Baby to Real Food?

Updated on February 15, 2008
S. asks from Saint Louis, MO
11 answers

My son is just over a year old (on the 23rd of Jan). He is eating very little real food. He has four teeth (two on top and two on bottom). I try to give him different things thinking one of these things he'll eat. No such luck. He ate bologna once but won't have anything to do with it again. He has done snack type things (goldfish, crackers, graham crackers, nutri grain bars) but nothing I would consider "meal" type food. I really want to get him off the baby food, but am I pushing him too early or should he be eating regular food by now? Seems to me like he should be... Doesn't help that he is terribly picky. He even has to take a multivitam because he won't even eat the baby meats. HELP ME!

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M.L.

answers from St. Louis on

Stop the baby food and try putting the food staraight in the tray and he will like doing it himself. start with some softer food, mac and cheese they love to eat with their fingers in the beginning. cut all up very small so he does not choke and stay with him while he is eating. Try scrambled eggs cut up toast,ravioli in the toddler food section. he will do fine until more teeth come in. Do a sippy cup with warm not hot liquid chicken noodle soup.

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W.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi S.,

Here's my advice...

Start with one meal let's say breakfast. You can give him pancakes with butter (you can even get frozen veggies and blend up and put in them and then cook them), toast, french tost sticks, biscuit with butter. When you off these to him keep giving it to him for a week and eliminate something that would normally be "baby food type", you can also try regular oatmeal in different flavors. Try scrambled eggs, sausage links, sausage patties, taster strudles are good also, along with waffles. Load it with butter and let it melt, once you get him going back off a little on how much butter you put on it. You have to make the food more appleaing to him and tast better than baby food. And remember thjat we don't need all the fat content in our food but he does, so he needs the fat in butter and things like this.

For lunch make him a grilled cheese (make sure you let it cool real good), mac and cheese, quesadillas, chicken nuggets, hot dogs (cut them in 1/4ths), fish sticks. Don't forget pizza.

Start small and work up but remember take a way something of baby food. Also you can buy the individual fruti cups and applesauces. And you can buy the smaller cans of vegetables, another option is frozen vegetables. My daycare kids like the canned veggies better than frozen.

And by the way I wouldn't eat those baby meats either, yuck. He may not be eating because of what you are feeding him. Find something he can eat and then go with it. Start adding in other things.

FYI, my 4th dhild wasd on table food by the time she was 7 months, she wanted noth9ing to do with baby food anymore. She also didn't have any teeth. But they don't need teeth to chew their food, their gums are very powerful.

For snacks my daycare kids love yogurt burst cheerios, any kind of crackers. Oh and they have these new mini muffin tops out now (eggo makes them, they love those. we had those for snack). I have plenty more but I will leave you with that much, W.

1 mom found this helpful

A.S.

answers from Kansas City on

My daughter turned 1 on 1/15, so they're very close in age. She's been eating whatever we eat for a few months now. I just cut up whatever I'm having for breakfast, lunch or dinner into nice pea-sized bites for her. She eats everything except raw carrots & other hard veggies, no apple peels, etc.

It doesn't matter that they don't have all that many teeth yet. Babies use their tongues and gums to mash up food.

My advice would just be to keep trying. Keep offering him things off your plate. Offer when he's hungry but not starving.

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C.C.

answers from St. Louis on

yes, he should be eating "real" food by now. we have a photo of our daughter at six months wielding a porkchop by the bone and grinning ear to ear....get out your joy of cooking or go to allrecipes.com and start reading.......you're letting him rule you

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G.N.

answers from St. Louis on

sounds like my son, he is a very picky eater and wont really eat meat, best way to get him to eat the stage 1/2/3 meat is put a little meat on the spoon and the put a little bit of fruit on top of it.

I started giving my son P'nut Butter and Jelly sandwiches at 11mths old. (NO ALLERGIES) I would make a slice and put a little of both and break them up in small pieces. He loves PB&J's now. I made Mac and Cheese and broke them in small pieces. Just for the record babies dont use the front teeth to chew, they gum everything at this point.

So anything that is soft its okay to give him.

I give my son the V8 Fusion Juice because he dont eat many veggies. He loves it.

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K.Y.

answers from Springfield on

When my daughter was that age I bought those pasta pick-ups. I think gerber makes them. I would get them wet cut them up and sprinkle them with parm. cheese. She also ate the meat sticks. And we fed her off our plates as well. She never seemed to eat as much as other kids either. She's two and still doesn't, and when she does it's, "cracker" "cereal" or my all time favorite,"birthday cake" for breakfast.(of course I don't give in to the last request.) Have you tried cut up cooked carrots?

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J.S.

answers from Springfield on

My daughter was the same way. Her doctor kept telling me not to worry because she would eat when she was hungry. She kept filling up on formula, then milk after she turned a year old, and wouldn't eat any actual food. She really wouldn't even eat baby food. I would check with his doctor to be on the safe side, but rest assured he WILL grow out of this. It may take some time, but it does go away. The best advice otherwise that I can give is not to back down and give him baby food. Keep pushing solids until you find something that he actually likes, and find new ways to incorporate that food. (Like if he learns he likes cheese, add cheese to other things to get him to eat it.) It doesn't work with all kids, but it's worth a try.

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B.A.

answers from St. Louis on

I'm no expert when I say this, but just trust yourself and know that you know your child. My son will have nothing to do with the baby food and is 10 mos old. Try very mild, soft foods. Pastas tat are cooked to mushy texture, mashed potatoes. I remember when I babysat for a family when I was younger, the mom put everything (pizza!) in a food processor that ground up "real" food into manageable pieces. As far as the meats, the things I have read as age-appropriate say they can have small pieces of chicken, but I'd still not feel comfortable giving my 10 mos old a piece of chicken, personally. If he's happy, and the doctor's not concerned, he'll be fine :)

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M.K.

answers from St. Louis on

I remember being really cautious about what to give my baby when he transitioned to that stage between baby and big people food b/c I was always afraid he was going to choke! I found baby cookbooks REALLY helpful because they give you snack and recipe ideas for specific age groups and even have chapters on how to nourish picky eaters. One of the better ones is Annabel Karmel's 'First Meals'. It is baby's first foods through age 4, so I still use the book for my son, who is now 2. After trying a few recipes from a book you might be able to figure out what kinds of foods your son is keen on and then try to make similar meals for the family and see if he'll eat that way. Good luck!

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A.J.

answers from St. Louis on

Both of my kids stopped eating anything I tried to feed them at 7 months. They wanted to do it them selves. They loved frozen mixed veggies, they were just the right size and the cold felt good on there gums(it softens quickly when they chew). If I made spaghetti I would make a little bowl of macaroni noodles for them because it's easier to pick up. They can eat pretty much any thing you eat as long as it is cut up small enough. If they were feeding them selves I could usually sneak in bites of yogurt, applesauce, etc. If you give him a spoon he'll probably try to do it him self. Good luck!!

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R.B.

answers from St. Louis on

I am in the same situation. I read the other responses and most didn't work for me. He hates pasta, if you put stuff in front of him to pick up he throws it on the floor. I would get really frustrated. He does pick up crackers, goldfish, etc but no real food. I know he is getting a fruit and veg. with every meal with the baby food so I just go with it. About twice a week I may try something new. Sometimes he eats one or two bites and that is it. Just like everything else---he will do it when he is ready. Mine only has 4 teeth as well so when I give him meat he gums it for about 15 minutes and then spits it out. I think we just need to be patient and they will come around when they are ready.

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