What Do I Feed Her?

My littlest one just turned 1 and she has 5 teeth also. I found chef boyardee meals in the little 1 serving buckets. Emma loves the chicken, rice and veggies, also the mini ravioli. She also loves the mac n cheese. also, beechnut baby foods make the same little bucket meals. she will also eat chicken, pizza... what ever. She gives it all a try if i feel it is safe for her.

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I'm right there with you! My son turned one in July and I struggle with feeding him a healthy variety. Luckily, he eats most anything I give him but my daughter who is almost three is VERY picky and I've always stuggled with her. Fruit is a great choice, soft and nutrious. Blueberries, raspberries, cantelope, bananas, ripe apples and pears. Breakfast bars are great for breakfast and snacks. Vegetables cooked well done are good. I buy the frozen bags alot so you can cook whatever amount you want and they don't seem to have alot of salt added. We also go through alot of sweet pot's in our house, mix them with butter and brown sugar and she will love them! I started both my kids on vienna sausage; they are soft and they love them. You can go on BeechNut.com and they give a daily diet with amounts and suggestions. Good luck, I knew it's hard at first but soon you'll be a pro!

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There are plenty of soft things you can feed her from veggies to fruits and pasta. I know with mine this did them good and you can also get the finger foods with meat from makers like gerber.

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Hi C.,

I felt the same way you did when it came time to feed our 1 year old. He just turned 1 in July. I was given the advice of giving him well cooked pasta, chicken cut up small with a little broth mixed in, mixed veggies. He also really liked the stage 3 baby food. At first, he didn't like the texture, but he eats like a horse now :) The first "table" food I gave him was mashed potatoes and baked potatoes. I hope this helps.
L.

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Mashed Potatoes, Soft Cooked vegetables (mashed up), Lil Entrees, Beans (like, baked beans or refried beans), Soup, Sounds gross, but kids love Vienna Sausages, Scrambled eggs, Oatmeal, you can put anything in the blender. Hope that helps.

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My son just turned one on the 6th of Sept. He loves cut up green beans (very thin slices), mashed beets, and avacodos (in little chunks). These are very soft foods but also allow your child to really practice picking up small pieces. Cut up bananas and mandarin oranges have also been favorite finger foods for both my children. I hope this helps. Try transfering to a soft topped sippy cup also. (Beets and oranges are very messy)

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Hey,

I have two children ages 5 and almost 3. I would feed them anything you are eating only cut up really tiny. Like noodles, cheese, bananas, crackers, green beans, squash, lima beans, meats. But again very tiny pieces. The only thing I would avoid is peanut butter and honey, maybe watermellon too, check with your Dr on when to give those.

D.

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Well there are more things you can her. Have you tried the Gerber Graduates?? They all sorts of things out there. My kids favorites were the Puffs that they made. The nice thing about those is that they dissolve in her mouth if it is in too long.

If you don't want to spend the extra money on those, try these:
string beans peas
french fries baked potato(cooked well)
bite size chicken spaghetti
chicken noodle soup vienna saugages(mini hot dogs)
mashed potatoes

I hope this helps. Obviously make the pieces bite size. These would also help with feeding herself, grasping or even learning how to use the toddler silverware.

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First off you should probally talk with her pediatrican to see what she thinks is best. My twin girls are also turning one in about a week. My girls eat almost everything we eat. She could eat soft fruits that are cut up into small pieces-bananas,peaches,or pears. Gerber has a great line of baby food stage 3 that has small gumable foods that will encourage chewing. Basically anything that is cut up into small enough pieces and that are not too hard, like canned peas,carrots,green beans. My girls only have 2 teeth in the front and they eat chicken, fish sticks, canned vegetables, beans, crackers, gerber cookies,spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, oatmeal, scrambled eggs and waffles. Good Luck with this process--I hope this was helpful.

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Hi C.! Have you tried introducing some of the baby foods to her for her stage. They have more consistency and a variety. I would also recommend, if you don't like the baby foods, you can puree' some veggies that she may like. For example, squash, green beans, carrots, and maybe add a pinch of flavor. They seem to like that stuff at this age.

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Hi Chastity,
My son will be 1 next week, and he has been regular table food for about 2 mos. He pretty much eats what we eat now at meantimes, sometimes broken up into small pieces depending on what it is. We also make him his own food sometimes, since prepared foods can be high in sodium. I still don't feed him the allergy foods yet (such as peanuts, eggs, etc.) Babies can chew, even if they have no molars yet. My son only has 4 front teeth, but can chew crackers, cheerios, small chunks of cheeses, small tender pieces of chicken or beef, well cooked veggies, cooked pasta, banana chunks, etc. He also loves finger foods that he can feed himself. Start off small with O-shaped cereal, oatmeal, chunky stage 3 baby food, etc. and see how she handles it. Then go from there...

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Some ideas that worked for my daughter - mandarine oranges, baked beans (she eates them with her fingers one at a time and loves them!! Good source of protein too! ) Tyson chicken nuggets they are soft you can cut them up in small pieces and they cook real fast in the microwave!! Spiral pasta (my daughter likes it with a little butter and parmesen cheese. My mom told me to try beets...I have not done that yet...scrambled eggs too, toast with melted cheese.

Hope this helps...

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I also have a one year old and I feed him what we eat. Chicken, pork, rice, whole veggies. He also at a year only had 3 teeth. They don't use those teeth to eat much but they naturally know to gum things till they are ready. It was scary at first. I gave him the canned fruit cocktail (soaked in pear juice so they are a little softer) but I gave time the whole pieces and he loved it now he is 13 months and it eating fresh grapes. I steamed his whole veggies and I still cut them up if it is too large. If the chicken/pork we first cut into real small pieces and slowly the pieces have gotten larger. Introduce things and see what she can handle.

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my daughter is 11 months old and eats any table food i put in front of her. your daughter should be doing the same. to supplement the milk intake you would just need to feed her snacks -- crackers, fruit, whatever. after she eats her snacks give her some whole milk. if she stills seems hungry, then feed her more food until she is full. its going to be an adjustment for her because whole milk isn't as filling as formula. its going to be different for you to have to feed her table foods more and take out that bottle intake. my doctor suggested i started a transition a few weeks before her first birthday. my mom cut me off formula cold turkey. Your daughter should be able to drink out of an open cup as well, or at least a sippy cup.

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I have a daughter who will be one on September 20th and a two and a half year old son so not only am I going through the same transition as you but I've also been there before! Transitioning off of the bottle should simply mean moving onto drinking whole milk from a sippy cup. She will continue to get much of her daily calcium and vitamin D from whole milk between her first and second birthdays. As far as other foods go, she can have fruits and veggies that are mashed or pureed in a blender but with five teeth, she might be better at "chewing" soft foods than you think. You could try cooked carrots or green beans diced up into small pieces. When cutting up foods, keep in mind the small size of her throat and always dice foods into pieces that are smaller than the opening of her throat (I tend to use a Cheerio as my size to match). Speaking of Cheerios, have you tried those? My daughter only has one tooth and just sprouted it about a month ago but she has been mashing Multi-Grain Cheerios (great nutrition and very tasty!) for a few months. Have you been feeding her baby food out of a jar? She should easily be at stage 3 foods by now and there is a nice variety of flavors available that way. Is she still getting baby cereal at least once a day? I also have continued to give my son (2.5 yrs) baby cereal with some type of Gerber stage 3 fruit every morning because he loves it and it's nutritious so I see no reason to change. It's a good way to ensure they get the iron they need.
It's wonderful that you are so concerned about your daughter's nutrition. Unfortunately, not everyone really considers the value of the foods they give their children so with all of the information you are collecting, you are sure to make good choices for her! :-) I would also try talking to your pediatrician if you still have some concerns.
Best wishes and God bless!

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My daughter is also turning 1 in a couple weeks and has 6 teeth, all in the front. But you'd be surprised what they can chew--She eats everything from chunks of bananas and other fruits, pieces of toast, small pieces of grilled cheese. You have to watch her carefully when she's eating, but as long as the pieces are small enough not to choke on, she can chew...I think I started with Cheerios, which she absolutely loves and they help her learn to feed herself on her own. I'm getting worried also because sometimes she's happy eating, and other times she refuses to eat anything, but I guess she'll learn as she gets older...good luck!

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Start with soft chunky foods (bite-sized carrots, fruits, etc). Once you see she can handle that, then you can add in bite-sized meats. Dairy is a wonderful souce of fats and protein for this age, and you should be switching her to whole milk soon. Yogurt is wonderful, as are yogurt drinks (personally, I would only buy Stoneyfield Farms for that age, Yo Baby to be specific, because of sugar levels in regular yogurts). She does not need teeth to eat though. That is what her gums are for. Think about it: do you chew with your front teeth? LOL Nope, only the back ones, and her gums will work beautifully for that.

Good luck, and remember to go slowly, especially with dairy. The transition can be really tough on their bellies.

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I fed my son whatever we were having for dinner, cut up in appropriate sizes. Their gums are pretty good at mashing things up.

One of my child's favorite meals at that age was tacos. I'd give him all the fillings in a bowl. He loved it.

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Hi C.,

I agree with everyone else. Small bites of whatever you eat. Also, pancakes and at 1 my pediatrician told me I could try scrambled eggs. They loved them and it made travel and eating in restaurants really easy. Gerber makes pre-cut chunks, but you can do it yourself at home just as easily. She'll let you know what she does and doesn't like!

Good luck!!

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When my son was that age, I was feeding him rice cereal with applesauce mixed in, or mixed with juice instead of water, Stage 3 foods, all kinds of fruit(except apples i felt they were a little too hard) mashed potatos, spaghetti, rice, macaroni, pretty much any kind of noodles, vegetabeles, he loved green beans. I also found that the more variety of foods that i gave him the older he got the more open he was to trying different foods. He is almost 3 now and he will eat just about everything, which is more than i can say for a lot of kids i know. Like the other responses, pretty much anything you eat your baby can eat as long as it is cut up well enough, and is not seasoned heavily...stay away from salt and spicy foods obviously. Scrambled eggs are great too. They have all that protein and my son loved them he wanted them every morning. Another thing i learned to do was to let him feed himself and to include him in the family's meal time, meaning to bring the highchair over to the table and have the baby eat when you eat. Kids like to do what their parents are doing I am sure you are aware! I'm sure she will do fine just cut the food up good and keep a close eye on her. Also, does she ever drink out of a sippy cup??? Transition can be hard if the baby has never used a cup before. My pediatrician instructed me to never give my son any drink except for milk in his bottle. He started drinking juice and water out of a cup at 4 months and never even questioned the night of his 1st birthday when i gave him milk in a cup instead of a bottle. I got rid of all his bottles the next day and never looked back. Good luck!!

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She can eat almost anything except popcorn, hotdogs, grapes, you know things she can choke on. Her gums are tough so she can chew with them. She can eat chicken, veggies like peas, corn, greens, green beans, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, french fries, the list goes on.

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At this point she can eat a lot of things! My son is 14 months and eats everything- except for oatmeal- he doesn't like it. He eats blueberries, cut in half- sliced strawberries, canned pears in lite juice, cheese, bread, pancakes.. I could literally go on and on. The point is as long as she doesn't have any food alergies at 1 yr they can eat anything as long as it is small- even a scrambled egg. Yogurt and applesauce are great too!

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My son was the same as your daughter, a late teether. We gave him the "Lil' Graduates" meals, you can find them in the baby section at the grocery stores. They have ravioli's, spaghetti, chicken and mash potatos, and they all come with some sort of a veggie for them. My son loved them, and so did I, and he was able to feed himself (great for fingers) while I made dinner for my husband and I. Give them a try, she'll love them, trust me.

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If she has been showing interest in what you are eating, then give her some of your food (just smaller pieces). Cheerios, fruit (such as bananas, cut up grapes, strawberries), fruit smoothies, potatoes, etc. For dessert, graham crackers, pudding, etc. Try the Gerber graduates. My son loved them and was able to eat them on his own. These are microwaved, so make sure there is no pockets of heat...stir well. Spaghetti (with or without the sauce). she will tell you what she does and does not like. But those foods refused, make sure you reintroduce them a little later. Good luck.

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She can be eating almost everything that you're eating. Make sure it is small enough to chew and soft enough, but besides that- she'll be fine! Stay away from nuts, popcorn, shellfish and tough foods.

My daughter eats dinner with us. Exactly what we're eating for the most part. She loves chicken, pasta, meatloaf, veggies, fruit cups, pancakes, waffles, goldfish, cheerios...you name it. She's been eating those things since she only had her bottom two teeth- if that.

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Hi there!
The food you give your daughter doesn't need to depend on the teeth she has, but the motor control she has instead. My son is 10 months and has two teeth, but eats all kinds of foods! He eats meats in small bites, potatoes, crackers (loves cheese nips!!), and pretty much anything we eat. We just make sure his is unsalted and not seasoned heavily,and that it's a relatively nutritionally sound food for him. The more practice your daughter gets, but better it is not only for her ability to eat foods, but for her ability to talk as well. All oral motor control is related, so anything she can do with her mouth is helping her. Blowing, making faces, kissing, all of those things improve oral motor control.
We have a little boy with an oral motor skill delay, that's where I get all this information.
Anyway, don't be afraid of new foods, just go slowly and let her get used to them as you go. I also give my son kid fortified soy milk, it's Very Vanilla Silk, and is fortified with tons of vitamins!

Good luck!
B.

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Soup!!! I have five children and they ate a lot of soup at that stage. It easy to mash, or use a chopper as we did with our twins and last child, to your babies consistency that they can handle! Our twins (now 4) loved chicken noodle and chicken with rice. Our youngest (now 2) loved turkey pot pie (Campbells I think), the good thing about soup is most have around 2-3 food groups in them! :) After some soup alternate between the yogurt and applesauce for the dairy/fruit portion. Oatmeal is great for breakfast, again more or less milk/water based on what your child can handle. I understand your anxiety, I felt that way also, wanting your childs diet to be balanced. I wish you luck, just experiment. :)

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Hi C.. I can relate to your anxiety. My daughter didn't get her first tooth until after I weaned her. Fortunately I had a trusting doctor to talk to and he assured me that an infant's gums are extremely tough and that it's ok to introduce her to solid foods no matter how many teeth she has as long as you make the process gradual. Because I was so freaked out about the idea of choking, I started with those easily dissolvable Gerber Graduates puffs. Once i observed how she was doing with those, I moved onto bigger and better things slowly. Honestly, if you follow the gradual increase in chunkiness that the baby food stages do (but on a faster timeline, given your daughter's age) she should be eating chunks of chicken and noodles in no time. Once I saw how efficienct babies are at eating, I could give my daughter anything (as long as it was chopped well and sometimes mixed with water) even before she got her first teeth. Another thing that helped my anxieties about choking (because I had them BAD) was to take a Red Cross class on infant/toddler CPR and first aid. It helped me feel more in control and confident in feeding her a variety of food, which is important for setting the stage for fututre nutrition.

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