Sippy Cup and Eating Solid Food

I can't comment on the vitamins or the lead because we didn't encounter either after my son's 1 year check up 2 weeks ago.

But as far as transitioning to sippy and solids, I'm with you, give or take a few weeks. I started my son on a sippy around 10 months, although we gave it to him to hold and try out as early as 7 months. I second trying the Nuby soft nipple sippy cups as they allow the milk to come out easier and are not such hard spouts. Are you sure it's the sippy and not the whole milk she doesn't like? My son didn't want the whole milk at first, partially because it was so much colder than the formula. It does take awhile to get used to a sippy, though, and my son still has a bottle in the morning and a night. Just keep offering it to her, but don't force her to take it and she'll get the hang of it.

Gerber does have some good starter foods for solids. If she likes bread, try some toasted and cut into little pieces with a banana or other fruit spread. Pasta is great in almost any shape. My son loves peas, carrots, and corn cooked until it's very soft. Bananas are a great starter as well. It's really safe to offer her anything you eat (assuming no allergies) so long as it is in very small pieces and she's being supervised.

Good luck!

My youngest son also had low iron. We tried the liquid iron supplement but he about gagged when we gave it to him. One smell and I understood why. I talked with a dietician and she gave me some ideas on iron-rich foods to include in his diet. You might want to do a little research on this because it's been awhile and I can't remember a lot about it. We used to do a lot of hotdishes for him with vegetables and beef because he actually liked it. And, making things yourself, you know what goes into them (salt, etc.) This would be good for transitioning food too because it is pretty soft. Another thing we made a lot was homemade chicken noodle soup. The small hands can pick up the soft vegetables and meat pieces and it is usually a big hit.

Hello. My son is 10 months old and he loves the take and toss cups. They hold 5 oz and are small enough for him to use on his own. Here is what they look like http://www.learningcurve.com/product/detail/Y1192A2
They are like 3-4 dollars at target and come in a 6 pack.

As far as foods, you could try scrambled eggs,
Green beans..mix with meat...little amounts
Try finger food and give him a meat mix (he may not notice)

Carrots, mashed potatos, Cauliflower, etc.
Fruit (very ripe) - bananas, cantolope, watermelon
meals - spagetti, mac 'n chese, jelly sandwich
shredded cheese

Hopefully this will help a bit. Good Luck!

One way to "fatten" her up a bit with a healthy food is to let her eat avocados. My 11-month-old son loves them and they provide a lot of fat, but not unhealthy animal fat. He also loves to eat black beans, peas, black-eyed peas, and tofu. I don't know about your daughter, but my son likes to feed himself, so I've had to find a lot of food that he can pick up by himself. We're also starting the sippy cup thing, but only with water or diluted juice. We haven't tried the milk yet! We found that he likes the sippy cups in the dollar bin at Target the most! They are near the front of the store.

Hi, have you tried the soft nipple sippy cups? Avent and and another cheaper brand has them. I think its called nuby. The cup is also skinnier than avents. Its about the size of a bottle. As far as vitamins I think my spelling is right. Poly-Vi-Sol vitamins. That the brand that was recommended to me. Gerber graduates have a great line of easy to chew foods. I've heard that about lead. Sometimes lead can be contained in so many things we had no dream it would be. I just know that paint and living near a highway can cause lead exposure. Now it can be in anything as simple as a toy.