As an occupational therapist that specializes in feeding, I often get asked how to transition a baby or toddler from baby food to table foods. These questions usually come from parents who are struggling through the process with a baby (under 12 months old) or from parents that now have toddlers who won’t eat table foods or solids.
This post will be your complete guide to transitioning to solids and table foods, no matter which situation you find yourself in.
Lastly, to be clear, when I say “table food” I mean any food that is not a food specifically pureed for babies. Baby led weaning (BLW) often skips the step of baby food so this guide is for parents that have followed the traditional route of giving baby food first.
Of course, if your child is struggling with BLW these strategies can still be helpful!
In this post you’ll learn:
Why Eating Table Foods is Challenging
When Do Babies Start Eating Table Food?
Step #1: Making Sure Baby is Ready for Table Foods
Step #3: Introducing Table Foods to Your Baby
Step #4: Transitioning Baby to Table Foods
Step #5: Getting Your Baby or Toddler to Only Eat Table Food
Why Transitioning from Baby Food to Table Food Can Be Challenging for Parents and Baby…
As a mom, each time I had to transition my boys onto table foods, I was frustrated and overwhelmed even though I’m a feeding therapist that had helped many families through it before. It’s different when you’re the mom living it day in and day out.
Experiencing that as a mom showed me how challenging it can be. The little baby food routine you had starts to shift, as they are also beginning to wean from breast or bottle and learn to drink from some type of cup (ideally a straw cup).
As parents, we worry, “Are they eating enough?”
With jarred food, you can know exactly how much they’ve eaten, but it gets a little blurry when half of the diced up food you give them is on the floor.
It’s tempting to stop serving table foods and to focus on baby food because you know how much they’re eating – but there’s a problem with that as you’ll learn shortly.
This process does require some patience because your baby is learning a new skill, something I had to remind myself of quite often.
My best advice as a mom and OT is to take heart and know it’s all part of the process. Remember that until 1 year of age, their milk source (breast milk or formula) is their main source of nutrition.
This is why people say, “food before one is just for fun.”
We want to teach our babies how to eat table and finger foods so they have the skill, but not get stuck on how much they are actually eating.
Keep in mind that some babies and toddlers won’t eat finger or table foods for various underlying causes such as:
- sensory processing
- oral motor delays
- some underlying medical diagnosis like reflux, food allergies, etc.
To explore the signs of these underlying causes head to Why Won’t My Baby Eat?
This is an exciting time, and it’s absolutely adorable when your chubby little baby is gnawing on a breadstick or getting puffs stuck on their face!
Now that you’re in the right frame of mind, let’s dive into the details of when and how to introduce table foods to your baby!
When Do Babies Start Eating Table Food?
Generally speaking, a good time to start introducing table foods for most babies is around 8-9 months. However, it may be later for your child, especially if they were a preemie. You will know they aren’t quite ready if they refuse, gag, or cough a lot when you try.
That’s okay, don’t be discouraged, this just means you will need to take it slower and consistently offer safe foods they won’t choke on.
If you’re nervous about how to handle gagging or your baby is gagging a lot on foods, check out Everything You Need to Know About Baby Gagging.
For other babies, they may start eating table foods even earlier, sometimes at 7 months. As a feeding therapist, I can’t recommend starting table foods for baby too much earlier, but of course, it is your choice if you feel they are ready. It is likely that they will be mostly swallowing (not chewing) most of the food though.
One critical word of caution is to NOT wait too long to start transitioning to table foods. Babies will instinctively chew from 7-8 months to around 11 months old, which means the transition will come easier.
Waiting past 10 months, unless your child has developmental delays, a diagnosis, swallowing difficulties, or was born prematurely, can make transitioning to table foods even harder when they’re a toddler. See the chart above as a quick reference.
Step #1: Make Sure Baby is Ready for Table Foods
Some signs your baby is ready for this transition are:
- Looking at or grabbing your food
- Making a chewing motion with their mouth when they watch you eat
- Picking up small objects
- Are 8-9 months old. See 9 Month Old Baby Food + Table Food Ideas.
- Brings hands to mouth
- Can sit safely with or without support
Remember, you want to start this by 10 months even if you aren’t seeing some of these signs, as long as they don’t have any of the reasons listed in the previous section to delay the start of table foods.
A week or two before you begin to introduce solids, start to thicken their baby food. Thicker foods require more movement of the tongue and muscles in the mouth, which helps lay a good foundation for moving a solid piece of food around in their mouth.
If you’re making your own baby food (get the DIY here), then add less water or liquid when pureeing. Use stage 2 baby food if you’re buying premade baby food.
Beware that some stage 3 type foods are great because they are thicker, but many of the jarred varieties have whole pieces of food mixed in with the puree, don’t go there – yet. That is putting the cart before the horse.
For now, it’s crucial to stick with smooth purees, gradually increasing their thickness, as your baby tolerates it. NO CHUNKS.
The mixed in chunks can cause gagging and a negative experience. It’s actually harder for babies to eat than table foods. Babies that eat chunks in their baby food well are just swallowing it all without chewing.
I’d also recommend increasing the thickness of store bought baby food by adding cereal (this is one of my favorites) or freshly pureed foods into jarred baby foods.
Step #2: Demonstrating
Once you start thickening their baby food, it would also be great to start eating at the same time you feed your baby, if you aren’t already. Your baby will watch what you do and learn a lot from it.
When you see that you have their attention, begin to dramatically chew for them, even with your mouth open. Show them how you put a small piece of food into your mouth using your hand.
It may take finding the right moment to get their attention, but this will help pique their interest in table foods, as well as teach them what they should do when you hold that piece of food up to them for the first time.
The Best First Table Food for Babies
Before we move on, you need to know what table food to offer your baby. A great place to start, and the best choice for a lot of babies’ first table food is a meltable puff.
I’ve used Gerber puffs many times, but there are so many brands, just test whatever type of puff you buy by letting it sit in your mouth and seeing how quickly it dissolves.
The dissolving factor is important because if your baby doesn’t chew the puff, it will dissolve in their saliva.
Puffs are perfect because they are hard and crunchy initially, which helps babies realize there is something in their mouth. That crunchy texture also helps them find it and maneuver it around in their mouth.
It may seem to make sense to start with a soft table food like eggs or banana. Not bad logic, but because those foods are so soft, babies have a hard time feeling exactly where it is in their mouth.
For some babies, this means they will refuse table foods and for others, it means they aren’t chewing and just swallowing.
The wonderful thing about puffs is that they dissolve in saliva in just a few seconds. So, if your baby doesn’t chew while they are learning to eat and they swallow, they aren’t going to choke on it. That is peace of mind.
Puffs are also great because they can be broken into really small pieces for those first attempts, if needed. And, babies can pick them up easily! Read more in when can babies eat cheerios and puffs? (Cheerios are much later, they don’t dissolve)
Step #3: Introducing Table Foods to Your Baby
The very first time you give your baby an actual table food, you’ll want to try and pick a time with little distractions so that you can give them your full attention.
Make sure they are seated in their high chair because this keeps them in a safe position and will help prevent choking. Read about how to make sure your baby is seated safely for eating.
Place the table food on their tray and allow them to touch and explore it for a few minutes. Some babies will pick it up and put it right into their mouth, depending on their age. While that is certainly ideal, your baby may need some more help.
If they aren’t putting the table food into their mouth, demonstrate picking it up and putting it into your mouth. Then, pick up a piece and put it into their mouth, right where their molars will be. Or, if they’re holding the food, gently guide their hand towards their mouth for them as you smile reassuringly.
If they munch up and down and swallow, you can offer more bites.
However, on the first attempt, some babies cough or gag. Other babies will spit it out. Be encouraging, peaceful (they will sense your stress, fake it if you have to), and know when to call it quits. Often, it may take a few meals over a few days before babies get the hang of it.
If your baby turns their head or pushes your arm away when you try to put the food in their mouth, then respect that and don’t force it. They may need some more exploration with the food first.
Step #4: Transitioning Baby to Table Foods
Continue to offer puffs for a few days to a week at every meal alongside their pureed food, until you can see them munching up and down with their jaw most of the time.
Ideally, they should be feeding themselves the puffs, too, but don’t let that be a deal breaker on moving forward. You can help them put the puffs in their mouth as long as they’re willingly opening their mouth.
Puffs have next to no calories. They are great to use when they are just starting on table foods, but as you pull away from baby food they don’t offer enough to fill their little bellies.
Find baby feeding schedules for 8, 9, and 10 month olds here and 11-14 months here.
Once your baby is enjoying puffs, you’ll want to try small pieces of other foods that dissolve really quickly. Some examples are: Town House Crackers (not Ritz, this texture actually requires more chewing), Graham Crackers, Teething Wafers, Baby Cheese Puffs, rice husks, and other stage 1 table foods you find in the baby aisle at the grocery store.
Trader Joe’s Social crackers are another option if you live by one.
Encourage your baby to feed themselves these finger foods, but certainly give help as needed. If they are eating these types of food well, it is time to move onto some softer foods that require a little more chewing, which we will address here in a minute.
If you aren’t sure if finger food is safe, do a taste test yourself. How quickly does it dissolve compared to a puff? How much do you need to chew it?
How do you know your child is eating foods well and ready to move on? When they are chewing it with little to no coughing, choking, or gagging, and swallowing easily (not hard gulps), consistently, for a week or two.
At this point you can also try pairing crackers and other crunchy foods with spreads like jelly, hummus, and cream cheese to maximize exposure to table foods and different textures.
Spread right on the cracker or show them how to dip it into a glob on their tray. Then, start giving them these foods first, before the baby food, at a meal and allow them to eat as much as they want or will.
Step #5: Getting Your Baby or Toddler to Only Eat Table Food
As your child eats a variety of crunchy but melt-able foods well, then you can start with soft foods like bananas, avocado, noodles, scrambled eggs, boiled potatoes, muffins, deli meat, cheese, breads, and overly cooked veggies in a cube shape.
You can also try these cubed “jellies” or little frittatas, that are perfect for this stage too. It may take a few days or weeks before you’re ready to move onto these soft foods.
I have been mostly focusing on actual cubed food that babies can easily feed themselves, but as they eat those softer foods and the spreads well, you can start to slowly experiment with mixed textures like soups and casseroles.
Again, you will want to keep this slow, maybe starting off with macaroni and cheese, and then moving to spaghetti and meatballs and then chicken noodle soup. The latter has a lot more changes in consistency in one bite of food.
You can give baby a couple of pieces on the tray of these types of food, but will probably be mostly feeding by spoon.
When your baby is eating several cracker like foods and several soft foods, you can pull back from giving as much baby food and perhaps skip the baby food at some meals.
As they eat more and more of the table foods, you’ll serve less and less baby food, skipping it more and more until you no longer need it.
If you feel they haven’t eaten enough of the actual table food then give them some of the baby food. Keep in mind that babies need to eat actually very little and a tablespoon or two of finger foods may be plenty for them.
If you’re nervous about how much your baby should be eating, check out toddler portion sizes, the info is great for babies too!
And if it feels like you’re lacking inspiration for what to serve, see my Mega List of Table Foods.
Important Tips for Transitioning Baby to Table Foods Easily
- Once you begin introducing table foods, offer one table food at each meal. Then, slowly increase the variety of foods they are eating as they are managing more foods.
- Continue to steadily increase the thickness of baby foods as you progress with table foods. If you aren’t making your own baby foods, try pureeing what you are eating for dinner or mix this into the jarred baby food. This will help get your child used to more textures and tastes. I love using a magic bullet for this!
- Carefully monitor all new foods. Some coughing and an occasional gag is normal. If you are seeing this frequently, the texture you are giving them may be too difficult for them. Wait a week or so before introducing it again and then proceed slowly. Discuss persistent gagging and choking with your doctor.
The Big Picture: Introducing Table Foods to Baby Cheat Sheet
Let’s sum up everything we’ve talked about in transitioning your baby from purees to finger foods and solid foods with a list that you can use as a quick guide.
- Give baby puffs as their very first table food.
- Give other food that have a crunch but melt easily, like cheese curls and graham crackers.
- Give crunchy/meltable foods layered with another texture like spread, dip, etc.
- Give soft foods that you’ve cut into a small cube.
- Give soft foods with irregular shapes like scrambled eggs, noodles, and ground meat crumbles.
- Give crunchy foods that don’t melt as quickly like cheerios, toast (add toppings like hummus, avocado, etc.)
- Give mixed foods like casseroles and soups (start off with foods that don’t have a lot of chunks in theme and monitor closely)
Important Tips for Transitioning Baby to Table Foods Easily
- Once you begin introducing table foods, offer one table food at each meal. Then, slowly increase the variety of foods they are eating as they are managing more foods.
- Continue to steadily increase the thickness of baby foods as you progress with table foods. If you aren’t making your own baby foods, try pureeing what you are eating for dinner or mix this into the jarred baby food. This will help get your child used to more textures and tastes. I love using a magic bullet for this!
- Hot dogs, grapes, marshmallows, large dollops of nut-butters, nuts, lettuce, popcorn, hard candy are all potential choking hazards. Hot dogs, grapes, and marshmallows can be cut into small pieces. Spread nut-butters thinly on foods. Food larger than a pea could get lodged in the airway.
- Carefully monitor all new foods. Some coughing and an occasional gag is normal. If you are seeing this frequently, the texture you are giving them may be too difficult for them. Wait a week or so before introducing it again and then proceed slowly. Discuss persistent gagging and choking with your doctor.
- Remember to ONLY move onto the next step once your baby is safely and consistently eating the previous step for a few days to a week or so, depending on your comfort level and the time it takes your baby to learn, which varies widely.
Help, My Baby or Toddler Won’t Eat Table Food!
Some children have a hard time moving onto table foods. Often these babies were pros at baby food, but turn their noses up and refuse many or all table foods.
It’s not uncommon for parents to even experience situations where their 10, 11-month, and even 1-year-olds and toddlers won’t eat solids.
As we discussed in the first section of this article, in this case, it’s critical to consider that there’s an underlying difficulty affecting your child’s ability and willingness to eat.
To figure out what you can do to start helping your baby, I highly recommend our free table food workshop. You’ll learn how to make some powerful but easy changes to what and how you feed them.
If you continue to struggle with moving forward with this process, consider feeding therapy. If you are in the states you may qualify for free help from Early Intervention.
Free Printable: Learn How to Eat Table Foods Cheat Sheet!!
Want to have all these steps in your hands so you can reference them in a heartbeat? We’ve got you covered you’ll find all the steps for transitioning your baby or toddler to table foods in this handy free printable:
Click here to get the free Learn How to Eat Table Foods Cheat Sheet
More on Transitioning Baby to Table Foods from Your Kid’s Table
The Ultimate List of Baby/Toddler Meal Ideas
The Best High Calorie Foods for Babies
Getting Picky Eaters to Eat New Foods
A Weekly Meal Plan of Table Foods For Your Baby or Toddler: So You Can Save Your Sanity
Alisha Grogan is a licensed occupational therapist and founder of Your Kid’s Table. She has over 19 years experience with expertise in sensory processing and feeding development in babies, toddlers, and children. Alisha also has 3 boys of her own at home. Learn more about her here.
My daughter seems to be transitioning too well! She no longer wants her baby food and she is 9 months old and every time I eat she wants what I am eating and different foods I know is a good idea for textures etc but for some reason I’m having a hard time letting go of the bottle and baby food because I know she is getting what she needs. I try to make meal time fun and give her a variety of little snacks with her baby food but lately she doesn’t want the baby food at all. Is this too young to give up baby food altogether? I just want to make sure she is getting the nutrition she needs.
I totally understand the bottle and baby food offer that security. If she is eating what you perceive to be a good portion of table foods than there is absolutely no reason to continue with baby food. If you are concerned about portion sizes see the side bar for a post titled; Toddler Portion Sizes.
Hi Alisha, my son just turned 1. He does great with soft pieces of food like banana, sweet potato, but how do I get him to eat hard food like fresh cucumber? I tried to offer cucumber as finger food and he spits them out as he couldn’t chew on it. Is it too early to offer?
Keep trying! It is definitely not too soon. Demonstrate for him and even try to have him place right on his gums in the back where he needs to chew. Lots of practice can make all the difference.
Hi Alisha,
I’m so glad I found your site. My son is 10.5 months (with a soft palate cleft to be repaired at 13 mo). He does great with the puffs, graham crackers, mum-mums, etc. But refuses any soft texture foods (won’t pick up and eat anything soft/mushy….if it does make it into his mouth, he tongue-thrusts it out) Is this a sensory issue? He usually does OK with stage 2 purees, but it’s hit or miss these days with those as well. I’m getting more and more anxious about his lack of eating –my pediatrician thinks its a non-issue right now since he’s less than a year, but I feel like we’re on the wrong track given our upcoming surgery. Any advice?
Hi Andra, forgive my late response. I was on vacation and have been playing catch up. It is hard to say if it is sensory it could very well be. I don’t want you to be anxious but I think it is good to be aware. Palate issues are often accompanied by eating challenges as well. Try a wide variety of crunchy foods- see my mega list of table foods in the sidebar or article index in the menu bar. Also, keep giving him those foods, he just needs repeated exposure and a lot of positive reinforcement. Also in the menu bar you will find a post: Help for infants and toddlers. It may be helpful to have a feeding evaluation, which is free if you are in the states! Let me know if you need more help!
Hi thank you so much for this website I just found you!
My son is just 9 months old. I feel as though he’s ready for more finger/table foods.
Currently he eats purée followed by his bottle at breakfast and lunch mid afternoon he just has a bottle and either gerber puffs or mum mum with piece of fruit. Supper is just purée usually followed by fruit in a net feeder. Bedtime bottle and that’s it. Oh after breakfast I always offer some sort of cereal(Cheerios or puffed kamut)
How do I start offering more solid foods and less purée. I guess I’m asking is how do I balance the two? I always offer finger foods after the meal so he gets his fill and then has fun foods afterwards.
Can you help me figure out how to balance the two?
I just need a little plan on how to move forward. I’ve just recently offered him a spoon at meal time to hold he can have it until it becomes too much of a distraction then I take it away:).
I would start to offer the table with the purees so that you are letting him eat some table foods and then a bite or two of puree. If he is eating a lot of table foods don’t worry about trying to get all of the puree into him. If he is willing and eating then slowly back of the purees, maybe in a week or two give him the table food first and finish with the puree only if you think you need to. I’m glad you are noticing his interest this is an important window that you don’t want to miss. I know it is a little scary, but keep pushing yourself out of your comfort zone a little. As for the spoon, how you are handling it is fine, keep introducing, he will be better with it in no time!
My 14month old daughter doesnt chew her food. She swallow everything and then gags. How cN I teach my daughter to chew all food?
This is a tough question because she could be gagging for a variety of reasons. If you really think she isn’t chewing, show her repeatedly in the way I described above. Also focus on the meltable crunchy foods. It might be helpful to get her a feeding evaluation if that is an option- let me know if you need more info on that.
I have been trying to find information on how to transition to table/finger foods. This was the most helpful post I’ve found. Thank you for the info!
I’m a nervous mom and have been breaking up the puffs for my 9 month old – she’s got the chewing action down now, and I’ve already been giving her thicker homemade foods…but it’s so nerve wracking!
I don’t know how many places I found that said to give her stick shaped foods to practice chewing on – but you just know she’s going to try to cram the whole thing in her mouth and choke.
One request if you find the time – please more pictures – like on your homemade baby food post – just being able to see what the transition food looks like, or even portion sizes or cube sizes, would help ease this new momma’s mind!
Just got to the Mega-List – first thing is a photo of different foods in cube sizes! You are awesome!
Good morning Alisha, my daughter is almost 12 months old. She’s been on stage 2 Gerber foods for several months now and we just started trying the stage 3 foods. For about 6 weeks, we’ve been trying to get her to eat Puffs. As the Puff sits on her tongue, she gags on it. We offer a few every day to see if she will get over this, but so far, we’ve had no luck. Do you have any advice on what we should do? Her daycare keeps asking if she is eating Puffs or Cheerios yet so I feel like she is behind the curve on what she should be eating.
I appreciate any advice. Thank you!
Hi Valerie, this is really tricky- there are a variety of reasons she could be having difficulty. First, make sure you break the puffs in half, forget cheerios, and place them on her back gums where she will show- demonstrate with your mouth open to show her. I would also consider getting a free feeding eval if you are in the states. See the article index and look under Help for Toddlers: Ealy Intervention. Let me know if you need more help. I’m also available for consults but there is no pressure at all, we could get into more specifics there.
Hi. I followed your advice and my son is a champ at eating solids. He eats puffs, mum mums, cooked carrot, grated apples, pieces of chicken etc. No problems gagging or choking. He is going to be 11 months old. I normally give him his food in small chunks so he just pops it in his mouth. I wanted to be able to hive him sticks of food like toast or sticks of cooked carrot but I am concerned he will put too much in his mouth at once. I gave him 1/2 of a mum mum and he shoved the whole thing in (he did not have any problems eating it). Is there a process to transition him to larger pieces that he needs to bite smaller pieces off of? Also, I still give him some purees with his finger foods, is that okay?
Some kids need some help with the stick shapes. Tell him “bite” and intervene by pulling the rest out of his mouth. You may need to put your hand under his jaw and help his close his mouth. Also, demonstrate by taking your own bites dramatically in front of him. Remember, it is a transition so it is okay to give him cube sized pieces. Baby food is okay to, but remember within the next month or two it should be done unless you run into some problems. Glad it is going so well!
Wow, this was really helpful and I wish I had read it sooner! My pediatrician asked me how finger foods were going at my son’s 9 month check-up, and I panicked because I had not attempted any! Just homemade thicker purees. After that, I think I felt we were very behind, so I may have then rushed him into it. I tried scrambled egg, tiny banana chunks, and cottage cheese, all of which made him gag like crazy and even vomit. I shouldn’t say I am glad to know other babies have this problem, but I at least feel that this is more normal after reading the other comments. Since he was born a little early and also had TEF (he had surgery on his throat right after birth), I decided to just slow it down. I started adding either ground beef or quinoa to his purees to get him used to the texture and giving him Gerber puffs to get him used to feeding himself, and he is progressing really well now! I also have your mega table foods list bookmarked– thank you!
Hi, I’m so glad you found your way here! Follow the steps closely and take your time. Keep in touch and let me know if you are having any other trouble.
My son is 10 months old. He will only eat baby food jars, yogurt, Cheerios, and Gerber finger foods. If I offer anything else to him (small pieces of meat, or fruits) he gags the second it touches his month and projectile vomits. He does the same with stage 3 jars. I worry about his protein intake.
***He will only eat fruits and veggies in stage 2 Gerber. He does okay with the stage 2 meat/veggie mixes like Turkey Sweet Potato mix. But it 100 percent puree, no chunks. Anything with chucks, he throws up or gags. I try to offer homemade baby food, but that always has some skin or seeds, it just is not as smooth as the Gerber brand. Is this normal? I know you can’t compare, but other children at his daycare eat lunch meat and cheeses. It makes me feel as if I am doing something wrong. Maybe I am pushing solids too soon?
Hi Pamela! As I mentioned in the article, avoid any mixed textures until he is eating a variety of table foods. I would however make his baby food thicker- see this article and part 2 for specifics. Even if you are adding mashed banana and other smooth things to store bought food. He should be ready to move forward and gagging is a red flag BUT he is really young, so you both have some time to figure this out. Keep trying, following these guides closely. Also, try to let him mouth stick shaped foods like carrots and celery in very large pieces that he can’t get all the way into his mouth. It will help him decrease his gag reflex and he will practice chewing.
Hi,
My daughter is 10 months old. She eats puffs like a champ- picks them up with a pincer grasp, puts them in her mouth by herself and eats them no issue at all. But any other soft solid I give her, whether I spoon feed her or put them on her tray, she gags, coughs, and sometimes spits them out. She’s tried eggs, avocado, shredded cheese, tiny pieces of pancake, boiled carrots and broccoli (both mashed). I wish I had seen your blog before this morning because now I am going to backtrack and go in the order you suggest. But should I be concerned that she does so well with puffs but not with anything else? She’s now at the point where she’s coughing and gagging on her purees (stage 2 & 3), so I’m wondering if this is just becoming a habit and she’s being a bit dramatic about eating… I just feel like I’m at a total loss!
Thanks in advance for your help!
I should also mention that my daughter has been on reflux medication since she was 2 months old, although her reflux is much much better now!
Yes, go back and read, go through the textures in the order I talked about. Really focus on crunchy foods that melt easily and stay away from stage 3 foods that have chunks in them, everything should be smooth. See the article index for a post: Early Intervention Services, in case you need more help. Let me know if she doesn’t make any progress with the crunch foods.
This article is so great! I could not even get any good info from the pediatrician. My son is 9 months old and has been eating solids since he was 6 months old. He eats mashed sweet potatoes and squash with no problems. Are there other foods that I should give him that are thicker or should he be ready to try minced veggies? I have just started giving puffs. He gets them in his mouth on his own but he does gag some. I have been very intimidated to start the transition but I don’t want to wait too long. Thank you very much for the information.
Check out Part 2 and the Mega list that I linked to at the end of this post- you will find more specifics there. I would encourage you to be bold and let him try things in small pieces. All kinds of veggies that are cooked to soft would work, things like carrots, cooked apple, cooked pear, mango, potato, celery, etc. Good Luck!
This is a great site. My son is tired of the pureed stuff. I’ve started finger foods (meat, cheese, toast, puffs, mashed potatoes, etc.–I really don’t care about the mess so long as my son gets enough to eat), but he seems to play around with it. I feel like most of it is in his lap or on the floor. When you say start out with puffs, do you mean at every meal? So you’d cut out all pureed food and then only give formula/breastmilk and puffs? I was concerned about all the food groups, so I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to give one meal with puffs, then the rest with pureed food and formula/breastmilk.
Oh no… just do puffs with the baby food, put a couple on their tray while you feed him. Feel free to feed him. If he is already eating other foods then don’t worry about the puffs. If he isn’t eating any baby food then yes give him a variety of food groups.
Thank you Alisha for your post! Although my daughter eats puffs & melts, and seems to not have a problem with gripping or picking up food, I cant get her to bring it to her mouth. She’l automaticallyl put toys to her mouth, but not food. She’s two weeks from turning 1, (9 months gestational) Any other tricks I should try?
If you can dip her hand into a baby food or pureed food and have her get it to her mouth, even if you have to put your hand on top of hers and move it towards her mouth. This will help her get the idea between hand, mouth, and eating. Keep trying and really keep that gestational age in mind:)
Thanks Alisha. Swede or rutubaga looks like a turnip and is cooked like potato. Steamed, mashed, roasted etc. So yes it was soft. I wish he could have meltable puffs like non-allergic kids. We tried banana and avocado early on but he reacted to them.
We will keep at it. I have ordered some 100% puffed buckwheat seeds so fingers crossed they will be suitable. The closest to meltable we can get, in addition to the crumbly abuckwheat bread I make
Don’t know if this will help you at all now, but maybe if someone else is following with same problem – amaranth puffs up nicely, is super small and relatively low incidents of allergic reactions (although if you have a grain allergy, you could be more prone to having a reaction). makes a nice cereal.