how to move from puree?

[zoonerdog]

My LO is 7.5 month old and to date only taking purees. I`m very nervous about moving from purees. Can anyone give advice to  best move forward for us. She has no teeth.Is it time to introduce cheese,pasta and meat?
A normal daily food excluding her bottles are

mango and banana with a liga soft in milk for breakfast
sweet potato and apple, yoghurt for lunch
pears for afternoon tea!

Have given her rice cakes as a finger food a few times but panicked when she started gagging. I have read that the  gagging is good but i get so nervous.
Any ideas?

[Khalam's Mama]

When I started giving DS lumps I started very small and only one lump at a time. I thinly sliced cheese so it wasn't as much of a choking hazard and cut spaghetti up small and squashed chicken with a fork so it was flat rather than cubed etc. Ds seemed to get on better that way than when he bites bits off himself if given a finger of carrot or bread for example because he takes the biggest bite he can and it ismuch too big. Also giving lumps of cut up potato or very soft things gave him that different texture without actually requiring much chewing so not being solid and able to choke him. If anything ever goes down the wrong way it is usually because it is too big so keep it small and increase the size slowly when you see she can handle it. Also give two lumps rather than one big one to reduce the choking risk.  I found red meat to be hard to eat with no teeth and it used to collect in the side of the cheek until I had to scoop it out so avoided that for a while.

[Jiinx]

hi there!
 
 For breakfast, I give her baby mum mums, and then mix her oatmeal (you can put as much or as little as you want - this way you can control the texture!) with fruits (puree or mashed up is fine). for lunch I give her chicken (I used a blender and grounded it) and mix it with veggies (puree or roasted) and for dinner I just give her whatever..fruits or veggies.

I know you're nervous, but there's no timeline. take your time introducing some texture. It's a fun experience - if she sees you're apprehensive and anxious then she'll pick up on it.

I also give her things to eat while I feed her so she's occupied. so the baby mum mums for breakfast and a big wedge of apple for lunch and she gums it (she has no teeth either). She knows what she can handle - she used to have a really strong gag reflex and even the smallest amount of texture would set her off. Now she can eat little small balls of apples that she gums off. They'll get more comfortable the more they're exposed to food.

Have you thought of baking some fruits/veggies in some water and mashing it? This may be a good transition.

You can definitely try small pasta pieces. Cheerios.

Chicken/meat - around 8 months
yogurt and cheese - 10-11 months

These recommendations are just to be on the safe side.

HTH!

[Khalam's Mama]

Can I ask why yoghurt and cheese 10-11 months?

[Jiinx]

milk allergy/intolerance. Some babies don't have the enzymes to digest cow milk's protein..

[First Time Mom]

In addition to the foods mentioned, I did lots of steamed veggies with my dd at that age. Steam until firm and not too mushy, it's soft enough for them to gum and smush around with their tongue. I usually did small cubes for dd to practice trying to pick up for self feeding and would sit with her to make sure she wasn't stuffing too many cubes in her mouth at once.

[ajjanzen]

I found that with both my LOs they enjoyed 'chunks' or lumpy food over the pureed variety.  I never buy store bought food so my baby food has always been a little on the lumpy side.  My ds is almost 7 months and literally rips the food from my plate and hands so I have been a little more adventurous with him.  But he really enjoys chewing or gumming his food.  I think that it feels good to him because he has about two more teeth about to break through.  But they are all different! Good luck. 

[marilyn73]

the mum-mum were great for us since they do melt quickly, but I started by giving only pieces (at 7.5 months).  I nearly had a heart attack when I tried bits of toast a few weeks later, and put it on hold until around 8 months.
Steamed veggies were great - our faves were broccoli and cauliflower -easy to pick up.  Carrots were too slippery, green beans ok.  All fruit was challenging at the beginning - I'd have to pop the pieces in.  Frozen peas were started at 8 months and have been a staple since.  Cheese was super easy to pick up too.
Watch out for bread - it can get balled up and be a choking hazzard - gave me a scare one day - we still don't give it at 1 year - I wonder when it's ok?

[Khalam's Mama]

Thanks jiinx, I never came across these ages ranges so at 9 months my LO has been having both. He seems ok on them so I guess it is too late to worry now and ok to continue...?

[Jiinx]

of course

the age ranges are just to be on the safe side, really If you have  no known allergies in the family, it should be fine!

[First Time Mom]

marilyn73, I found the same with fresh bread, maybe stick with breat that is toasted, bagels, pita bread, and different crackers.