Overwhelmed with What to Feed.

Dear K.
My theory was my child had to have 2top and 2 bottom
front teeth before I gave them table food so one of mine
got table food when he was almost a 1yr old the other one
was 5monthe old when he started on table food because
he had 6 teeth and the girls were about 7or 8 months
when I started them on table food. I did the ceral in
and a bottle for the morning and a couple hors after that
another bottle then nap then for lunch I would have some
table food. Here are some things i mashed up Mash tators
and I would cut up greenbeans and I gave them corn , cut
up fruit I would take the seeds out of the bananas and I
would start getting them use to a sippy cup at lunch and
for supper I had someone tell me to give them foods
that have starch in them it stays with them longer in
the evening and at bedtime they got a bottle.
Hope this helps you some. B. K

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Hi K.,

Well her is my suggestions.

For breakfast he could have:
4 tablespoons of cereal doesn't matter which one and then 2 ozs of formula in that. 2 tablespoons cereal = 2 ozs. Then I would add in a fruit. Finish that off with a bottle of formula.

For lunch he could have:
1 vegetable
1 fruit
and a bottle

For snack after nap:
either 1 fruit or 1 vegetable. I wouldn't give him a bottle here but you could offer him a sippy cup with water.

For dinner:
Get him the dinners and if it has a fruit in it, give him a vegetable. If it has a vegetable in it give him a fruit.

He should be full enough after this that he doesn't need a bottle after dinner and you can give him one before he goes to bed.

I would also get him moved up to 3rd foods. With the 3rd foods they are 6 ounce jars.
So if he is eating at breakfast 4 ounces of cereal+ 2 0unces in his cereal, 6 ounces of fruit, and a 6 - 8 ounce bottle after that. Hope that helps W.

HI K.,
I know I am repeating others suggestions, but it is worth it: the two best books #1) "The Super Baby Food Book" By Ruth Yuron, cheaper on Amazon, then in the bookstore and #2) "what to expect the first year. On a second note: some, but not all, breast fed babies can live on breast milk alone, until they shows signs of actually wanting and/or desiring food. Watch your babies cues. You know your son best and if he is opening wide and accepting the spoon with joy then feed with rules in mind: 1) their tummies are smaller than a quarter, 2) only introduce one new food every 3 to 5 days to test for allergies and 3) meal time is a joy not a struggle.
Ruth's book was a great guide for me and all of my friends when it came down to what I could actually make myself, instead of store-bought, and how to count calories for my little one. Now she--Ruth-- can be a little eccentric, therefore just use it as a calming guide and reference.
Good Luck and God Speed, M. N.

Sounds like you are on track so far! If you can get your hands on a copy of the What To Expect The First Year book, they have a chart that lists foods to introduce each month. I don't have it with me or I would just write them here now. Basically just make sure to wait a few days between trying anything new to rule out any allergic reactions and avoid, eggs until he's 1 and peanuts til he's 3. And if you have any food allergies (I'm allergic to strawberries, for example) wait to introduce those until he's 3 as well. We introduces more veggies first so our daughter wouldn't refuse them after having fruits. She still likes fruit better, so we usually give her cereal and a vegetable during her meal and fruit at the end. Since she turned 9 months old, we've actually just been giving her mostly table food - whatever we're having for dinner, she has, too. She has lots of teeth, so there's not much she can't eat. Good luck!

At his age solids are just extra and mostly for practice. So, keep giving him his normal amount of formula, and just add in a few snacks of solids.

Our pediatrician said to start with rice cereal for a few weeks. Just a few tablespoons once a day. After that we did yellow veggies (except corn, he should not have corn until much older) like squash, and then on to orange veggies like sweet potato, then the green stuff like greenbeans and peas. After the veggies we introduced fruit. I would still do cereal everyday too, I just did the fruit or veggie in addition. Wait at least 3 days before introducing a new food so you can keep track of any possible food allergies.

Talk to your pediatrician to see what they think, they'll be able to give you more info too.

Do what is right for your baby and don't worry so much about what all the "experts" say. As long as he is growing and progressing, you are doing it right. He will tell you when he is ready for more. With my girls I always mixed the cereal with the baby food cause they wouldn't eat the cereal by itself. They would only eat about 1/2 a jar of baby food at a time. My nephews would eat twice as much as my girls so there is no perfect magic amount. If he acts like he is full, stop feeding him. If he acts hungry, give him more. And don't be suprised if it changes from day to day. This was always a very frustrating time for me too cause you just can't tell what is going on in that little tummy. In a couple months, you will be wishing it was as easy as a bottle and a little bit of baby food!

Sounds like you are doing fine. I have three kids and they all ate different. My oldest would eat any and all types of baby food, my middle child wanted nothing to do with it. She preferred mashed potatoes and other adult food that she could eat(noodles cut real tiny, but not pureed). My youngest was a mix. He ate a lot of fruit with cereal added, he loved oatmeal and sweet potatoes and bananas, hated all baby food with any meat. So I did not give him any, he is totally healthy. As long as your son is healthy not loosing weight he is fine.

I just fed mine baby food and a taste of whatever the rest of us ate. Mind you if you feed him babyfood first, they will usually eat it with no problem. But once they start eating table food, the won't eat babyfood except for desserts. For there is no seasoning in babyfood.

Geber and other baby food companies have wonderful meals to feed baby of all different stages,have you tried the stage 2 or maybe by now stage 3 give him a jar of dinner with meat this is small amount of pieces included some veggies and a fruit if he likes solids i'd give him more of them but that all depends on how well your baby does with food and small pieces of food since he is 7 months you may want to stick to the second stage in baby food they have them on the labels and for fruit and veggies you can buy fresh canned or frozen they are less expensive to buy and you can get more of them.You can also give him what you make for dinner cut into small pieces mashed or pureed.

your routine does sound good! i would do exactly as you are, and start upping the amount of cereal and baby food, replacing more and more of his formula with cereal. and try different kinds. personally, i did NOT want the kid that only liked three flavors of baby food lol. all of the ones that say step 1 should be fine for him in the next few months. i think once i introduced fruits, veggies, and cereal, my son was on to the "meaty" kinds after a few weeks. for us, the last bottle to go was the bedtime one, which we replaced with a sippie of milk when he was big enough. good luck, you're doing fine! :)

Sounds about right. I fed my son 1 jar of veggie and 1 jar of fruit, i also nursed him. He will only eat as much as his tummy will hold.

K.,

As a grandma of a little one year old boy, (and four other grandchildren...young) I can tell you what I have seen my daughter do..and well. Only formula until one year with some rice cereal at noon or supper if needed. Her pediatrician said that it may appear they are tolerating food okay but allergies can develop later...when you present fruit...bananas applesauce only do one at a time to make sure no allergies or reactions are occurring. I would not be giving vegetables yet...only rice cereal and then I think I would wait closer to a year. The formula has everything the baby needs.

I would also think twice about juice...too much sweet for a baby...they have their milk ...later their fruit....provide water. In other words I would not give my baby juice.

I totally understand your feeling overwhelmed...too much information overload.

K. - My son is 7 mos old also, and I know how overwhelming it can be. My pediatrician said we could introduce proteins at 7 months, so that has changed his diet. Based on his suggestion, we started giving our son yogurt in the morning - Yo Baby Organic...it comes plain (I mix fruit in) or in fruit flavors. You can also put a little bit of cereal in to make it a little more hearty. He sleeps better with a full tummy, so we don't do a 'lunch' meal yet, but an early dinner and a 'dessert'. For dinner I give him half of a #2 Gerber meat dinner (Chicken Noodle, Beef Vegetable, Turkey Rice, etc.) & then half of a #2 or #3 veggie. Before bed I do cereal and a fruit. I bought some of the 'puffs' from gerber that teaches them how to feed themselves...he wasn't ready for that...they came back up still intact. oops! I have bought some #3 meat meals that have soft veggie chunks in them so they learn to move it around in their mouth and chew, but I haven't started on those yet.
Anyway, there are tons of options, but that's what we're doing, so I thought I would share. I asked everyone I knew for advice before I settled on a regimen for my little Ascher. Good Luck!!!

I think your routine sounds really good - that's basically how I started out with my son. He's 16 months now and I thought he would never get past eating just applesauce! Now he eats everything you give him. Good luck and don't push him to grow up - they do that too fast anyway! :)

A friend of mine gave me the book, Super Baby Food. It tells when you can introduce certain foods month by month. Also, it has recipes and instructions for making your own baby food to save money and be healthier for baby. I have used it in conjuction with jar food and it has worked well for us. I have a 7 month old daughter that loves her food! We just introduced turkey. Good luck!

Are you asking about solids as in baby foods or as in finger foods? It sounds like you are already on a good start with introducing the baby foods... so I'm running with the finger food ideas. Lots of (first time) moms think babies can't have solids (finger foods) until they have a good amount of teeth. It's actually better to introduce them to soft solids early so they can learn to mash and maneuver food with their gums before they can bite off big hunks with their teeth. I introduced Cheerios, ritz and saltine crackers and those great Gerber Puffs. Those are all great foods because they get nice and soggy quickly and baby can mash it up and swallow it down. Once they get used to gumming/"chewing" things you can give them anything soft enough for that... soft ripe fruits (banana, pear, peaches), soft cooked and cubed veggies (peas, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes), pastas cooked well so they're nice and soft, etc. By nine and ten months old my kids were eating pretty much what we as adults were having for meals... just omitting anything too solid and crunchy until they have some of those molars after a year old.
Other ideas of finger foods and older baby solids...Scrambled eggs, tiny cheese cubes, toast, healthy pastas, crackers, yogurt, cottage cheese, lots of fruit and veggies...
Good luck!