Feeding at Nearly 12 Months

Hi K.

My son is 17 months old, a vegetarian and primarily eats only organic food. There is a book called Super Baby Foods that has some good recipes in it. I would often make things into finger foods. My son also loves avocado. I don't know if you've tried that. Tahini on bananas or whole wheat bread. I have a rice and beans recipe that he loves. If you're interested, I could send it to you. I don't know if you use nutritional yeast (I've heard mixed reviews -- some liken it to msg, which scares me, but we do use it occasionally), but my son loves it. We put it on tofu or whole grain pasta. He also loves my home made porridge (I mix several grains --millet, brown rice, barley, quinoa, etc -- and add a little apple and cinnamon).

Well, good luck.

Peace,
S.

I see you already got mostly what I was goingo to say. I just wanted to encourage you to keep up with the organic foods! I have found that my babe (11 months) really likes "real food". She was never into the baby food. Though I still do puree and carefully test texture as we've had some scary choking incidents with her. She loves chili and beans stews that I have made (and then pureed). She loves baked sweet potatoe, kiwi, avocadoe, baked pear, banana. You can use olive oil, canola oil, butter, coconut oil/coconut milk to add calories. Oh, she loves soft boiled eggs! I cook an egg (in its shell) for 6 minutes in boiling water and then crack it and give her the egg yolk. It's nice with rice or oat cereal. You can buy organic pastina, which is basically baby pasta that looks like couscous. I have basically prepared all her food (using earth's best jars on the road, though she never eats much of it). Recently I bought a couple of organic preprepared baby food meals in the frozen section of Whole Foods, to try something new for her. There is a brand "Plum" that I bought, and she liked the whole grain/green mixture. I don't know what your feelings are about dairy, but also whole milk yogurt and shredded organic cheeses have been a big hit with my babe. I am trying to decrease dairy now because I think it may be contributing to her dry skin, but that aside, she loves it! (Oh, and cottage cheese too!)
Take care,
C.

Hey K.,
You could certainly make your own baby foods, from the foods you yourself eat already, and increase the textures as she grows. Rather than puree, you could grind it in a hand grinder, then chop it, then cut it, etc.

Hi K., You can give your daughter anything that you are eating! Just cut it up in to manageable bites. I have two little ones and especially with the second I began solid foods very early. It's so much easier to cook meals for the family instead of separate ones. She loves feeding herself and loves a variety of foods - she is 15 months. We also eat organic - lots of fruits and veggies and meats too. Since your daughter may not be used to textures if you've stuck to baby foods, then just make sure everything is softer at first. She'll get the hang of chewing with her gums until her 12 month molars start coming! They also are very good at chewing with their front teeth!

My daughter is 13 months. I made her purees from organic produce (and still do). My little one only has four teeth and had a hard time with textures so we have been going slowly with table food. At first I had success with small chunks of banana, avocado, sweet potato, butternut squash, really ripe pear, cantalope (when it was in season), and silken tofu. Eventually we moved up to organic unsweetened O's, grains of brown rice, seasoned cous cous, whole wheat bread, grated cheese, wild blueberries (they're small enough to give to her whole and you can buy them frozen so they're very convenient), pieces of cherries, kiwi, scrambled eggs (hold off on the whites until your baby hits one year), hummus, black beans, cottage cheese, red lentil soup, matzoah balls, chunks of veggies from soup, sliced oven roasted root veggies (parsnips, turnips, etc.), and pieces of clementine. Best of luck!

Have you tried bananas and other soft foods with her? You can cut up pears, apples, strawberries, melon, anything you want that she can start to eat. Peas, (canned)carrots, sweet potato, beans. I made my son all his own food as a baby from regular food and just pureed it up. The transition to "chunkier" food went pretty easy because it all tasted the same. Just a few suggestions, hope they help.

Hey K. -
I alwsys made my own baby food for my daughter from organic food so the transition to finger foods was not a problem. We're a vegetarian family that eats as much organic as possible for our budget - so what organic we do eat is chosen for it's importance (milk and dairy products, some fruits and root vegetables especially). Additionally, I always gave her what I was eating - her favorite food early on was pasta with creamy pesto sauce!
There are loads of books out there that can help you get started but the easiest route is to take foods she may already like in a jar and introduce them just mashed to a texture she can handle. Have fun with this - mealtimes should be a wonderful time!
Enjoy!

K.,

Hi, you don't have to stop feeding your child organic foods, why would you? Give her organic avocados, they are a great brain food, just be sure to mash it well and remove the "strings" it has. Does your child have her teeth? IF she does, you can feed her or mash for her(for no teeth) sweet potatoes(best vegetable out there) w/organic milk, mashed potatoes(yumm), zucchini, squash. Wild caught salmon is great for babies, as it contains Omega 3's. My baby girl loves the organic chicken sausage w/apples sold by Hannaford Supermarkets. Another suggestion is organic baby yogurt, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, etc. Please use your mommy sense and cut into baby portions and supervise her. I bought a baby cookbook, there are lots on the market, I suggest you buy one and continue your baby on the healthy path you started her on. Good for you!!

C.

My granddaughter is 13 months now. By 12 months she was eating lots of things, pretty much anything everyone else was eating, except things she could choke on of course. She likes little cut up bananas, peas, cheerios. She LOVES macaroni and cheese - we get Annie's Organic and mix in peas. I make applesauce for her - she likes what I make and also the baby food kind. Strangely she likes cut up pickles. Don't be afraid to try new things with her. I am always surprised by what she will eat or not eat.

Hi-I have an almost 11mth old boy, we haven't worried much about organic foods, but as far as "real" foods, we have given him some mashed potatoes, squash, and sweet potatoes that we've mashed up ourselves (not the baby food kind). Also, little pieces of pasta (which he can eat by himself). I dont know if they come in organic kinds, but Gerber has pieces of fruit in jars you could buy. He loves pieces of bread, waffles, pancakes...you could mash up carrots too.

Pretty much anything you eat you can make into very small (melt in your mouth) types of pieces. My son was a fan of taco meat and cheese, pasta, noodles, rice, corn, etc. Everything was cooked a little more and cut up into little pieces depending on how many teeth he has at the time. My son also still eats babyfood applesauce, greenbeans, etc. But we feed him whatever we eat but all cut up. He doesn't eat everything, but slowly eating more of what we eat more and more. He is now 19 months.

I made the vast majority of my son's baby food and now make regular food that he can handle. My son loves French Toast. He gets it with just egg, milk and whole wheat bread so it's pretty good for him. It's great because he can feed himself small pieces. Another one is small pieces of ww pita with a little cheese on it. Have fun with it. If you don't already have one, get a little food processor. I make vegetable soup and puree it for him to eat.