Chook Me!

What are the "signs" that baby is ready for table food?

By table food I mean the things my husband and I eat (spaghetti, grilled chicken, hamburgers, green bean casserole...) My 10 mo old baby eats the jarred baby food but practically nothing else. I have been told that there are "signs" that baby is ready...what are they?

Public Comments

1. You have to start out with small stuff, you can't just throw a hamburger at him and have him go at it. At 10 months old, try giving him some dry Cheerios and see how he does. Then go from there. Avoid things like fruit snacks. Green bean casserole would be fine, as would spaghetti, but I wouldn't give him any meat that isn't blended up well until he gets the hang of eating.
2. Its really the same as when to start any food if you listen to a non-baby food selling source: *Sit well WITHOUT support *Pincer grasp *lost tongue thrust The problem is that when you start with pureed foods then you have to teach the baby to chew their food after you just taught them not to chew. http://web.archive.org/web/20060523184534/http://www.llli.org/FAQ/solids.html Babies who are ready for solids can usually feed themselves. Mothers often report that they knew their babies were ready when they picked up food from a plate, chewed it, swallowed it, and wanted more. Listen to your baby! Babies with a tendency to allergies may refuse solids until later in their first year. As long as they are growing well and are happy and healthy, there is no need for concern. [...] You will know that he is really ready to start solids when: * he is about six months old * he can sit up without any support * he continues to be hungry despite more frequent nursing which is unrelated to illness or teething * he has lost the tongue-thrusting reflex and does not push solids out of his mouth * he can pick up things with his finger and thumb (pincer grasp) http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-when.html Signs that indicate baby is developmentally ready for solids include: * Baby can sit up well without support. * Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue. * Baby is ready and willing to chew. * Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development. * Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6762795.stm After six months, Mrs Rapley said babies were capable of taking food into their mouths and chewing it. Therefore, feeding them pureed food at this time could delay the development of chewing skills. Instead, she said, they should be given milk and solid pieces of food which they could chew. Mrs Rapley argued that babies fed pureed food had little control over how much food they ate, thus rendering them vulnerable to constipation, and running a risk that they would react by becoming fussy eaters later in life. She blamed the food industry for convincing parents that they should give children pureed food. She said: "Sound scientific research and government advice now agree that there is no longer any window of a baby's development in which they need something more than milk and less than solids."
3. start with Cheerios, bits of dry toast, gerber puffs....things like that then move up the ladder. I'd say if he is reaching for your food he may be ready. Last night at Olive Garden I gave Jacob (who is on solids and has been) a little taste of the soupy part of my Minestrone soup and he LOVED it.