I haven't posted here in forever but...solids question
CariBriel
member
My DD will be 1 on 8/23 and I am terrified of giving her solid food. I don't mean purees (we've been doing those since 6 months) but I mean actual pieces of food. I've seen people say that they are giving their LO's cheerios and other things of that nature and I feel like I am slacking off in this department. She has had a couple of really mushy table foods (mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, pasta) but I am so scared to give her anything bigger than the size of a tiny crumb. I have tried giving her puffs before but she doesn't chew them and they kind of slide down her tongue and she gags on them.
I guess my question is what does everyone give their LO's as far as table food goes (not purees) and how did you start LO on these types of food? My biggest fear is choking but we will begin weaning off of formula in a couple of weeks and I know she is going to need more to eat than just white milk and purees so I need to get this started. Also, she only has one tooth so far on the bottom so I don't know if that makes a difference. I plan on asking our pedi about this at her next appt but I just wanted to see what everyone else was doing with their LO's.
TIA!!!
Re: I haven't posted here in forever but...solids question
I could have written this. I am still terrified of solid pieces of food, but I am getting better.
A LOVES puffs (I call her a puff-a-holic), so I'm no help there. Today for lunch she had some mac and cheese (admittedly, I still cut it up into TINY pieces). Fortunately, if I just put them on her tray, she takes her time eating them. Tonight for dinner, we had chicken, rice, and green beans, again all cut into tiny, tiny pieces. I think I could probably go bigger, but I am just not there yet.
Other solids she's had include watermelon, honeydew, cantalope, cooked carrots, cooked zucchini, pasta, meatballs, cherrios (though they still make me nervous), and apple. Not much compared to the other mamas here, but a huge improvement over where I was a month ago.
We'll get there!
I started with things that dissolve quickly.. That way, if it did happen to get stuck it would dissolve. Puffs were the first. I broke them up at first because I was scared. You can also try stuff that's easily mushed like sweet potato fries (I bake them as fries but still end up breaking them up for her) I cut everything into about puff sized pieces, depending on how hard it is.
The amt of teeth doesn't matter.. The front teeth are not used for chewing, just biting. My dd uses her gums to "chew."
I would keep offering stuff, even if in tiny pieces to get her used to different textures and hopefully start gumming it to learn how to chew. She will get there! Just keep practicing.
"What did my fingers do before they held you? What did my heart do with it's love?"
I'm such a wimp when it comes to solids. But the last month I've really tried to start to introduce more. DS gets cheese, pasta(I give him ditalini and he handles it very well) banana slices, cantaloupe, avocado, very well cooked veggies, baked apple pieces, small pieces of chicken, and that's about all so far. I'm too scared to do bread yet but I know a lot of other bumpies do toast with purees on top. I plan on trying that soon.
Sorry, I'm not a lot of help but you're definitely not alone with being afraid of solids.
We've recently reached the point where DD2 eats just about anything that doesn't have honey or lots of spice. She still gets purees once or twice a day, but mostly finger foods. Today for lunch she had a grilled cheese cut into bite size pieces and part of a banana cut into chunks. Dinner was shredded cheese, shredded chicken, and steamed veggies. She only has two teeth, but a baby's cums are surprisingly strong and can mash up most things
We started with puffs and worked our way up. Puffs, then yogurt melts, then cheerios (they get mushy pretty fast with all that drool
), then toast, crackers, waffles, soft fruits and veggies diced up. Once she was handling very soft foods and foods that got mushy easily very well, we introduced slightly firmer veggies and such. I just let her lead the way - if she is having trouble with something, we stop and try again later. If she's doing great with something, I offer more of that or something similar. I also shred a lot of things - meats, cheese, apples - which makes them easier for her to mash with her gums.
It was scary starting them on finger foods, but both of my girls were eager to self feed and did great. We just start slow and work up as we feel comfortable and the girls seem ready.
DD1 Feb 2010
DD2 Sept 2011
The first thing you need to know is the difference between choking and gagging. Choking is when the airway is blocked, and is pretty rare with babies (but it can and does happen). Gagging is a perfectly normal response to new foods and new textures, and your baby will do it a lot, but only for a second. Since this is your biggest fear, why not take a class in infant CPR? It would give you the confidence just in case LO did choke.
Definitely try foods that dissolve and mush easily - have you tried the mum mum crackers? My son refused any and all purees and being spoonfed, so we've basically done BLW (baby led weaning) because he only ever wanted to feed himself from 5 months and on. You can break the mum mum crackers into smaller pieces, but they really do dissolve faster than anything else I've tried (including puffs). Other soft and squishy foods you should try are banana, watermelon, avocado and sweet potato. There's no harm in giving tiny pieces and working your way up as you both become more confident.
FWIW, he's been eating table food since 5 months, and he's only ever choked once. All I did was whip him out of his chair, flip him over, tilt him down, and smack on his back once, and the food came out. You just have to be prepared.
My advice is to let her gag a little bit. The gag reflex is a lot higher in babies than in adults so it helps them figure out what they can swallow and what they can't. She will get the hang of it and every little gag is not "choking."
I cut things in strips. If you are worried about things being too little - then give things that are too big and have her go at it. You can also use the mesh feeders (where you stick the food inside a pouch) to get her used to new tastes.
Now we're waiting on our miracle baby ... a little GIRL!!!