Hey Mama's,
I have another question for y'all. My son (6 1/2 months old) has been eating solid food since he was 4 months old, starting with cereal then veggies then fruit. He went in for his 6 month check up a few weeks ago and his Dr. said it was ok to give 2nd foods and also that we could give him 3 meals a day. He was previously eating just breakfast and dinner. My question is what is the rule of thumb with starting 3rd foods? He likes the consistancy of 2nd food sweet peas b/c they are pretty thick. But with the other veggies they to me seem to thin and he doesn't eat them as easily (they just get every where, I know he is a baby and that is normal but he is much cleaner and seems more happy with the sweet peas and thick cereal). I'm not trying to make him grow up to fast, I just want time to be healthy and happy. Any advise or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
I greatly appreciate everyones advise. We are going to try the frozen/canned veggie/fruit thing and see how that goes. He is a HEALTHY 20 pounds so I'm sure he will eat it up with no problem and it will definitely save us money which is needed right now.
You will know if he is not ready for them. I never used 3rd foods either. I bought no salt canned veggies and fruits. At first I would mash a bit with fork and before long she was ready to cram in her mouth all by herself. Beets, peas, green beans and even frozen veggies work great. Hope this helps!
We also never used 3rd foods. At about 1 year when he got four teeth we started on muchy solids. I was so ready to get over paying the high prices for jar food. Good Luck!
Yeah, we bumped him up once he had a few teeth and was okay with "gumming" things. We also never used the third foods. He never seemed to like them much, he prefered whatever we were eating. It was cheaper that way too. We did do the toddler entree things for a while, but I realized I could make that stuff a lot cheaper.. lol!
Good luck!
You can add cereal to the baby foods to thicken them. Also, he might like to hold on to a teething biscuit or graham cracker while you feed him. Seems like both of mine were getting done with baby food and moving to finger foods (canned veggies are pretty squishy) around 7 1/2-8 months, so he might be just itching to get his hands on some food!
We never used 3rd foods. By the time they can have 3rd foods, they can also have squished or chopped versions of what the rest of the family is eating. And, because the 3rd foods are similar consistency to 2nd foods, only with chunks, mine always choked because the chunks would surprise them. For some reason, if I handed them chopped green beans, they knew they had to chew/swallow differently and didn't choke. The 3rd foods would "trick" them into thinking they could just swallow a bite.
My son is 9 mo and I just started with the 3rd foods but he doesnt like them. He prefers the 1st and 2nd foods for taste. The macaroni,spagetti,turkey,etc all smashed up is not very appealing and I don't blame him. He makes gag like sounds when I try giving them to him.
I've begun to give him a little of whatever I am eating. Yesterday I had a grilled chicken sandwich for lunch with a side of cold pasta and I gave him little bitty pieces of each. He loved it! For dinner,we had spagetti and I cut some up with a fork for him. I measured it to be a little less than 2 ounces in my little container from when I used to breastpump.
He still gets his 1st and 2nd gerber foods though.
I only give him "food" twice a day(lunch,dinner) and the rest is formula. However, for breakfast, I add cereal to his formula(mix in apple or banana) and spoon feed.
