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In Kelly's thread and the discussion of going to table foods..............
We are at the point where Lucas can do table foods. However, what do you give? I know, I totally sound like a first time mom here, don't I? But, in this respect, I am. Plus, how old was your baby(ies) when you started this table food stuff?
My biggest question is, there are so many things you shouldn't give, so what do you give? Can you do tomato based things? Cheese-like mac and cheese? So, what did you give? And did you spoon feed it to make sure they got it in? I mean, Lucas can self feed if it is big enough, but it would take him forever if I left it up to him. So...........can you help?
In Kelly's thread and the discussion of going to table foods..............
We are at the point where Lucas can do table foods. However, what do you give? I know, I totally sound like a first time mom here, don't I? But, in this respect, I am. Plus, how old was your baby(ies) when you started this table food stuff?
My biggest question is, there are so many things you shouldn't give, so what do you give? Can you do tomato based things? Cheese-like mac and cheese? So, what did you give? And did you spoon feed it to make sure they got it in? I mean, Lucas can self feed if it is big enough, but it would take him forever if I left it up to him. So...........can you help?
Thanks![/b]
I quarter-cut bananas, peaches, avacados, pears, cube cheese, tore up little pieces of pancakes, tofu (thanks to Karin, this was awesome for him and sooooo easy for him to eat!) a light smash of peas, green beans, and kidney beans(just enough so he could still pick them up on his own), cheerios, drained chicken noodle soup, etc....it was a couple weeks of that and then we moved on to an expanded menu! It's so exciting, isn't it???
I remember doing mac and cheese early, but I don't remember if it was right from the beginning...Lucas never gagged and was/is a good eater, so he's made it easy on me (Ava was another story)...I think I stayed away from tomato-stuff and eggs for awhile....I do remember Lucas having spaghetti w/ red sauce when he was around 9 months or so.
I really didn't spoon fed him anything he could pick up...I would spoon feed things like applesauce, but I would also clean up the kitchen while he finished up eating....hehehe...those were fun days!
I would love to hear what he likes/dislikes and what you try w/ him, LL!
It really depends on your child in this situation. Is he a choker? I gave my children things that most people would gasp at. I never got crazy about cutting things up just so because I felt comfortable about their abilities and mine. My kids got mashed potatoes, veggies, not a lot of meats (hardly any in the beginning as a matter of fact), pizza crusts, mac-n-cheese, spaghetti. All soft easy foods in the beginning and then built up from there. Please feel free to ask questions but always remember to follow your instincts. They are there and they will help you make the right decisions for your son.
I was really concerned about choking, so I followed all the guidelines about what to avoid, etc. At the time, I felt like I was being so slow about things, and people thought I was nuts, but in the end, he was eating all table foods by his 1st birthday, which is the goal... so now I don't feel like I was being too much of a slowpoke after all!
I remember he was eating Gerber Puffs when he was about 7 months old. I don't think I started offering many solids other than that till he was 8 mos or so. I started with soft fruits like bananas and watermelon.
I can't remember a whole lot of details, but I know that I looooooved the following website for food ideas and guidelines, so check it out! Wholesome Baby Food. I linked it to the page for 6-8 month olds. There are links in there for "introducing baby foods," foods to avoid, etc.
Ditto Megan about the tofu: That's a GREAT one to give! I wasn't comfortable giving Thatcher solid meat for awhile -- some of it is so tough, although I do know he ate a lot of the Gerber meats -- so tofu was a great option for protein.
I made a lot of Thatcher's pureed food myself, so when I was getting ready to introduce solids, I gradually starting making the pureed chunkier and chunkier... not so smooth. It was a gradual transition.
I spoon fed if it was too hard to pick up and if it would take too long.... especially if we had things to do. Snacks, etc were ALWAYS done on their own.
I fed almost anything (excpet peanut butter & strawberries) to Hope.... and I did them as soon as she had top and bottom teeth. I just made sure they were cut up REALLY small. I was actually a bit of a freak about cutting things up (and still am)!
Can't wait to hear what Lucas is eating!!! Sooo many exciting things going on in your house, LL!!!
I never spoon fed my kids, I was way too lazy. I did like MM put them in a highchair and brought the highchair to where I was cleaning and let them go at it. I can't tell you how happy it made the kids to chase frozen peas or ground up chicken. They had a blast and I was relieved of feeding them (which I thought was so not fun!!). How about some pics of your little guy pigging it up eatting? I would love that.
I quarter-cut bananas, peaches, avacados, pears, cube cheese, tore up little pieces of pancakes, tofu (thanks to Karin, this was awesome for him and sooooo easy for him to eat!) a light smash of peas, green beans, and kidney beans(just enough so he could still pick them up on his own), cheerios, drained chicken noodle soup, etc....it was a couple weeks of that and then we moved on to an expanded menu! It's so exciting, isn't it???
I remember doing mac and cheese early, but I don't remember if it was right from the beginning...Lucas never gagged and was/is a good eater, so he's made it easy on me (Ava was another story)...I think I stayed away from tomato-stuff and eggs for awhile....I do remember Lucas having spaghetti w/ red sauce when he was around 9 months or so.
I really didn't spoon fed him anything he could pick up...I would spoon feed things like applesauce, but I would also clean up the kitchen while he finished up eating....hehehe...those were fun days!
I would love to hear what he likes/dislikes and what you try w/ him, LL![/b]
These are all amazing suggestions! The chicken noodle soup drained is genius! I would have NEVER thought abtou that! Thanks MM! So,one more ? How old were your little ones when they were doing table foods and could feed themselves? I just don't know if Lucas quite has the fine motor skills yet to do ALL the feeding. I mean, he can do bisquits and some of the puffs, but that is hit and miss. THOUGHTS? OPINIONS? IS right around 8 months old too young to expect this?
Quote:
It really depends on your child in this situation. Is he a choker? I gave my children things that most people would gasp at. I never got crazy about cutting things up just so because I felt comfortable about their abilities and mine. My kids got mashed potatoes, veggies, not a lot of meats (hardly any in the beginning as a matter of fact), pizza crusts, mac-n-cheese, spaghetti. All soft easy foods in the beginning and then built up from there. Please feel free to ask questions but always remember to follow your instincts. They are there and they will help you make the right decisions for your son.[/b]
Nope, not a choker. He has a few times, but not really. He just likes to EAT EAT EAT!
Quote:
We did mac and cheese, we did those Gerber Graduates toddler meals, which Amber LOVED. We also did mashed potatoes, cut up hot dogs, etc.
We also let Amber feed herself, most of the time.[/b]
At what age?
Quote:
I was really concerned about choking, so I followed all the guidelines about what to avoid, etc. At the time, I felt like I was being so slow about things, and people thought I was nuts, but in the end, he was eating all table foods by his 1st birthday, which is the goal... so now I don't feel like I was being too much of a slowpoke after all!
I remember he was eating Gerber Puffs when he was about 7 months old. I don't think I started offering many solids other than that till he was 8 mos or so. I started with soft fruits like bananas and watermelon.
I can't remember a whole lot of details, but I know that I looooooved the following website for food ideas and guidelines, so check it out! Wholesome Baby Food. I linked it to the page for 6-8 month olds. There are links in there for "introducing baby foods," foods to avoid, etc.
Ditto Megan about the tofu: That's a GREAT one to give! I wasn't comfortable giving Thatcher solid meat for awhile -- some of it is so tough, although I do know he ate a lot of the Gerber meats -- so tofu was a great option for protein.
I made a lot of Thatcher's pureed food myself, so when I was getting ready to introduce solids, I gradually starting making the pureed chunkier and chunkier... not so smooth. It was a gradual transition.[/b]
Thank you for all this info Anne! I am going to read that link. Now, I know we aren't supposed to avoid giving them things we don't like, but I don't do Tofu. Still try it with him? I may need some encouragement on that one!
Quote:
I never spoon fed my kids, I was way too lazy. I did like MM put them in a highchair and brought the highchair to where I was cleaning and let them go at it. I can't tell you how happy it made the kids to chase frozen peas or ground up chicken. They had a blast and I was relieved of feeding them (which I thought was so not fun!!). How about some pics of your little guy pigging it up eatting? I would love that.[/b]
By eight months old I was letting my kids feed themselves. I would help if it was need but I would just set them up in their chair and let them have at it. Some days are better than others of course but they will get the hang of it sooner or later. If they can crawl they should be able to feed themselves simple things. I think anyway.
I think a lot of it depends on the kid. Some will start picking it up themselves and shoveling it in, while others really don't like to do that. So see how he does. Maybe give him a chance to eat it himself and if he doesn't then spoon feed. I can't wait to hear how it goes!! How exciting!
About tofu: I'm not a tofu fan myself. I'll eat it occasionally, like when I was in my friend's wedding and all the food was Indian, which included a lot of tofu. Prior to giving it to Thatcher, though, I had NEVER ONCE purchased tofu from the grocery store!
There are all sorts of ways to cook it, but I just gave it to him totally plain. I would drain it and slice it up, and that was it. It's the easiest thing in the world. I eventually started adding random seasonings to it (like oregano), and occasionally made a simple cheese sauce (just melting shredded cheese with milk), but that was it. For the most part, I just gave it to him plain. I totally hear ya on not being a big fan of tofu, and I can understand not wanting to take time to prepare a nice tofu dish, lol. But it's really easy if you just want to give it to him plain, and it's good protein without having to give him something that might be too tough for him to chew.
Btw, ditto MM about the drained soup! I gave Thatcher all sorts of drained soups, like veggie soup, etc. He loved it, and it was a good way for him to get a bunch of different foods at once with minimal effort on my part. I think I probably got that idea from MM back in the day!
LL--I'm not a fan of tofu, but it's sooooo easy when you aren't ready to start the meats! I got the FIRM tofu and just sliced and cubed it and Lucas could not get enough of it...I was shocked that he loved it soooooo much! (I did it plain/no seasoning)..I think I started too late w/ Ava b/c she was not really happy about eating it.
LL--I'm not a fan of tofu, but it's sooooo easy when you aren't ready to start the meats! I got the FIRM tofu and just sliced and cubed it and Lucas could not get enough of it...I was shocked that he loved it soooooo much! (I did it plain/no seasoning)..I think I started too late w/ Ava b/c she was not really happy about eating it. [/b]
Yes, get the FIRM kind. (Or extra-firm.) The other kind gets too mushy and ends up being a big ol' mess. (As if they won't end up messy anyway, lol, but you kwim.)
This was a phenomenal thread...I really needed it too. LL asked most of my questions and ya'all gave such great responses. I really didn't do the table food thing well w/ Bea and I want to better w/ Bea. I still remember seeing a pic of Rebecca's Charlotte eating a cucumber whole and I was AMAZED cuz Bea was still eating Stage 3 baby food that I fed her!!!
My question is...Eden is just about 7 months and I'm not sure what, if any, table food she should/could do yet. We just started @ 6 months. She eats a Ton though. I'm heading to Ann's link.
Thank you Anne and MM for your input on the tofu and all your help! I really needed it. We kinda went full force with self eating this weekend and he seems to be doing well. I think I will print this thread so I have all these suggestions in front of me.
Also, I uploaded these pictures the other night and didn't have a chance to post them. Here ya go!
Look at that mess! This is a serious obstacle for me to overcome! I am learning fast!
Snacks, etc were ALWAYS done on their own. 
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