When did you stop giving purees?

[B J]

DS is 13 mths and is still eating purees.   I would like to be able to serve him table food but he seems to have a problem with texture.  If I try and mix some finely shredded meat or small vegetable pieces in the purees he spits it out.  So to ensure that he eats, he gets purees and I will offer what we're having but he usually won't touch it. 

But he is good at self feeding and will feed himself things like dry cereal, bread, arrowroot cookies, gerber puffs, fish crackers, banana, mangos.  Sometimes he will eat shredded chicken, and recently he's been eating ground beef (sheppard's pie, Jamaican beef patty).

At what point should you stop feeding purees to your LO?

[anna*]

We stopped giving purees about 8-9 months.

Lots of LOs have trouble with lumps/bits IN puree - he might do better with something more like a mash, ie mashed banana, porridge, etc

I would try to make an effort to get away from purees - ground beef is a great start! Eating more table food is really good for speech development - all that chewing encourages those tiny little muscles that are so important for talking!

You can even have him self-feed regular grown up table food (cut up small, obviously). Yes it is messy, but you may find he is more open to trying new things if he is feeding himself.

[Texomamama]

We stopped purees around 12 months I think.  I agree with Anna, my DD seemed to have no problem with finger or mashed foods, but didn't like lumps IN the purees (and didn't even like those Stage 3 foods).

[*Liz*]

My LO never transitioned like this. At about 8-9 mths he just flat refused to eat purees/ lumps/ mash - whatever really.

He just decided to ditch them and feed himself dry foods.

He does spoon feed soup or a yoghurt now - but just didn't do that middle stage.

At this age perhaps just start offering more table foods and ditch them completely? Pasta meals etc they can feed themselves easily.

[B J]

I've had some success with giving DS table foods.  He won't touch anything new if I leave it on his tray, so I have to spoon feed it to him. At first he resists it, so I have to let the food touch his lips, then he takes a bit, spits it out, I put it back in, spits it out, I put it back in, and then he swallows and will have some more. 

But it's still hit and miss. One day he'll eat Sheppard's pie and the next day he spits it out.  But I have been able to get him to try chicken noodle soup and oatmeal porridge too.  Tonight we had beef stew with mashed potatoes and he seemed to really enjoy it.  He would open his mouth for more!  So we are getting there slowly.  All I can do is keep trying. 

I wish I had tried to start him on table foods sooner.  I was so focused on him sleeping well in the first 12 months.  I didn't get the memo on transitioning him off purees!