Feeding 9 Month Old

I was extremely nervous with Cheerios in the begining, and even though he could do it just fine I opted to use the Gerber cereal snacks which disolve. I tried them myself, and they disolve fairly quickly. Try those until you get more comforatable with the table foods. They have sweet potato (my kids loved!) and other stuff like bananas and strawberry..

best of luck,

J.

You'd be amazed at what they can mash even with no teeth! And many "normal" foods can be turned into something they can easily eat with a hand mixer or food grinder.
I think the key is to keep trying new things but at a pace where you can detect any food allergies (only one new food every 4 days or so).
Some things my son ate then:
real oatmeal, applesauce, soft cooked veggies (carrots, potatoes--sweet and white, peas, green beans, squash, etc), yogurt, cheese, crackers, pancakes, eggs, tofu, most soft fruits--i just avoided apples, raisins and uncut grapes.

If you are looking for recipe ideas, I really love the book:
Superfoods for Baby and Children by Annabel Karmel (http://www.amazon.com/Superfoods-Babies-Children-Annabel-...)
I still use it for my two year old to get ideas of new things to make...

N.,

My son is 8 months now (he's #4) and he refuses to eat the #3 foods anymore. He wants whatever we are eating. He loves pasta especially. I feed him a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables too, not the canned kind if I can help it. For the vegetables, I steam them in the microwave first to make them a little softer for him. I dice up softer fruits for him too, like plums, apricots, melon. Since your little one is under a year, make sure you don't feed him egg yokes, just the egg whites. And it is also recommended that you not feed children under a year honey or peanutbutter.

Good luck!

H. Ramsey
The Flutterby Shoppe - Owner
http://www.theflutterbyshoppe.com

Use a blender and puree all healthy foods. It does not have to be specified baby food anymore. He is getting older and it will take more solids to keep him happy. Try regular oatmeal with some raisins and milk. Or rice and beans puree in the blender. Just be careful on all the additives. He does not need them (Salt, pepper, sugar).

Hi Natalie, to honest with you, there is no real need to rush the child into taking on other foods at that age, as long as he eats the number 3 food, it's find, it's when he start to reject the food that you should start to be concerned. at that time you can start him soft foods like, eggs, oatmeal,farina. jello, apple sauce. etc, however don't be in a rush. I ACTUALLY WANTED TO ADD TO MY RESPONDS AND HOPEFULLY OTHER MOTHERS WILL SEE THIS, If YOU START A CHILD ON SOLID FOODS TO FAST, IT WILL MESS UP THE BABY'S DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. A LOT OF US HAVE MESS U SYSTEMS TODAY, BECAUSE OUR PARENTS EITHER DIDN'T KNOW ANY BETTER OR,,, THEY JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY FOR THE RIGHT FOODS. WELL NOW DAYS THERE IS NO EXCUSE.

My son pretty much never ate baby food- and he didn't get teeth until late- at a year old he only has 4. He eats nearly anything we eat. The way I think of it is if you can squish it between your fingers, he can squish it with his gums... or if it gets squishy when wet, that's safe food, too. So.... teeny pieces of chicken, bread, crackers, cheese, watermelon, ripe cantalope, banana, ham, pasta, beans, rice... My son loves mostly all foods- he has issues with a few textures- he doesn't like rice... or black beans... and we have yet to find a veggie he will eat! But he loves fruit, so I don't stress over the veggies.

I would try anything soft like mashed potatoes, grits, and eggs, things like that. I hope this helps.

I also have a 9 month old. We stopped feeding him baby food a while back because he just wanted what we were eating. Depending on how well your son is trying to smash things with his gums, you could try the obvious ones. Mashed potatoes, diced carrots (cooked and diced as small as you think he needs) and bananas. I used to cut the banana into small pieces but it tends to get really gooey and hard to feed him so now I just hold him and let him gum the mess out of it. Just watch him and make sure no big chunks come off. It shouldn't though. My kids have never really done the Cheerios thing at a young age like that because they tend to just swallow their food rather than actually chew it (my husband does the same thing) so I was scared they would choke. However, any kind of cookie that melts easily (shortbread is the best I found for us) is a great snack. They also say not to give babies beans or pasta but I have found that my son tolerates them very well. Just try him on anything you think he may like. Any soft foods or ones that melt in the mouth easily are the best. It's mostly just finding what he likes. Corned beef hash may be an odd choice for anyone to eat but my kids love it for breakfast and even as babies did really well with it.

One more thing, I think it's Gerber Graduates that makes the little sausages in the jar but a cheap version of vienna sausages are the same thing. Try peeling off the outer layer and smashing up the meat. My kids have always loved it. I don't give it often because they tend to be full of sodium but once in a while it should be fine. Check the nutritional facts on the back of the Gerber ones and see if they are any better for kids than the other (much cheaper) ones. I can't say I ever actually checked because I wasn't feeding them enough of them to make a difference.