What to Feed My 9 Month Old

Canned fruits and veggies are soft enough to give him and there is quite a variety of them for fiber and protien (pinto beans ) try to mix a can of cream of chicken soup and pasta with a can of mixed veggies make it thick so he could feed himself
my picky kid loved those nuby sippy cups and i would blend up a smoothie for him breakfast lunch and dinner.== a.m. Smoothie== banana--milk (formula)
noon smoothie== sweet potatoes (can) with fruit cocktail
pm smoothie== veggiie with the broth from a can of soup.
It worked for me and he now eats regular as the other kids . He is 3 1/2 and get no other choices. He is learning to take it .

Have you tried olives or cheese yet? You can start giving him cheese and yogurt at nine months because the lactose is already broken down in them. Good luck.

Bananas, cut up grapes, little pieces of chicken (if he is on meats)cut the steak up really small, mushy green beans, mashed potatoes were always a big hit with my kids, grilled cheese broken up in tomatoe soup, some of it is messy but they love that kind of stuff.
Gramham crackers with peanut butter, lunch meats, hambugers can be mushed up too! Try different things! YOu never know what he will like the best.
C. B

I always opened a can of some kind of vegtable or two. Carrots, peas, grean beans. I was also big on mashed potatoes made lumpy. If you are wanted to get him 'tasting' different things you could add cheese, bacon bits, even a little ranch dressing to the potatoes. Even a baked potato. As far as the hamburger, you could try giving him small, very small pieces and see how he does with it....you should probably stick to the softer stuff for now tho. They don't know any different and won't get bored. Before long he'll be eating down the house anyway! Oh, soft meats like bologna pieces or sandwich meat. I always did lots of veggies so my kids got use to that being part of the meal and so far, it has worked! They both love their veggies!

It's great that you want to introduce him to lots of different foods! It will train his palate and get him used to different flavors, making him less likely to be really picky later. Just remember to go slowly - intro one food at a time for 3 days to avoid allergy issues.
You have a great opportunity to teach him to love his fruits and veggies! 'Natural' applesauce, pears and peaches canned in pear juice, and mashed up bananas all make a great lunch, maybe with a side of plain yogurt or low-salt cottage cheese if he's OK with these dairies. Well cooked green beans, peas, squash, and yams, mashed up to a consistancy he can handle, make great dinners. I remember being told that carrots have something in them that makes them unsafe as home-prepared for under a year. The commercially produced ones are fine. You may want to wait a bit on stronger-flavored veggies, like broccoli and spinach, but that depends on his fussiness.
I would serve the commercially prepared baby food meats, as that way you know they are cooked properly and mashed enough and don't have bones/etc.
Pasta is great (you already do that).
When you do eat something that you can mash up, like stew or pasta, do that. When you have something that would not be practical - like the steak or salad, pull out the other ideas. But instead of buying the 'dinner' baby foods, give him half a jar each of 2 different veggies, halfa jar of meat, and maybe some soft bread pieces. This will have more balanced nutrition than the dinners.
Don't worry too much about repeats. Just go through the list then start over; he probably won't have the same thing more than twice a week.

Spice if fine for baby....most actually prefer some, if not a lot, of spice. (my kids love, love Chipotle from age 7 mo's on) For the days you make something with a little flavor try a taste on him, either he'll eat it up or tell you its too much. If its too much, put the food in a little strainer and rinse it for a second or two under water and then serve it- appropriately cut up/pureed of course. He needs to get used to eating what you are if you want to avoid the food battles later on. I'm not big on being a short order chef for my children so they ALWAYS ate/eat whatever I prepared for myself.

My dd stopped eating purees about that age, so I boiled carrots and made them really soft and cut them up really small. I also did the graduates little sausages and cut them small but she was able to pick up with fingers. Make spaghetti and cut up really small.If you make mashed potatoes keep it unseasoned.Theres also fruit and cherry tomatoes cut up small.I would also watch out peanut butter and hotdogs. Peanut butter sticks to the roof of the mouth and can cause choking, and theres a chance of allergies with peanut butter. Don't use raw honey because the childs system can't break it down yet. All I can think of at the moment.

I mixed a lot in apple sauce. Try very fine cut cold cuts. Do get a more expensive Boar Head or other naturally prepared meat. Also, steam brocolli florets and cut off the flowers in apple sauce or other using scissors. French toast is a winner cut in thin strips so he can begin to learn to chomp off bites. hummus good on things for a bit of protien. Mine liked dipping things in it and sucking it off like a carrot stick.

It's funny to me how everyone's in such a hurry to give babies solid foods. Our bodies aren't able to extract and utilize the nutrients in food well until after the first year. This means that giving solids beforehand is solely for practice.

If you are nursing keep on that. If you're using formula, keep on that with suppliments for babies.

Don't worry about giving your baby the same things for awhile. Introducing too much too quickly can encourage allergies, upset tummy, and confuse the issue when looking for the cause of digestion issues.

When having a bbq, make some jello salad and sprinkle protein powder on it, give him apple sauce with bananas, crackers with a light amount of peanut butter, let him suck on an apple, (avoid citrus until after the first year) let him taste the salad, make mashed potatoes whenever you bbq and let him eat that and some green beans, let him taste corn on the cob...

If you're having salad, you CAN put that into the blender, put some fruit in there, too, add something to sweeten it up, and give him the smoothie. Go out on the internet and get "juicing" recipes and he can have that blended with ice for "ice cream" or "sorbet" type foods. Apples, carrots, and celery go very nicely together.

Meat, too, CAN be blended. Be sure you're using a good blender (I have a VitaMix blender that all but washes the kitchen sink for me, but you don't need that particular brand or grade) and that you pay attention using small pieces. Our oldest boy is 12 and I used to put meat in the blender for him...small amounts for flavor, with lots of broth or something to go with it.

Remember, just because it looks or sounds gross to you doesn't mean it isn't an option. You're looking to introduce him to flavors and textures, so go for it!

I don't really have any extra ideas, but I just wanted to advise you on some of the things others have said. I have been instructed and have read in multiple places not to give peanut butter until well after a year old because of peanut allergy which can be pretty severe. Introducing it to them earlier can cause the allergy to be more likely.

Also, avoid all butter, salt, (like in mashed potatoes) and sugar (like the "smoothies") for the little one. He won't know the difference if it's just plain and it's healthier for him & will create healthier habits. Also dilute juice half and half with water. That way he gets used to eating foods in the pure form. Just set some of the food aside for him before you add the butter, salt, or sugar for the rest of the family.

Whenever we had spicier foods or things that arent easily chewed up by a baby - I would keep some of those gerber graduate dinners (almost like a tv dinner) handy and just heat one of them up. That way, the baby could still eat with us but just something that would agree with them more. I also kept vienna sausages on hand because they are softer and easier to mash up with little gums - they're a great substitute when the meat you're having wont work for a baby. Cottage cheese was also a good stand-by. All in all though, we pretty much just started feeding them whatever we ate - it's better for them in the long run. Because when they do really start to eat, they will be used to the foods that you're used to and won't be quite as picky.

I see someone suggested peanut butter...FYI....that is THE #1 choking hazard in babies and small children. With hot dogs being next and white bread. I wouldn't advise peanut butter...YET.

Hi S.,

I just want to let you know there is a great recipe I found for a baby meatloaf. My only issue is its at home and I am at work. I am going to wing it. If you want the exact one send me a message and I will look tonight to see if I missed anything.

1 lb Ground trukey (healtier!)
1/3 cup pureed carrots
1/2 cup applesauce
1 egg (they can have them if they are cooked but ask your doctor if you are worried)
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup bread crumbs
garlic (take a guess-I used the minced)
basil
parsley

Blend it all together and put in a loaf pan. Bake at 375 for 40-45 min. I cut them into strips and froze. When he is ready just take out and thaw in the microwave, cool, and serve.

My daughter LOVED this and she still likes it to this day. I still make it for her once in a while and she is 16 months old. There were also some really good other recipes also. Let me know and I will get you the rest if you are interested. If you have a fax I could also fax it to you.
Good Luck!
J. :)

When my daughter was the same age someone recommended Tofu -it's soft enough for them and gives them lots of good protein. When I started out I just bought plain tofu, you can flavor it to make it a little more interesting. I took a little bit of brown sugar and put it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds - the tofu absorbs the flavor of whatever you are cooking with. (Be sure to let it cool, the tofu can get hot!)
When my daughter got older I found some flavored types at Safeway which she really liked. You might have to experiment but its easy to prepare and very healthy!

Good luck!

Hi, S.,

At 9 months old, we started feeding our daughter small pieces of chicken, steak, peas, cheese, avocado, grapes (cut-up), strawberries, bread, and almost everything else that we eat for dinner. Basically we just cut things real small for her, and she loves it. She only has her bottom two teeth, so she is basically mashing everything with her gums too.

Dear S., here is something from my experience:

Nursing is most wonderful thing ever, keep doing it.
In addition, you might try giving him soft food,

like mashed potatoes, with little butter in them, and milk
or even sour cream, but mash them so that it is like a pudding. This way you can mash very soft any vegetables, or raw or a little boiled or baked fruit, so that he does not need to bite, but just kind of suck her food in. he should like it, as it does not hurt.

Also, if you cook oatmeal porridge, make it simmer long,
so it's very soft, and then take a sieve (the smaller the 'holes' the better, and a spoon.
For all the cases for food now, while her teeth are 'cutting through' and hurt,
use this 'tool', to put the food in the sieve one spoon at a time,
then press the food through with the spoon in the bowl,
and give her to taste, just a little.
If he likes the taste, she'll smile soon and ask for more.
Experiment with different tastes, and give a little first, to check how he reacts. To sweeten food, I used honey always, a LITTLE, just to give it an appealing taste. natural is always better, and honey is better than any sugar: well, brown sugar is better ifyou really want it.

Any kind of porridge works this way: rice, oatmeal, buck-wheat!
I raised three kids like this.

Still, as long as you have milk, keep breastfeeding him, just adding this other food to the 'diet'.

My kids grew up were very healthy, no problems at all.

All the very best to you and your dearest ones!!!

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S.-
I have a 7 month old and this is what he usually eats-
Breakfast-
Oatmeal with cooked strawberries, bananas, blueberries, apples, peaches, pears, ect...
Scrambled eggs with or without cheese
Toast with butter and/or jam
Pieces of muffin
Cream of wheat/rice

Lunch-
Pretty much anything!!
Chunks of breaded chicken breast, little pieces of corn dog, soft cooked veggies, pretty much anything in little pieces!!

Dinner-
I have a food grinder I got at a baby store and you can put litterally everything in it! I put steak it in, chicken, pork chops, any meat really. Also, he eats alot of mashed potatoes, any mashed veggies. But the baby grinder I have is hand powered, so you don't have to worry about burning up the motor or anything. I hope this helps!

HI S.,

I made all my own baby food but what you might want to try is boiling a chicken breast and then grind it put it into ice cube trays and freeze it and then (just nuke it for a few minutes to thaw) and you can add it to foods you are having or mix it with some veggies to he can get some protein. It adds a texture and sometimes takes them awhile to get use to but it worked for me!

Good luck!
S.