Hello there! So this is my first time on mamapedia... I'm just curious, I have a 10 1/2 month old little boy who still has no teeth (top two are almost in, working on one bottom) but we're really wanting to start the transition to table food. I'm going back to work soon, and for him to be able to come to the school that I'm going to be teaching at, he needs to be walking and eating table food. Walking - check. Table food - not so much! He's a good eater, and he does eat some things himself- grilled cheese, cheese, bananas, pudding, cheerios, crackers, puffs, mango, etc. The kid can't live on puffs and grilled cheese sandwiches for the rest of his life, though!! ;)
I just recently tried grapes - he gummed them to get most of the flesh off, then spit out the rest. Spaghettios were a bust. Apples seem to be too hard.
Any advice would be appreciated. (Don't post if you don't have anything nice to say, though!)
Thanks!
My little girl is not into baby food and likes to feed herself. She likes canned veggies, baby hot dogs (like vienna sausages), mac and cheese, noodles, fruit cups (they are smooshier if that is a word), cheerios, and any baby teething foods...rice husk crackers etc.
Good luck!!
I guess I'm a little confused/concerned. Are you saying that he can only be eating table food to go to this school?
At 10 months old, his primary nutrition should still be coming from breastmilk or formula. Yes, he'd be getting 2-3 small "meals" but they are just to supplement the breastmilk/formula and for practice. Solids are *never* meant to replace breastmilk/formula in the entire first year. He should still be getting nursed or bottles/sippy cups with formula during the day-on demand.
As far as foods, avocado, yogurt, full-fat, low-sodium cheese, cooked egg whites, whole grain breads, whole grain pasta, small pieces of soft fruits(grapes aren't a great choice at this point), sweet potato plain, veggies that are soft steamed are good choices. He doesn't need a lot of meat at this point. Avoid the junk like spaghettios, pudding, crackers. They don't offer any real nutritional value to his diet.
Give him bits of whatever you're eating!
Most nights, my 10mos old DD finishes my dinner (and hers, and her brothers! :) )
Start off with pea sized bits until he gets the hang of different textures.
Then, go for anything!
Take whatever you are eating for dinner and give it to him in small pieces. Ex. if you are having chicken- shred some up for him, pasta is great and you can put all kinds of sauces and what not on it...i really like the frozen mixed veggies myself. The pieces are already small so you dont have to cut them up, just steam up the veggies and eat. Small pieces of soft cheese is good too.
Our 9mth old just recently switched to all table food - also no teeth in site. We just sit her in her high chair with us when the family eats dinner, and i give her small pieces of whatever we are eating. I just set the food on her tray and she gobbles it up. They can handle almost anything as long as it is small and they can't choke.
A bag of frozen peas and carrot chunks are great - you can warm a small amount at a time and they can feed themselves. My kids love meat - chicken is a good one to try. Or soft meats like meatloaf, hamburger,etc. Potatoes -scalloped, baked, etc. My baby loves raspberries. Small pieces of cooked brocolli, sweet potatoes, etc. Don't limit to what a lot of people deem as "kid food." That can lead to picky eaters.
Yogurt is usually easy for a child his age to eat. Get a natural one made without sugar. Brown Cow is a nationally distributed healthy brand. He does not need to develop a taste for sugar and yogurts without real culture in them.
I like Strauss whole milk vanilla.
Other things that are easy to transition to are apple sauce, scrambled eggs, and small bits of meat cut up very small. Most children like broccali which he can manage the tops of once he has teeth. Cook it. Same for carrots cooked and mashed is best.
Once his teeth come in he will definately turn into a great eater.
I raised my children on healthy food that was organic. Between them they only had three fillings to this day and were rarely sick.
What about Greek yogurt?
Cottage cheese and fruit?
Soft fruits such as peaches, pears, fruit cups.
Toast and jam.
Cooked pasta noodles.
Cooked, soft veggies like squash, sweet potato,
I would be very careful with grapes--they can be a serious choking hazard.
Here is a list of other serious choking hazards:
pieces of raw vegetables or hard fruits
whole grapes, berries, cherry or grape tomatoes (instead, peel and slice or cut in quarters)
raisins and other dried fruit
peanuts, nuts, and seeds
peanut butter and other nut or seed butters
whole hot dogs and kiddie sausages (peel and cut these in very small pieces)
untoasted bread, especially white bread that sticks together
chunks of cheese or meat
candy (hard candy, jelly beans, gummies, chewing gum)
popcorn, pretzels, corn chips, and other snack foods
marshmallows
(I was always a bit of a freak about choking!)
Right now it has to be soft enough and small enough for him to handle.
cut up whatever you are eating into small small bits to where if he doesnt really chew it wont hurt him, meats canned veggies small bits of fruit all of that mashed potatoes homemade baked fries everything into small bits
I do home daycare and always try to get little off baby food ASAP. By 10 months , sitting up and comfortable in the high chair I give them everything (or slight modified form) the other kids get. Apples are too hard and choking biggies.
For us these are some norms:
Breakfast...toast (butter, thin swab of jelly, maybe litlte sprinkle of cinn/sugar mix...fozen waffles toasted lightly. Pancakes or french toast (make it ahead of time and baggie and freeze or in the fridge is you will use in the next few days..remember they can eat it a few days in a row and won't care!). I rarely use syrup, but rather a bit of applesause or some other baby food fruit added to the bites (in a bowl) and little mixing then blob on the tray for them. Cheerios of course! And a fruit to go with it. Strawberries or watermelon or other melons. Blueberries (cut them)....banana, pear, peaches. Anything soft and you can cut it up, canned or fresh works.
Lunch/dinner we do grill cheese, other sandwiches (bread, lunchmeat, cheese, tomatoes, etc with mayo). Fruits or veggies that are soft and cut up to bites they can pick up. Pasta salads, spaghetti, ham, chicken, anything with burger in it (hot dish, etc). Scrambled eggs with cheese on them are a fave and often I will do with leftovers from the fridge (like half a green pepper and some cooked sausage left from little pizzas the day before, etc). With babys in the house, I rarely throw anything away! Even those itty bits of leftovers! Lots of snack bags of leftover ingredients in my house that get used for other things, or just to chop up for the baby trays.
My BEST FRIEND for baby/toddler table foods is a good pizza cutter. I use mine to chop everything up...sandwiches, waffles, toast, frenchtoast and pancakes, chicken, some fruits. Otherwise I have a small (5X5) cutting board and a very sharp little knife for those grapes and blueberries and such. Just make sure the pieces are small...but still big enough for them to pick up. Teeth do NOT matter! I have had kids here with no teeth till 14 mos and they eat everything I serve!
Good luck!
My baby loves those little gerber soups. They are so easy pop in microwave for 30 sec and healthy meal. Yogert, lives on goldfish, macaroni. Just start off with mushy stuff so they get used to the texture.
It sounds like he is doing really well with table food! If you are more concerned about his teeth (or lack there of!), I wouldn't worry too much about it. Children's gums are very strong and you can pretty much give him anything (except steak!! LOL).
I always suggest trying the Dole fruit cups. They have a variety of fruits that are already diced up and very soft for the little ones.
Most importantly, don't give up after trying a food once or twice. He might decide later on that he really does enjoy certain foods, such as grapes.
I would strat giving him things that you are eating and see what he thinks. Have you tried steamed broccoli? Cereals? Pasta? Soft carrots? Etc,etc.
Good luck to you!!!
