Solid Foods - Saint Paul, MN

my son loves food and at 9 months he ate anything he could gum or chew with his few teeth. pastas, mac and cheese, fruit, cooked veggies, ravioli, cheese, yogurt, applesauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and our pediatricion said that at 9 months we could even introduce very small or ground up pieces of meat. we gave him everything to try and now at almost 16 months he is still a very good eater. we cant find anything he dont like. have fun and just make sure it is all cooked good and soft enough and cut up good.

Read the book "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. Also, ask your pediatrician. Some recommend not giving eggs or wheat until they are 1. My daughter really like very tiny pieces of cut up fruit, veggies and cheese. Wow. I just found a chart we made for my in laws when my daughter was 9 months. You should wait at least 4 days between new foods to watch for allergies.

OK Foods
carrots
sweet potatoes
melon
green beans (just pureed)
peas
squash
papaya
pears
apples
blueberries
bananas
oatmeal
cherrios
string cheese
applesauce
cherry applesauce
blackberry applesauce
broccoli
asparagus
cheerio's
brown rice and brown rice cereal
cantaloupe
plain whole milk yogurt
cranberry juice (popsicle)
apple juice
tofu
kiwi
avocado
plums
prunes

Not for Paxton
Peaches
Strawberries
Meat
Peanuts
Wheat
Anything shaped
like a wind pipe

Things that are
too hard or stringy

Fruit or veggie
peals

Salt and other
seasonings.

undiluted juice

Feel free to email with ?? I read A LOT about baby nutrition.

Any canned vegetables are great if she is at the stage of learning to self feed. Cut green beans into small bite size pieces, cut sliced carrots into 4ths. Corn and peas are naturally very easy to eat and pick up.

I also use diced fruit cups that are packaged in natural juice, or lite syrup. You might need to cut the fruit peices to bite size, but my daughter enjoys the pears and peaches.

breads, cereals, cheese (block cheese sliced and crumbled) is a favorite. Cottage cheese (whole milk,large curd) my daughter loves. You would think cottage cheese is super messy but my daughter has no problem eating it with her fingers and does very well.

Packaged deli meats when she is ready for them, just cut them bite size pieces. Just look for things that are little and soft, you will be surpised at how well she will do with a little practice.

Make sure you offer a variety of foods, served both warm and cold. I try to offer a veggie and/or fruit, meat, and cheese/cracker/grain with all lunch and suppers. Breakfast is usually cheerios, cheese, and fruit. Depends on what we are having, but I generally have to feed my daughter before i even get a chance to make food for the rest of the family. Either she gets her own quick, easy foods or she eats what we eat. She is one year and doing wonderful on the amounts and types of foods she eats. Loves most anything!

You can also start introducing a sippy cup if you haven't already. Milk, water, or 50% diliuted juice are all good options for starting out. I like the clear silicone spouts (Nuby, Luv-N-Care)that are super soft and easy to get liquid out of. Baby won't get as frustrated as fast and will learn to tip the cup to get the liquid out. Good luck.

Congratulation on your daughter!

Are you nursing? If so, continue to do so. This is the only opportunity you will get to give her superior nutrition that will have a life long impact, both for you and her.

Regardless, don't be too eager to go to solids. She will be eating solids (and lots of processed foods) for the rest of her life. There is plenty of time to give her table food.

Vegetables are wonderful and if you have a baby food grinder, it makes it easy to cook for you and your baby at the same time. Just take some cooked vegies such as carrots, grind them til they are mushy and almost soup like and enjoy. The jarred baby foods are not necessary and expensive.

If you hook up with La Leche League, they have wonderful resources on nutrition for you and your baby, and much more.

Enjoy this fleeting time in both of you lives!
J.

maybe try some soft fruit or cooked carrots

www.weelicious.com is a great site for nutritional baby foods and how to prepare them. I get all kinds of ideas for my 7 month son!