Feeding Without Teeth!

J.,
All three of my little girls hated stage 3 foods. Finally, on baby girl three-I had an idea to try good old fashioned canned soup. She loved it! Your daughter is probably still a bit too young, but this might be a great tip in just a few months. I was extra careful in making sure to get low sodium varities, but everything is usually cooked until soft already and cut just about the right size for little ones. Watch the potatoes (for size) and use your best judgment.
good luck!

You can start yogurt at 9 months. Also, I was taking care of a 9 month old recently (also without teeth) and I would break cheerios in half for her. Her aunt also gave her the Gerber veggie and fruit puffs. Those are great before teeth because they disolve very easily. Bananas are a good idea, just give her a very ripe one. Oatmeal has some texture but is still smooshie. Applesauce is good, too. As for the spoon, that's up to you. My younger son absolutely refused to let me feed him by the time he was 12 months old. He would scream and squrim around in his chair if I tried, so he fed himself. Be prepared for big messes. :)

Hi J.,
My daughter is almost 1 yr old and still only has her two bottom teeth and we were having the same problem. She still cannot eat any meat, well, I am not willing to try it since she can't really chew.

1. Any ideas on things I can give her? I started giving my daughter green beans, mashed potatoes, bananas, mac and cheese, bread, rice, noodles and gravy, ramen noodles, any kind of pasta really. I really gave her whatever she was willing to eat, within reason.
2. At what age can you start to introduce foods w/ regular dairy in them (ie. yogurt, cheese)? My daughter began eating mac and cheese while she was in the hospital. She had a really bad virus that was making her sick, so we were giving her regular food, that was binding. So she got a lot of stuff that she never had before, like mac and cheese and she did fine with it.
3. Should I be letting her hold the spoon and trying to feed herself? I say if she wants to try, then let her. It can't hurt for he to start learning early. The worst that can happen is she might throw it at you.

I really hope some of this helps.

R.

I think my dr said I could give my youngest (now 3) yogurt around 9 or 10 months old. As for the no teeth, what about the gerber finger food snack things, they have 3 different flavors of little cheerio type things but they are very easily dissolved by little gums.

I was told by my doctor that you have to wait until they're one year old to feed them anything with regular dairy milk.
You can give her a spoon/fork anytime that you feel that she is ready. If she doesn't do well, help her with a second one.
I didn't have a problem with the teeth coming in, but I was told by a few mothers that you can get a food grinder or use a blender to make regular food easier for baby to eat. You don't have to rush her into advanced foods, she may not be ready. Feed her what works and has the nutrition. So what if she's still on baby food, she's healthy isn't she?

HI, both of my daughters didn't get their first teeth until nearly 11 months of age. They both did fine on solids that I mashed up. The most common foods I gave were sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, spaghetti, rice cereal, oatmeal. My daughters weren't able to use a spoon until they were between 18 mos and 2 years, so I wouldn't worry about that. I did give her yogurt from about 9 months on. Are you formula or breastfeeding? My pediatrician said that since I was breasfeeding, I could introduce whole milk between 9-12 months. I cooked most of those above vegetables until they were soft enough to mash up. My youngest prefered my home cooked meals to baby food jars, with the exception of the fruit, so I didn't get to use the baby food very long. I guess she wanted to be like her big sister and eat off our plates instead of hers, whereas my oldest ate the jar food longer. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but my oldest is the picky eater now and my youngest eats anything. Good luck.

J.,

My daughter didnt get her first tooth until almost 18 months old and she did fine eating regular foods. My pediatrician told me that her gums were strong enough to mash up the food. You may try feeding her stuff from Gerber Graduates. Their stuff seems to be pretty soft. I know the diced apples are almost as soft as applesauce. She also ate mac & cheeze, spaghetti, mashed potatoes. She's not a meat eater, but I did get her to eat some deli sliced turkey a few times. She also ate grapes. At 9 months, I think I probably peeled them because the skin was too tough for her. But, later on I left the skin and only cut them in half.

As for the dairy, I'm not sure what age. It may be 12 months. I bought her yo-yo baby organic yogurt and she loved it. It is made with whole milk.

As for the spoon, if she wants to hold it, I say go for it. She probably wont get much in her mouth. You may still have to feed her, but at least she can practice.

Now, both of my kids had 4 or 6 teeth by the time they were 9 mo., so this is less from experience and more from "what I've heard." I do have several friends/family members whose babies didn't have teeth until between 10-13 mo. Rare, I guess, but it happens. From what I was told, and I think from babycenter.com readings, etc. they say kids this young do all their mashing, chewing, etc. from their gums anyway, not the teeth. Strong jaws do the job, the teeth are basically for "show" at this young of an age. And lots of babies (mine included) get frustrated about flavors, textures, etc. anyway, regardless of tooth numbers because they are BORED easily by EVERYTHING... even food. I wouldn't worry too much. Sounds like you've already got the diet choices down too... hard cheeses, cheerios, 1-3 baby foods, pasta, etc. Throw a couple foods in front of her and let her experiment. If she gets too frustrated, try again a week or so later. Good luck!

Hi there, I started to give my baby girl YoBaby yogurt when she was about 6 months old. maybe younger. It's an organic food that you find with the other yogurts. Sorry though I don't really know what else to tell you about what kind of foods to try to feed her. The spoon thing wont hurt. May make a mess but hey I bet she does that all ready.
good luck!
-T.

Hi J.! I also have a nine month old with no teeth! He on the other hand is not letting it slow him down one bit! He actually doesn't have much interest in baby food, he wants the real stuff. Cheese and yogurt are fine to give her at this age. I would try the Yo-Baby yogurts. They are organic I beleive. Also, try cutting up cheeses like cheddar or mozarella. Cheese is my little guy's favorite snack, just not too much cause they get constipated easily. Finally, Gerber makes these puffed cereals in different fruit and vegi flavors that are a life saver when we're on the go, or when he just doesn't want that jar food anymore! I'm not sure about the self feeding, other than finger foods. Personally, I'm going to try to avoid that mess a little longer. Good luck!

I also have a 9 month old. She only has her two bottom teeth and she eats cheerios, gerber puffs, biter biscuits, yogurt, and stage 3. When she went to the pediatrician, she told us she basically could have most table food, in very small pieces of course. Cheese is fine, yogurt is fine. The only thing they can't have is peanut butter, eggs, fish and whole milk. At least that is what I was told. I was nervous about my daughter chewing as well, but she has had no problem! I cut up her puffs first though in half and made sure she got used to those. Hope this helps!

J. the best thing i can tell you is to keep grinding her foods untill then, there are the graduates cereal bars my 7 month old does very well with. she can manage a great deal of foods without feed you'd be amazed, the gums powerful.

Let her start trying adult oatmeal. Cheese and yogurt are good. Try crackers too. My son started by playing with his spoons and forks so when it was time to start eats big boy food he would hold them in his hands. Just don't expect them to stay, the fingers are the best until about 2 years old.
For a little fun let your little girl try the spoon with a little yogurt and see how she does. By boy just discovered jello this weekend. What a mess. Happy eating.

Hello, I just wanted you to know I have 5 and my little boy who just turned 1 Feb 1 only has 4 teeth. He did not start getting teeth until he was 10 months and so we just put what we were eating in a little food processer. Let her just use to the textures. Weither they have teeth or no teeth they will learn to mash with their gums and that is teaching them how to chew. All I can say is be patient, all babies grow-up differently and when she is hungry she will eat. I wish you luck.

I didnt really give my son any foods except baby food until he turned one. Of course he got his first tooth at 8 months, but he got three jars of baby food a day plus a bottle at night. You can always get a food grinder and put different foods in there that are fresh that dont have sugars in them. And when I took my son off the bottle, in the middle of the night was the hardest but I would get him out of bed put him in a chair and give him surgar free puddings or yogurt ect... that was when he turned one. You could also ask your pedatrition.