Seeking Ideas for 10 Month Old Meals

Gerber makes meals for older babies like the ravioli, meat sticks and little meals. I get those and cut them into little pieces and my daughter loves them. Also, if you are concerned about vitamins, I get Enfamil Poly Vi Sol drops. They are vitamins for babies and I just put it in with her juice or bottle, that way I know she is not missing out on any extra vitamins by not eating baby food. It is in the vitamin aisle and they aren't that expensive. I gave them to my 1st daughter until she was old enough to have regular children's vitamins.

Watch out for the highly allergic foods. No peanuts/Peanut butter til age 3. No eggs (particularly egg white) or fish until 2. Food allergies are rapidly rising as we found with my daughter. And neither my husband nor I have food allergies.

Things that were a bit hit with my daughter were peas, rice, diced cooked carrot... all things she can practice picking up with her fingers were appealing.

I'd still supplement with baby food if you don't think she's eaten enough "table food". Don't worry about what other people say about her needing to be off baby food by now. The nutrition is the most important part and as long as you are giving her the opportunity to try to feed herself and try to pick things up with her fingers and practice chewing, then why not do table food and baby food?

One of my favorite (and easiest) meals to cook from my son when he was about that age was veggie pasta. Buy a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and microwave them as directed. In the meantime, cook some pasta (wagon wheel, elbow, or something to pick up). Make enough veggies and pasta for a week's worth of food so you only have to do this once.

Combine the veggies and pasta in a small, sealable serving cup then top with chicken broth or stock (low sodium), marinara sauce, or gravy. If you'd like to add a meat, throw in some browned ground turkey, chopped up meatballs, or cut up chicken chunks. In this little bowl you have a healthy and balanced meal that provides a variety of vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients. Serve with a small side of fruit and you're good to go!

When making your meals, focus on vegetables first as the 'main' dishes, with fruits, meats, and pasta/bread as 'side' dishes. This is how most people should be eating anyway. It's a healthy way to go plus you get your child accustomed to trying many different vegetables and not hooked on carbs and sweets.

My 9 month old is eating everything that we eat, just chopped up small so as not to be a choking hazard. He loves chicken, steak, pork, potatoes, whole wheat pasta, farro, quinoa, basmati & wild rice, black beans, green beans, broccoli, squash, corn, blueberries, you name it! He has 8 teeth though, so he can handle foods that some others his age cannot. We did the same thing with our 3 yo and she is a fabulous and adventurous eater.

The formula provides an excellent well-rounded balance for the specific nutrients that infants need more of than we do, iron, etc. Plus you can always get the liquid multivitamin to supplement the formula if you are really concerned. However if what you are eating does not provide all around nutrition, then you should reevaluate your own food purchases and consumption. If you seriously believe that heavily processed, pre-packaged commercial baby food is healthier than what everyone else in the family is eating, then you may need to think about changing your own eating habits.

Dear L.,
If you're worried about nutrition..Why all the sweets? Try cooked carrot slices, spaghetti.( spaghetti'os are fun) Cherrios, Green beans..and squashes this time of year. ( cooked of course) They are easy beginning type "real " foods for your little one. Soft, easy to mush and full of vitamins. There are a lot of nutritionests out there that may agree it's kind of early. But go with healthy snacks. It's hard to get them back off the sugary treats once they get used to them. And we all know that too much sugar is 1. Bad for little teeth, 2. Bad for adults often causing obesity and diabetes type 2, and 3. Often gets your kids wired for sound. They won't use the energy for study or learning either. More like running you through the mill, trying to keep up with them. There will be plenty of time for them to get hooked on those later. Good luck. Years ago.. My daughter decided,( at about 10 months) that she wanted "real food" . I began with spaghetti, mashed potatos, geen beans, pot pies ( she loved those :) )and oatmeal or scrambled eggs for breakfast. But you will find your own niche with your own little one. Oh ..one more thing..not too many spices or salt to start off with. She might like them and all..but babies tend to have more intense taste buds. They don't need all that to make thier food taste good. They like it just fine without. And stay away from nuts for a while. I hear so much about allergies these days..and in my day ( and this may have changed by now) Giving babies certain foods too early may give rise to later allergies. Consult and nutritionist about this. ( I'm lucky..My 3 kids have very few allergies.. they have mostly the hereditary types..hay fever, animal dander, ( but that's minor he's only allergic to ONE animal and now works at a Pet Smart with no problem as long as he stays away from guinnie pigs ) and Mercury ( again, in a very minor way).

Quick note: My daughter is now 27 and a mom herself. Her son is 5 1/2 weeks old. My 2 sons are 23 and 20, and healthy. Good luck , and God Bless.

Hi L.,
My babies are grown, but I remember this issue. Remember, this is your child and you can feed the baby good nutritious foods in both ways. If you think you are more comfortable with an assortment of baby foods and trial people foods, then go ahead. If it looks like it is disturbing her in some way then cut back or experiment bit by bit. Not every child is exactly the same. Just like we aren't. Some people can't tolerate certain foods, same with baby. Watch for signs of things that aren't tolerable, when you change diapers, or if there are tummy aches. You are doing fine. There will also be people telling you not to take the baby into the cold weather and others who will tell you she needs fresh air and don't keep her in the house all the time. Many opinions. You are doing fine going slow and feeding her good nutritious food. I think there are baby foods that are for a toddler. Why not check out your local market and try some of those. You can blend some of your other things, too. It's amazing that we all grow up anyway, considering all the opinions people have on how to raise them. Give her lots of hugs, and love and nutritious foods and you will be a happy mom with a happy baby.

Hi L.,

10 months does seem young. Will she eat stage 3 baby foods? My daughter did, but my son hated the texture. He kept right on happily eating stage 2 along with some of the soft, solid food I would give him until he was at least 12 mos. He really liked the Gerber Graduate diced fruits/veggies, Yo-Baby yogurt, soft bits of mozarella cheese, scrambled eggs. But, if she likes the baby food, I would keep giving it to her for the nutrition.

Just for the record, I gave both my sons baby food until 13 months old! Though it wasn't the only source of nutrition, I liked supplementing with it and would spoon it in between bites of finger food. It gave me the peace of mind that they were having a balanced diet.

Anyway, to answer your question, I like to make most kinds of vegetables, cut them in cubes and boil them so that they are soft enough for her to chew (you can buy diced frozen too to save time). You can boil a bunch in the beginning of the week and give it throughout the week for lunch. I also like cutting up string cheese, and bread, and pasta is always good. Bananas, and most other kinds of ripe fruits are favorites with us. For breakfast, my kids love Cheerios, yogurt and eggs are good (but I think you have to wait until after one year to give them egg whites).

Lots of luck!!!

Denise

In addition to solid foods your daughter should still be getting formula every day. She'll get all the nutrients she needs from that. You don't need to worry about what solids she's eating (for nutrition) until you get off formula and switch to milk at 1 year.
Baby food (not formula) is just to teach your child to eat. It doesn't have any special vitamins for kids in it. If she takes regular food instead of baby food that's great because it's saves a lot of money!!
(My son is 6 months, and he's on #3 baby food, and we're starting solids. We just went to the doctor, and he told us as long at he can pick it up and get it into his mouth he can eat it. Except, of course, nuts and honey.)
Good luck.

S. G
Mom of Elizabeth(5), Jack(3), and baby Charlie

I have 9 month old twins and was asking their pediatrician the same question at their check up. She told me that technically, babies only need at least 20 oz. breast milk/formula for the first year, and that solids now are simply supplemental (they are also getting all their vitamins with formula, no extra supplements are needed). Not sure why you've been told your baby should be off baby food by now, seems very unreasonable!

The doctor told me we're on the right track - I've been making my babies' food since six months, and they still eat pureed foods and even baby oatmeal, plus pieces of food they can feed themselves. I found a good resource at www.wholesomebabyfoods.com that has helped me plan their meals, as well as the "Blender Baby Food" cookbook which has great homemade recipes and meal plans.

I think what is most important is that your baby is getting plenty of veggies and fruit (mine love sweet potatoes, squash, pears, peas) and start introducing proteins and meats - small pieces and/or blended.

Of course, it is not necessary to follow these charts exactly, I'm sure your own mother's intuition should supersede others' advice, but I've found these to be good guides. Best wishes!

Whatever you eat...our 10 mo old was eating steak, pork chops....with only 3 front teeth!

hi,
i really like wholesomebabyfood.com as a resource. they have lots o great ideas.
good luck!
L.

I had my little guy on baby food until 12-13 months old, it was soooo easy! Just keep trying different foods with her, almost anything that you are eating she can also try. Instant oatmeal is good for breakfast and you can adjust the thickness. I always gave lots of fruit and I would cook frozen veggies also. They are the perfect size for little fingers. You have got to try spaghetti that you make with red sauce, just have the camera ready when you do! Don't waste your money on the "graduate meals", they taste lousy and are expensive. My son seemed to like heavy flavors at a young age.

hi L. here is my experience. i thought the same way you did with my first that if i stopped the baby food which she would eat willingly how am i going to be sure she is getting all that she needs? well, it backfired. she loved the babyfood every kind even the veges that dont smell very good at all and when it came time to transition her off of that to solids she was so picky and i think it was because she was on the baby food for too long. she is still at 5 the pickiest eater. i have a younger daughter who i stopped baby food earlier and introduced solids especially those i wasn't sure she'd like early and she will eat anything. granted it may have been this way anyhow but, i do think the baby food had something to do with it as texture is a big problem with my picky one. just make sure she has a tiny amount of all the food groups at each meal and you're fine. canned/frozen veges are fine. i would give her a bit of your meals too so she gets used to your cooking early. good luck.

Feed her what she eats. If she gets full on table food, great! If not, give her table food, then when she is done "feeding" herself (a.k.a playing) then start shoveling in the baby food. Him son (3rd child) just jumped over to full table food. I was letting him have finger food (canned green beans, carrots, peas, bread, spaghetti noodles, macaroni, etc.) then watching for him to signal he was done by stopping any attempts to put it in his mouth, then grab the baby food and shoveled in as much as he'd eat. Now at just over 11 months, he won't except the baby food at all. So I just continue letting him work for an extra long while on the table food and he seems to be getting full just fine. All kids have their own time table. Now's the get time to teach them to feed themselves - don't miss that opportunity! It's great to hand them food then be able to sit down and watch them while you enjoy your food that's still hot!

start giving her canned fruits and veggies, try for low sodium on the veggies. Or steam fresh veggies and fruit to soften them a bit. Also you can give her pastas and breads (whole grains if you can). At dinner time give her some pieces of whatever you are eating. By 12 mos all the kids in my daycare are eating exactly what the older kids are eating. Don't give her chips or taco shells or things like that that will hurt her mouth. Stay away from choking hazards and make sure that you cut his food into small pieces, but yep, table food is a must by this time!!

N.
and a PS about allergic foods - only avoid pineapple, tomato based things and strawberries for now. They have proven that holding off on peanuts and other such foods has NO affect on allergies. (study came out a few months ago) Avoid sugary things.

Try some foods that are easy to "mouth" but have some texture. Cream of wheat, grits, cooked zucchini or yellow squash, butternut squash, tapioca, bits of chicken, bits of hamburger, mandarin orange pieces, creamed corn, bits of pasta, bits of potato or baked potato, green beans, peas (these last two help to develop that pincer movement too!). I also used to give my boys that fresh tortellini with all kids of filling--meat, cheese, mushroom, spinach.

My twins still ate some baby food until they were 13 months . They still loved all the veggies sweet potatoes, green beans and rice etc. If I gave them the real stuff they wouldn't eat it at that age:)We ate alot of Yo Baby yogurt, bananas,soft pasta(buttered but no sauce),cheerios,bread,cheese,mandarin oranges, peach cubes,etc. somekids like avacado,cottage cheese or mashed potatoes but mine didn't .Also chicken noodle soup with stars without so much broth .It is normal for your baby to have up to 24 oz of formula .You are doing great . Take it at your own pace. Some kids eat table food faster because that's what is served because of older kids.

Hi L. !

I also have a 10 month old and he eats what we eat. He has 9 teeth and loves to feed himself. He eats cheerios, cheese, cottage cheese, soup with crackers mashed in it, cut up green beans, toast, boiled eggs (JUST THE YELLOW), applesauce, grilled cheese, yogurt, pudding, pot pies, canned peaches & pears cut into tiny pieces. My 10 month old is also still nursed.

Good Luck !