his peas and green beans. I found I had to chop the green beans up continually until they were "chopped to pieces" because they just don't mash well.
Fruits are the same, only feed him fruits that you can mash in this manner for right now. Apples are great if you bake them first to make them soft and then mash them. Pears are excellent for "mashing" up as are bananas. As far as digestion is concerned our stomachs rely on our molars to completely grind our food before sending it down. You can use this as a marker for your son in the time to start handing him things like carrot slices.
As for meat I recommend you wait until he is closer to two years. The proteins in meat are so hard to digest, I don't even like baby food meat. I worked closely with a nutritionist and learned that meat protein is best left for after 2 years when the stomach is mature and more able to break it down. As long as you son is eating vegetables he is getting the protein he needs at this age. You can also add things like peanut butter on a slice of bread after 1 year (very thin layer, peanut butter is hard to swallow if it is thick) which will add more protein.
Getting over your fear of him choking is one of those things that will come naturally. As you watch him eating and not choking the concern will just go away. Unfortunately there aren't any tricks to relieving that fear, after all these are our children and we don't want anything to harm them. The important thing is you don't let the fear keep you from allowing your son to try new things. Instead use the fear as a reminder to be on guard and prepared.
An example in our home of having to ignore my fear as two years ago when Morgan was 4 and wanted to learn to dive. I am an experienced diver and participated on the diving team in my youth, but I was terrified that my little girl wanted to dive in the pool. What if she hit her head on the side? What if she swallowed water? I had to actually close my eyes when she started learning (someone was teaching her of course) because I didn't want my fear to hold her back. Diving is one of my greatest memories and now it can be hers as well. I know this isn't eating, but sometimes we just have to "close" our eyes as we watch our kids grow and overcome the fears that are inevitable with "the first time."
Maybe some other moms have more tips on how they introduced foods as well and what they did to handle that initial concern of choking. I hope this is helpful Debra and remember that once you take that step it only gets easier from there.
Mikki Hogan Publisher of UniqueParenting.com