Table Food - Keokuk,IA

My dr told me that the stage 2 formula (for older babies) is a waste of money. She told me to keep my baby formula until 12 mo and then switch to whole milk. Hope that helps!

Hi S.,
Yes, I would say go ahead and start your daughter on table food now. My son started solids at 6 months, and by 10 months was roundly rejecting anything that resembled "baby food" in favor of what his dad and I were eating. My pediatrician had advised that we "open the cupboards and have fun" when we started him on solids, and I think she had the right idea, I think this may be one of those things that we first time moms stress about, and we probably don't need to. There are fewer "rules" here than some people would have you think.
At 10 months my son loved fish burritos from the local taco place. My advice is to feed your daughter whatever you are eating, just cut it smaller and/or cook it longer to make sure it is soft enough for her. Let her try lots of different foods, she'll love some things you wouldn't expect. This is a great time to get her used to the tastes and textures that are common to meals in your family. These are the foods that she will be eating for years to come, so expose her to them now.
Of course, watch for choking hazards and limit sugar and junk food, but otherwise, enjoy watching your baby experience food for the first time.
As far as formula, we stuck with the regular infant version and just switched to cow's milk at 12 months, but either formula is fine.

I think as long as anything you cook is soft, its ok to feed your baby. My aunt started feeding her grandson table food at about 8 months and he ate nearly everything. She did avoid spagetti, pizza, and corn, but the boy was allowed to eat meats as long as they were easily mashed by his gums. She cut the food small to avoid choking.

Both of my kids were dabbling in table food around 8 months. They were interested in it despite not having many teeth. If she's interested in it, let her try things and always be there just in case something happens.

The rules on what food to give babies are dramatically changing (and rapidly). The American Academy of Pediatrics reversed their position regarding how to introduce foods within the past 2 years. Ask your pediatrician to see what policies they are comfortable with, but as a whole, the rules have been turned upside down from a few years ago.

It used to be no peanuts, no egg whites, no strawberries, honey, etc. before age 1 or maybe 18 months. No longer valid today - infact, the belief is now that the earlier you introduce some of these foods, the less likely a allergy will develop.

So, as long as something does not pose a choking hazard (nuts, steak, etc) and is not a known family food allergen, introduce them slowly and when the child is ready.

There's no evidence to support doing vegetables before fruits any longer either. So, let her try safe foods on your plate and get her to learn how to properly chew.

AAP has several sample menus for different ages at their HealthyChildren.org website.

Your child will do just fine on table food at this age. My son decided that somewhere around 8 months that the mush he'd been fighting Mom on for the past several months was no longer even a debateable option. I decided to try table food and he has thrived on it. Your child can eat any variation of all the foods you have already tried in the puree form. So likely all meats (tiny pieces since they're hard to gum), carrots (maybe a fluke with mine, but don't really seem to digest but I keep trying them), peas (I shell these, at first it was to make easier to swallow but now it's just what I do...my son is the same age as your child though so it's not out of line, lol). You get the picture. If you try a new food with your child just continue to follow the rule of thumb for feeding 4 days in a row. Just avoid the common allergies like strawberries, nuts (also a choking hazard), and egg whites. Egg yolk is fine. I usally hard boiled an egg or fried it. If there is no allergy to egg in your family you can try it if you want but peds usually recommends waiting until 1 year. We've done it in muffins but I haven't directly fed him egg white. Just watch.

I breastfeed, but a friend of mine did formula and she tried to switch her son to the 9 mo up stuff and he didn't care for the flavor and spit up a ton more on it. That was just his case I'm sure it's not with all children. His mom decided that yes it was cheaper but not worth it for him so she just fed him the normal stuff until his first birthday and then weaned him straight to cows milk. He's doing great

i fed my kids with similac formula and then make the switch to soy milk

You can feed her table food. Anything she wants to eat. If its something chewy like Steak just cut it very small. Look at all the older people that eat with no teeth. (geriatrics that wear dentures- they take their teeth out to eat and can still eat anything.) Just remember to cut up small. Just remember she is small so needs small chunks of food. But any table food is good, she can gum it all up.

At 10 months, with our first, we were given carte blanche to feed him whatever we wanted, barring a few specific allergens and horrible choking hazards (honey, nuts, etc.). My son had a full mouth of teeth by one year, so we probably could feed him a little more than you can feed a baby with two teeth, but I'd say just about anything you can mush, she can eat. My kids never did baby food, we foodmilled things, but that only lasted a month or two, as they much preferred food cut up into very small pieces over that same food mushed to bits.

Your daughter is old enough to go completely to table foods at this time, although it would be good to continue to give her baby cereal. Start with soft fresh fruits like bananas and canned fruits (canned in their own juice, not syrup or Splenda) and canned vegetables (low sodium.) She can eat cereals like Cheerios now, too. Even though most doctors don't recommend cow's milk until 12 months, you can start other dairy products like cottage cheese, yogurt and soft cheeses diced into small pieces.

Watch how she does and add things as she is ready for them. The only thing you really need to hold off on for a long time are choking hazards and allergy issues - peanut butter, nuts, candy, raw crunchy vegetables, tough meat, hot dogs, etc.

Good luck,
S.

Veggies (steamed/cooked): peas, carrots, lima beans, mashed potatoes
Fruits: banana, grapes (cut in half), watermelon, pears, applesauce
Carbs (pref. whole wheat / whole grain): bread, bagel, pasta (bow ties/macaroni)
Dairy/Protien: cottage cheese, yogurt, super soft cooked chicken pieces (you can also finely chop the meat and sprinkle into pasta sauce if she won't/can't eat it straight)
Snacks/Treats: Gerber puffs/crunchies/wagon wheels/yogurt bites

As for formula, I just used Kirkland brand and started introducing regular milk ~10/11months, phasing out formula by 15 months.

Hi, S.! Yes, I would start her on table food now. I would recommend veggies (cooked broccoli and carrots, sweet potatoes, etc.), fruits (such as bananas, and "Dole" has convenient cups with diced pears and peaches that are very soft for easy chewing), soft cheeses (my son loved American cheese), breads, cereal (Cherrios), cottage cheese, yogurt, etc.....These were just a few favorites around our house.

Yes, we switched our boys onto Similac Go and Grow (from the traditional Similac) at 9 months only because it was cheaper!! We then started giving them milk just before they turned 1.

Good Luck!

Dear S.,
Both of my kids were eating table food by this age and they loved it. They wouldn't touch Gerber or jarred foods because I think it was too bland for them. The wanted to eat what they could smell cooking.
My daughter teethed late, but that didn't stop her from eating baked chicken and fish, eggs, yams in all forms including baked as fries. She loved gnawing on raw carrots. My kids were eating cottage cheese, biscuits and gravy, basically everything.
They had no allergies, no intestinal issues....they ate food and neither of them were picky eaters either. If I ate it, they wanted it. That went for pasta, breads, steamed veggies like brussel sprouts and eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, .
Let her have food. That's my opinion.
Some people have said that children don't need anything but breastmilk for the first year and all I can say is that neither one of my children would have gone for that.
They are happy, healthy, and love diversity when it comes to food. My son wants to be a chef...so,,,,,need I say more?
Expose your children to food. It's a good thing.

Table food this early seemed like a bad idea when my baby's peditrician recommended it. I waited and after weaning him at 12 months, gave my son Similiac Go-and-Grow; he preferred that to food over time; then he got hooked on Pediasure at 2 years old when he refused to eat regular food. I regret not pushing regular foods earlier, because he's become a very picky eater. Only now that he's almost 4 has he expanded his horizons, slightly.

So by all means start introducing regular food early, always trying one new food at a time for several days just to make sure there are no allergies. Try to stay away from junk food and keep food mashed or chopped small, with minimum salt, oil or spices. Stay away from fruit juice if possible (just give milk), what they don't know won't hurt them. Also, carrots, grapes, popcorn and hot dogs are huge choking hazards. No nuts or honey until they're a lot older. The book "First Meals" might give some ideas for simple foods, although the recipes for toddlers are a little over-the-top. Check out library books, better than buying them in case your child (or you) don't like the recipes.

I have 4 kiddos and my youngest will be 3 this summer... I think you're right -- she probably is ready for some table food. I can remember starting off with soft vegetables. Like soft, cubed sweet potatoes, green beans, soft carrots, etc. I remember starting with vegetables and gradually moving to fruits - like bananas, soft pears, peaches, etc. I had read that if you give them the fruit right away, they will love the sweetness and not want to eat the vegetables.

I had a great book that I used constantly when I had babies... Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. It walks you through EVERYTHING related to babies and toddlers from sleeping, eating, playing, etc. It was a real life saver for me. The author is Traci Hogg.

~ Ann