Help with Solids

holdn5

We haven't given Stella too many solids yet: banana, ritz cracker, mashed potatoes, bread and puffs. I'd like to try introducing more and was wondering if I should start having DC give her some of what they are giving the older kids. I picked up the menu today and I don't think there is much on here for her to eat yet, which I guess is perfectly fine.

They have listed animal crackers, graham cracker and cheese slices. Do you think she'd be ok gumming on these? I'm so paranoid...sometimes she'll choke on the ritz cracker and spit it back up so I don't know where to start!!

MommaMcG

We started giving Claire cheese bits this past week.  I don't know about the crackers just yet though.  I think I'd wait.

amstep

We started with veggie purees, introducing one new one per week, and it took DS a while to get the hang of things.  I'd rec staying away from the crunchy stuff until she's good with the purees.  Gotta get those swallowing muscles toned up first!!!

Once we had mastered 8 veggies, the pedi told us to go for fruits.  His thoughts were it was tough to get a kid's palate to like savory after they've gotten too much of a taste for fruit.

Oh, and btw...bananas locked up DS's digestive system completely!  Still do.  He loves them, but I'd rec other fruits first, if possible, or giving them in a combo. 

Good luck!  Maybe practice in the evenings and get her going pretty well before turning her over to the DC folks who might not have undivided attention to give her as she's learning.  

lemen99

Andrew gagged a *lot* with solids until about a year old. He actually did better with crunchy things (ie: crackers!) and high flavor foods. 

Some of the first things he did well with were:

Veggie Sticks from Trader Joe's (essentially like french fries), Puffs, Black Beans cut in half , toast with lots of better, angel hair noodles cut very small with parm cheese & butter

 Later:

Banana, mashed potatoes, small pieces of meat if cooked in the crock pot (very tender), shredded cheese, ritz

Now:

Small pieces of ham, vanilla wafers, eggs, bread, pieces of cheese, cherrios

I think Andrew would do OK on the items you mentioned now, but would have been hit & miss before even if they were in very small pieces.  Even now he requires very small pieces.

 

libbyk86

Eloise took to solid table foods really well; she was pretty much on all table foods by about 9 months. 

I would think that at Stella's age, she could do cheese torn into little pieces (I ball it up a little, too). Graham crackers would be alright, too, I think. I would hesitate with animal crackers, though. I still don't give Eloise these; they're just very hard and she only has two bottom teeth. Another idea is baby carrots cooked until they're pretty soft and sliced into little pieces. Also, if you're ready for meats, shredded baked chicken and ground turkey are big hits and pretty easy for her to gum.

My rule is that I'll try pretty much anything that seems reasonably soft and is not an allergy risk. I just cut it into dime sized pieces so that it's small enough for her to swallow hole if she starts to choke on it.  

IU_baby

I think I'd worry about the crackers.  Ritz crackers break up and mush much easier than graham or animal crackers.

hlh018

When the boys were younger we used the cheese crumbles for salads and they worked great for them.