Seeking Advice Re Serving Whole Foods to 12 Month Old

Hi D.,

I have an almost 3-year old and a 14 month old...

Table food for a 12 month old can just be anything that is sof enough or small enough to not cause choking. Well-boiled, soft vegetables (peas, corn, small pieces of carrots) work really well. Also, mashed pasta or any other food that is small or soft...Small pieces of chicken or other meat are ok, too. They will do some mashing in their mouth even without teeth. My 14 month old is just now getting his molars but has been eating table food for atleast 4 months. Also, cheerio's and little snacks like that. The only thing that my guy has had trouble digesting is raisins, but he still loves to eat them.

Hope this helps.
K.

This is a fun stage! At this age they really are learning to feed themselves and eat what the rest of the family is eating. They can 'chew' pretty well with those tough gums! Just make sure things are cut into small pieces to avoid choking and are fairly soft for gumming. Scrambled eggs, cubed potatoes/sweet potatoes, cubed fruits & veggies (squash, carrots, brussels sprouts,bananas, pears, etc.). I cut grapes into fourths, easy to pick up, but no choking. Apples are still a bit hard for them at this age, so apple sauce and a spoon. I usually mixed a little baby cereal into it to make it thicker and easier to scoop. I'd feed them most of it, but encourage them to try the spoon too. Meats need to be cut small and be a soft texture. Small pieces of hamburger, sausage, etc. Dark meat chicken is softer than white, so I cut up thigh meat for my girls at this age. Leave the steak for later when the molars are in. :o)

Just keep a wet wash cloth on hand for the crazy mess they will make, but with some patience and a sense of humor your grand child will learn to feed themselves and enjoy a healthy variety of food. :o)

I agree with the previous post in that you should never hesitate to ask your doctor what exactly they mean. That said most 12 month olds should be able to hand a little bit of chuncked (to help prevent choking 1/2 inch or smaller chuncks are a good size) meat and veggies. They can get some nutrition from it but if your granddaughter still likes being fed and is not insisting on feeding herself by all means still feed her mashed food. But I would offer her the chucks and bits of food from your plate to so she can try it at her own will... it is very much a learning process to learn to put food in your own mouth, the feel of it, chewing etc. Try all different textures too. Offer a spoon for her to hold but don't force anything...
Personally my daughter refussed to be fed "baby food" at around 9 months and only wanted to feed herself, pretty much I just fed her off our plates and made sure that everything was cut into small enough peices, but I did leave the original texture intact (ie. not mashing it etc). And I knew she was still getting all the critical nutrion she needed because she was still being breast fed too.
So to sum it up... 1)every baby is different 2)ask your doctor what exactly they meant 3)offer new foods/ textures but don't force 4) be sure food that is offered dosn't pose a choking risk... cut into 1/2 inch pieces or smaller to start 5) don't worry

Hope that helps

My daughter just turned 1. She has been eating table foods since she was 9 months. We make sure it is soft and in small pieces (to avoid choking.) She loves tofu, beef ravioli, bread, noodles, rice. When I give her chicken, I make sure it is soft and small so she can gum it enough before swallowing. When we go out for breakfast, she will eat off my plate: scrambled eggs, chicken apple sausage, hash browns, pancake. All cut up into small sizes. Hope this helps.

Dear D., Your daughter should not hesitate to call the pediatrician and get some understanding of what exactly she/he meant by table food. Certainly it is the food that the rest of the family eats in terms of nutrition and variety and not the form it is in. A baby's food SHOULD be mashed up (some moms even prechew it !). You are right; they can't chew it well enough without teeth ! At 12 months,, a baby will not necessarily eat a wide variety, but if given a choice of everything on a parent's plate, she/he will have better nutrition and you will save money on baby food. Toddlers usually want to eat exactly what everyone else is eating, so as soon as they have back teeth (molars) small pieces of food can be put on their plates. They love to pick these up and put them in their mouths. Spoons come later. Let feeding be as natural as possible, and don't get involved in power struggles. If a child doesn't like something, don't force it or make it a big deal. Offer it again later. Foods are not well chewed in the beginning, even when they get teeth, so you'll see a lot make it through into the diaper in chunks. Their little systems can handle this, and they get some nutrition from it, too. It's easy to stress over a child's eating habits, but as long as you provide nutritious food in a form they can eat, they can be trusted to do the rest !

All I can say is that by 12 months, both of my children were eating everything under the sun. They had their own little spoons and forks and whatever Mommy and Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa were eating, they wanted to try it.
By 12 months, a little one should be able to pick up dry Cheerios and put them in their own mouths, little chunks of cheese or cubed baked potato/chicken/fish cooked carrot coins, scrambled eggs, etc.
Maybe my kids are weird, but they hated everything being mashed up. When they were teething, I'd give them a carrot or a raw green been for them to gnaw on.
My daughter didn't get a single tooth until she was a year old which made it difficult for her in that she ate absolutely everything with tough little gums.
To this day, both of my kids eat absolutely everything because we gave them what we ate from the time they were very little.
I'm sure you'll get some great advice, but I say, don't be afraid to let your kids experience different flavors and textures and chomp on things they can hold onto by themselves.
Best of wishes!

Right around this age my daughter entirely stopped being willing to be spoon fed and would only eat 'whole foods.' I could only feed her things she could pick up with her fingers. She had quite a few teeth as well. So we definitely expanded to meats and vegetables and everything else. The key was cooking them well and keeping them in very small pieces. I can't quite remember the meat situation, because it's been a couple of years, now.

My little guy is 11 months old and loves small chunks of chicken, tofu, ground turkey, pasta, edamame, peas, mangos, grapes, raisens, bagel + cream cheese, bread, string cheese, etc. He has four little front teeth and prefers to eat table food. Sometimes I mix in some pureed food with the chunky stuff, but always put some food on his tray so he can feed himself. Have fun!

You've got some great advice so far. So as to not repeat it all, I will just add one more resource. I love the website:
www.wholesomebabyfood.com
It was an easy way for me to see when the babies can start eating certain foods. It has has great easy recipes to help prepare some of the foods for the child.
My daughter was late to get teeth, and that never stopped her! She is a great eater, and now eats whatever we are eating. (Sometimes just cut up a lot smaller)
Enjoy!

by 12 months my daughter was eating unmashed foods all the time. Usually cut very small to avoid choking. It of course depends on the foods. I tried not to give her the really hard stuff like fresh apples for a while (I let her suck on them when she was really little, but when she started biting off chunks I stopped giving them to her until a few weeks ago -17months with a full set of teeth- now I cut them up small too)