Should I feed my 7 month old pureed meals like turkey and sweet potato--the beginners' ones?

Question

You know which ones I mean, right? The Gerber ones that are a meat and a vegetable-- things like that.. I started her on plain fruits and veg with cereal at five months....She's starting to seem bored with the variety and is starting to turn on veggies....Should I add the new meals, or maybe go back to strictly veg? Anyone have some advice for interesting menu ideas for this age--either homemade or jarred.??Anyone giving baby real dairy(ie. yougurt or milk) at this age? I know you're not supposed to, but she's had the odd taste of yougurt and loved It!!! Anyone do egg yolks in formula?? It sounds gross......

Answer 1

If she's doing well with the other foods then I see no reason as to why you wouldn't be able to start introducing the "meals" to her. Just make sure to take it slowly to watch for any adverse reactions. Also, a quick suggestion; you may want to try making some of your own meats and dinners. My son flat out refused to eat any of the commercially prepared jar meats, but loved when I would make it. His favorite thing with chicken with apples. I just braised the apples and boiled some boneless skinless chicken breast; dumped it into the blender and just blended it until it was kinda smooth. I would add a little bit of apple juice if more liquid was needed. I would then just pour the mixture I didn't feed him then into ice cube trays to freeze; and then stored the cubes in ziploc bags, defrosting as needed. I would also make plain chicken, by just boiling the chicken and blending it with chicken broth. It was then easy to mix the cubes of chicken with a variety of veggies.

I was told to hold off introducing cheese, yogurt, egg yolks, and the like until my son was 9 months old. He's now 10 months, and his favorite treat is yogurt or cheese cubes. He can't stand egg yolk!

Answer 2

Check out this website. Scroll down to the section that is titled below. Proteins and meats are actually perfect for a baby of 7 months. Give egg yolk only never the whites. There are great homeopathic cook books for baby foods. Personally, I wouldn't use Gerber simply because they have a lot of added junk that doesn't need to be in them. I use BeeChum and Earths Best products. I wouldn't do the real dairy until 1 year.

Answer 3

I would feed her the dinners if you think she'll like them. Just be careful with the desserts. They're just as harmful as sweets are to adults. If she's ready to eat the whole container in one sitting, go for it! You may want to try giving her the stage one meats(the small jars) and a stage one veggie instead. That way you can switch up the combos whenever you want (maybe chicken and sweet potatoes tonight, turkey and greenbeans tomorrow). BTW that sweet potatoes and corn mix is really delicious. As far as yougurt, if it's baby yogurt and not adult yogurt she should be fine. She's not ready for adult cultures yet. It's a learned digestive function. Take it slow. Starting dairy too fast can lead to severe constipation and serious digestive problems.

DO NOT PUT ANYTHING IN THAT BOTTLE. Bottles should be used for breastmilk/formula only. When you start introducing water/juice you should also be introducing a sippy cup. Once she has started eating jar foods, the bottle should no longer be a major source of nourishment. You want her to have healthy eating habits, not fill up on liquids. It turns into a horrible habit. There are a lot of children who drink tons of milk and eat very little. You want her bottles to come after she has finished her foods and as in between snacks.

Eggs have a high instance of allergic reaction. Most doctors and child care providers say wait until one year of age. However I have seen successful transitions to eggs as early as 10mos. Around that age,not earlier, give her one bite of scrambled egg one morning and watch her for two days.If no constipation or diarrhea, she should be ok. But 7 mos is too early. RAW EGGS CAN BE LETHAL!

Answer 4

if you have a walmart where you live, go to the yogurt section, and you will find "yobaby" yogurt. my 7 month old loves it!! it's all organic. it only has 13 grams of sugar, and 3.5 grams of fat. it has 2 grams of dietary fiber, 4 grams of protein, vitamin A, calcium, and added iron. it's made especially for babies, and it has cereal in it, so it makes a really good breakfast. also, if you look on the back of a gerber rice cereal box, it will probably have a feeding plan on it. it says a supported sitter should get 1st foods, an independent sitter should get juices and 2nd foods, a crawler should get 3rd foods, and when they start walking, they should get graduate foods. i've been giving my daughter meats since she was 5 months old. she's been on solids since 4 months. i know they say not to, but my daughter was very small when she was born, so my doctor told me to feed her whatever she will eat, and let her eat until she's full. she's still small, but the doctor said she's gaining the perfect amount of weight. not too much, and not too little. i give her the meats with veggies, along with club crackers for supper. just make sure to give her meats with veggies and then wait at least 3 days before you her anymore because some of them have tomatoes and lots of people are allergic to them. you can also give her meat with fruit. my daughter loves apples and chicken. but she's a fruit and veggies girl more than anything. she loves broccoli, (i give her broccoli and chicken too) sweet potatoe casserole, and pumpkin with pears. (it smells like pumpkin pie) i don't give my daughter gerber though, because she eats a lot of solid food, so i buy the Del Monte brand at walmart for .47 cents a can. it costs me $40 a month instead of almost $90 with gerber. plus they have some really cool flavors, and i like Del monte canned veggies more than any other, so i figured the baby food would probably be good too. my daughter seems to like it a lot. and no, i've never heard about putting egg yolks in formula. i wont give my daughter eggs that aren't cooked because i worry about salminela. i'll just stick with the little bit of scrambled eggs i give her about 2-3 times a month.

Answer 5

yoghurt is fine as is custard as a afternoon/morning tea time food. Meat is a great thing to add into her diet now.

You could cut up pork, chicken, turkey. Add in potatoes, pumpkin, brocolli, carrot, corn, peas (anything really) and then one can chicken and corn soup (the thick liquid kind not packet soup mix kind) and one can/cup of milk. Cook till really soft and puree. Store in freezer ice-cube trays or small containers and you will have a balanced meal that you just pop out and heat gently. Lasts for a few weeks and you can vary her breakfast food and snack foods for variety. My kids loved this concoction. For a beef or lamb meal instead of chicken and corn soup add in beef stock cube and water. Use a different meat each time to vary the taste. As she gets older puree less and leave chunks until she is old enough to eat normal dinner meals you cook and just cut up finely.

Best of luck. I think Jarred foods are over-rated and over -priced as you can buy all the ingredients and make one big pot of it and freeze it for a lot less hassle and price. Jar foods are handy for when you are out. Experiment with her tastes but give her a bit of everything you already know she likes and then add new things.

Good luck and don't forget about breads and cereals (grains)in her diet too. Usually something like Weet-bix or porridge for breakfast is a good time to eat these foods.

Answer 6

If she can chew things, she's ready for that kind of food. And they shouldn't have milk at all until 12 months of age, but at 8 months, they are allowed to have some dairy products, like yogurt, and cheese. But egg yolks in formula is a big no no....but at eight months they're also ready for cooked egg yolk, but no egg whites. at that age their body can't digest a lot of dairy foods.

Answer 7

Are you talking about baby food or formula? Formula should be between 6-8 ounces and baby food you can feed them 2-4 ounces or if they want more you can always give them more...My daughter only eats 1 jar(stage 1 gerber) but my aunt has an in home daycare and has had kids eat 2 and 3 and 4 jars at one sitting(the small jars). It just really depends on your child!

Answer 8

no eggs till there 1 year of age. Yogurts they do make baby yogurts you'll find those by the regular yougurts in the grocery store. Try giving it to her see how she does.

Answer 9

As far as I'm aware, it's a VERY bad idea to give raw eggs to babies (or anyone, really) due to the risk of salmonellosis.

My son loves veggies, but hates meat, so I'll scoop a bit of meat onto the spoon and dip it into veggies - he loves it. I don't believe infants are supposed to have meat until 8-9 months, but you could try mixing veggies with different things and see if she likes it.

Answer 10

"Once she has started eating jar foods, the bottle should no longer be a major source of nourishment. "

I beg to differ. Every parenting website and book I've seen plus our doctor says that breastmilk or formula should be the primary source of nutrition for the first year. Solid foods just don't provide the same kind of nourishment. Parents with underweight kids are sometimes told to cut back on solids and do more breastmilk or formula.