My doctor said to stick to just the stage 3 baby foods. But my 11 month old son wants more. He wants to feed himself. Should I stick with the doctor's advice and just keep up the jarred foods for 2 more months? Or should I add in table food, and if so what? Any advice would be appreciated!
Alex has had no reflux and no problems. When he was born he didn't gain weight quickly. Alex ate constantly but has a high metabolism. Doctor said at his last visit that his weight gain was right on track. Not sure why he really wants us to stick just with jarred food.
Thank you so much everyone! I'm going to put a call into the dr on Monday and see exactly why. Last night I gave him the same thing we were eating, which was chicken and veggies. But his were cut up teeny. It was the best feeding time ever! He loved it! And I even got to eat my food too! He even chewed the chicken. He has 3 teeth all in front so it wasn't so much as chewing as gumming. I did notice that he wanted me to put all the food on his tray at one time so he could shove it all in. I only gave him one piece at a time though. Thank you again for all of your support!
www.wholesomebabyfood.com A lifesaver for me when my DS was that age! So many different ideas. My DS hated the stage 3 foods, but loooved everything I fed him using the ideas and recipes from that site.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do! :)
At 11mos, our son was eating whatever we ate (except for the big no-no's, like honey). Sometimes it was prepared differently (kept out the super hot peppers), and it was always size/cut proportionately (I think the rule is still no bigger than their pinkie). Good luck and have fun!
I agree with the posts about skipping the jarred baby food, but you could always ask why. I fed my kids table food at that age (an a little younger, although I made baby food for both kids)--either soft things or things that are easily gummed, mostly cut very small. Well cooked diced vegetables (so they're soft), egg yolks (scrambled or hard boiled--you can add the whites at 12 months), tofu (I flavored it with a little soy sauce), diced soft fruit, crackers, cherrios, those little melt in the mouth baby snacks they make, diced avocados or sliced olives (both high in health fats), etc.
Now if your son does well those foods and has teeth, he might be getting ready for more complex food and you can gradually introduce the foods the rest of the family are eating. You just want to watch out for choking hazards (of course) such as grapes, popcorn, hot dogs, honey, peanut butter, etc. Good luck.
Hi, Priony:
Try what you think the baby will eat and see what happens.
Good luck.
D.
My DS is 10 months, and he is a very picky eater, didn't like most baby food. So he eats cooked and mashed just about everything now. Potatoes, Sweet, Potatoes, Pears, bananas, avacodo, ect. And those baby puff, cookies, crackers, ect. I think you would be fine to try soft table food, just make sure you watch him carefully. Some babies don't even eat jarred food, they go right from milk to table food! : )
At 11 mos of age he should be able to eat what he wants within reason of course. Our doctor said not peanut butter, shellfish, peanuts until age 2. Other than that whatever was fine. Jarred food can be pricey, I don't understand why a dr would recommend that? Seems odd. He would be just fine eating table food.
We have a 7 wk old now and we are going to attempt to make our own baby food with this one. Our now 2 yr old is a VERY picky eater. We plan on introducing table foods pureed much sooner than we did before. I would say around 8-9 mos of age. We don't want the 2nd baby to be as picky as the first.
DS was eating what we ate (in appropriate textures - chopped/coarsely pureed) at that age. Exception was honey due to higher susceptibility to botulism in infants. Our pediatrician had no issues with tree nuts, peanuts or any other foods but did recommend against peanut butter on its own due to its difficult texture (peanut butter cooked in foods/sauces was fine). We never did jarred baby foods (have you tasted them - blech). I would ask your pediatrician why his/her recommendation. Now is a great time to get DD used to a variety of 'real' foods - now she wants to eat what you are eathing - when she is two - she may not.
Was there a reason your doc said to stick with the baby food? Gag reflex? History of allergies? I don't have the whole picture, so I don't want to second guess your doctor. That said, both of my kids were off table foods and eating small bites of pretty much everything we ate at around 11 months. I Just made them really small bites and watched carefully for choking.
Good luck!
All kids are different. My daughter wasn't eating much solid food until she was two, but my son was eating everything we ate by the time he was 9 months old. He started eating baby food around 5 months old, and by 6 months was gumming regular food, and by 9 months, he ate anything we did, just cut up small of course. But my daughter just didn't want anything to do with food, not even baby food. If he is interested, I would give it to him. My son eats more variety than my daughter , I think because he got used to them early.
My kids never ate the stage three Baby foods, ever. My son was on only table food(and nursing) by 8 months. He let me feed him yogurt and applesauce but otherwise refused to be fed. I just cut everything into bite size pieces and made sure they were soft. My daughter was a little more picky and almost exclusively nursed her first year with a few bites of food when we ate. Some things I fed my kids were (organic) cut up pieces of waffles, pancakes, Cheerios, cereal bars, bananas for breakfast. Pasta, small pieces of chicken, ground turkey, cut up veggies, cheese, sometimes a grilled cheese sandwich into bite size pieces. Snacks any baby snacks (puffs) baby goldfish, crackers, applesauce, I bought fruit cups of the peaches or pears in fruit juice not syrup and they were soft and bite size already. Those are just some ideas.
My (just turned) 11 month old only has two teeth (the two front bottom) and is still pretty capable of "gumming down" almost any food we eat. We just ate dinner out tonight and he had onion soup, bits of steak and rice and cooked zuccini. Of course, he still requires his regular bottle of formula and baby foods because, lets face it, at this stage, they aren't really eating enought to sustain them. But check with your pediatrican and see what his reasons are for asking you to keep up with baby foods and not start some solids. It might have a lot to do with his initial inability to gain and maintain his weight....I can only assume that maybe he doesn't want him to have any setbacks.
I've never heard of a doctor that wanted you to stick to jarred foods at 11 months.. I think you're fine using table food chopped into non-chokable pieces..
It's amazing how advice always changes......... Back in our day we were probably eating everything by 11 months! ;)
Good luck!
My son (now 13 months) has never had pureed jar food. His first food was apple sauce and then mashed up bananas and then avacados. After about a month of this he had enough of the smashed stuff and went straight to small bits of what ever we were eating. He loves feeding himself and fights it when I try to feed him things. He is already using a spoon and fork (not always successfully but he insists on getting to do it on his own). There is no reason why you shouldn't let your 11 month of eat finger foods. I honestly, would stop going to your ped. about nutrition/feeding advice because he obviously has no clue.
I agree with the other mamas--skip the stage 3 foods. My daughter refused to take a taste of jarred food after 9-10 months and I had to switch. My daycare child did the same around 10 months and actually gagged more on stage 3 foods--maybe because the little pieces are suspended in mash so they don't know whether to "gum" the food or just swallow? Go for table food --little bits at a time--soft fruits and veggies, breads, pasta, rice in small enough pieces, heck both the infants i've cared for did way better with meat as table food than as jarred--ground meats at first, followed by softly cooked tender chicken, pork and beef (think slow cooker!) Good luck! My doctor was the opposite of yours and thought kids should be completely off the jar by 12 months--start slowly and watch for choking!
I never bought stage 3 food for my daughter, I really hardly used jar food because I made my own. But beside that my daughter really didn't like the "mush" or pureed food very much she was on table food by the time she was 9 months. She loved picking it up and eating by herself. By her first birthday she could use a fork and spoon pretty successfully.
I don't know if we have all the details, but I have never heard a dr. advocate for jar food for 13 months. By 13 months, my daughter was eating everything we ate. It was a little easier for us becuase she had been allergy tested at a year and showed a very low chance of having any food allergies so we knew things like peanut butter and fish were safe. :)
