My son is 11 months old -food advice needed!?

Question

I've read that at 1 ywar they go off formula on ontowhole milk. What about baby food...is that combined with regular food ground up, or is it exclusively on to "big people" food?

Anything hints or history for what worked for you would be appreciated.....I'm a first time mom.

Answer 1

I advanced in gradual steps (but I work in a nursing home.....I followed out diet upgrade protocol).
she started out with puree (all smooth, NO lumps at all). When she was really good with that we upgraded to a ground diet. (course texture, but still easy to eat). I started introducing small bits of soft foods for her to chew on. when she was okay doing that, we upgraded again to a mechanical soft (pieces of soft foods, and some food fork mashed) Gradually her food gets mashed less and less. Pretty soon she will be on all regular foods, or a regular diet. (she is 10 months old)

Meat was easy to work in. Gerber Graduates have Meat Sticks......they stink but my daughter LOVES them. They have Meat, Chicken, and Turkey varieties. They are soft and mush easily. She eats those a lot. And when we have real meat (meatloaf, pot roast, etc), I actually smash it with my fingers so it does not gag her.

Just watch your babies abilities and upgrade her diet slowly.

Also, stay away from most stage 3 baby foods. some are not too bad, but many of them are like Stage 2 with chunks just mixed in. My daughter gagged on them all the time. She was better off going from Stage 2 to the ground foods, a little at a time.
You can change one meal per day to get her used to it (ie puree breakfast and lunch with a ground dinner) and slowly advance her to the next diet level.

I gradually decreased her bottles. she only gets one bottle per day and one at night. I will take away the night bottle last. she only gets formula from a sippy cup. All water, juice, and whole milk is in a sippy cup.

Good Luck.....

Answer 2

At one they can move on to whole milk. And I do recommend whole rather than 2% or skim. Fat is VERY important, crucial even, to brain development, they need the extra fat that whole milk offers. As far as food, it is really up to what you are comfortable with and what he will eat. My first was barely eating regular jar food at a year, that and small chunks of banana, so she was about 18months before she had much table food. My third child however didn't take the jar food much at all, by 8month old she was eating small bits of nearly everything the rest of the family ate. As a previous posted mentioned stay away from the easily choked on foods, two not previously mentioned are grapes and pretzels (the twist kind). When starting table food, start slow and SMALL.

Some of the major formula manufacturers are now making a toddler formula. Considering that my children still basically lived on milk until 2, this might be a good idea as it is more nutritionally balanced than cows milk. Of course if you nurse, your milk is great for your baby well into his second year. I have a 10 month old now and plan to continue nursing to ~18months and continue using formula until she is eating better. Good Luck.

Answer 3

You might want to start out with "Gerber Fruit Puffs" they are "solids" but quickly melt in babys mouth. My son hated them at first, I think that it was the texture he didn't like, but they helped him learn to chew. Something else you can do is put some of babys food in the blender and almost completely puree it then give him that. Babys need to get used to grown-up food because it has more flavor (spices) than baby food. So mixing them isn't a bad idea. Then slowly put more grown-up food and less baby food until there is no baby food left.

Answer 4

My son is 10 months old and for the past few weeks he completely refuses to eat "baby food". Gerber Graduates Are great, and easy, pop in the microwave for about 25 seconds, throw in some fruit and you have a meal. Table foods are fine too.

Answer 5

Yes, I agree it's difficult - I'm a first time mum too in uk. I think that 1 year olds can have generally what we have, obviously mashed and chopped accordingly! It's a gradual transition but I cut mine down to 2 bottles of formula a day at a year old also. I think you'll be doing fine - you sound a lot more sensible than a lot of mothers, believe me!!!! Good luck, just go with your instincts.

Answer 6

There is baby food for this age group. Gerber Graduates makes a great selection. My daughter is 11 months old and enjoys this and she is also eating table foods.

Answer 7

my daughter is 10 months and she eats a little bit of 3rd stage food, then i give her table food. steamed carrots and peas are her favorite. gerber has meat sticks, which sound kinda gross, but theyre like baby hot dogs. i usually cut them into 1/4inch slices, then in a half circle. she picks them up with no problem and chews really well. gerber gaduates has a great line of food. my daughter loves the fruit and veggie puffs. i cant get her to eat one piece of fruit, but she'll eat these. they dissolve really well and help babies learn to use theyre pincer grasp. sometimes my daughter will eat whatever we are having too... rice, meatballs or chicken cut up tiny, cheese, or toast. let her explore and find out what she likes. and make sure you watch her really closely, she may think its ok to put a whole handful of food in her mouth. good luck!

Answer 8

Heck yeah! he is way old enough to introduce some very soft veggies and fruits, like bananas.
I wouldn't feed him whole milk though, try to stick with soy milk or even skim milk. Feed him cereals, cookies, gerber sells lots of nice stuff.
Anything soft or mashed, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, apple sauce, and even tiny little pieces of shredded chicken or pork!.
you get the idea.

Answer 9

whole milk should be given to your baby once they turn 1. skim or soy or 2% doesn't have enough calories your growing baby needs. try the Gerber graduates food. canned carrots, sliced banana, canned diced peaches, and cheerios are also good foods to try.

Answer 10

use stage 2 by gerber. One can morning, afternoon and night. they make all differnt kinds. Outmeal ceral is good too, 8 oz a day. Cerrioos ceral, peices of your food, finger foods,