What Food I Can Feed My 9 Month Old and When to Start Feeding It to Him???

Updated on August 09, 2007
S.M. asks from Sedalia, MO
19 answers

hi, my name is S.. I am a first time mom and I am not sure what to feed damian. I am not sure what he can eat and can't. he is 9 months old and wants everything. I don't want him to choke. He does have his two bottom teeth but he doesn't always like to chew food. sometimes he will just swallow it. I am affraid to give him bigger pieces. we do let him eat mooshy foods on his own..I know some kids are eating crackers and bread and things like that..Is it okay to feed damian these foods or should i wait until he has more teeth?? I have read books and they say he should be eating soft veggies and stuff like that..I just don't know how comfortable i am with that. I don't want to make my son behind in life.. help..what should i do??

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So What Happened?

Thank you all so much for all the advice. I will be gradually introducing different foods. I feel so much better knowing I am not alone. thank you all again and have a great day.

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J.L.

answers from Oklahoma City on

great! My daughter is 10 months and she just has two little teeth on the bottem too.. I feed her really soft foods and those little puff things. They are very easy to get soft. Nothing hard or too big. My daughter tries to eat everything and anything too..

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J.T.

answers from Topeka on

I would suggest going to like walmart and getting the finger foods. They do melt fast and my daughters seemed to enjoy them an awful lot. Other then that i would just try other finger foods and soft veggies. Hope that helps

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J.H.

answers from St. Louis on

I would say just remember to take it slow and not rush him, there is plenty of time for him to start eating real food, and when you are both comfortable. I agree with one of the poster that they use their gums and saliva to "chew" food rather than their teeth. What I do when I'm not sure if I shoudl give my 10 month old a certain food is I take a piece that I might give to him and stick it inthe roof of my mouth and try to mash it with my tongue. I feel like that gives me a good idea of what the food would do in my son's mouth. Gerber does make a lot of foods for babies this age, you may need to cut the pieces smaller for your baby and to make yourself feel better about it. Good Luck! :o) My son loves Cheerios and the Gerber spinach and cheese ravioli which I cut into four pieces and feed to him with a plastic baby fork.

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K.C.

answers from Kansas City on

Lets see here several things to try would be
Mashed Potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, soft fruits & veggies, gerber puffs/crackers...they dissolve in a few seconds from the saliva. Oddly enough at that tender age, they tend to use their gums more to chew than their teeth (I was told by my son's doctor) just be sure than things are cut very small and are very soft. You can give him crackers..just ones that aren't really hard. Good luck!

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G.N.

answers from St. Louis on

my son is 1yr and when he was 9months I was giving him those gerber finger foods, the ones that dissolve easily in there mouth. I was also giving him jelly sandwich and breaking them up in small pieces, he was also eating cheerios.

Hope that helps

G.

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D.H.

answers from Kansas City on

I am kind of in the same situation... My daughter is ten months now... and she still only has her two bottom teeth. Sometimes when we try to get her to eat "grown up foods" she freaks out and gags (and sometimes hard enough to throw up...) She is just happy as can be eating the number two foods (and I am not sure if we should move up to the #3 foods because I dont think she has mastered the art of chewing yet)... and she likes everything but the baby foods with noodles or rice... She will eat the little Gerber fruit puffs... and she is getting better about not choking on them - I just dont know when we can start feeding her what we are eating... If you get some good advice please let me know! Thanks!

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P.B.

answers from Peoria on

If he's had babyfood already, you can begin soft finger foods, cooked carrots, potates, green beans, cut up hot dogs or little pieces of hamburger that is juicy not dry. Or toddler food if you prefer to feed him yet Most babies are ready for table food by nine months. scranbled eggs, cream of wheat, anything easily digested

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T.B.

answers from Springfield on

hi there well with my first child i was feedin mashed potatoes anything soft...

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M.S.

answers from Oklahoma City on

You can feed him 1 and 2 baby foods and the Gerber cereal puffs are great since they dissolve so easily. If there are things that he's wanting, it's totally fine to give him table food, as long as there's not added salt or sugar, and they are soft enough or in small pieces. Biter biscuits are also great because they take a long time to break down and they feel good on teething gums. I found a great book called "Top 100 Baby Purees" by Annabel Karmel. She has some really simple and easy recipes for making your own baby food and breaks it down into stages so you know what to introduce when. There's lots of good info on food allergies and the different nutrients that are in different foods for your baby!

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M.B.

answers from Peoria on

I have never listened to the doctors when they say what kinds of things to give them. I have always fed my children whatever I have cooked for dinner just the same as everyone else. You might have to mash some things up or maybe kind of pick apart a pork chop to where there are no chunks just kinda grate or puree it then add a little ketchup and there you go You can turn all regular food into baby food grab a bbfood grinder and your set blenders work good too I have never bought a single jar of bbfood. It will save money this way too

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C.Z.

answers from Rockford on

Hi S.! You're doin fine kiddo! Congratulations on your baby. I say let him eat. He likes it and he needs it. If it doesn't get chewed you'll see it in his diaper. Just watch him till he gets a little bigger if you're worried about choking. My daughter did the same thing, she loves food. This is a good thing! So many moms have trouble getting their kids to eat. He will have a healthy appetite all his life. Just follow his lead. And God Bless!

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A.S.

answers from Lawton on

Start him out on some baby food, The first stage.. Stick to one kind a week to make sure no reactions occur. Also the baby cereal is great.. start out thin and work your way up to a thicker consistency. Gerber has alot of great new foods for baby to try. Also if you don't want to spend the extra money try blending peas or something simple in the food processor or blender..

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E.M.

answers from Kansas City on

I am have found that the gerber carrots and green beans are very soft compared to canned adult carrots and gb's that i cut up for my daughter who is 10mths old with two bottom teeth. I think i am the only, but my daughter loves avacados and refried beans. (it is easy to get a half of avacado at a mexican resturant too.) I also got a food processor from target online that mashes food and can put the food i cook and add a little formula and it makes my own baby food. She ate my lasagna like a champ! Mac and cheese,etc. Then i don't worry so much about choking. She hates all the baby food meals in a jar so i had to think of something else.

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M.S.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I am also a stay at home mom. I have three kids, a 3 yr old daughter, a 2 yr old daughter, and a 9 month old son. I have found that my son really enjoys eating the little entrees with mashed potatoes, and chicken, or mashed potatoes and turkey. He loves diced green beans and carrots that they come with also. I give him the gerber crackers, the gerber cookies. It is really trial and error, he still eats stage 3 foods, but you really just gotta try, and if he can eat it, and he likes it, then you know he can have more solid foods. I know how hard it is to feed them new things with your first child, bec you aren't sure what they can handle, but gerber is real good ab making the foods soft for kids, i know it sais toddlers on most of those packages, but it is ok. And i give my little boy club crackers too, he loves them. Well I hope this has helped.
M.

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S.M.

answers from Kansas City on

As a mother of four I definitely understand what your going through. Try things like tuna, skinless chicken baked and pulled into thin strips he can pick up and provide some apple sauce for dipping, canned carrots are good finger foods, bananas, peas, any kind of boneless fish is really good because it doesn't really require him to chew and has lots of protein. As he gets more teeth you can explore with more solids. Have fun and dont mind the mess! I hope this helps.

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M.J.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Hi S., I have a 2 1/2yr old and one on the way. I would let my son have graham crackers because they will soften in their mouth when they get wet. Cheese puffs will also dissolve with the moisture. I also gave my son things like ravioli in small pieces and veianna sausages in small pieces. You can also try the lil entree's that gerber makes. Hope this helps :)

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M.S.

answers from Joplin on

The kinds of food he eats will not make be behind in anything. Don't worry. I know that as first time moms, we tend to overreact at times, and this is a big area that we do this in. Don't worry about what the books say. Do what you think your son is ready for. He will let you know if he can tolerate table food or if he still needs babyfood. Most pediatricians I work with and know recommend baby food until closer to a year anyway. We didn't do it that way, but that is what is recommended. I would only try one or two table food type items at a time and just let your son guide you. Again, don't worry about what the books say. As the saying goes, momma knows!:)

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B.B.

answers from St. Louis on

I would refrain from introducing any form of wheat to a child less than 1 year of age. You are asking for allergies and a damaged digestive tract. Stick with fruits and veggies and if you must feed him grains to fill him get a good rice bread he can hold and munch on. If he is not chewing, work with him on chewing, but still don't give him things that are too hard. If it is something that can easily be mashed with gums, that is okay, but if you require teeth to chew it, don't expect him to be able to if he has none. Molars are necessary for meat...that is to effectively chew it so it can be digested. He can eat egg yolks too, but no whites. Basically the no no's of the 1st year are grains, egg whites, berries and dairy. The reason these guidelines are set up is to help you have better chances of no food allergies. These days kids are very allergic to what they eat, which is why they are sick all the time, have dark under eye circles and a procedure where ear tubes are surgically implanted is the new kiddie candy. The American pediatrics association also recommends waiting for peanuts and peanut butter until 2 yrs at a minimum, but preferrably until 3 years because so many children have such a horrible peanut allergy these days due to eating it too soon and or too often. At our local schools they have taken that allergy serious enough that any child with a peanut allergy is not permitted to eat at the same table as a child with a peanut butter sandwich. You won't make your son behind if you and he are not ready for certain foods yet. Don't worry about that. If anything, kids that have taken time to adapt to more foods over time are more likely to be less picky. I know this has been true in my house. My oldest was so slow to start eating foods. He was 8 months before I could get him on a regular diet with solids (1 jar of baby food a day). I had my kids close together (3 of them a year and a half apart each), so after my 2nd son was born I still had a 20 month old that at times didn't eat enough food on his own so I knew I had to feed him some additional food. Because of the time crunch of taking care of 2 little ones, I fed my older son a jar of baby food with what he fed himself. It wasn't long after that he started eating enough on his own. He had been self feeding many things since he was 6 months old. He would pick up sliced fruits and veggies and eat those and by the time he was 15 months he could pretty much eat a bowl of oatmeal on his own. However, like I said there were times up until he was about 20 months where I had to help out feeding him. He also was a slow teether. I went pretty slow with him on food intros. The pace picked up eventually and now he is the best eater. He eats everything...no mac n cheese only diet for this guy! Good luck, don't be afraid to go slow and if you are concerned about improving dexterity but aren't ready to offer him foods to help with that, have him help you pick up tiny things off the floor to throw away. Keep up the good work.

B. :)

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R.N.

answers from Kansas City on

I have a 19 month old and went through the same anxiety about feeding my son. I fed him soft foods for a long time and I don't think that by doing so you will make him behind. My son LOVES avocado (he still eats it daily) and also ate soft frozen veggies and small bites of fruits like pears, blueberries, bananas, applesauce, mango, and melons. You can cook sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes and bread without crusty ends are good too. He ate all kinds of lunch meats and hot dogs(stay away from fillers and additives with both). He also ate first soups and stage three meals from Earth's Best.

Hope it helps.

R.

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