Food :) - Hutchinson,KS

My little guy was never into baby foods, so i would just mash up fruits and veggies my self until he started eating mostly what we ate cut into small bits or mashed. At 8 months, it is more about practicing eating than getting all of their nutrients from it, so i would say, as long as it is on the healthy side, give him what ever he will eat.

I kept my son strictly on breastmilk and formula (except for "tasting", finger dip of this... crumb of that) until he was 1.

Then for the next year and a half we did the "explore the world through menus". Every ethnicity I could possibly think of; from DimSum to Curries, Costa Rican to Egyptian, Thai to American, Mediterranean to Russian. The only one I "forgot" was sashimi... and by the time I remembered it was too late (had to wait 3 more years, his "yuck response" had already hit before I remembered it... so we had to wait for his brain to stop classifying new flavors as posionous... which happened for him a year "late" at 6 instead of 5. And he still doesn't like the type of sushi I fed him at 2.5, though he will eat others).

We always did and still feed on demand. It's pretty amazing... because he eats the way nutritionists recommend we all do: 5-6 small meals a day. Prefers heavy on the proteins and veggies... but like any human... will inhale anything boiled in oil ;) Hey... even crickets boiled in oil aren't bad.

I feed my 10 month old son table food. We eat healthy organic food as it is as a family so the switch was easy for us. I'm not sure how he would start unhealthy eating habits unless you are eating unhealthy. Try steaming fresh veggies (peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, ect) and feeding him those. If he does well with cheerios and things then steamed veggies should be fine.

wholesomebabyfood.com gives you all the list of what they can eat when. It is to help you make your own food. But even if you don't make your own you can use it as a guide. It was the only site I used to help me through the food introduction stages.

As long as you are feeding your baby wholesome, healthy food, prepared in a way that allows for him to eat/gum them safely you can pretty much feed him whatever.
With my son I made most of his baby food myself and really only bought jars when we were traveling. There is no need to buy commercial baby food if you don't want to. It is no better for your baby than what you would make at home. I guess I'm not sure why you might feel that expanding his diet would be unhealthy.
At this age eating is about exploring tastes and textures as much as it is about nourishment, I know my son loved eating bites of whatever his dad and I were eating, and I would just feed him portions of our food, just cooked a bit longer and cut smaller so that he could manage them.
Also, the research on allergies now indicates that avoiding foods may actually increase the risk of developing an allergy. The American Academy of Pediatrics no longer recommends waiting to expose kids to peanuts, strawberries and other foods thought to be highly allergenic.
The advice from our wonderful pediatrician was "open the cupboards and have fun" and I think she was right.

At 8 months, I was feeding my son mostly homemade food, yet pureed or diced very small. He loved mashed beans with diced up chicken breast (I'd cook black beans and sauteed some chicken breast, put it all in the Cuisinart chopper and blend it with some olive oil). I'd also cook him zuchinni and blend that up. It got runny so I'd add rice cereal to thicken it.

I never bought stage 2 or 3 meats, but know that little boys need plenty of protein. I'd make sure he got protein every day (mostly with the beans and meat I just explained).

So I think it sounds like you're doing fine. As he gets older, try new foods. I used www.wholesomebabyfood.com to tell me what foods are safer at what age - the "Solid Food Chart". We'd mark of the new foods that he tried as time went on. My son was nursed, so don't have anything to say about formula for you. But good luck with the feeding!

At 8 months my daughter refused a spoon. I started giving her all table food cut very small. She was a natural! As long as you're giving him wholesome food I truly don't think it matters if it's bite size or pureed. I just took my almost 9 month old son to the pediatrican yesterday and he encourages table food and purees more and more as they come closer to a year. He believes that by a year they can be eating all table food so the transition is easier. If he isn't quite ready and/or willing to eat those foods give him time. My son is the complete opposite of his sister and he doesn't eat much finger food at all...drives me crazy, but that's a different story! ;)

My doc also said that it's okay if the formula intake goes way down, he said it's fine if it even gets as low as 16-20 oz/day. He basically said that's what you want as they get closer to a year so they can transition to table food and cow's milk. We don't usually give dairy until about 9 months, but everything else is fair game (except of course nuts, raw veggies, popcorn and raw honey)

Letting your baby feed himself will be a whole new world for you...it's awesome!!! You may even get to remember what a hot dinner tastes like!

Hi K.,
I fed my kids the frozen peas and carrots (squares) when they were old enough for finger foods. Cheese cut in squares were also a hit. However, I maintained that breast milk/formula/milk was their main source of nutrition until age 2. Start out adding only 1 new food a week just in case of allergies and things should be fine. Eating a variety of textures and shapes is a learning experience for them. Start them out on fruits (berries not until 1) and veggies first and you can help establish good eating habits.
Hope this helps!
Suzy & her men (Malcolm 2 & Stanley 4.5)

I usually don't feed my babies too much table food until they are around a year old. I nurse exclusively. But, some kids seem to be more interested than others. The earlier you introduce foods, the more likely they will be to have allergies to various foods. I try to stay away from grains early on as they are highly allergenic. I like the idea of frozen peas and carrots. That is a great snack, but not too much at once as you will deal with the issues they tend to bring to the diaper. I don't use the bottled baby food as there is no reason they can't eat what we are eating if it is mashed up well. We used one of those baby mashers that you can buy. A blender works just as well though. Enjoy your sweet Owen!

Here is a good and website:

http://www.babycenter.com/0_age-by-age-guide-to-feeding-y...