Need Ideas for Transitioning to Table Food for Toddler

my youngest guy is gonna be a year old on saturday and also has 6 teeth... Some of his favs are spaggetti, mac and cheese, smashed potatoes, diced hot dogs, pieces of pancake, french fries (frozen then baked kind), he even handles pieces of toast and pizza crust very well. Fruit from the fruit cups (diced peaches), not a big fan of bananas though...
All of these are things that we eat for dinner and so i just take some and make sure its cut up enough for baby to handle... Most of it I spoon feed him. (pastas, potatoes, and fruit)But thats just to avoid having the dog sit under his chair licking all dinner time. :-)
Our guy also isn't a big fan of the 3rd stages anymore... I think they just get to a point that they want more chunk than goop in their mouths.
Good luck. Trial and Error!!!

Have you tried a baby food grinder? Target has them maybe meijer too and online - its a little plastic thing you put your dinner in and grind and feed baby - my guy is 7 months and loves eating our food his way.

I am thinking it might solve your issue because it will be in a baby food type presentation but will change flavors daily!

for example last night we had chicken pasta and vegis and I put all three in at the same time and voila there was a yummy meal of what we were eating. you can do virtually everything in it. it is a little dishwasher safe hand grinder that cost about 5 bucks :) PM me if you want a link or more info.

M~

K.,

You say you have two older children so I'm guessing this is a problem just with the little one that you didn't have with the others...

Is it possible that he may have a small infection or something stuck in or irritating his teeth? You mentioned his gums are swollen all the time but he's in a good mood 96% of the time. Maybe they are hurting when he bites down so he's just licking/playing with the finger food? It's also possible that after tasting cheese puffs and other "more flavorful" foods, the stage 3 foods are too bland for him now.

Maybe you might mention the eating situation to your pediatrician the next time you're in and see if he thinks a visit to a pediatric dentist is in order.

That being said, you might just have a very fussy eater like two of my 4 were! As long as he's not losing weight and he's gaining as he should, make sure he gets vitamins and as balanced of a meal as you can and pray he grows out of it. (One of my twins still hasn't and she's 15). Best of luck to you. :-)

My little guy is 20 mo old and he eats canned veggies b/c they are soft. i throw some spray butter on them and he eats them up! he's also a big fan of mashed potatoes so i buy the Meijer brand in the meat dept that is ready to heat & eat. :) and they are mmmmmmmm!good!
i also give him a plastic spoon and little cups of applesauce and pudding. it's messy, but he loves it, and he is learning to feed himself and eat different things!
good luck!!
:) A.

since he is 16 mon old i would be giveing him regular table food, cut up. my 9 month old will NOT eat baby food anymore. he will eat whatever we are eating. he love hot dog cut up of course. maybe his bottom two teeth are comming and it hurts to eat. try softer foods like, ravoli, speggio's, eggs, easy mashable stuff. rice, mash potatoes, etc. i would put some food in front of him off your plate or give him bites off your spoon, maybe he will take it better?? good luck