Solid food questions

[angelinamerica]

I am hoping I can get some wise advice re: feeding my 8 month-old son.  He is a HUGE eater and happily eats his three 'solid' food meals a day.  He eats a variety of smooth purees and we mix and match veggies and fruits.

I have no idea how to go to the next step, though.  When and how do you start introducing 'chunks' and bits that need to be chewed rather than just swallowed?  Today I mashed up a banana for him for breakfast along with rice cereal, so I took some pieces that i had not mashed and diced them into small small bits and put them on his highchair tray.  He basically just played with them :) So, I put one on his spoon and let him put it in his mouth.  He tried to swallow it and gagged a bit which scared the heck out of me, although I knew it was small enough and soft enough that it would 'mush' without much ago. 

I have no idea what to do from here.  I also have not yet introduced meats yet, and would like to know when that is appropriate, and how?  Do I cook and puree in the Cuisinart as I do with the fruits and veggies? 

I feel so stupid for this question, but I'm really baffled!

How and what did you feed after your children had 'mastered' the purees?  Thank you!!

[Jenni1894]

Once my kids mastered the purees I went to anything soft and small.  Bananas quartered, peas, soft cheese or shredded cheese, cooked beans, blueberries, I'm a freak and I still cut them in half for my 14 mo old, berries, mango, avocado, rice, tomatoes....etc.

I'd give them shredded meats and ground meat...anything small that they can gum.    I never made special foods for them once they got to "finger food" I just gave them what we were eating that night for dinner!

[angelinamerica]

Thanks, Jenni!

Is it 'normal' for them to gag and spit when first given foods that aren't totally pureed?  I tried the very-small-very-mushy-but-not-totally-mashed pieces of banana at breakfast today again and the same thing happened---lots of gagging and trying to spit it out and then he finally got upset and cried.  He also is not able/interested in picking up pieces of food off of his tray and putting them in his mouth yet---not sure if that's an overall sign that he's not ready for anything but puree for the time being?  He doesn't use a pincher grasp yet---still flicking at things with one and then all five fingers and trying to 'palm' it.  so, when I put the banana on his tray he just played with it and didn't even attempt to bring it to his mouth.  I'd then put a piece on his spoon and get it in his mouth that way, only to hear the scary gagging sound and receive an alarmed, open mouth, confused look from him :)

Just not sure if this gagging is normal and he'll learn to gum/chew with repeated exposure?  He does already have 6 teeth and has no problem using them to bite when it's a toy or my finger or anything else going in his mouth, aside from food, apparently!  :)

I'd also love to hear from other moms about what a typical day/week's menu looks like.  I'm not sure if I should be doing more foods in one meal, or less, etc.  For example, for lunch I usually do one or two fruits and one veggie.  Dinner is usually two veggies or two veggies with one fruit. 

And, finally, is there any real point to rice cereal?  Do I "have" to give it to him?  Is there a nutritional benefit to that stuff that he can't/won't get in other foods?  I honestly just don't get it.  I guess it's been drilled into my head that white starchy rice is 'bad' so I'm not sure why it's so standard for babies.  We had a mother's helper/sleep expert type person come help us do some baby care when he was almost 6 months and she was the one who started him on solids, and she was giving rice cereal three times a day that first week.  I was the one that took it down to once a day and then started the fruits and veggies.  so, I'd just like to hear some opinions on the cereal thing.  Is it good for them or just used as an intro and 'ok' to give up once they are comfy with other foods?  Is something like oatmeal or kashi 'better' for them if I still wanted to do some type of cereal for breakfast? 

[Jenni1894]

I would think it's normal....they aren't really used to something they have to chew.  kwim?  my ODD was a big gagger.   But then again she would shove food in her mouth like she hadn't eaten days.   And she'd forget to chew.  But she's 3 now and figurered it out! lol   My favorite memory of her eating finger foods was giving her deli ham.  I chopped it up and she shoved a bunch in her mouth.   She gagged and it came out her nose.  Imagine a piece of ham stick half in and half out of your kids nose.  lol  

I also think he'll get the pincher grip too.....he just needs practice!  I think it's normal for kids that age to "play" with their food!  

I did give all my kids rice cereal....I don't think there's nutrional value to it.   IMO it's just to get them used to eating off a spoon.   Plus it's bland so you can mix it with breast milk, fruits, formula or water.  Some times scrambled eggs or rice krispies, fruit

My dd is 14 mos, but when she was about 8 mos she still let me spoon feed her.  She doesn't now!  lol   I would give her yogurt for breakfast and some toast or cherrios to play with/eat.   Lunch was cooked veggies and some meat and a fruit.  Plus some of what we were having.  Same with dinner.   I just don't have the time to make 2 seperate meals...so that's why she and my other kids got what we ate. 

[Ginger Bean]

My son just turned 8 months old, and he's never had purees or "baby food." At 6 months, I started him on ripe avocado that I had mashed with a fork. From there, I gave him soft chunks of food that he could hold and bring to his mouth (like banana and cooked carrot) and plain yogurt and regular oatmeal**. In the beginning, he did little more than taste and play. Mostly his food ended up on the floor. And of course he gagged. Now he's really starting to eat. Tonight, he ate chicken for the first time (I put it through a garlic press to "mince" it) and with less fuss than he makes over vegetables and fruit.

Visit http://baby-led.com/ for more information. Of course there isn't any harm in purees, but they aren't necessary if you start solids after 6 months. Swallowing purees doesn't teach babies how to chew. They have to practice on foods that, well, need chewing. It's very normal for them to not be good at it at first. Gagging isn't the same as choking, and it's actually a good thing (though it's scary I know!) -- it means they know how to get rid of food they can't handle.

**I think baby rice cereal is absolute rubbish to be honest. You're right about it: your instincts as a mother are stronger than any marketing. When formula was first invented, they were unable to fortify it with iron, so they invented this baby cereal which they were able to fortify with iron and encouraged an early start to get babies the iron they needed. This tradition is still with us for no real reason whatsoever.

Oatmeal is much, much healthier and easily digestible. It's also fiber-rich, so it's less likely to cause constipation (which rice cereal sometimes does). The only reason to avoid oatmeal is if there's a history of gluten intolerance that you're worried about. If regular oatmeal is too chunky for your baby, grind dry oatmeal in the mixer to make your own "baby" oatmeal powder. No reason to buy special "baby oatmeal."

Usually, my son eats oatmeal and one fruit mid-morning, and in the late afternoon he has plain yogurt and one or two vegs. Since human breastmilk is mostly carbs, I try to concentrate on protein and nutrient-rich foods like: oatmeal, yogurt, avocado, egg yolk, meat, etc.

Some days he hardly eats a thing too. Hang in there, mama -- it'll happen in time!

[KempsMama]

Originally Posted by Ginger Bean 

My son just turned 8 months old, and he's never had purees or "baby food." At 6 months, I started him on ripe avocado that I had mashed with a fork. From there, I gave him soft chunks of food that he could hold and bring to his mouth (like banana and cooked carrot) and plain yogurt and regular oatmeal**. In the beginning, he did little more than taste and play. Mostly his food ended up on the floor. And of course he gagged. Now he's really starting to eat. Tonight, he ate chicken for the first time (I put it through a garlic press to "mince" it) and with less fuss than he makes over vegetables and fruit.

Visit http://baby-led.com/ for more information. Of course there isn't any harm in purees, but they aren't necessary if you start solids after 6 months. Swallowing purees doesn't teach babies how to chew. They have to practice on foods that, well, need chewing. It's very normal for them to not be good at it at first. Gagging isn't the same as choking, and it's actually a good thing (though it's scary I know!) -- it means they know how to get rid of food they can't handle.

**I think baby rice cereal is absolute rubbish to be honest. You're right about it: your instincts as a mother are stronger than any marketing. When formula was first invented, they were unable to fortify it with iron, so they invented this baby cereal which they were able to fortify with iron and encouraged an early start to get babies the iron they needed. This tradition is still with us for no real reason whatsoever.

Oatmeal is much, much healthier and easily digestible. It's also fiber-rich, so it's less likely to cause constipation (which rice cereal sometimes does). The only reason to avoid oatmeal is if there's a history of gluten intolerance that you're worried about. If regular oatmeal is too chunky for your baby, grind dry oatmeal in the mixer to make your own "baby" oatmeal powder. No reason to buy special "baby oatmeal."

Usually, my son eats oatmeal and one fruit mid-morning, and in the late afternoon he has plain yogurt and one or two vegs. Since human breastmilk is mostly carbs, I try to concentrate on protein and nutrient-rich foods like: oatmeal, yogurt, avocado, egg yolk, meat, etc.

Some days he hardly eats a thing too. Hang in there, mama -- it'll happen in time!

Excellent post!