* Avoid stringy foods such as celery and string beans.
* Pick out fish bones before mashing fish. In canned salmon, mash the bones.
* Safe and natural frozen teethers are bananas or any melt-in-the-mouth frozen food.
* Avoid commercial white-bread preparations; they form a pasty glob on which baby could choke.
* Spread nut butters well, instead of offering baby a chokable glob.
* Check the chunks. Babies' front teeth are for biting only. The molars -- chewing teeth-- don't appear until after the first year. Babies still gum rather than chew.
* Offer finger foods only under supervision and when baby is seated, not when reclining or playing.
* Scatter only a few morsels of finger foods on baby's plate or tray at one time. Too much food in a pile encourages whole-handed gorging rather than individual pickup bites.
* Hot dogs are neither a nutritious nor safe food for babies. A bite of a whole hot dog is just about the size of a baby's windpipe, and baby may choke. Healthy nitrate- and nitrite-free hot dogs are a favorite of toddlers, and they can be safe if sliced lenghwise in this, noodle-like strips. Even these "healthy" hot dogs can be high in sodium, so limit them.
* Pick out fish bones before mashing fish. In canned salmon, mash the bones.
* Safe and natural frozen teethers are bananas or any melt-in-the-mouth frozen food.
* Avoid commercial white-bread preparations; they form a pasty glob on which baby could choke.
* Spread nut butters well, instead of offering baby a chokable glob.
* Check the chunks. Babies' front teeth are for biting only. The molars -- chewing teeth-- don't appear until after the first year. Babies still gum rather than chew.
* Offer finger foods only under supervision and when baby is seated, not when reclining or playing.
* Scatter only a few morsels of finger foods on baby's plate or tray at one time. Too much food in a pile encourages whole-handed gorging rather than individual pickup bites.
* Hot dogs are neither a nutritious nor safe food for babies. A bite of a whole hot dog is just about the size of a baby's windpipe, and baby may choke. Healthy nitrate- and nitrite-free hot dogs are a favorite of toddlers, and they can be safe if sliced lenghwise in this, noodle-like strips. Even these "healthy" hot dogs can be high in sodium, so limit them.
Safe and Favorite Finger Foods
O-shaped cereals cooked peas (dehulled)
rice cakes (unsalted) pear slices (very ripe)
diced carrots (well cooked) apple slices (cooked well)
whole wheat toast (remove crust) pasta pieces (cooked)
scrambled eggs tofu chunks
french toast green beans (well cooked, no strings)
avocado dip or chunks
O-shaped cereals cooked peas (dehulled)
rice cakes (unsalted) pear slices (very ripe)
diced carrots (well cooked) apple slices (cooked well)
whole wheat toast (remove crust) pasta pieces (cooked)
scrambled eggs tofu chunks
french toast green beans (well cooked, no strings)
avocado dip or chunks
Chokable Foods
nuts raw carrots
seeds raw apples
popcorn kernels whole grapes
hard beans unripe pears
hard candy stringy foods
meat chunks
nuts raw carrots
seeds raw apples
popcorn kernels whole grapes
hard beans unripe pears
hard candy stringy foods
meat chunks
Feeding Solids: Nine to Twelve Months
The previous stage was mainly to introduce your infant to solids -- baby used to the transition from liquids to solids, from sucking to mouthing, and chewing food. Most beginning eaters dabble a bit with foods, eating only a small amount of a few select solids. Breast milk and/or formula make up about 90 percent of their diet.
The previous stage was mainly to introduce your infant to solids -- baby used to the transition from liquids to solids, from sucking to mouthing, and chewing food. Most beginning eaters dabble a bit with foods, eating only a small amount of a few select solids. Breast milk and/or formula make up about 90 percent of their diet.
In the later part of the first year, baby's swallowing mechanism
greatly matures. The tongue-thrust reflex is nearly gone, the gag reflex
diminished, and swallowing is more coordinated. This allows a gradual
progression from strained or pureed foods to mashed and courser and lumpier
foods. Advance the texture of solid food -- but not too fast. Going too slowly
deprives baby of the chance to experiment with different textures and prolongs
the strained baby food stage. Advancing too quickly causes bay to retreats new
foods and new textures for fear of choking.
New Skills -- New Foods
At this stage babies enjoy more variety and volume of solids. Solid foods become a major component of the infant's diet, often making up around 50 percent of baby's nutrition after one year of age. (This is an average; many breastfed babies are still at the 80-90 percent milk level at one year.) During this stage new developmental milestones bring about new feeding patterns. The thumb-and-forefinger pincer grasp, more highly evolved now, allows baby to pick up small morsels. Babies often show a preoccupation with any newly acquired developmental skill. Consequently, babies develop a fascination for small objects. Pick up on this new desire by presenting your baby with baby-bite-sized morsels. The fun of finger foods begins.
At this stage babies enjoy more variety and volume of solids. Solid foods become a major component of the infant's diet, often making up around 50 percent of baby's nutrition after one year of age. (This is an average; many breastfed babies are still at the 80-90 percent milk level at one year.) During this stage new developmental milestones bring about new feeding patterns. The thumb-and-forefinger pincer grasp, more highly evolved now, allows baby to pick up small morsels. Babies often show a preoccupation with any newly acquired developmental skill. Consequently, babies develop a fascination for small objects. Pick up on this new desire by presenting your baby with baby-bite-sized morsels. The fun of finger foods begins.
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