Conference moira::parenting_v3

    
    I don't think she's _too_ old to be eating baby foods still though
    I do think that the time is right to start the transition to table
    foods.  I'd recommend gradually phasing the baby foods out as her
    consumption of table food increases.  (They do come in handy
    sometimes!)   I recall other notes in here about transitioning to
    table foods which might give you some food ideas but here's some that
    worked for us: pasta, quartered hot dogs, baked beans, cottage
    cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, pancakes, fresh and canned fruits,
    spaghetti-os, frozen peas, baby whole carrots (well-cooked), etc.
    
    I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I feel strongly about having a 
    sit-down supper and I eat at the table with my son even on the nights 
    that my husband isn't home.   I just don't want to get in the habit
    of preparing two or more seperate meals and don't want my son to
    expect something special.   I do tailor our meals to his tastes (we
    always have at least one thing that I'm sure he'll eat); but he is
    expected to eat what we are having when we are having it.
    
    Good luck.  It's fun starting the table food.
    
    Carol

    My daughter just turned 11 months old. She hasn't been too impressed with
    baby food for the last two months. Her current food diet consists of: 
    
    turkey lunch meat or cut-up chicken breasts, bannanas, sliced apples 
    (yes, skin included), cottage cheese, cheese slices (loves these), 
    dry cereal (cheerios,kix), sliced green grapes & strawberries, toast, 
    mini-eggos, pieced-up breakfast bars (NUTRIGRAN bars), pickles, and 
    then misc. snacks such as RITZ bits, mini-CLUB crakers, cookies, TCBYs,
    etc... anything but chips, peanut butter (doctor recommended), and 
    pinapple (showed allergic signs at early age). Occassionally she eats the 
    CHUNKY Gerber meat/veggie baby food but interest is rapidly going. 
    Oh yea, also cooked veggies like carrots; she WILL eat veggie baby food...
    
    She's only got one tooth but knows how to use it! One note: she's NEVER
    choked (has always thoroughly gummed/chewed food). Some of the items above
    don't work well with a friend's baby, whose the same age and has
    FOUR teeth - she's a lazy chewer and chokes easily.

    I really don't think teeth have a whole lot to do with what a
    baby can or cannot eat at this age.  After all, the only teeth
    they do have is front teeth and who chews with their front teeth?
    
    .2 has included a lot of great foods and the only one I can think
    to add is a variation on the cheese slices:  Grilled cheese sandwiches.
    My daughter absolutely adored them at that age and still does.  I
    would cut the sandwich up into mini-bites and she would gobble it
    up in a matter of a few minutes.
    
    So don't worry too much about a lack of teeth.  As long as the food
    you give her is in reasonable enough sizes that her mouth can
    accommodate, she'll be fine.
    
    - Kathryn
      

    My youngest just turned a year old and aroung 11 months, he decided
    that he didn't want baby food any longer. So I talked with the doctor
    and he suggested we try giving him what ever we eat for dinner.  Since
    then Evan has been eating steak, pork chops, hamburger.  I just cut it
    up in very little pieces.  I have just started him on fresh
    vegetables...he loves green beans.  I think my hardest meal to plan for
    him is lunch.  He like lunch meats, ham and turkey...but I also give
    him peanut butter and Jelly. (one of the previous notes said the doctor
    said no peanut butter...mine said ok as long as it was with jelly and
    broken in to small pieces)  Another thing he has really come to love
    and it very easy is yogurt.  
    
    Hope this helps a little.
    
    
    Lillian
    
    

    My son is 10 1/2 months old.  Although he's still pretty much on baby
    foods, he's been eating table foods for at least two months now.  I
    give him snacks which consist of, cheerios, saltless salteens, ritz
    crackers, mini bagels, lorna doone cookies.... I try not to give him
    foods that are high in sugar content (I find that it makes him hyper, 
    even at such a young age, and he doesn't sleep well).  I'll also give 
    him an occasional french fry (he loves these) or a piece of a chicken 
    nugget when where at McDonalds.  This past weekend my nephew had his 
    birthday at Papa Gino's.  Shane hadn't eaten his lunch yet, so when the 
    pizza came, I tore it up into little pieces and he just loved it.  No, I
    don't do this on a daily basis, just as a special treat every once in a
    while.
    
    Don't be afraid to experiment with foods that you eat, so long as the
    pieces are small enough so the baby won't choke and of good nutritional
    value.  If you're going to feed your baby hot dogs, make sure that they
    are cut length wise as well as cross wise.  A hot dog is the same size
    as a babies throat, this is one of the reasons why they're labeled as
    dangerous for young children.
    
    Lori B.

    Since my son was about 10 months old, I have fed him several types
    of food.  Now that he eats with his fingers, off his tray, it is
    almost impossible to spoon feed him.
    
    I have doubts about giving children large amounts of sodium.  The
    only high sodium item he receives is water packed tuna.  I stay away
    from hot dogs, processed lunch meats, etc.  I figure he will get
    plenty of that stuff when he gets bigger.  He is now 13 months.
    He eats boiled or broiled chicken, boiled or broiled or fried in
    margarine red snapper.  He loves water packed tuna, and now he likes
    a small amount of mayonaise mixed with it.  Sliced pears, peaches.
    Toast and margarine with a small amount of Smucker's low sugar
    strawberry preserves.  French toast with no syrup.  He loves green
    beans, peas, spinich.  Low sodium Ritz or HiHo crackers.  And a
    treat will be a vanilla wafer.  He has beef every now and then, but
    I don't push it.  I rarely eat beef myself.  Because he still only
    has his two bottom teeth, everything is cut up small.  I don't give
    him alot of cheese yet, because it is binding.  Also, bananas have
    that effect but he loves them.  I started giving him scrambled eggs
    at 1 year.  His doctor said he can have eggs 3 times a week, but I
    feel that is still too much.  He gets them on the weekend, once, for
    a treat.  I still spoon feed him oatmeal on the weekends.  He'll only
    let me feed it to him if I put alot of applesauce in it for extra
    sweetinin'.

    I have a 9 1/2 month old who, like .1, is still having cereal for
    breakfast and dinner and for lunch, a jar of meat and veggie.  I have
    tried introducing 3rd foods but she seems to gag on the chunks.  I have
    also tried feeding her rice, again giving the gag reaction.  She did
    like blueberry pancakes as long as it wasn't too try (in other words,
    had either excess surrup or butter on the pieces).  My doctor strongly
    recommended AGAINST feeding her cheerios at her early age.  He wants to
    stick to only soft foods.  Of course, my husband is a strong believer
    that the doctor is always right...and won't let me venture out in her
    meals.  
    
    Any ideas on what "soft" foods I might introduce at this stage? 
    ...perhaps when my husband isn't looking....
    
    Spaghetti-Os sounds appealing but are they that nutritional???  
    
    Thanks for the advice!
    
    Toni

    
    See note 272 "Finger Food for Infants" for ideas on soft foods
    to introduce at this age.
    
    Carol

My 10-mo-old has been on "people" food for at least 2 months, maybe longer.
She eats baby food only when I'm going someewhere that I can't get her food
she'll like/eat.

She eats pizza, all kinds of italian, burritos, fruits (plain, and mixed with
cottage cheese), hot dogs, sandwiches (mayonnaise, cheese, and turkey), macaroni
and cheese, apple sauce, granola bars, meat loaf, turkey, enchiladas, grapes
(she'll eat these by the bushel), bagels w/cream cheese, brocolli and rice
casserole, green beans, pinto beans, black-eyed peas, kernel corn, rolls,
well you get the picture.

BTW - she has only 2 teeth on the bottom and has been eating this kind of
stuff before she had any teeth.  I make sure I'm with her at all times so
she doesn't choke, but to date the only thing she has choked on is chips and
hot sauce at a Mexican resaraunt.

FWIW

re: 9

Kristen:

My brother-in-law fed my nephew Schewan (sp!!!!! -- hot Chinese-like food)
on his 1st birthday.  Poor kid couldn't get enough to drink ... and I GOT
TO CHANGE HIS MORNING DIAPER!!!  I couldn't stand the aroma and he was in the
adjacent bedROOM!

I take it your little tyke has a stronger digestive system ...

Dottie

PS:  Juli's still a whimp!  She likes her food bland.  Jim/I enjoy EVERYTHING!