Getting 1 Year Old to Eat Regular Food

M.,
Your baby is not ready to eat food with chunks yet. Give him some time & try again in a few weeks. It doesnt matter how many teeth he has. He will let you know when he is ready. When people ask you about feeding him food, just smile & nod. Your son will dictate when he eats them.
H.

3 things to try:

- Boil thick carrot slices in chicken stock until they mush in between your fingers. Kids love the fats and proteins from chicken stock... and since the carrots mush into puree in your mouth with just the pressure from your tongue... they're a good in between food.

- Finger foods. Like the carrots above and other things that turn into mush in your mouth. Cherios are the old standby... but if he won't gum them... try bite sized wide noodles. They wet and slippery, and if they get swallowed whole, no worries. Also muffin CRUMBS (also, feel free to get them wet first). The whole idea being things that don't require chewing, but can be picked up. Try these things yourself first. If you can swallow without chewing... you've got a winner. The chewing will come in time.

- Finger Foods part 2. These are really dips. Things like hummus, curries, mashed potatoes, deviled egg YOKES. Also things that can be swallowed without chewing but... are more dip a finger in and lick it off.

i just wanted to say that the number of teeth don't matter, babies mash food with their gums.
not sure about the food though... I made my own babyfood right from the start, so my girls never had to transition from jarred food. good luck!

He's one. This is all new to him. Don't worry. He will transition to "real" food, but it's going to take time, repetition and you being a sneaky cook. It sounds like he's eating really well and healthy right now. Great job Mom. Seriously. Now you just need to get creative on how you can sneak new stuff in there, meaning use the stuff he likes to do this. Use what he likes as the "sauce" to the new item you're trying. Meaning, real banana chunks covered in yogurt. Whole wheat noodles or egg noodles, cooked really soft. He may like this as finger food. Then graduate to using your mixed veggie jarred food as the "sauce". Shredded cheese? Try that. He may like it because it's super fine. You may have to puree some meat into/with your jarred veggies to get it in there at first too.
We can sneak anything into my daughter if we mix it with food she likes, ie: cooked carrots in yogurt or apple sauce and ground chicken pureed. Know it's frustrating to cook something to find out he won't eat it, but he'll come around. Just give him some time.

My kids never liked the chunky baby food either. I'd start with other finger foods--does he eat Cheerios? Those star things that Gerber makes? How about some cubed bread? Since those are all soft and will "melt" in his mouth, that might help him get used to the texture of solid food. Then you can add things like ripe banana.

He's a year old and he's not used to anything else. Something that isn't smoothe will feel foreign to him, whether he likes the taste or not.
Have you tasted the stuff you're giving him? I'm just asking, because my kids HATED jarred baby food. It's so bland, I couldn't blame them. But, if your son is used to things that are bland, introducing things that have more flavor might also seem weird to him.
He's old enough to try picking things up for himself. Put some things in front of him and have some patience. It always amazes me....a little kid will pick up rug fuzz and put it in their mouth, but they can be weird when it comes to introducing new foods. Put some different things in front of him and let him explore. Let him feel things with his fingers. They will inevitably end up in his mouth as part of exploration. He doesn't have to be spoon fed. My kids had little plastic cutlery and I let them have it just to chomp on or get them used to putting it in their own mouths to get used to the feel and the grip on their own. Heck yeah...they can make a mess, but that's why Dollar Store plastic tablecloths were invented, in my opinion. Put them under the high chair and let the kid have at it. No messes on the floor to clean.
Again, just my opinion, but let him explore foods and feeding himself.
I witnessed a meltdown of all meltdowns when a friend invited me and my son out to lunch and she, as a matter of habit, started breaking his food up into mush and that kid FREAKED! He started hitting her and kicking her and throwing his food and yanked her long hair. She excused herself to the bathroom and left us sitting there with him. My son, not knowing what else to do, pushed his chicken nuggets over and offered them and he sat there and ate them like nothing ever happened. He didn't want his food all mashed up and that was the day she started letting have pieces big enough to hold by himself.
These things just take practice, trial and error, and introducing more things.
Let him hold things, lick things, put things in his own mouth.
He'll get the hang of it.

Best wishes.

At that age there are finger foods you can give him. My girls always liked peas from the can. I would just open them up and put some on the high chair tray. They would play with them and then eat them. Steamed carrots that are soft are good. There are a lot of children that don't like cut up food. They want to eat it the way you eat it. Have you tried sweet potatoes? You may also want to have him checked by a doctor to make sure everything is okay with this throat. If you make food fun it will help..

Too soon for him- relax! It isn't a problem, kids like different things at different rates, and he will reach for your food when he is ready.
Best, k

Next time 'everyone' asks, tell them to mind their own business.
Let him eat what makes him happy. I can guarantee you that in 10 years from now he'll be eating 'regular' food and no one will ask him when he started to eat solids.
Keep the stuff out, offered within his reach and one day he will go for it. I think it's great he's on organic foods!!!!
Check out www.notmilk.com
Peace,
R.

It is possibly a sensory integration problem. If there has been any hisory of not latching on, poor sucking at the beginning, preemie status, or lack of a good suck, swallow, breathe reflex, clipping of the tongue or any other trauma, this will come back later on as a sensory issue. I would seek an evaluation with either a speech therpaist or OT trained in SI to give a peek and see what is happening. Something very minor today could be big troubles later if not tended to now. Do not accept the fact the people say, "oh he's just a picky eater." This sends up red flags for me if a child only will eat mushy. He may need an oral motor program to wake up his mouth. Not a huge deal. Check it out.

He has to get used to the other foods but as long as you will give him the food from a jar, he will continue to gag on the more chunkie food, he won't let himself go hungry, he will eventually eat what you put in front of him, as long as you don't give him, my kids started eating regular food at 9 months, so it's not that he can't handle it, it's just its different than what he is used to. J.

All kids are different with what foods they like etc. My 2 were eating steak and chicken at 9 months old and they would gag on the “pureed” stuff. But keep trying with the chunky stuff. I have a friend who has 3 kids – the first 2 she delayed the “solid” foods and they eventually had to have therapy to help them eat solid foods. Her 3rd child she started solids earlier and had no eating issues. The # of teeth doesn’t matter. Both my kids only had 2 top and 2 bottom teeth at 12 months, but were chowing down on meat, cooked veggies, bread, crackers etc at 9 months. Keep at it and good luck!

Maybe just try thickening up the jarred food with cereal or rice and let him get use to the idea of something that's a little thicker. Until he gets the hang of chewing more solid foods.