How do I get Ellen to like "people" food?

[farsk]

Hello Everyone!

Ellen is one and has two bottom teeth. She loves her Earth's Best food, and occasionally I will go to the farmers market and buy her organic produce in a vain attempt to make her some "people" food that she will like. She has absolutely resisted my attempts at "people" food, including the baked potato that I mixed an ounce of breastmilk into to make mashed potatos this afternoon.

My feeling is that she doesn't have teeth, so she can't chew, therefore she should not be getting "people" food until she can. The teachers at the day care all look at her like she should be on the "food Program" which, by the way, I had to get a MD excuse for her not to be on the food program and for us to bring in her food, while the mother who feeds her SEVEN WEEK OLD BABY MEAT doesn't need a doctor's excuse for that.

So please help! I need to know how to go about introducing the "people" food!

Thanks!

[todzwife]

Having the opposite problem here...Dallin won't eat baby food anymore. He has NO teeth, so I don't know what the deal is. I'll be interested to see what everyone has to say.

[JElaineB]

Babies don't really need teeth to eat people food/finger food. They use their gums for quite a long time. DS only had 2 teeth for a long time and did fine once he got past some inital texture issues. Have you tried any finger foods yet rather than mashed up people foods? Like cheerios? Don't know if you require organic foods, but if not you might try Gerber Fruit and Veggie puffs, and Gerber Cereal Snackin Squares. These were some of the first non-baby foods DS would eat when he was having texture issues.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[sadie427]

Like the PP said, they don't need teeth for people food, they can gum soft stuff or stuff that dissolves a little (like cheerios, there are lots of similar organic cereals). Once she can chew a little and you're comfortable introducing wheat she can kind of suck on/gum stuff like bread and teething biscuits.

The daycare is going overboard IMO, she does not need to be on any "program," and that is horrendous that a 7 week old eats baby meat. However, IMO you should keep giving her an opportunity to eat food with more texture, just keep offering it in a relaxed way and eventually she will get curious. I agree that maybe offering finger food is a good way to start. Also, if you do make some of your own food like potatoes, you can start w/ a runny texture like the EB and slowly thicken it up and make it lumpier. In terms of finger food, we put cheerios, tofu cubes and soft vegetable strips on Sammy's highchair tray for about a month before he really got the hang of it. Now he only eats our food, we had to give away our Earth's Best. Just keep trying and don't worry!

[diekatze]

Same here. My DS is 11 month old and likes Gerber or Earth's Best food but when I make something GOOD, he wouldn't take it.

I've been trying for a month now and most of the food that I make goes to trash can or to adults.

My friends' sons are about same age as my DS but they are so eager to try any food like, fried egg, tofu, bakery bread, even ramyun...

I just got one tip from one of the mom that I should season the food a little. I did very mildly and he takes some but mostly not.

He tried fish for the first time today. He loved it with white rice.

So I guess it takes time. I can't wait til he takes regular food!!

[new_mommy25]

Shannon, how do you feel about the Baby Safe Feeder? We have the Sassy version and DS really likes it. I usually put fruit in it but on a hot day he even liked to suck on ice cubes. If there is fruit in it I only offer him it in the highchair because it makes a mess with the dripping juice. We don't use it as much anymore because he now likes fruit cubed. but it may help her get accustomed more to the taste.

DS favorite fruit is watermelon. Very easy to chew cubed with no teeth!

[g-mama]

My ds is 11 months and has no teeth. He eats mostly people food and "gums" it all just fine. Some finger foods he eats:

pears, peaches, grapes, mandarin oranges - cut up
apple slices - sliced very thin
pasta
pierogies
meatballs
mac and cheese
whole veggies - green beans, carrots, peas
Kix and Cheerios
cheese slices
scrambled eggs
pancakes, waffles, french toast
ravioli

Oh, BTW, a 7-week-old eating meat is disgusting!

Kristen
Paolo 11-00
Benjamin 8-03

[COElizabeth]

The pps are right that a babe doesn't need teeth to eat many foods, but I just wanted to add that at a year old, James would eat very little besides pureed baby food and a few cheerios. His ped was unconcerned and said he's seen 2-year-olds that eat only pureed food. I kept offering different finger foods, and within a few months James had switched to them entirely. Just try different things, and eventually she will get interested, but in the meantime there's nothing to worry about!

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02
EDD #2, 10-30-04

[amp]

I just wanted to say that by 9 mths, my DS was eating a lot of our food, but some of his favorite things are the items Jennifer mentioned, like the Banana Cereal Snackin Squares and the Banana puffs (they have them in little star shapes that are easier than the wagon wheels they have). Cheerios and shredded cheese are also great options and were DS's first two finger foods that he fed himself.