Alternatives to Cheerios for Baby?

I did soft pears (skinned and cubed), steamed carrots (cut length-wise), peas, cucumber sticks, kideny beans, chickpeas, homemade crutons, bits of chicken, noodles, fruit salad in juice or water, Kix, Chex, shortbread cookies, tea biscuits, Mum-Mums (these my last child LOVED!), sweet potatoes (cubed and boiled)... Just about anything you eat as long as it is soft and managable for them.

Have lots of fun introducing all the new yummy foods and be patient both with their taste buds and their eye-hand coordination.
~C.

My son loved cheese, apples, pears, cucumbers the most when he was little. All cut into bite sized pieces. Beans are also a great finger food. The right size and lots of protein. I know you asked for something besides baby items, but my son (3 years) still likes these as an easy snack. I buy them at Babies R Us. http://www.plumorganics.com/for_super_puffs.php

Graham crackers, nilla wafers and Kix cereal were always favorites since my nephews were little. Also, fish crackersr come in a large variety now. Teddy grahams are also a great option as the child gets a little older.

Can you elaborate on why you have to cut Cheerios out? (Allergy, or...?) That will help us provide some good alternatives.

ETA: Okay, if there's a potential grain allergy, then maybe go with diced apples, pears, or other soft fruit (my girls loved mango). Also, diced chicken, beef or pork can work if your baby can chew/mash his food. I used to just give my daughters whatever I was serving for dinner, just cut up into teeny-tiny pieces.

Brown rice cakes - they are like the old fashioned big thick round ones but much thinner and square. They also come in whole wheat and mixed whole grains. With or without salt. My Giant Eagle carries them - I couldn't find a picture on line for you.

They do NOT fall apart in disgusting mushy pieces all over the place. I did NOT do Cheerios until my son was probably 3 and perfectly capable of using a spoon and eating himself. The melted cheerio is on my all time list of grossest things ever.

Not sure what your allergy issue is, but I do home daycare for many years now and consistently my babies fave firsts is always Rice Chex (or other chex if allergies are at issue with different grains??) They cruble/disintegrate easily and for whatever reason they gobble them up faster than cheerios or kix??

Works for me!

ETA~And I make my own baby food...and avacados are a fave...sort of a love it or leave it item..but most love it..weird to me as I hate them. I think they taste like soap (so does one of my brothers, but the rest of my siblings love them!). Pears are another fave baby food item, along with sweet potatoes. Just bake them up and puree them with a little water (the SP) for a smooth texture! Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy!

cubbed firm tofu, any fruit or veg, even apple in the microwave for 30sec, beans, peas, cold cream of wheat cubbed...

When my kids were little I always kept a container of mini-nilla wafers in the diaper bag or goldfish.

Baby Mum-Mum rice crackers, avocado and shredded apples.

My kids never really liked Cheerios. We did a lot of freeze dried fruits and veggies. Peas were a favorite. The raspberries and strawberries can be messy. They also hold up well to the Texas heat, you can leave them in the car without them turning into a sticky mess like dried fruits can do. We found them at Central Market and Sprouts (not sure if Houston has those).

Graham crackers, whole wheat bagels

Gosh, Cheerio's are so healthy I had never even thought about giving them something else.

They have same snacks in cans in the baby food area at Walmart. There is at least one that mentions sun dried tomato's.

These are so very tasty that all the kids still like them.

http://www.parentschoicefoods.com/parents-choice-little-m...

These are okay, the kids preferred the regular snacks instead, the ones in the cookie isle.

http://www.parentschoicefoods.com/parents-choice-little-p...

Tons!
Softly steamed veggies- all kinds
Crackers- saltines, goldfish
small, diced fruit.

Cheerio's are made from oats, not wheat, oats are very hypoallergenic, so I don't know what kind of allergy your son has.

Personally, I'm fine with starting out with the puffs made just for babies. I'd rather buy a couple containers and let them get the hang of it before breaking up crackers into a mess. I think after my son got a few teeth he really liked the corn Chex, rice would probably go over well too. They're getting so much nutrition from nursing/formula that I personally think it's OK to fudge a bit on the nutrition initially. PS-If you're not completely anti-Cheerio, try smashing the banana into the hole on the Cheerio :)