how soon did you start feeding your baby the same foods you are eating?

Question

My son is 7 months and only has 2 teeth, so I understand the chewing aspect needs to wait, but when can I start giving him what we're eating for dinner?

Any advice would be helpful.

I'm asking this because we tried starting him on baby food that contains meat (stage 2 - mixed with veggies) and he doesn't like it and I think it tastes gross too. :)

Answer 1

Once you are allowed to start giving stage 2 foods (proteins), you can start giving baby table food SLOWLY. I used to take homemade beef stew and stick it in the food processor and feed that to my son. He liked it so much better than the awful stuff in the jars. I think my pediatrician let me start doing that at nine months.

Choking is the biggest issue here, not to mention nutrition. Be sure everything you give can be gnawed, and isn't too high in processed sugars, fats, or salt. I used to cut up fruits into teeny tiny pieces and put them on the tray. My son was just starting to try to use his little fingers to pick things up LOL, and it was fun to let him practice. He loved green beans cause they were so soft and easy to eat. Same with canned diced carrots and the like. He loved diced peaches in light syrup or pear syrup too. Mashed potatos were also a big hit with my son.

One thing I did do was try not to give him the bad stuff. You will fight with your child for years to come over bad eating habits. If you can avoid letting them get used to french fries, chicken nuggets, and the like, the better off you will be. Get him used to eating a vegetable and a fruit with every meal.

Babies are such an incredible joy, aren't they! I'm currently enjoying my grandson who is one, and my granddaughter who is 8 months. I love every minute with them. Wishing you and your family an awesome and blessed time!

Answer 2

Baby #1 was about 8 months old when she started eating food off the high chair, and we visited the salad bar daily as soon as she had all of her teeth (about 10 months of age).
She actually liked baby food from the jar, and started eating it with a spoon at about 10 months of age until about 18 months (she got her 5 a day, and was able to feed herself - it didn't bother me a bit!).

Baby #2 likes eating table food and will not eat jar food - but she has no teeth yet (she is 9 months old). So it has made life kind of hard. I give her applesauce and mashed potatoes, as well as bananas and other soft foods she probably won't choke on (peas and corn, carrots, etc). I buy these in the frozen food section (in bags) and steam them. She likes to eat from the high chair - but she's not getting any protein or much iron, so if you end up doing the same, just keep an eye on that!

Good luck!

Answer 3

My son started eating little bites of what we were eating at about 6 months along with his baby food (he also had 2 teeth then). It just depends on what it was and the consistancy. Just use your judgement! The teeth don't really matter because most babies learn to eat by mashing their food with their gums. My son even started feeding himself those Gerber fruit puffs at 7 months, once he had 4 teeth. I wouldn't give him normal meat just yet, but start introducing little bites of what you're eating like mashed potatoes, pasta, etc. and then in a few months he should be eating a lot less baby food!

Answer 4

Prepared baby food is actually more of a convenience than a necessity. Babies can begin on regular people food right from the beginning, around 6 months. Some babies are ready for cereal introduction between 4-6 months and it is suggested to begin with infant rice cereal than try barley or oatmeal. The general guidelines are the same with either table food or commercially prepared food. Introduce one food at a time and wait 5-7 days to introduce the next food. This helps indentify any potential food sensitivities a baby may have. If the baby has diarrhea, excessive gas, vomiting, or develops a rash, simply stop that food and re-introduce it later. This type of reaction does not mean your baby is allergic to that food, but is probably just not ready for it yet. Any type of fruit or vegetable that is soft or can be cooked until soft (steaming vegetables is more healthy than boiling them) is good to start with. Initially, you will want to mash it well with a fork and put it through a strainer. If it is too thick, just mix a little breast milk, formula, or water with it. Somewhere around 8/9 months, you can skip the straining part and just mash it well with a fork. My babies all loved bananas, applesauce, sweet potato, squash, and carrots as their first foods. By 9 months they were eating pretty much everything we ate either mashed or cut into tiny pieces. We saved whole milk, egg whites (cooked egg yolk is OK at 9 months), and creamy peanut butter until after 1 year. Babies are OK with plain vegetable, they don't need added butter or seasonings and like plain fruit, no sugar added. Plain yogurt is good for babies, too, and can be added at 6 months. No need to buy the expensive flavored "baby" yogurts. Add a little mashed fruit for sweetness if you want but your baby will likely be fine with it just plain. About 9 months he'll like toast, bread, rice, pasta, and can be given mixed grain cereals. Our adult food preferences are different than a baby's. What we think is bland without seasonings and butter tastes just fine to a baby. What he probably doesn't like is the chunkier texture that meat adds to baby food. Commercially prepared baby food is fine to feed a baby, but it isn't something you have to feed them. My 2 youngest children rarely ate commercially prepared baby food other than infant cereal. They wanted the "real" stuff from the beginning since they would sit and watch my husband and I and our 2 older children eating. My youngest exclusively breast fed until 7 months and went basically to table food other than infant rice cereal. My older 3 began eating table food between 6-9 months.

Answer 5

I think I started at 10 months with my son ( he had a few teeth) and then 1 year old with my daughter (she got her 1st tooth around 20 months!). Just mush it up and it is just like baby food. Go for it now if you think your baby will eat better. Fruits, veggies would be the only think I would do now.

Answer 6

Hi,Is tarted my kids onreguler food around 5 months,but Istarted by giving them Small amount of every thing to see what was the most favorite for them ,for exp:I started with fruits ,like banana.so Igave them 4 spoon of mashed banana ,if the baby like how it tastes Iwill repeat that another day with extra spoon.after that Itryed mashed potato ,if he tastes it good Repeat that meal by adding another veggies like carrots and May add some Little chicken meat .and so on .Good luck

Answer 7

Well i have only ever fed my 6 children our food. I make sure i dont cook with any salt then take out some for the baby blend it up and then i can cool it freeze some for later or another day. Then for yourself you can add the salt at the end. It has always worked for me and i think the same as you about the taste of baby food i hate it.

Answer 8

I started giving my son table food (we never did purees) around 7.5-8 mo.... He had 2 teeth and did just fine with well-steamed veggies and little bits of soft meat. They don't really use thise teeth to chew, they use thier back gums.

Answer 9

All three of my kids decided they didn't like baby food at around 8 months. They started eating what we did, I just gave them tiny pieces. I always made sure they got plenty of fruit and veggies.

Answer 10

I started my kids on regular food around 9 months, but that was after they had gone through all stages of baby food. Your child will tell you when he is ready (example: his spitting out meat in baby food may mean he isn't ready)
Good luck!