I want to feed my 8 month old baby fresh fruits. Am I supposed to cook them and then mash them, or can I ...?

Question

mash them raw, and feed them to her like that?
Or should I dice them into tiny bite size pieces?

Note: she already has 8 teeth.

Thanks very much!

Answer 1

I have a great book called Super Bbay Food by Ruth Yaron and in chapter 14 entitled Feeding your Super Baby at 8 Months she suggests these fruits.....

Apricot
apple
cantaloupe
honeydew
grapes, quartered and peeled
kiwi fruit
plums
watermelon

all of these can be uncooked according to her book.

"your baby's food should still be finely pureed. If your baby is easily eating this food, you can gradually decrease any added liquid for a thicker consistency. If your baby gags or chokes or spits out the food, you have made it too thick."

I would really reccomend this book if you are making your own baby food...it is awesome!

Answer 2

You don't have to mash them up, if the fruit has a skin on it peel it. I give my 7 mo. old son a half a banana all the time and apples too. I usually give him the whole half a banana and he tries to pick it up, (they get kinda slippery) and takes a bite and eats it, same with the apple pieces too. Do whatever you fell comfortable with, but you don't need to cook it, mash and give to baby. Just try different size pieces to he/she can start to learn to self feed as well. Try the Biter Biscuits, by gerber or beechnut (all different brands have them) and give that to baby, s/he'll love it! It's a really hard cookie that turns to mush when they chew on it.

Answer 3

Things like bananas you can just cut up small. Skip things like grapes. Skip strawberries if there's any food allergy history in your family - they're the fruit most allergic to. Apples, I would cook and mash into your own applesauce - this way, you can make it as chunky as she likes. Skip grapes because she can choke on them. Your big concern is whether or not she can chew them. She'll probably want to eat with her fingers too, so use that as a factor in what you give.

Answer 4

its a great idea to give her fresh fruit.Tiny bite size pieces or you can cook it. Try cantaloupe, honeydew,bananas and peaches. They are really good reallysoft easy to chew foods. It isgreat to start kids young on fresh fruit and veggies because the older they get, the more of those things they will eat=)

Answer 5

Well, i think you should either boil them and then mash them, or you can grate them raw..... that's what i used to do when my son was this age. It is a bit of a hassle to grate them especially if they are apples, as they oxidize quickly, but it is healthier.

Here are a couple of websites that might be of help:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030500.asp
http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/fruit-baby-food-recipes.html

Good luck

Answer 6

I would cook them and then put them in a blender.. you can make it chunky... just to let you know that alot of people find that if they put their kids on fruit before veggies. the kids only eat the fruit cause it is sweeter

Answer 7

You don't need to cook the fruit. My daughter doesn't have any teeth yet and she "chews". I give her soft fruit in itty bitty pieces and she does just fine.

Answer 8

if she has teeth already, i would try giving her bite size pieces, without the skin of course. like if you try apples, take the skin off. bananas and pears are a good start because they are soft.

Answer 9

Make sure the fruits are organic or you will be giving your baby lots of pesticides as well.

Answer 10

Cook them first, or they will be too difficult for her to digest.