Diet for My 13 Month Old

I have a 13 month old too...I put finger foods on his height chair tray and most of the time, I put the food in his mouth himself. Just recently, the last week or so, he has just started trying to feed himself and I have been encouraging him to do so. And, when I feed him with a spoon- I give him a spoon too- mostly to play with, but he is starting to get the concept. My son might be a little behind in feeding himself, but I am letting him go at his own pace. I figure, he will be able to at least feed himself by the time he goes to college (: He is progressing rather well in my opinion...He also has a bottle in the morning. I have been trying to get him off the bottle onto a sippy cup everyday, but it is a struggle.

I think I would not give him the bottle first thing. That may fill him up to much. I would start with the cereal first. As far as other foods, how many teeth does he have. My son never got teeth till he was over a year older. So at 13 months he could only handle soft foods. If he has quite a few teeth have you tried cheerios on his tray first thing before soft cereal and a few pieces of soft fruit (bananas, pear). then bring out the soft cereal. You may want to eat a piece of two with him, showing mommy likes this.

Bottle comes last... You may want to consider tippy cup.

Good Luck,

S.

My son absolutely loved vegetables - couldn't get enough of the broccoli - but went through this phase where he didn't seem to want them. I started offering them to him first, before the meat and fruit and it is working like a charm! You might want to try just putting the finger-food chunks on the tray first. be patient and make sure you are giving him enough time to pick them up, chew/mash them, and really begin to take a liking to them.

Hi Caroline!
Does your little guy eat cheerioes or any of that kind of thing? That's what we started with. My girl LOVES fruit. Since this is the season for it, you're in luck. Besides banannas, maybe think of trying very ripe plums...the ones with the dark skin and red flesh. They are very soft when ripe, the color is alluring to babies and they pack a lot of flavor. That got my girl started and from there we tried cantalope, another big hit. If you just put something that looks interesting on his tray, it is likely to go into the mouth and once ho figures out how good they taste, you're set. As far as veggies go, good luck. The only one my baby eats is green beans, cold from the fridge.

Don't mash it up all the way, leave little chunks of fruit or veggies. That's how I started my kids because I made my own baby food. After awhile my oldest would ask for just this fruit or the veggie, so I had little baggies ready in the fridge just for them. Ericka my oldest, loved onions - yellow - and still to this day would eat them like she was eating an apple. When the kids were growing up we had a 2 1/2 acre garden, they each got to grow their own garden row and they all learned how to harvest and even sell their own. The only reason I taught them all that is because I was in the service for years.

Breakfast first... Apples and oranges are not the best fruits to start with. Why not try banana, very ripe pear or very ripe peach (with the skins pealed off). Give him a few pieces directly on his tray or put them in a suction cup bowl for him. Also, let him see you pick up a piece and put it in your mouth. That will help!