Toothless 1 Year Old

My daughter is almost 6 and got her first teeth right after her first birthday. Her favorite "snack" before she had teeth, was to chew on a bit of apple in a net teether. Here is the link: http://www.babysafefeeder.com/purchase10.htm

You can put bits of harder foods in it and not worry about them choking. She could suck/gum on this without having to really "chew" the food up.

If you don't want to have to worry about washing and dealing with a big food processor or blender, try a little hand crank one like this- it is the one I used and it really works well: http://www.happybabyproducts.com/kidcofoodmill.html

Hope this helps!
Amanda

Hi,

I used to make my daughter's food. I would make sweet potatoes in the oven, then mash them up really good, she loved them. It is time consuming, but if you plan on one day a month and then put them into ice cube trays to freeze them, they last a long time. I did this with peas and green beans, would just puree them myself. I would also puree all the fruits like peaches, pears, etc and they ended up being very soft. Another ideas is applesauce or cottage cheese, both are soft and she may like it. Good luck! S.

My son had no teeth for a long while but happily ate:

* Cottage Cheese
* Small chunks of cheddar cheese (easily gummed)
* Chunks of bananas
* grapes, peeled & quartered
* Other soft fruits cut up in tiny bits - mango, plums, strawberries
* Scrambled egg (or just the yolk if you are worried about allergies)
* Bread & toast (without the crust) - cut/ torn into little bits
* Freshly squeezed orange juice mixed with rice cereal
* Tiny bits of ham or chicken (he loves chilcken)
* Tuna fish, smoked salmon (a very rare food in our home)

Even without teeth, he was able to eat most things if they were in small enough chunks and were soft enough to chew. If your daughter can chew on crackers, she should be ok with other things. The problem with my son was that he would only eat food he could put in his mouth himslef so I had to spend what felt like hours chopping up all sorts of things!

I hope this helps!

R.

My daughter is 13 months and has only 2 lower incisors...she has the same problem abt not eating hard stuff.For ure consolation she got those 2 teeth when she was 12 months...I am a dentist myself and trust me it is normal for some kids to not get teeth bfore others!
We give her cheese cut into small pieces and banana or chicken pieces to eat by herself..rest of her food is pureed...so dont worry and just enjoy her!

what about chicken, it very soft and kids love it!!!

Sounds like my daughter - the self proclaimed vegetarian at age 4 who eats MAYBE 15 things. We kept on the "milk train" because we knew she was getting the nutrients. Our physician also recommended folding in tofu to her baby food to increase the nutritional value when she was little. I also just found a low carb, higher protein yogurt from Blue Bunny that gets her the protein she doesn't get from meat. We feed her what she likes (always have) and try to make meal time non-confrontational because then she'll completely shut down. Funny that the physicians say that lack of teeth shouldn't interfere with their transition to solid food - I don't believe it! Good luck - S.

You may have heard this before, but I was always told that teeth aren't needed to eat all foods and that they do amazingly well without them. My sons are picky eaters too, but the baby (16mo.) only has four teeth on top & bottom & he's been eating lots of foods for many months, even before they came in.

I say keep trying to give her different options and vary them. She doesn't know that she needs teeth to eat, so she may surprise you & start eating more. Try mac & cheese (a few at a time, cut in 1/2 if you want) spaghetti o's, veggie's & cheese cut into small pieces, soup w/noodles & veggies, peas, soft cooked carrot pieces (no salt added canned veggies are great). I hope that helps a little-keep at it & it'll work out.

S.

Neena,
Your daughter may have pain from teething even though you can't see any teeth yet. My kids had pain at 4 months, but it was about six months later when we finally saw some teeth. It sounds like you are giving her a good variety of foods. You both appear to be doing a good job with food.
Amy

Canned vegetables and fruits are very soft. I know they're not as nutritious as fresh veggies but they work great. Put one in your own mouth and see how quickly they dissolve (frozen veggies a little overcooked work too). Pasta a little over cooked. Also make sure you give her food pieces first, before any other food that way she is hungry enough to feed herself. You are letting her pick up these pieces by herself, right? Great for small motor skills. Good luck and keep trying!

I just read in a parenting magazine today that you should talk to your child's doctor if she doesn't have a tooth by 9 months. Since your doctor says she's fine, she probably is, but maybe check with a dentist who sees young children just to make sure.

Before my daughter gor her teeth which was at 10 month she loved berries - raspberries especially. Othe things my daughter ate were steamed brocolli and cauliflower whih I would make sure were very tender. Also I would make homemade chicken soup. Since the chicken is poached in the broth it is very tender along with the vegtable in the soup. If you don't have time to make soup try canned vegtable soup.
Good Luck

My son is turning 15 months and didnt get his first tooth till he was 14 months old, so it is normal. I do understand about the frustration with feeding. What I can sugest is getting a food processor. It gives you a lot more options when it comes to feeding time. One of my son's favorite foods now that he wouldn't try before is beef stew. It has more flavor than the baby food junk, and it's a lot more filling.
Also try PBJ sandwiches. It's a little messy, but its soft and they can hang onto it themselves (my son was getting very independent at this age.)
If you have any questions please feel free to email me. My Email address is ____@____.com!

My 3 kids didn't get their first tooth (I mean breaking thru the skin, not even fully down) until the middle of their 11th month so I can relate. I was always pretty successful with pasta. I've tried shells, cut up rigatoni noodles (into skinny rings), mostaccioli, etc. Each kid likes a different noodle. But, what's good is I grind up broccoli, sometimes zucchini, or frozen spinach into the red sauce so when I put the pieces on the tray, they are getting some veggies with their noodles. I'll bet she will like some type of pasta. Or try mac and cheese first, maybe the cheese will win her over first. Then add veggies along the way. Also, I microwave a sweet potato, scoop it out, add some butter (or smart balance) and a sprinkle of brown sugar and mash it all up, (maybe dilute a bit with milk) and they all loved it. Very good for them. Remember, even when they get teeth, what can they really CHEW with those front ones? They mash the food with their gums anyway till they get molars, and that's not till at least 15-18 months. Also, have you tried egg yolk boiled? Some like it. Lastly, I've found that at 1 yr, they are very independent minded, and if you give them a spoon to play with during dinner, even though they may not be skilled to use it, they will eventually eat food they normally wouldn't let you feed them, if you put it on the spoon for them, and helped them hold it into their mouths. Try that with the potatoes. Dilute good with milk tho. My little guy won't touch a veggie if he has to pick it up or me feed it to him. But, if I put it on his fork for him, and he tries to get it in his mouth, he'll keep going. good luck.

Hi
Why don't you just give her what ever your eating...just put it in a food processor and puree it. That's what I would try. And do not get too fustrated....this is only a short peroid in her life and yours. They grow up way to fast! Mine are now 21, 18 and 15. Enjoy them!
Mrs. Terry P.

Neena,
My friend's daughter did not get a single tooth until she was almost two. It was either the month before or the same month she turned two. I remember she ate a lot of yogurt, because of the different flavors. I wish I had more to tell you. But I do know that a lot of kids don't start getting teeth until a year. Hopefully it will go fast once they start coming in.