"What Can I Feed My 13 Month Old?"

My daughter and now my granddaughter are late teeth sprouters. My granddaughter is going to be 1 year old and has no teeth and my daughter got her first tooth when she was 13 months. We feed table food and make sure it is ground up. We use a Kidco Food Mill (hand grinding) or add extra water and use a fork to smash the food. As part of our cultural practice, we chew the food first and give the bolus to baby. We do this especially with chicken and fresh fish (to make sure there are no bones). You may not find this appropriate. Baby loves sweet potatos, fresh garden bananas, grated apple, smashed cherrys, rice with extra water, avocado, etc. We stay away from processed food because she gets boils whenever she eats non-fresh foods.

I've been feeding my daughter table food since she was 7/8 months old. Although choking is always a fear, the natural tendency is for them not to swallow something that they can't. Also if they do swallow something too big, their gag reflux will help them to push it out. I've had a few scares with my daughter but you have to start somewhere. I started off with really well cooked veggies, so they are super soft and will just mush on their gums. Also most fruits are good as long as they are really ripe. Bananas are good and avocados. You could also try pastina or some other really small pasta, very well done. Good luck.

The Healthy Baby Meal Planner has been my bible. Cheaper and much healthier than buying shop bought food. Great advice about each stage of a child's life. And REALLY tasty recipes.

Here's a link to it in Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Baby-Meal-Planner-Child-App...

My son was a late teether but started eating with all the other kids. He ate rice, beans, somewhat massed veggies, pasta, cheerios, almost everything. OH, and you can also do yogurt as a snack. It's great for them :)

My son is 11 months old and has his 2 bottom front teeth. For the past 2 months he has been eating big people food. I cut it up small (about the size of a pea) and he feeds himself or if it is too messy I feed him. Also you can get the gerber graduates that "melt" in their mouth. My son loves the stars, yogurt melts, wagon wheels, etc. And his very favorite - goldfish crackers! :) When I am concerned about how fast it will disolve, etc. I simply try it myself before feeding it to my son.

You would be shocked at how much those little teeth and gums can break down. Give her tiny pieces of food such as peas, tofu, banana, cheerios, etc.. and see how she does. Weelicious.com has hundreds of fast, easy and fresh baby/toddler recipes.

i transitioned my daughter to table food at like 11 months (with only 4 top and 2 bottom). what i feed is -
morning foods could be any of theses-
eggs (hard not scrambled so she can use a fork and they dont fall apart), 2 fruit cups (low in sugar), 2 apple sauce cups (unsweetened), yo baby yogurt, oatmeal/cream of wheat (sweetened with juice), cut up fresh fruit (a wide variety), dry kix/gerber puffs (after she eats something else, juice.
lunch-
pasta pick ups, 1/2 grilled cheese sandwhich, vegies (she has a vegie with every lunch), hamberger patty (cut up), chicken breast strip (the non breaded ones), lil sides (gerber).
dinner- lil entres meals, pasta pick ups, hamberger patty, chicken breast strip, vegies.
snacks- she will eat the gerber puffs, kix, gerber fruit snacks, cut up prunes and fruit rolls (they are low in sugar).
i use canned vegies with my daughter and portion them in a stage3 jar (1 can equals 3 jars for me). just take your time with new foods and introduce a lot of things i think you will be suprised what she can eat. good luck i hope this is helpful!

Hi Trina, she sounds precious. There's a few things you can give her, you can by toddles meals, things like spegehtti, and mac & cheese, ravilolis, a lot of different pastas, small bits of banana, applesauce, and for dinners you ca chop things make mashed potatoes, and put peas, corn, green beans, and then shred chicken or beef and mix it with the potatos, I do this in my daycare, and I did that when my kids were little. Oat meal, cherrios, ghram crackers. I used to worry about the choking as well, but I always monitored my kids eating, no matter what they were eating. there are so many variety's of toddler meals you can buy. I use my magic bullet, and i chop things for the 21 month old in my daycare, he has 4 front teeth and 4 bottom teeth and only a couple back teeth. Hope this helped. J.

Hi Trina, you can feed her things like yogurt, Bananas, peaches, oatmeal, bread, pasta and other soft stuff like that. Try to stay away from things like grapes, hot dogs, nuts, popcorn and stuff like that. They can choke on these things very easily. I hope this helps! God bless you and your little one!

banana, avocado, plain spaghetti, canteloupe, grapes peel and quartered, cheese were some of my kids' favorites

try this http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

Hi
My 14 month old also has two teeth and that doesn't stop her!!!! She loves raw tofu, scrambled eggs, crumbled veggie sausage (morning star farms)cut up cantaloupe and watermelon, she loves nectarines and plums,any vegetable that is cooked well and cut up her favorites are sweet potatoes, squash and green beans (no butter or salt hot or cold), spaghetti noodles, she also loves raisins which I have to at least cut in 1/2. I give her toast, cottage cheese(loves it!)cheese cubes, she had salmon last night for the first time and loved it. She also eats beans (kidney, garbanzo, pinto, refried) I just take them out of the can, rinse them and cut them. I also am starting to give her chicken. If we are on the go, i put a pasta pick up in my purse and a jar of diced carrots. I also bought a mini can of carrots and peas (in the adult vegetable aisle) and gave it to her when we went to the park. She is getting used to chewing her food and I am not worrying quite so much about choking. It is hard though! All the non pureed food seems like a choking food! I hope this helps. Good luck!

My son (15 months) has only his two bottom teeth (and didn't get those until after his 1st birthday) and he eats almost EVERYTHING - of course, I cut things small and if there is a tough skin I peel it off, but he LOVES to eat - you will want to start slow, and see how your child reacts (my son has been eating table food since 7 months (w/ no teeth - it is amazing what the gums can do) but don't be afraid they can handle a lot more than you think (he's my second so I how scary it is with the first) But I also strongly believe that you need to let your baby try different textures and foods early so they can develop the skills to chew, swallow and enjoy food.
Good luck

My first son didn't get a tooth until 15 months, but beginning at about 8 months, we gave him Cheerios (o help with pincer grasp as well as to eat), small chunks of banana, avocado, fresh mango, cooked carrots, etc. He also LOVED crunchy things - his first word was "cracker" - even without teeth. Gnawing on a pretzel or cracker can actually help soothe sore gums for babies. My personal fave - Trader Joe's carries these great Snap Pea Crisps that all my kids love - crunchy yet easy to eat.
I have a 10-month-old now, no teeth yet for him. Last night, he ate tiny pieces of chicken, mushrooms, and olives, just like his big sibs did. I never used a mill, just cut up tiny pieces or mushed things (like cooked peas, pieces of watermelon) with my fingers.

Good luck!

she can eat anything you eat-except nuts. just cut it up.

Tina,
Our son was also a premi. At 9 months we fed him what we ate. Get a baby food grinder and just grind up what you are eating and feed her. Our son was eating pretty much everything we were eating. Otherwise, ask your doctor. Most doctors will tell you different things. Just try what works best for her.
Good luck.

Well you could have started table foods a lot earlier so she is definitely ready. Peas, Carrots, all meat cut in small pieces, all melons cut up, cheese, eggs. Once you know she can handle it then give her whatever you eat. She is more then old enough.

Good Luck!

My friend gives her daughter canned mixed veggies, (corn, peas, carrots) also canned hot dogs just cut in small pieces, and packaged deli meat. strawberries, banana's. everything as long as it is cut small. Go slow try things out see what she is capable of and move on to diffrent things, Chicken and hamburger are okay I would hold off on the tougher meats until you see that she is capable of eating the softer foods. She'll be fine.
J.

They need to experience texture and can 'chew' a lot more than you'd think. Put your finger in their mouth and see how strong/sharp their gums are. They love to be independent with food as well, but stay within your comfort zone.
firm tofu, no salt beans of any kind, chopped tomatoes, peas, no salt canned green beans are a great consistency, chopped cheese, egg with spinache or veg in it, plain yogurt or cottage cheese, cooked veg of any type as long as you cut it in bite size pieces, they love yams.... have fun!

Start with some cheerios, then slowly add other things. You can certainly give her mashed potatoes and cut up green beans. Gerber sells small jars of fruit and vegetable chunks, and they are good for transitioning as well.

You would be amazed at what they can eat with only thoughs four little teeth. There are Gerber puffs, Goldfish crackers, Cheerios, soft pastas, even deli turkey and hard boiled eggs. My oldest never ate baby food at 9 months old we were at a mommy and me class and they had some deli turkey and cheerios and she had some teeth like yours and took a couple bites was fine and we just went forward from there. I hope that yu are able to find different things that she likes. Another thing that you can try is chicken noodle soup with lots of crackers to make it thicker. Just chop everything really small and it should be fine. If you make home made let the noodles cook a little longer for extra tenderness.

C. Shelton-Crenshaw
Loving mother of three beautiful bundles of joy. One just turned 5 years, One who will turn 3 in October, and one who is 4&1/2 months old.

See if you can find a baby food grinder. I used it with my last son and wished I had found it earlier for the other two. You put table food in it and grind it. You start them on vegetables (peas, beans, carrots) which you put through the small hand grinder. Rice goes through nicely too. I eventually put meat through too. He got use to the food on our table and then started to finger feed canned fruit pieces, soft vegetables such as carrot coins, beans and peas. Only add one new food at a time and try to avoid things like wheat and eggs at first. Then you will know if she has a reaction to a food what food it is.
H.
P.S. My oldest son was a premie and very tiny for his age...he walked at 10 months, but got his first tooth at 12 months..only 20 lbs at 2 years...didn't really grow until about 14 and I couldn't keep up with the clothing changes). I am glad she is healthy and doing well.

I have a 12 month old with only her 2 bottom teeth and she eats everything we eat! Those 2 teeth are enough to bite things like grilled cheese, bananas, watermellon (a few of her favorites)and the tougher things like cheese, grapes & hot dogs I cut into bites for her and her gums are tough enough to chew and swallow! Another favorite is Go-Gurt (sometimes I freeze them to make it more like a popsicle and she LOVES it!)The only thing I have not given her are nuts. She has not choked on anything yet.

My son had only his front teeth at 8 months old as well (he's now 10 months with 6 teeth), but we started giving him literally everything we ate that was easily chewable. If we were eating pasta & veggies, I gave him his own with everything just cut up smaller, he loves to grasp everything and feed himself. You can start slow since you've only been giving purees, but from my experience those front teeth are enough for them to chew anything down (just stay away from things like grapes, things with tough skin, etc. that may be choking hazards). My son's been off baby food for 2 months now and only eats what we eat--fresh fruit, veggies, proteins, etc. He's even been able to chew up chicken and other meats with those chompers, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just keep the highchair at the dining table so that your daughter's eating dinner with you, this is a great social experience for her as well as allows you to keep an eye on her to avoid any choking incidents. Good luck!

I was really scared about this with my firstborn who is now 2 1/2 and it took him forever to start to chew and eat things with texture . (For him I would cook food and then grind everything in the blender)
sith my second who is now I year,her favorite food was bananas so I started by cutting up bananas into small squares. Then I also cooked sweet potatos and cut those up. When she was good at eating these thing I gave her toast cut into thin long slices so she cold hold one end and bite the other.Another thing that is good is shredded cheese. Also I started just chopping up everything I feed my older boy and let her try to eating.so chopped into little pieces of homemade chicken nuggets, tuna fish, pasta and meat sauce( I blend the meat sauce in the food prossesor for her) and well chocked pasta. Black bean or any other bean boiled and seasoned and then smoosed a little so it is not a bean shape is also a good source of protein.. DO NOT give a baby grapes, nuts, hard candy and popcorn these thing can be choking hazards)

My second child rejected all purees at 9 months old and started grabbing food off of her sister's plate! Most of the time, she would gag, but not choke and she ate whatever was within her reach. I would give her stuff and see how she does (be sure to watch out for allergies - I'm sure that you know how to do that by now) after a few tense moments, you will know her tolerance and abilities.

Stuff that I felt good about giving her:
- Pasta - small shapes like shells and salad pasta, most of the time she just swallowed it whole
- avocado
- tofu
- cooked veggies
- ripe fruit cut in chunks
- really small pieces of chicken
- cheese in little pieces
- bread in little pieces
- cooked pinto beans

really you can give her anything in little tiny pieces, just try and smush it onto the roof of your mouth with your tongue. She will figure it all out, but just keep trying new things

ps - I think it is easier with your second child, because you are not a stressed!!

Hello, Trina.
I'm sure you've noticed how hard your daughter's gums are. They are rather handy for chewing and crushing foods. When my daughter was only a little older than yours she got a piece of pork chop into her mouth, chewed and swallowed before I could even register what she'd done. I realized at that point that she could probably handle small pieces of whatever food we were eating. Now your daughter may not be quite ready for that. She may be more prone to choking than my kids have been. But, you should be able to start offering her some of your food and see how she does. I should probably add that my daughter was 15 months old when she got her first tooth.
When you are ready and able to give her your full attention you could offer her small bites of soft foods. Well steamed vegetables, soft fruits, noodles, rice are all good finger foods. See how she does. If she has trouble chewing them or choking, even if she just has trouble keeping things in her mouth she isn't quite ready. However, she may be ready for more variety if she is eyeing your food or trying to grab the food off your plate.
It is hard to do with your first child but you have to experiment and find out what they are ready for. Good Luck!

Dear T.,

I don't know what you can feed her, the other mommies will though. I can tell you that it is very important that you sit down with her when she eats, eating is a sociable thing, also you can do a few things to encourage her and you can know if she is going to choke. Babies love their mothers and she will enjoy your company. It can be a very bonding experience and you have a chance to help her learn to eat. .....and you will know how much she has eaten too.
C. N.