9 Month Bf-ing Baby with No-teeth- What Table Food Can She Eat??

How do you know she's getting enough milk? Try not to worry about that one. If she's nursing and she's happy, she's most likely getting enough. Generally speaking, breastfed babies really do get what they need. By nursing they are eating, but they are also telling your body to produce more. Your body is made for this. It's pretty amazing!

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It sounds like she might be teething. That would affect BF-ing and eating in general.

She should be able to handle eating crackers that melt from saliva like Ritz and graham crackers; also fruit breads (like Zucchini) and muffins. Gerber Puffs are awesome too! Also pea sized cooked carrots, soft peaches, cooked pears, cooked apples.

My 12 month old is having a hard time with feeding and the sippy cup. He likes the crackers and Stage 3 foods, but forgets to swallow with other foods and ends up choking and throwing up. He only has 3 top teeth. My other son was eating table foods at 7 months - it's amazing how different they can be!

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Around 9 months, my daughter started eating what we were eating, minus the salt/sugar, and with it mashed up.

In terms of introducing meats and things, stews and partly ground foods are easy for me them eat. Check out http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/making-baby-foo... for some ideas.

And don't forget avocado! Super food that is easy to just scoop out and put on the plate. Cheese is also good, as is all soft fruit.

And yes, around 9 months my daughter stopped nursing so much. She dropped close to two feedings, and 5 weeks later, was totally weaned.

I am having the same problem with my 9 month old daughter too. I am a nurse too, so I'm always worrying about her fluid intake.My husband has gotten her to drink a little from the take and toss sippy cups when I'm at work on the weekends. She nurses well in the morning and before bed. During the day it's a few more times for less than 5 minutes.I'm sure it's due to the teething.As far as food, I've been giving her little pieces of pancake, pastina, cut up banana, overcooked cut up carrots. I may get more adventurous when she finally gets some teeth. Good luck!

My little guy is 8 1/2 months and is slowing on the nursing quite a bit. I don't think he's weaning, but think it's because he's more active. With the weather being nice and being outside along with just moving and exploring the house?

I do add breastmilk to potatoes, sweet potatoes, cereals and sometimes peas. I just make sure to feed him more of these foods on days where he breastfeeds less. Then he still gets the nutrients from the milk...OH, and he just got his first tooth coming through. I do those little Gerber puffs & yogurt melts for him as a start.

V.,

You'd be surprised what babies can eat without teeth! Anything soft or easily chewable is fine. My daughter ate lots of Cheerios and other bite-sized (unsweetened) cereals, bread, cut-up canned fruit, tofu, cooked veggies, etc. I didn't have teeth myself until I was 12 mos., and my mother used to feed me meat. I would stick to something soft and not too chewy -- maybe boiled chicken? (We are vegetarian now.) It also takes a while to adjust to a sippy cup. My daughter took a while to figure it out. Just keep giving it to her, and eventually (though it may take a few months) she'll figure out how to use it.

she may be moving on to the next stage in her life....2 of my dghtrs weened themselves completely from BF-ing at 9 months but they used a sippy cup to drink whole milk for breakfast lunch & dinner...there are other ways for her to get her dairy...she doesnt need teeth to eat.....her gums are very strong......by 9 months all 4 of my kids were eating tiny pieces of chicken, steamed diced potatoes, cheese, all steamed veggies, & all soft fruits,etc....just keep a sippy cup of water lying around near her at all times & she will get the hang of it......there is a great book i used for food ideas called "baby lets eat" by rena coyle, i recommend this to everyone .......good luck

I had the same worries about a toothless baby and table food, but I finally decided that if it was soft enough to cut with a fork, then she'd be able to do the rest with just gums. Just make sure you cut/break it into manageable pieces. As for food guidelines, at her 9 month check-up, my ped said to go for it, but stay away from peanut, dairy, and eggs. He also advised letting her see me take the food from the stove to my plate to her plate...and it helped tremendously with getting her to eat. As long as she realizes that I'm eating the same thing, she's happy with it. Good luck!

My son did not get teeth until 10 and a half months but by 9 months he was eating all kinds of table food (he never liked baby food). We would pretty much give him anything that was soft enough to gum and was cut up into small pieces. This included Cheerios, steamed veggies (not mashed), small pieces of cheese and chicken, yogurt, canned fruit, etc. We would pretty much let him try whatever we were eating as long as it was cut up small and was not spicy or contained nuts. He loved feeding himself!

My son is 9 months old, but he has 8 teeth. (and I still nurse him). We have always made food for him, you can just cook veggies or fruit yourself as apposed to canned fruits & veggies. We cook apples and Pears like we are going to do mashed taters, in water. cut it into chunks for him to eat. I found a book at Buy Buy Baby it is called babies first foods. I really like it as it explains why you eat certain foods at certain times of the year. My doc just told us to increase his protein and give him less milk. So it sounds like your daughter is doing that. Just give her softer foods, it will also make her gum's feel better since every time my son cut teeth it was harder to nurse him. As for sippy cups, we have tried about 3 different ones you might have to do some trial and error. Good luck.

have you ever felt a no toothed baby clamp down on your finger? Those gums are tough! She can eat almost everything you can! My daughter was eating corn on the cob at that age with no teeth at all.

Stay away from chips cause they have sharp edges, and otherwise just offer her whatever you are eating. Tear it into small bits (or cut it). Canned fruit and veggies work great cause they are tender, you can dip them in infant cereal to make them easier to pick up.

If she gags on something let her work it out herself. Lots of the food will be put in the mouth, gummed, then spit out. That doesn't mean she isn't ready, she is just exploring it. Eventually she will swallow and eat more and more. If you "rescue" her from a gagging then she will develop negativeness with solids and textures so just let her be. If she is choking she will make NO noise at all, if she's making noise she's fine.

If you want to see what I offer the kids in my daycare you can check out my menu at http://www.freewebs.com/tarastoyland

All the ladies here have given you good advice, with the exception of Gina below me. "Most" babies do not wean themselves at 9 months, and mothers who bf their children past that point aren't doing so for themselves. That's a statement made out of pure ignorance.
Anyhow, my son was also slow to develop teeth. She may be refusing food (both breast and solids) because she is teething. Just keep offering things you know she likes, as well as foods that can dissolve easily and be mashed with the gums, like the gerber snacks (can't remember the name, they are shaped like stars) avacado, grahm crackers, cheerios, cheese, bananas, etc. My neighbor's son didn't have only about 2 teeth when he turned 1 but that boy could eat just about anything!

HI V.:
Very similar situation with my daughter. She has been only bfeed and has refused a bottle, sippy cup, etc. She also varied her lengths of feedings. She didn't get a tooth until 9 1/2 months and also refused all table food and baby food. To increase the length of her feedings, I made sure I nursed her (when possible) in a quiet place with little to no distractions. Usually this meant in her bedroom. At 9 months they realize all the fun things they are beginning to do and I think they would rather do those things than eat. As far as food, I mushed up avocado, bananas, carrots, peas, etc. I found better luck with those than any store bought babyfood. I just made small chunks of things so she could grab them but not choke. It took until about 10-10 1/2 months before she really "enjoyed" eating. Best of luck!
J.

I have learned that babies can eat quite a bit with NO teeth because my little pumpkin just got her first tooth at 15 months!!! Having no teeth never stopped her from eating. She eats everything from pizza to meat to veggies. At about 10 months, she started shoving her spoon away when I fed her cereal or baby food, so I started table food. I was nervous at first, and started with only tiny pieces of soft foods, like fruit, pancakes, and pasta. But eventually she wanted more and more, often wanting what her big sister was eating. By 12 months, she started chicken, and surprisingly, her favorite food became brocolli. She also loves scrambled eggs, yogurt, blueberries, waffles, and tortillas with a little bit of refried beans spread on it. Just experiment, starting slowly, giving her small pieces of what you are eating.

Baby's eat when they are hungry. If she's nursing less and eating solids less its because of teething. Baby's won't starve themselves. As far as what table food can u give a 9m old I started giving my little guy real mashed carrots, and potato's, sweet potatoes. I think u just need to watch the sugar and salt content. YOu can move to stage 3 gerber food too or noodles as long as you mash or puree.

Soft foods that she can mush are best. Not apple without teeth. She stpos eating when she's had enough. There's no way of knowing how much she's getting from you if you don't pump. At least with a bottle milk can be measured. Most babies are already weaning off the breast by 9 months unless mommy can't part with the experience.