Needs Table Food Ideas for 9 Mo. Old

Hi K.,

My suggestion would be to capitalize on the interest in table food while it is a novelty, and use it as the opportunity to incorporate a wide variety of healthy foods.

I found that most vegetables if sufficiently steamed/cooked work well - my son particularly likes broccoli, sweet potatoes and green beans as well as corn and peas (which are really easy as you can buy frozen, and it still tastes good! Another snack that he may like is Garbanzo beans, if he can mash food well. They are small and finger food sized, yet you are getting protein. Applesauce also works for something sweet. Have you tried pasta/Mac and cheese, or rice? Most kids like these as well.

you're right not to worry too much. he's drinking plenty of formula, which is his primary source of nutrition.

as for table foods, this is around when my daughter banished jar food as well. she ate a ton of fruits and veggies (still does!!!). we had lots of success with:

small banana chunks tossed in either rice krispies or baby rice cereal (easier to pick up)
steamed frozen peas (wouldn't touch canned)
small cheese cubes
sliced black olives
toast cut into chunks (You can put butter or jam on it to increase calories)
chopped up ham
avocado cubes (great source of fat)
mashed potatoes, or diced cooked potato
quartered (or smaller) grapes or cherries

My older two kids were on table food at 9 months. I just fed them cut up tiny pieces of whatever we were having for dinner. With my older son it was a little easier, because my daughter was almost 3 at the time. Also, all my kids are skinny - my 7 month old was 10th percentile at his last checkup, but he's a HUGE eater. Just continue to take cues from him, and keep feeding his as long as he will eat.
Here are some ideas - shredded cheese, yogurt, cut up soft veggies(anything and everything)- avocado is a good one - lots of good fats, fruits, peaches, pears, bananas, mandarin oranges,really anything as long as it's soft. The Gerber graduates line has jars of soft veggies and fruit dices that work well. Dinners - pasta cut up tiny, and softer. Small pieces of soft chicken, or other meats that you maybe cooking for dinner. But, most of all, feed him what you are eating, and eat with him. That is what worked with my kids.

Good luck!

I really like using ditalini pasta (tiny tubes) to make homemade mac and cheese because they're the perfect size for little mouths. Look for Barilla because it's the only brand I've found that makes it.

If you go to Trader Joe's, I recommend their frozen French Toast. It's whole grain and so easy to make. I put a thin layer of apricot jam in it for my son and he loves it.

Have you tried cottage cheese? And, it might be early but you could try scrambled eggs too.

Have fun!

My 10.5 month old is in the 1% for weight! So I understand....surprisingly my little guy is a BIG eater and some of our new favorites are: goldfish crackers, cut up gerber meat sticks, mini frozen pancakes, cut up string cheese, canned carrots/green beans/sweet potatoes, beans, pasta, ground turkey, cream cheese on zweiback toasts and pretty much anything off of our plate.
Good luck!

Amanda how about whole grain pancakes and waffles, sweet potatoes, turkey or beef meatballs (you can microwave a few at a time as needed), small pasta such as Ditalini with butter, green beans, grilled cheese cut into very small pieces, broccoli, stuffed pasta such as tortolini (sp?)or ravioli. Sounds like you are doing a great job already. Good luck.

Hi K.,

I am in the same exact position and just printed off all of your responses. Thanks.

Hi,

My daughter was so much like your son, and still is. She never ate a lot or drank much. She's always been in the 10th percentile as well. She only drank up to 4 ounces of formula/breast milk. When she was 9-10 months old we struggled with her bottle filling her up so much, that she stopped taking solids, simply b/c she wasn't hungry enough. After 10 months our pediatrician said to limit the bottle. Of course you would want to talk to your pediatrician first. (I noticed you said that he doesn't eat too much table food, so I thought of this past experience.)

Some ideas for table food: If he gum chews really well
Peas
Edamame ( my daughter still loves these, you just have to pop them out of the shell - you can buy these frozen at grocery stores, Trader Joes, or Whole Foods)
Frozen carrots, after you warm them up, they are easy to cut up small and are really soft
Earth's Best makes some great cereal bars, you can cut them up really small
Turkey meatballs, can be cut up really small (can get them at Trader Joes)
Frozen sweet potatoe fries (I believe they are organic, found at Target)- can be cut up really small as well

Also a tip that worked for us. I started to eliminate a snack, b/c my daughter is such a small eater that eliminating the snack made her hungrier for her lunch or dinner.

Hope at least one of these ideas work for you! I'm always searching for new things for my daughter, b/c rarely will she try anything new. Good luck!

K.,
I am in the same boat with my daughter. 9 mos. and 5th percentile. She is still following her curve on her growth chart. She also said that she should be able to eat whatever we eat, just chopped up small. Still need to take caution of the obvious choking hazards.
I can barely to get her to take a bite off the spoon, she pretty much only wants to feed herself, even the yo baby has lost it's appeal. I do give her cheerios, gerber puffs, but I am afraid to give her too much dry stuff.
I have been giving her fruits, peaches, pears (canned), watermelon (she really liked). Most of the time she makes the sour face, but usually keeps eating. Not always though.
I tried turkey lunchmeat and she seems to have a hard time swallowing it, it doesn't seem like she can break it up.
Cubed sweet potato would be good. You could probably freeze the leftover.
It's hard to judge how much they should eat when those "sample" daily menus from gerber etc have SO many things listed. My dd doesn't even come close to eating that much.
Best of luck, I'll be watching for more advice! =)

M.