Conference moira::parenting

    Hi Rivka,
    
    My son is 10 1/2 months old with NO teeth.  I think he's been teething
    for the last 2 months.  Poor little kid.  He still eats all sorts of
    foods with his gums.  (Grilled cheese, waffles, crackers, cheerios,
    toast, eggs) and he does really well.  My husband and I are waiting
    very patiently for one to pop out.  Every morning we look in his
    mouth....and wait.....
    
    Does anyone think that 10 1/2 months is a bit late to have no teeth.  
    
    
    
    Donna
    

    
    You said she doesn't like veggies?  Have you tried the yellow ones,
    like carrots, squash, and sweetpotaoe???  I was afraid Michael would
    not like veggies, since people say once they try fruits first they will
    have a hard time accepting veggies, and since he had been on fruit
    since 1-2 mos... and he took to them fine. I started with the yellow
    ones, adn mixed inthe greens later on. 
    
    Has your doctor suggested cereals yet? (your didn't mention?)
    
    Now I have a couple of questions: When did some of you start your
    children on the "meals"....??  Like combo meat/veggies?  and also, when
    did you start Yogurt???   
    
    Chris
     

    .1 No, I don't think 10 months it to late for teeth.  My daughter now
    13 months had got a tooth around 5 months and she had that one for
    4 months never got another one till she was 9 months.  I was just
    about to bring her to the dentist when I saw a couple of bumps on
    her top gum.
    
    .0 Don't worry about your baby not liking veggies, my daughter hated
    them two.  I started her around 4 months old she wouldn't eat them.
    She still doesn't eat them, she won't even eat meat.  She has been
    on table food since 6 months old.  Have you tried yogurt?  My
    daughter loved it. She lives on fruit and breads.  My pedi said not
    to worry about it.
    
    Good Luck
    Kim
    
    

    
    We plan on *not* introducing meat to Spencer until he is well over one
    year old. We discussed this with our physician and she said that there
    is really no need as long as he gets his protein from somewhere (soy
    formula).
    
    Right now at 6 mos, he eats cereal, fruit and vegetables (I grind up
    all of the fruit and veggies myself - have you tasted that crap they
    call baby food? bleggh) and have no problems.
    
    We added yougurt this weekend and as he seems very content, will
    probably not change the menu for awhile.
    
    Oh, and my sister's baby who is 10 mos. old also dosen't have any
    teeth. Got into his first tiff at daycare with another baby but doesn't
    have any teeth yet.
    
    				Wendy

    
    Wendy, did your dr say anything about Spenser having yogurt since he is
    on a soy based formula???  I think this is my only reason for not
    trying it until I ask the doctor...Michael is on soy also. I wasn't
    sure if there might be a problem digesting the milk-base foods. ??
    
    Michael seems to have the same menu as Spenser right now also, at 6
    months. Cereal, fruit and veggies. (although, I admit, we do use the
    jar brands).  But the last few days he seems to be rejecting his
    cereal, I will find out tonight (when I stop at the store on the way
    home) if its just because I changed brands (Gerber to Beach nut) or
    what. We were at my parents this weekend and the store didn't have his
    usual Gerber Barley cereal so I bought some Beach Nut Mixed cereal, and 
    what "faces" we got from that!!!  We were all on the floor laughing so
    hard. But then last night I tried some other Gerber sample (not barley)
    I had at home, and he rejected that too.  I'm hoping he'll take to his
    regular brand tonight.
    
    Re: teeth   I would talk to your pedi about the teeth issue, but from
    what I've heard, children can vary widely in how many/when.  Michael
    teethed for I swear 3-4 months before one finally popped through, then
    the next one came through in 2 weeks. So at 6 months he's got 2. 
    
    Chris
    

    
    
    Spencer does not have a true milk allergy (he has never had milk
    products so we don't even know) *but* Marc and I both have lactose
    intolerance and I also have a milk allergy. Supposedly the cultures in
    yougurt break down the enzymes that you can't break down if you are
    lactose intolerant (it depends on the brand of the yougurt- some are
    better than others) so yougurt in small amounts is okay even for people
    who can't eat dairy food (JUST BE CAREFUL TO NOT GIVE ANY YOUGURT WITH
    NUTRASWEET IN IT). And so even I can tolerate yougurt in *small*
    amounts. We plan on giving Spencer some yougurt and maybe even some
    cheeses but in limited amounts.
    
    Marc and my lacotse intolerance didn't "come out" until we were both in
    our twenties. There is a current theory that the longer you hold off on
    introducing milk, the longer it will take for you to get intolerant or
    develope an allergy. (if I eat a bowl of ice cream - whoa is me).
    
    
    			Wendy

    
    Thanks for the "milk" info Wendy, I'm not sure Michael even has a 
    real problem with Milk or lactose actually, the dr's put him on the soy
    when he was 3 weeks, due to the major constipation problem he had back
    then. But I do not feel that that is what solved the problem after all.
    The only thing that seemed to solve that problem was the fruit or prune 
    juice. But he's still been on the Soy since... In fact, I was going to 
    check with the dr next week about seeing if I can change to that 
    "Follow-up" formula now that he is 6 mos and eating foods (I have about
    8 free days worth of coupons, AND a ton of $1.00 off ones too). 
    
    Has anyone changed from Soy based Formula to one of the "follow-up"
    formulas????
    
    Chris
    
    

    
    Chris,
    
    I am not sure how you prepare Michael's cereal, but mixing
    it with juice works real well with my son.  You can also 
    try adding some fruit.   My son makes the same terrible
    faces if I mix it with formula or water.
    
    
    
    

My daughter started with rice cereal as her first food.  After I was sure
she tolerated and liked the cereal I started with other fruits and vegetables.

The way I introduced them was by gradually mixing a small amount with her
cereal.  After a week or so, I would give it to her without mixing with the
cereal.  For vegetables, she definatly liked the yellow ones best (Carrots,
sweatpotatoes, squash).  She did not and still does not care for any
green vegetables.  She pretty much liked all the fruits so that was not
a problem.

When I introduced her to meats, I did the same as above.  She loved the meats,
so it was not a problem for me to get her to eat them.

Barbara

    My second daughter Krystin didn't get her first tooth until 2 weeks
    before her 1 year birthday.  Then it was 2 and 3 at a time since then. 
    At 20 months old she has all her molars and almost all her teeth.  Your
    child will probably sprout 1 tooth, then they'll start coming in like
    the tide.
    
    As far as foods and veggies - Krystin HATED baby food veggies.  As a
    matter of fact, she hated all baby food.  Try these things:
    
    Canned green beans
    Canned yellow beans
    Cooked sliced carrots
    scrambled eggs
    french toast (real soft)
    ritz crackers - broken in little pieces (these tend to melt as soon as
    		    you put them in your mouth)
    Baby Oatmeal cereal with milk/formula and a couple spoonfuls of baby
    			fruit
    grilled cheese
    
    I keep forgetting how old your daughter is, so I just ramble off what
    Krystin used to eat.
    
    Isn't feeding your children fun!?
    
    

    
    .all ten...
    Yahli is 5 months old today. I did NOT mean do sound worry when I said       
    she had no teeth-I know it can take a while till she does. She does          
    eat her cereal (oat,rice,barley,semolina,mixed,etc.) and the only vegie 
    she will eat - tomato (and how she loves it!!)
    What I wanted to know was what am I giving her next. Meat is out of the      
    question till she has teeth to bite. I am not using can food (we do          
    have gerber here in Israel-I just hate the taste) 
    Anyway-This morning I tried some soft white cheese and she liked it 
    alot. It's 5% fat,no additives just plain soft white cheese (You don't       
    have it in the states-I've checked everytime I went there!!!) and
    yesterday my husband gave her some tachina (sesame spread) and she
    kept asking for more... I guess I'll leave the vegies to when she's          
    older.

    
    Well, I guess Michael is  "gerber" baby as far as his cereal goes.  I
    stopped at the store on the way home and picked up his usual Gerber
    "barley" cereal and he chowed as per usual last night! (my dr had told
    me to use Barley from the start because of the constipation he had). 
    And yes, I have always mixed it with apple juice from the very
    beginning, smells, and tastes alot better than mixing it with formula,
    I think. 
    
    I picked up a few jars of Veggies/meat yesterday too, but didn't give
    him them last night yet.   I have a question, I read the labels and
    they all each include a yellow and a green veggie, so should I still
    give him an extra veggie on the side as I do with his cereal for
    supper?  I have been trying to alternate yellow/green veggies between 
    lunch and dinners...  
    This may all sound so trivial, but I am really interested in this. 
    Being a first time Mom, its hard to figure out all of these little details.
    I know what I "think" is probably right, but that doesn't mean it is. 
    I plan on talking to Michaels pedi next week at his well-baby check up,
    but I do value the opinions of the fellow noters here. 
    
    Chris
    

I've been reading everyones eating stories, and just thought that I would
share my babies first eating experience.

Joshua is 4 1/2  months, and I started him on rice cereal, which he HATED!
He cried, and wouldn't eat it.  I then tried to mix it with applesauce, and 
he still hated it.  I then tried to give him carrots (beechnut), and he LOVED
it!  The next food was squash, and he loved that too.  

I guess all babies are different, and Joshua is only going to be introduced to
vegies first, then we'll start on other foods.  I really don't want him
to develop a sweet tooth.  I guess he doesn't have one yet.  (Imagine, 
preferring carrots and squash to applesauce !!)


					---Sue.

    
    
    My kids both eat vegetables well.  I introduced the veggies first.  
    And that's all they got for solids was veggies, then, later I
    introduced fruit.  At first I mixed it in the the barley cereal (less
    binding than rice cereal) and slowly mixed in less cereal and then gave them
    straight baby fruit.  This was to develop a taste for veggies first so
    the taste didn't repulse them after having tasted the fruit (sweets).  It
    really seemed to work.  My 2 1/2 year old will eat salads and quite a
    few veggies (he even asks for them).  I may be wrong but I think
    giving them veggies first before fruit is the way to go.  They don't
    get used to the real sweet stuff first.   I give my 9 1/2 month old canned
    green and yellow beans (after he's eaten his lunch or supper, these are
    snacks - he thinks they are anyway!)  He'll also eat tiny bits of
    graham crackers, crackers, tiny pieces of fig newtons, cheerieos,
    tiny pieces of apples (he only has 6 teeth so the tinier the better)
    yogurt, pieces of waffles.  I can give him almost anything as long as
    it's tiny.
    
    
    

    
    I didn't have a choice in giving my son veggies first before fruit,
    due to a severe constipation problem he had starting at 3 weeks old.
    We changed formula 3 different times, tried the Karo syrup, and every
    other thing the dr told us to. The only thing that finally worked was
    when the doctor put him on fruits (begining with "P") at about 5-6
    weeks old. I was amazed that they would start them so early, but it
    worked. And at that time, I was grateful for any solution. (also,
    prune juice in the bottle worked too).
    
    As I said before, I was afraid he would not adapt to the veggies after 
    being on fruit for so long...but had NO problems whatsoever. He eats 
    most all veggies (except creamed spinich and beets so far), and likes
    them very much. Especially green beans.
    
    I guess all kids are different.
    
    Chris
    

    My doctor suggested that I give Jessica (6 mo) rice cereal, then yellow
    vegetables, green vegetables, and then fruit.  Well I am discovering that
    my daughter will eat anything!!!!!!!!!!! I guess I shouldn't be suprised
    since she always was a big eater (She weighs over 18lbs!!!)
    
    I also have been wondering when I can start giving her table food and
    milk.  I will ask her pedi next week at her 6 mo checkup.
    
    Regarding teeth.  My first daughter didn't get her first tooth until
    she was 9 months.  Then they came in slowly until last year (shes 4).
    Jessie has no signs of teeth yet.
    
    Angie
    
    

    My daughter seems to be ready for food, but hates it!!!!  Last night
    I tried mixing it with carrots (I'm afraid she will develop her 
    mother's sweet tooth)....still NO WAY!  I know she's hungry...do I 
    give her more formula or keeping pushing the cereal?  I got lectured
    all morning by my mother for giving her carrots----was that wrong?
    The doctor said don't worry if she's not interested..just try again 
    later...but she really seems hungry...should I get one of those special 
    bottles for food....but I heard that doesn't teach them how to eat
    right???????
    

    Try fruits - applesauce, peaches, pears. The cereal mixed simply with
    water tastes like wall paper paste - I wouldn't eat it either :-)
    

My doctor told me that at 4 months old, Joshua can have any food that
we have, as long as there is no way that he can choke on it.

He told me that it's perfectly fine to give him anything from the dinner table,
so long as I mash it for him.

He also told me that the "recommended" way of giving your baby food is a ploy
by the baby food companies to make money, and there is really no special 
order that you have to follow when introducing solids, so long as you introduce 
only one food every couple of days to make sure there are no allergic reactions.

So, why force cereal, when she doesn't like it??  Give her a taste of a variety 
of food, and eventually she will eat!!

If you think about it, do you like everything that you eat??  The girl has
taste... give her what she likes!

Also, you can tell your mother that the first and only food (in the beginning) 
that my son would eat was carrots, and thats what I gave him.  Carrots for 
lunch and for dinner.  Now he loves squash and peas.  Just think of what
great eyesite he will have eating all of those carrots.  I think that your 
mom is dead wrong!!  Go by your daughter, not your mom!


						---Sue.

    My daugher would not eat any of the infant cereals or bottled veggies.
    She however liked the bottled fruits. I don't blame her since the
    cereals and the bottled veggies taste BLA...! We boiled veggies and
    mashed them up in the blender, added a little butter and salt and she
    loved them.
    
    Shaila

    
    There are references to cheerios all through this notes conference. 
    Can someone give me a description of what they are?
    
    Deb
    
    

    
    Deb-
    
    Cheerios' are a cereal here in the US. They are oat-based (I think)
    and have been around for years and years. They are round in shape, and
    melt fairly well in the mouth, and not super crispy or crumbly. so they
    make wonderful snacks for children.  Probably the first "real" cereal
    that alot of us Moms started out on when we were kids (I know I did).
    They are about 3/8 inch in size, and don't have alot of sugar like most
    cereals. Very basic.
    
    Hope this helps.
    Chris
    

    Thanks for the replies, I was going to try once more and if she 
    still fought it give up for awhile like the doctor said.  Low 
    and behold...my girl LOVES pears mixed with the cereal.  I had 
    such a nice time feeding her last night...it was a riot!  I didn't 
    even have to put the spoon in her mouth...she was licking it off!
    It was  so cute her little tongue was darting in and out loving it!
    
    How long do the jars stay good once opened?
    
    Thanks...Linda

    
    My husband and I are having a small disagreement on when to start
    feeding our baby food.
    
    He was born Jan 19, 1992, and is 3 1/2 months.  The pedi said at
    4 mos we can start him on food.  I've heard many arguments to wait
    until 6 mos to avoid developing food allergies and avoid obesity
    (not that the later is a real concern)
    
    When he is 6 mos we will be going on vacation for 2 weeks. 
    
    I think maybe we should start him on food at 5 mos and not introduce
    any new foods while we're on vacation.
    
    My husband says we should just wait until *after* vacation, he'll
    be 6 1/2 mos.
    
    What do you all think?  Do you believe in waiting 'til 6 mos to
    feel them food?  Do you believe the allergy/obesity theory?
    Do you think starting him on food *before* or *after* vacation
    is better?
    
    Thanks for any input.....Kristen
    
    
    

    The 4 month part is a time that every pedi thinks.  You should do 
    what you think is right.  My daughter had baby food when she was
    3 months old.  I started her with fruits and then veggies.  I had
    her on 1 kind of fruit for a whole week because I didn't know how
    her body would react to it.  Anyway she turned out with no allergys.
    She was on TABLE food at 6 months old.  I would start with the "P"
    fruits.  They seem to digest better with babies.  My daughter
    loved them.  When you go on vacation you store any food in a cooler
    if you plan on making your own babyfood.  Do everything before you
    leave, then you can store it in your cooler.  Or if you plan on 
    using babyfood, they stay good for a few days after opening.
    
    Good Luck!
    
    

    
    As I've said in here before, my doctor started my son on fruits ("P")
    at 1 mos due to constipation. At his 4 mos checkup, he said I could 
    add cereal. At that time I asked him about when to start veggies, and
    he said that by 6 mos old he should be eating everything (baby food
    veggies, meats, etc), so I had 2 mos to decide when to start them. 
    He left it up to me.  I started him on the cereal at 4 mos, and then
    the veggies at 5 mos, and then the meats at 6 mos (just 2 weeks ago!).
    Now he has a full round of everything.   
    
    As far as if you should start him/her before or after vacation, IMHO I
    would start before, only because I know what my son is like at 6 mos,
    and when he sees everyone else eating, he wants some too. So at least
    you'd be able to give him baby food by then.  I doubt you'll be able to
    hold him/her off of food all together until after your vacation, their 
    appetites do increase rapidly. 
    
    As the other noter said you can keep the jars in a cooler after
    opening, and room temp before...so its not too bad. 
    
    I too would only introduce one food at a time, for a couple of days to
    make sure he wasn't allergic.  So far, no problems. 
    
    Peaches and Pears were a big hit!
    
    Good Luck,  and enjoy your vacation!
    
    Chris
    

I think it migh be easier to wait til after the vacation since it will be
one less thing to deal with on the vacation.  My pedi told us not to rush
into solids, and since we still had one in the hospital, we stalled.  We
started Jessica on cereal by spoon first, but did that for quite a long 
time while we waited for Brad to catch up.  With us, we feel it's much
easier to transition both kids at the same time, so we ended up starting
Brad on fruits about 3 weeks after starting him on spoon feeding of cereal.
I think they were around 7 or 7 1/2 months by then.  And I added a new
food every 3 or 4 days.  They just turned 1 last week, and basically eat
anything we do, though I still find it easier to cook their stuff in big
batches and freeze it.  Then I just thaw out the appropriate number of
ice cubes, and their dinner or lunch is ready.

    
    Kristen,
    
    Is your son sleeping through the night?  If he is waking
    up hungry then formula is not enough to hold him over.
    
    My husband and I argued a little at first about what to
    do.  I called the pedi because Ryan who was sleeping through
    the night started waking up.   She explained that he is
    probably hungry and perhaps you should start him on 2
    tablespoons of cereal mixed with either water, or formula.
    If he didn't like it try babyfood (applesauce).   We did
    that for a few weeks and then we started introducing other
    fruits one at a time.  This way you can tell if there are
    any allergies.   Since I told my husband this is what the
    pedi recommended - and he was tired of the middle of the
    night cries - he gave me no argument.
    
    We started him on food at 11 weeks old.  When he was 12
    weeks old we flew from Boston to San Fransisco.  He is very
    happy when he was eating.  We fed him during the flight.     
    
    I wouldn't worry about a child be obese.  They are growing
    so fast and you can monitor what they can eat.
    
    So I guess what I am trying to say is if he seems hungry,
    feed him.
    
    Jeanne
    

    The primary reason that the American Pediatrics Assoc. recommends
    waiting til 4 months is potential for allergies - food and otherwise -
    that can occur from introducing foods to an immature digestive system.
    After 4 months it's really parental preference as much as any other
    reason for waiting til 6 months or later.  
    
    You could raise your (or your husband's) concern over excess weight
    gain with the pediatrician and perhaps s/he could give you another
    perspective to consider.
    

    
         
    Jeanne, He's been sleeping through the night (10 hrs) since he 
    was 7 weeks. Once in a while he'll wake up at night but I think
    it may be nightmare related rather than hunger.  
    
    I talked to the pedi again and she said that nutritionally
    formula/breastmilk is enough until he is 6 months.  Also,
    reduces incidences of heart disease, cholesterol levels, 
    etc. later in adult life if he doesn't start food until
    then.  I guess we'll go as long as we can and see how he 
    does and decide from there.  If he gets overly hungry, I'll 
    start the cereal...I'll let him tell me when he is ready. 
                                                            
    thanks for the input....Kristen
    
    
    

    
    Leslie, I have been having the same problem with Michael moving his
    bowels at night lately, but I'm not sure "why".  He's been eating 3
    meals a day for a couple of months now...  ???  (he's 6 mos)  His
    movements have also been small and average between 2-3 a day, instead
    of the ole' "once a day".   (more diapers!)
    
    I even "talked" to him about this the other day...I told him "I thought
    we had a deal here, you poop during the day so I don't have to clean up
    these messes, the babysitter does!"  ;-)
    
    My babysitters used to kid me about it, because literally, I didn't
    have to change a "messy" diaper from Monday till Friday! 
    	
    Not sure why his schedule has changed?
    
    Chris
    

    Jessica seems to go through different schedules.  For a week she will
    only go in the morning, the next couple of days she will go in the
    middle of the night, then something different.  
    
    I have to admit I am much happier when she only goes during the day and
    I too only have to change poopy diapers on the weekends.
    
    Angie.
    

    
    My pedi told us to wait on solid food until the baby started showing
    real interest... watching us use a spoon, grabbing for it, opening her
    mouth if we offered her some....
    
    I think we started her on solids (cereal) around 6 months... she's only
    been sick 3X in 2.5 years, so we're doing something right!
    
    Something I've noticed all along is that waiting until the baby was
    ready to make a change made life a lot more pleasant.  Giving up the
    bottle, solid foods, potty training, giving up a passifier
    (Still haven't made that switch yet!), etc... 
    
    (of course, my mother started my younger brother on solids at 10 days
    (!!!) and he's turned out just fine.
    
    
    
    Jamd

    My Pedi had told me to hold off on solids till Heidi was 6 months old 
    because of her weigth.  She's on the heavy side (about 23 lbs at 11 
    months).  He also said that baby's don't wake up because of hunger after 
    so many months (early months).  That waking up is usually due to
    something other than hunger (ei: teething, bad dream, messy diaper).
    
    My daughter almost always has a bowel movement either during her meal
    or right after.  So my suggestion to a previous noter would be to have
    the baby eat a little earlier in the day - so that the baby isn't
    waking up w/ a mess.
    
    I'm concerned right now about what types of foods to be feeding my
    daughter who is 11 months old.  She eats almost anything.  She has 4
    (almost 5 teeth - 2 lower & 2 eye teeth w/ 1 upper front coming in).
    For breakfast she now eats Cheerios in milk.  For lunch she has yogurt 
    (1/2 container), Colby or Muenster Cheese (in cubes), 1/2 slice of
    whole grain bread (cubed) & whatever fruit we have cubed up.  Along w/
    Spring water.  Dinner is real hard ... it's usually whatever we have,
    but she doesn't always like that.  Any suggestions for a varied meal
    plan would be great!?
    
    Thanks in advance,
    Sonia
    
    

    
    Hi Sonia,
    
    	23 pounds at 11 months is considered heavy? Spencer is about 24
    pounds at 8 months, (you remember how big he's always been), they have
    yet to say that he is heavy, on the contrary all they say is what a
    healthy big boy he is. I wonder if the difference is because he is a
    boy and Heidi is a girl (girls are *supposed* to be petite so says
    society).
    
    	Spencer was started on cereal at 4 months because he woke up hungry
    (I don't know what the cutoff month your Doctor says it stops) but I
    was nursing him and for awhile there he was waking up every hour to
    nurse. (didn't and still doesn't eat much at the sitters)
    
    
    	I'm interested in replies to this note because at sometime Spencer
    will start finger foods, he shows absolutely no interest in feeding
    himself right now and so I am not pushing it.
    
	I'm just not sure what to feed him next,
    
    				Wendy
    

    
    I have more questions on feeding....cereal in particular...
    
    At my last dr visit my pedi said I should wait to start him
    on cereal until he is eating a good 30 oz of formula every day.  
    At the time he was only eating about 25-26 oz.  When he turned 5 months
    (last friday) he had been eating anywhere from 28 to 33 oz
    a day.
    
    I started him on the rice cereal mixed with formula just before
    his bed time bottle.  It's been 4 days with one small feeding of
    cereal and he has dropped back down to 21-24 oz of formula.
    
    He's never been a big eater but what do you think?  I changed the
    time he eats his cereal to 6 pm and give him his bottle at 8.  I'm
    only feeding him 1 TBL cereal with 4 TBL of forumula...hardly anything
    to make that much difference.
    
    I'm tempted to stop feeding the cereal until he gets a little older
    and can eat more in a day...
    
    The reason the pedi wants him to have at least 30 oz of formula a day
    is for nutrition...until he is 6 months.
    
    Any advice?  He's 27 inches, 17 lbs right now...sleeps 12-13 hrs
    a night....Is that considered average?
    
    Wish I could be one of those mothers that doesn't worry if I'm
    doing the right thing all the time....I guess it comes with 
    experience....
    
    Thanks...
    Kristen

    
    Just to let you know....
    
    Is 12-13 hrs sleep average???   BETTER than average! Be thankful!
    
    His size sounds pretty good to me too. Michael was 19 lbs at his
    6.75 mos visit, and 27 inches long.  They told me he was a good size.
    
    Youre not alone with feeling unsure with being a new mom, to make sure 
    youre doing everything "right"....  I tend to feel the same way.  I'm
    starting to realise that "right" always isn't the same for everyone.
    You have to establish what YOU FEEL is right.
    
    Chris
    

    When I started feeding Stephanie cereal, at about 5 mos, she drank a
    little less formula too.  I do think that I fed her cereal once in the
    AM and once in the PM though.  They'll always eat what they want to,
    and I've learned not to stress too much about food as long as they keep
    growing.
    
    Bev

    My daughter, Sarah, will be 6 months tomorrow.  I have been giving her
    solid foods she was 4 months old.  The problem I am having is she is
    not taking enough milk when she get solids.  How do I know that she is
    getting the right nutrients?  She gets cereal in the morning and at
    noon she has 1/2 jar of veggies and 1/2 jar of fruit.  In the evening I
    give her the rest of the veggies and fruit and sometimes I feed her
    cereal in the evening.  How many ozs of milk should she be taking a day
    with solids?  I am not giving her any vitamins at this time.
    
    Also when can I introduce meats to her diet and is strained corn to
    harsh for a baby at this age?
    
    Thanks in advance,
    
    Joyce

    
    Joyce,
    
    Ask you pediatrician.  Our's told us that Ryan should be drinking
    at least 24 oz of formula per day when he started solids.  Before
    solids, he was drinking 48 ounces.  He was about 14 - 15 weeks old
    at the time and starving.     
    
    Sarah's diet sounds exactly like Ryan's at 6 months.  
    
    Jeanne
    

    
    Joyce, Sarahs diet sounds alot like Michaels at 6 mos, except for her
    being on milk already. Michael was on formula till 8 mos. 
    
    Anyways, this is when I started the meats. At 6 mos. Stage 2, strained.
    (on my doctors advice).  At 6 mos, he would have cereal and 1/2 jar of
    fruit for breakfast, 1/2 jar of veggie and 1/2 jar meat (a little fruit
    on the side sometimes to add a little taste), then 1/2 jar fruit, 1/2
    jar veggie, and 1/2 jar meat for supper.  Actually, it was probably
    more like 1/3 of a jar of each from months 6-7.
    
    My doctor also told me he should be drinking 24 oz of milk/formula a
    day when on solids. 
    
    I too worry about the right nutrients, even now at 9 mos old, and plan
    on asking the doctor about vitamins. He's on full strength milk now.
    
    Chris
    

    In my note I meant to say formula instead of milk.  I'm not going to
    put her on whole milk till she is a year old.  
    
    On Saturday I am taking Sarah to the pediatrician's for her 6 mths
    shots and I am going to ask him about her solid intake and the amount
    of formula she is supposed to be taking.
    
    Thanks for your input,
    
    Joyce

    About the corn, my pedi doesn't recommend it till about 1 year.  He
    says it is one of those foods more likely to cause an allergic
    reaction.  He also recommends staying away from citrus and eggs till
    one year.
    
    I have a question about milk allergy.  My 7 month old seems to have
    a milk allergy.  When I was nursing, if I had any dairy products, he
    had colic, if I stayed off, no colic.  When we were switching to
    formula, he was put on Carnation Good Start, and I didn't have any
    problems.  Evidently the milk byproduct content is very low.  As he
    started on foods, they recommended vanilla yogurt.  He had an allergic
    reaction to this.  He has had a stomach virus the last few days, and
    the pedi recommended switching him to Isomil temporarily, it was 
    easier to digest.  His whole temperment was calmer.  (He is not a 
    fussy baby anyway, very good temperment on the whole!)  I noticed the
    difference even with him being sick.  I was allergic to milk as a 
    baby, and grew out of it, but consequently I never developed a taste for 
    milk, except with chocolate in it!  My question is, what experiences
    has anyone else had with this?  
    
    ( I haven't done a directory search on this, it may already be in here,
    I just thought of it when I was replying about the corn.  If so, please
    point me in the right direction.)
    
    Thanks,
    
    Angie

    Angie,
    
    My daughter has a milk allergy - I found out when she was about 3
    months old.  She was sick with what I thought was a mild case of the
    flu - no vomitting just diarrhea.  She got a little fussy, started
    to run a little fever - still I didn't panic too much - Then the
    next morning I went to change her and her BM had blood in it....For
    two weeks the doctor told me that it was nothing to worry about -
    it was just that her bum had chaffed (sp?) a little from have 
    diarrhea. Being as insecure and trusting as I was I believed him.
    This went on for 2 weeks (several phone calls and a couple office
    visits)...Then one morning I got her up to change
    her and when I wiped the sides of her bum - the whole thing started
    bleeding.  I finally must have gotten through to my doctor when I
    called up crying and DEMANDING to be referred to a specialist.
    (I had asked before but the doctor said that wasn't necessary.)
    
    I was in Boston 2 hours later in the specialist office.  I started
    Samantha on Soy her very next bottle and it's been great ever since.
    
    She's 8 months old now and sometimes I feel bad for her and give
    her just a little bit of ice cream or pudding and the next BM
    starts her rash all over again.  Her daddy had the same thing
    but grew out of it a 2 years.
    
    I hope Samantha grows out of it....Ever tasted mashed potatoes
    without milk and butter or cake without frosting?!
    
    I also feed her anything that I can make small enough for her little
    mouth - She loves eggs and toast, fruit loops, all her vegies, and
    she's about the only one who likes mom's meatloaf!  I know because
    she says " NUM NUM " when she eats stuff that she really likes!
    
    Andrea
    

    
    Okay, here goes. I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this,
    but I couldn't decide whether it should be under "toddler foods" or
    this one, and since I'm not sure what age the saying"toddler" starts 
    at, so here I am.
    
    When should infants stop having babyfood???  
    
    My son is 9 mos old, and I am still feeding him babyfoods
    (meats/veggies/fruit) from a jar because he doesn't seem to like 
    "texture" yet???  Its an odd situation. He loves anything with grain,
    ie: pizza crust, crackers, cookies, dry cereal, etc...  But when I try 
    to feed him say chopped up fruit, lunch meat, pasta, 3rd stages baby
    food, he cringes and spits it out. ??????  He doesn't seem to like the
    texture of it.   He devours the strained babyfoods great and as I said, 
    anything "bready", but won't eat anything else of "people" food...
    
    ??????
    
    I know some others with babies around the same age that are already on
    the toddler foods, or just regular table food...is this odd for him
    to still be on baby food???  what can/should I do???   I am trying to
    introduce new foods all the time...but still run into this.
    
    Also, another question?  When do you take away the "bottle"???  I know
    it might be a bit early now at 9 mos, but I am jsut wondering when I
    need to think about it???  Right now he can drink from a sippy cup,
    but I usually just reserve it for meal time, due to the mess he
    creates.  I still give him his juice and milk during the day in his
    bottle.  But, what age should you start weaning frmo the bottle? 10
    mos, 1 year, 2 yrs???????   
    
    So confused!
    
    
    Chris
    

    >>bottle.  But, what age should you start weaning frmo the bottle? 10
    >>mos, 1 year, 2 yrs???????   
    
    I asked my pedi this and he said 2 years. My son, Andy, gave up his
    last bottle around 18-19 months. Everyone's mileage is different
    though. I was a little reluctant to take his morning bottle away since
    he seemed so attached to it, and he didn't seem to have any other 
    "loveys" or suck his thumb or anything. I tried a few times to give 
    him a cup instead of his bottle and he fussed, but the third or fourth
    time he just took the cup and we never looked back. However, he now
    has a favorite blanket that he carries around...
    sue
    

These are really hard questions.  It all depends upon the kid.

Don't worry about how old he is and think about what he can eat himself.  If 
he can pick it up, get it in his mouth, and chew it, (and it's got some
nutritional value of course), then give him some.  Eating it isn't as important
as letting him try.  He won't starve.

I'd try sitting him at dinner with everyone else, and giving him what he
can handle from what you're eating.  (OK, so you don't normally eat canned
peaches.  You can do that for a month to get him interested).  After he's
tried/played/explored/tasted his dinner, and he appears to still be hungry,
you can feed him baby food from a jar.  

Most 9 month old kids are interested in food (to play with, if nothing else).  
It shouldn't take long for him to get interested in people food.  The secret 
is to offer it when he's hungry, make it social (like dinner), and encourage 
him to explore.

About bottles, that's even harder.  Some doctors want kids off bottles at
12 months; other don't say a word.  Ours had no opinion, and I would not have
taken bottles away at a year even if the doctor said to.  As Elise became more
and more interested in feeding herself (and more adept at it), snacks and 
juice starting replacing bottle feedings.

So, the basic answer is to let your son tell you when he's ready.  Don't
worry about *when* these things happen. Just help him learn to feed himself, 
by providing food he can handle and letting him explore it.

Pat

    My son also liked babyfood and was on it until almost a year when my
    doctor said he should be eating what we eat.  I then ground things up
    as he only had 4 teeth but he preferred baby food and i figured that
    was better then no food.  We are also still on a morning bottle.  He
    still spills his sippy cups and either prefers a bottle or plain
    plastic glass with no top.  In the morning it is easier for us to give
    him his bottle of milk and have him watch Sesame while we get ready for
    work.  But that will probably end soon as he will be 2 next month and I
    am getting hints from people that we should be getting him used to more
    cups and less bottle.  He only uses sippy cups at daycare and they say
    he does not spill.  But when I asked to borrow one of theirs, he does
    not want it at home.  I think he sees the other kids with the cups and
    will use it there.  
    
    Some people will give you grief about when to do what and like the
    previous note said - they will let you know.  My nephew was attached to
    his bottle and one day at 22 months gave it back and never wanted
    another.  
    
    One thing I found as they were getting used to foods is that every week
    or sometimes every day was different.  What he would not eat one day he
    would try and like next week.  So keep giving samples and see what
    happens.  In the meantime if he likes babyfood, why not.
    
    Michelle
    

    My kids both ate baby food till they were ready to feed themselves.
    When I started switching them to table foods (around 1 year), I
    also let them feed themselves.  It was a big change for them, but
    they adjusted very nicely, as evidenced by their steady growth!
    
    If your little guy/gal only has a couple of teeth, give him things
    that are easy to gnash and chew.  For example, my daughter is 14
    months and still only has 4 "real" teeth (but she's cutting about 6
    more).  She likes meats practically crumbled, because that's the
    only way she can handle them.  Canned vegetables (no salt added)
    are good, cut in small pieces; also mashed potatoes, etc.  Anything
    reasonably soft that you think your baby will eat is worth trying.
    Remember, yogurt is "table food" too....both of my kids were eating
    it regularly by the time they were six months old.  I would start
    getting him used to more textured food, though.  At the same time,
    I understand what you're talking about...James was the gaggiest baby
    on earth.  Mashed overripe bananas made him gag and barf...Hollis
    will hit a lump and just work through it.
    
    I also have questions about the bottle.  I am spoiled because James
    gave his up without any fuss at 15 months.  Hollis is 14 months
    and drinks nicely from a sippy cup (I started both the kids on
    sippy cups at 5-6 months).  She really likes that bedtime "ba,"
    which is drunk on Mummy or Daddy's lap.  I kind of hoped to have
    her off the bottle by the time she turned a year and a half.  Is
    it worth pushing it, or should I wait till she gives me more clues
    that she is losing interest?

	Please forgive me if this sounds like a stupid question,
	but I just had a minor debate with my mother, and I'm curious
	if anyone here knows the answer.

	Emily, 4.5 months, has been on cereal for 2 weeks.  After a few
	days of cereal, I introduced carrots, which I cooked at home then
	processed through a food grinder.  She did fine.  After a few
	more days, I gave her bananas, which I just broke into pieces and
	passed through the food grinder (it's made for making baby food).

	Here's where the debate comes in.  My mother contends that I
	should cook the bananas a little before mashing them, to make
	them easier to digest.  I've never heard anything that says
	either that cooking food makes it easier to digest or that baby
	can't eat raw fruits.  I've given her bananas three times with
	no adverse reactions, so I think I'm right, but I'm not sure.

	Comments ?

	Karen

	PS - Mothers - gotta love 'em, right ??  ;-)

    It's a good idea to cook vegetables and fruits that are high in
    roughage to soften the fibers, at least for the first few feedings.
    (Not sure if apples fall in that category.  I used cooked applesauce
    but you might be safe to blend peeled raw apples.)  Your doctor can 
    tell you when to feed raw stuff. 
    
    Bananas are not fibrous, so cooking them will only serve to destroy
    a few vitamins.  Oh, and make Grandma happy. ;-)  Of course, cooking
    apples keeps them from turning brown.  We wouldn't want Baby to eat
    unsightly food, now would we? ;-) ;-)
    
    Just enjoy it while they are too defenseless to resist vegetables.
    (heh heh)
    
    L

	Thanks Laura!

	I chose to ignore my mother's comments (horrors!) and proceed
	as I saw fit.  I do plan to cook things like apples, but
	cooked bananas seemed too way out to me!  

	Karen

    Chelsea just turned 7 months old.  I tried turkey for the first time
    Saturday night...it was a mix with sweet potatoes and green beans.  She
    woke up at 3 in the morning crying like she had gas pains.  I changed
    her diaper...just a tiny tiny poop (kinda formed) and she went right
    back to sleep.  I don't think it was the poop, but who really knows at
    this point.
    
    My question is...did any of your babies have any reactions when they
    first started meats?  What type of reactions do you look for?  Are
    meats harder to digest for babies when they first start?  Should I
    try again in a week and keep it up for 3 days to see if she wakes up
    in the early am (ugh!).
    
    Would appreciate your experiences and advice!
    
    Thanks,
    
    ..Lori

    Charlotte tried her first meat these last two days - I have a tendancy
    to be conservative when trying new foods - I try the jar variety first,
    as the consistancy is smoother for her - she will be less inclined to 
    try something new if it has any kind of texture. 
    So, chicken and vegetables these last two days - its hard to judge
    reaction in her since she's in the midst of popping her 4th tooth
    (yes, #3 arrived last week). As far as stool is concerned, hers varies
    so much that I can see no real change.
    Other comments?
    
    Monica

	I gave Emily some turkey on Thanksgiving.  I make her food,
	so I just took a piece of breast meat and passed it through
	my baby-food grinder.  I fed it to her with sweet potatoes
	and rice cereal.  She had no adverse reaction (even to the texture!).

	I haven't given it to her since, as she's still only eating
	two meals a day.  My pedi recommended waiting to add the third
	meal until Emily seems to need it(right now, she gets two meals
	and three bottles).  He said the same for meats;  after the
	third meal seems to longer satisfy her, add meats.  So, I gave
	her the turkey so she could celebrate Thanksgiving, but no other
	meats any other time.

	I'd suggest waiting a few days and trying again.  The crying
	in the night and the "tiny poop" could be unrelated to the turkey.
	Since her reaction seemed on the mild side (you said she went right
	back to sleep), you won't be jeopardizing her health to try again.

	Karen

re: .54

>                                                                   Are
>    meats harder to digest for babies when they first start?          

   As a bit of a digression... meats are definately harder to digest,
   even for adults with fully developed digestive systems.  Ask anyone
   who has tried eating as a vegetarian about the differences... they are
   significant and noticable.

   Regards,
   
   - Tom
   

When did you start your baby on finger foods and what were the very
first foods you tried?

Noelle just turned 7 months old, loves everything I've given her so
far (cereal, fruits, veggies), and just seems ready to try more things.
I'm a little nervous about trying Cheerios at this stage -- seems like it
would be so easy to accidentally swallow one whole and choke -- but
maybe some teething biscuits?

And so far, no teeth :-)

   Just my opinion, but I wouldn't be too worried about choking on
   cheerios... the biggest problem we had was that at first our kids
   would try to stuff too many in their mouths, but if we rationed them
   out slowly (2-3 at a time, for example), there were no problems.  They
   always take a little time to get used to dealing with solids anyway.
   If you're concerned, try this - put a couple in your mouth and see how
   quickly they turn to mush...  consider also that they have a hole in
   the middle - even if the kids try to swallow them whole, there is
   still a way for air to pass through.. I know, I know, watching kids
   get food stuck in their mouth is scary no matter what, but at least
   you know the risk is not as serious as other foods might be.
   
   You might also try real banana too - break it up a little and ration
   it out.... but be prepared to clean up quite a mess - we've found with
   Abby that once she is done eating, she seems to get a lot of pleasure
   out of mashing the banana pieces between her fingers.
   
   Peace,
   
   - Tom
   
   ps - my theory on food goes like this... you can tell how much they
   liked it by how much of it they are wearing... the more they liked it,
   the more you will find it everywhere.  :-)  :-)

    So far we have been rather conservative in trying out new textures and
    foods for Charlotte - We've only started feeding her in her highchair
    (we're still lap feeding her most of the time - although she does get a
    good selection of cereals, fruits, vegetables and now pureed meats and 
    yogurt), with the exception of giving her Farley's teething biscuits
    once in a while. She does surprisingly well on those (encouraging!)
    
    She *hates* banana unless I  prepare them first (mashed vs. microwaved,
    and put through the food mill). She likes to take small bites from her
    father's apple, but  other than that, I am looking for a vegetable she
    can use as finger food. Ideas?
    
    Monica

Vegetable as finger food?  String beans. Really great and they're very benign.

Also good are well cooked carrots but my kids liked the beans better.

They LOVED pureed spinach but I wouldn't call that a finger food :-)  Finger 
dipping maybe :-)  

Well cooked cauliflower or brocolli is good too if you child likes stronger 
flavored vegetables.

ccb

    Monica,
    
    You could try cooked broccoli florets...my daughter has always liked
    them (they are one of a few veges that she'll eat these days).  The
    florets mush up pretty well.
    
    You can grate carrots and try those raw. Peas are usually a hit.  Many
    kids like them frozen, but that made me a little nervous when Gina was
    younger.
    
    But I second Tom's notion on the cheerios.  They seem like the perfect
    first-finger food.  
    
    judy

    Hi Deb!
    
    Wow...I can't believe Noelle is already 7 months old...time does fly!
    
    Chelsea is 9-1/2 months (no teeth yet!) and we have been doing the
    finger food experience for a couple of months now.  As another noter
    mentioned, most of it ends up being worn vs. eaten...but I think the
    thrill is in touching and smooshing it all over the tray!
    
    We drain the juice from canned pears and peaches and cut them into
    small pieces...its pretty slippery, but again the whole feeling
    experience is kinda like food painting for Chelsea.  We tried the
    teething biscuits, but she wasn't that thrilled with the taste and
    I think they are the messiest of all choices.
    
    We just let her have this weekend Saltine Crackers (we were at a
    restaurant and edging to buy some more time to swallow our food!).
    What a laugh it was to watch her...she had so much fun.  Looked like
    she had stuck her hand in glue and then dunked it into the crackers.
    We broke them up into really fine pieces, and most of them landed
    on the floor (the bus boys love us!)...but she really enjoyed herself.
    
    I can understand how you feel about Cheerios.  Being a first time mom,
    I'm not ready yet to offer them to her.  I know they gum up really
    easy, but it just makes me to nervous (something I'm sure that will
    pass when a second or third child comes along).
    
    Anyways..hopes this helps!
    
    ..Lori

    Just one of those "handy" tips, I have used an egg slicer to cut up
    fruits.  Bananas work like a charm, peaches and pears work great too. 
    You know the kind everyone seems to have with the plastic base and the
    thin wire things that cut up the boiled egg?  Oh I guess using it to
    slice a boiled egg might be good too?  It just seems to save time and
    give such uniformed slices.
    
    Lyn
    (who always had a very well fed FLOOR!!)

    My son is almost 14 months now and is becoming a picky eater (I think).
    He loves anything pasta, breads, PB&J, grille cheese (maybe), cheese,
    yogurt, carrots, peas.  I was wondering if you could give me some
    suggestions on how to get him to "like" new foods.  I keep trying
    something new but he usually doesn't like it.  
    
    Also, he isn't too thrilled about meat.  Although, I can get him 
    to eat a hot dog (yuk!).
    
    Does this get better with age or worse?
    
    Any suggestions would be helpful.
    
    thanks...Kelly
    
    
    
    

    Ahhhh, first-time mom phobias 8^)  
    
    Sarah (who'll be 10 mos on Tues) has been pretty good about finger food.  
    Yes, she does love to wear her food but she's also getting good with
    finding her mouth on the first or second try.
    
    At first I was worried, too, about Cheerios, but I only let her have
    them when she is supervised and then she seems to only want 1 at a
    time.
    
    So far she eats Cheerios, crackers, graham crackers (broken into small
    pieces), cut up peaches, small pieces of french toast (wheat or
    oatmeal) and macaroni cut into tiny pieces.
    
    Someone also suggested that I make a baked potato and then give her
    some of the insides (in tiny, tiny pieces).  I'll probably try that
    this weekend.
    
    It's really fun seeing what she likes (everything), but first time
    foods are the best.  She'll put it in her mouth and get the strangest
    look on her face, almost as if to say "What is this poison!!!!" but
    then gobble up the rest.
    
    I just wish my husband was as easy to please (what, we're having fish
    for supper, again (again meaning we had it 3 weeks ago)).
    
    Susan

    Neel is 9 months..actually almost 9.5 months old (no teeth yet!). He
    snacks on Cheerios, Kix (the regular kind not berry-berry), bread,
    crackers like the Hi-Ho (round ones). He love to sit in his hi-chair
    and munch on them. He is about 95% coordinated. Rarely will a Cheerio
    or Kix miss the mark.
    
    Shaila

    We started Lindsay on table food at 7 mos.  By 7.5 mos, she went on
    a baby food strike.  Would not eat it, would only eat table/finger
    food.  She is now 8.5 months, and this is what she eats (OK'd by pedi):
    
    meat:  ground hamburger and turkey, tiny pieces of cooked chicken, fish
    sticks
    
    vegi's:  peas, carrots, broccoli  
    
    fruit: banana, kiwi's, orange slice (only fresh, refuses canned fruit/veg)
    
    dairy:  american cheese (all time favorite), cottage cheese,
            scrambled egg
    
    breads:  toast with butter, rotini (another favorite!), macaroni
             graham crackers, rice cakes, pancakes, waffles, cheerios
    
    This week I made a cassorole with hamburg, cottage cheese, peas, and
    elbow macaroni and sent containers of it to day care.  They said she
    couldn't get enough of it!    I find that it's harder to pack food for
    daycare now that she isn't on baby food so if anyone else has any
    cassorole type ideas (as in easy to make), I would love to hear them.
    
    She eats very large amounts of food and it is not pretty to see - grabs
    it with her hands and shoves it in fast as she can.    Half falls on
    the floor!
    
    Stephanie  

    This sounds like great fun! Okay Charlotte! get ready!
    (yes, we have to start slow....she too likes to give this 
    "what the HECK was that!" expression and the Whole-Body-Shiver
    when something new comes along.)
    
	Monica

    Re :-1
    
    Monica, Neel gives me the "Yuk! What did you put in my mouth!" look
    each time I put something new into his mouth. But about the 3rd time
    his expression changes to "Hmmmm! I like this" and wiggles his little
    bottom while sitting. That tells me that he is enjoying the food. 
    
    (He looks too darned cute when he wiggles his little bottom when he
    eats!)
    
    Shaila

    
    Okay, anyone have a toddler (mine is 16 mos) who will eat just about
    EVERYTHING at daycare and won't eat the same foods for you at home???
    
    Michael will eat just about everything at daycare, and only certain
    things at home!  It drives me crazy!  He likes his fruits and veggies 
    most of the time, but if I try to give him any kind of meat or pasta
    he throws it right off his tray. But at daycare he eats EVERYTHING. 
    Macaroni/Cheese, chicken/turkey nuggets, hot dogs, turkey,etc etc
    
    I've tried buying the exact same brands that she does, and cooking and
    serving these foods the same way she does, but to no avail.  
    It bothers me a bit that he's not getting enough protein in his diet,
    but I do know he's eating these things there so I know he's getting
    some. And I end up making him a peanutbutter sandwich or grilled cheese
    about 3-4 times a week just so I know he's eating SOMETHING. (sometimes
    he's just not in the "mood" for veggies)..
    
    It just really irks me that he won't eat more at home!
    
    Oh well, he's certainly not starving, and growing like a weed, so I
    guess I should be happy.
    
    Chris
    

    Hey Chris, you've duplicated the food....now all you have to do is
    duplicate the *atmosphere*!!  Just bring home ALL the other kids at
    daycare and you won't have ANY problem getting Michael to eat!  Stir in
    some loud noises, chaos, and perhaps a little Sesamie Street and even a
    barking (large) dog.
    
    I've tried this when we do AJ's asthma treatment, he doesn't cooperate
    real well in the boredom of his room, so we move it into the livingroom
    so he can watch some kids' program on TV.
    
    OK I'm in a wierd moood today!!
    
    Lyn

    
    >> "i've tried this when we do Aj's asthma treatment..."
    
    Oh yeah, you must be up all night driving them all home after!! ;-)
    
      Thanks Lyn, but I think I'll deal with his pickyness!!!!!!!!!!
    I can't imagine dealing with 6 kids (and a DOG!) after getting out of
    here each day! One child with the 5 o'clock "crankies" is about all I
    can handle for now!!
    
    :-)
    
    Chris
    (I know what you mean tho!  I guess I'm in one of those moods today too!)
    

	At 9 months, Emily's finger foods consist of:

	Toast
	Cheerio's (started at 6 months, at Pedi's suggestion to develop 	
		   skills)
	Graham Crackers - dissolve on contact with saliva, don't need to
			  be broken very small
	Hamburg - sampled Mom's burger at a restaurant this weekend
	Baked potato - see above :-)
	Broccoli - see above :-) :-)
	Flaked fish
	Canned pear/peach chunks, no sugar added
	
	I read in What to Expect the first year that at 9 months, I should
	be getting away from "baby" foods, or pureed foods.  The main reason
	is that baby may balk at new textures if you wait to introduce them.
	I'm going to start Emily on more table foods (same as I do in 
	restaurants) this week.  Of the above foods, only the top three
	are regulars.

	Besides finger foods, she eats yogurt, baby cereals, carrots, peas
	beans, squash, pears, peaches, apricots, bananas, apples, potatoes
	mashed w/formula, and jarred meats.  I've had more success with
	homemade chicken through the baby food grinder than with the jars...

	This week, I'll introduce pasta (she had some at her great-grandma's
	yesterday and gobbled it up).

    Chris, I really was *just kidding* about bringing the kids home.  OK I
    swear I'll never enter a reply before having at least my THIRD cup of
    coffee!!
    
    re .74, the reason I discovered AJ loved broccoli so much was when he
    tried mine.  I thought he'd take a bite and probably blow it back at
    (on) me, no way, he ate the whole cup and  wanted more!!
    
    FWIW, I still keep a couple jars of the baby bananas on the shelf,
    probably always will, he will still occationally request "bananna
    Pudding"  translated, he loves the jars of baby bananas.  Maybe when
    he's 21 I'll tell him what it *really * is, until then, well who's to
    complain he eats it and it's good for him, and there's NO sugar in it!
    
    Lyn
    

    I'm really starting to feel we've been too conservative about the 
    finger food thing - I am trying to be careful now not to over do it,
    but I have this zest to try things out on Charlotte now.
    
    I've cut up some very ripe pears this weekend, and gave a few pieces
    to her - she loved it! (she sometimes likes the mashed stuff, but
    sometimes not.)
    I was not so successful the next day when we tried cheese (what a
    face!) after that she wouldn't even let me feed anything to her!
    
    Monica

    
    I know you were Lyn, I just re-read my reply and guess I hadn't 
    had my coffee yet either (I added too many "!!"'s).  
    
    More on the food, my pedi also suggested cheerios for producing good
    motor skills. I too was nervous about them when Michael was so small,
    but just put one in your mouth and see how fast it melts. It would
    disinegrate before it even gets down their throat TO choke on it. 
    Another favorite of Mikes was Kix also.
         
    Chris
    (who's floor gets more to eat than her child also!!! :-)
    
    

    This is probably going to sound very strange, especially coming from me
    but here goes....
    
    Just for a change of pace I put half a carrot, cut in julienne style
    strips in AJ's lunch box today.  OK he is 6, but I haven't really given
    him fresh carrots to any great extent before.  When he has had them
    it's usually while I'm peeling and slicing them to use in a meal, and
    he will usually eat them while he's right beside me.  
    
    I've been sitting here all day absolutely worried sick that he's going
    to fool around during lunch time and get a piece of carrot stuck in his
    throat.  Since I took the other half of the carrot in my lunch, I
    realize how hard those things are to chew and get down.  Am I being
    overly paranoid, is he old enough to handle a raw carrot.
    
    Call me paranoid....
    

    Ryan is 4 1/2. He's been eating raw carrot sticks since this past
    summer after we read Berenstein Bears _No More Junkfood_.  I just slice
    them thinner than I would for me.
    

    Lyn,
    
    He should be old enough to handle raw carrot with no problems, unless
    his front teeth are coming loose.  In that case he won't enjoy them
    becaus his mouth will be sore.
    
    Meg

	Lauren is 4-1/2 months old and so far, I've tried giving her
	rice cereal with formula, oatmeal cereal with formula, and
	sweet potatoes.  She hates them all!  My doctor suggested
	trying fruits AFTER I'd gotten through all three 1st cereals
	and all 5 first veggies but I'm at my wits end.  For a while,	
	I could stuff food in her mouth by making her laugh but she
	has caught onto me.  Last night she just smirked (locked lips)
	and finally got mad and started crying.  I started shoving
	food in then which I know was a horrible thing to do.  I was just
	so frustrated because she has stopped sleeping through the night
	and wakes up at 4AM starving!

	After last nights incident, I figured I'd wait a couple of
	weeks before trying again.  I made eating (last night anyhow)
	a bad experience for her and now I wonder if she'll ever
	eat again!  Then I read this string and I'm thinking maybe
	I should try fruit tonight.  

	Anybody got any suggestions for getting their baby started
	on food for the first time?  Would I be making a mistake
	giving her fruit since she already appears to be a picky eater?

	Karen

    karen,
    
    At four 1/2 months she may still be too young to enjoy eating solids. 
    Kids don't all follow a perfect roadmap on development and there are
    reflexes that have to develop for food to be eaten.  Holding off for a
    few weeks is probably the best thing you can do to avoid setting up a
    lifetime of power struggles over food.  
    
    What I've done to figure out if my kids were ready for food is to whach
    their reactions when I am eating.  When they start reaching for what is
    on my plate, or trying to grab my food out of my hands, then I figure
    it is time to give some solids a try.  Also, don't make a lot of food
    to start.  I started my three off on less than a teaspoon of cereal at
    a time, and put it into tiny bits off the spoon.  The cereal is easy
    enough to mix up if they want more.  Learning to eat should be a
    pleasure, not a struggle.  In my case, I mixed cereal with water
    instead of breast milk or formula and it went over better as well.  All
    my kids seemed to feel that if it smelled like milk it should be
    liquid.
    
    FWIW, not one of my kids slept through the night on a regular basis
    before they were a year old.  Between four and 12 months they are
    working so hard on rolling over and becoming mobile, I think they need
    both the calories and reassurance of a night feeding or two.  
    
    Good luck
    
    meg

    I said it before and I'll say it again .... I really haven't seen any
    problems in any of my kids, and all of them started with cereal and
    FRUIT first.  Veggies and meat came later.  Maybe it's just my kids,
    but actually .... Chris had the most fruit-first of all of them, and
    he's 9 now, and for a snack, he'd MUCH rather have something healthy
    than something sweet (like a pear instead of a chocolate bar).  
    
    Also, consider that maybe it's what you're feeding her with??  Does she
    dislike the spoon that you're using?  It's got to feel pretty weird
    after only having had a bottle.  You could try some "finger foods"
    instead.  I was quite surprised at Jonathan's 6-month checkup when the
    Dr was not too happy because the only finger foods he ate were some
    cheerios.  I would think that rice krispies are similar enough to "rice
    cereal" - Jonathan LOVES to "gum" things, and he'd much rather that
    than any type of baby food.  Stick a cheerio in your mouth and suck on
    it - I think you'll be surprised how easily it dissolves.
    
    And don't push it - with a baby that young, a couple weeks can make a
    BIG difference!!  
    
    Good Luck!  

    I started out giving Andrew Rice Cereal, then moved on to cereal with 
    fruit. He seemed to like the cereal with fruit better. I tried all the
    baby food fruits and he loved them all. I'd only mix alittle, a tsp or
    2 in with his cereal and give him the rest of the jar after if he
    wanted it. After the fruit, I introduced veggies one at a time. He
    loved most of them too. The only thing he didn't like was the spinach
    (can't blame him there :-)). 
    
    I had also heard not to put fruit in with his cereal because it would 
    make it sweet and then he would have to have sweet cereal when he got 
    older. And also, that he wouldn't eat veggies. Well, that hasn't been the 
    case with Andrew. He's 15 mos now and loves plain cereal (cheerios, rice 
    krispies, etc). And he loves all kinds of veggies. He prefers fruits
    and veggies and bread over meat. His day care provider has even
    commented that he eats the "strangest" veggies for a baby. He'll eat
    anything. A favorite of his right now is zucchini. :-)
    
    So, go with your instinct. Every baby likes different things at
    different times,etc. Maybe your daughter's not ready to eat yet. That's
    OK. Wait and try again in a week. Things change alot in a week! Maybe
    your daughter will like the fruit and this will get her to eat veggies,
    and her cereal. 
    
    Also, try giving her alittle mashed up ripe banana or plain 'ole (no
    sugar added) applesauce. Those were 2 of Andrew's favs.  
    
    Good luck.
    
    Karen 

    Karen,
    
    Paul didn't start eating till he was just about 5 months.  He disliked
    everything that I gave him and I tried it all.  Finally, one day he
    just started eating and now will eat anything I give him.  I give him
    lunch and dinner now and he eats 1 jar of food with 3 Tablespoons of
    cereal mixed.  He never liked the texture of anything unless it has the
    cereal in it.  After seeing that, I decided to start making my own
    babyfood and now he refuses to eat the jar stuff.  Oh well, I feel
    better with him eating my food anyways.
    
    I would give it a couple of days and try again.  I went through the
    *exact* same thing when I tried to shovel food in his mouth.  Don't do
    it.  She will eat when she is ready.  I agree with the noter about the
    spoon too.  Make sure you have a soft baby spoon.  I tried the plastic
    teething one and Paul hated it.  I guess it was too rough for his
    sensitive teething gums.
    
    At six months I guess I should be giving him finger food now from what
    I read in this note.  I am wondering what are the best to try because
    he wants to eat everything that I have in my hand now.  I am also
    running out of ideas on what to make for him.  So far I make bananas,
    squash, sweet potatoes, applesauce and peas.  What else is there?  I
    don't have a grinder.  I just use the handichopper and chop for hours
    it seems until they are mushy.
    
    As far as sleeping through the night; you were too lucky (it seemed to
    me anyways) when you said Lauren sleeps as much as she did.  I used to
    give Paul cereal in his bottle but found alot of people said it was
    wrong and didn't encourage him sleeping more.  I don't know about that
    .. because he did sleep better.  I stopped because of the negative
    reactions.  Paul is now sleeping through the night. 
    
    Have you tried a pacifier?   Paul woke up a couple of times at the same
    age as your daughter and I found if I gave him his pacifier (or a
    breast for 10 minutes) that he went right back to sleep.
    
    cj

    This is a list I just got from my Pedi for finger/table foods;
    
    6-8 mos old:
    ============
    Mashed bananas
    Cheerios
    Toast, lightly buttered
    Graham crackers
    Arrowroot cookies
    
    Some soft foods you might like to introduce
    
    Mashed potatoes
    mashed vegetables
    cottage cheese
    yogurt
    pudding
    Tender meats chopped, ground or mashed  
    
    9mos - 1 yr old:
    ================
    
    Eggs
    apples, peeled and sliced
    orange sections
    peaches
    soft cheeses
    carrots and other veggies, cooked soft
    noodles, macaroni and other pasta
    rice
    toast
    tender meat, cut in small pieces
    spaghetti
    meatballs
    liversausage (?) cut in cubes
    fish without bones
    
    Foods for babies 1 year and older:
    ==================================
    
    Veggies					Dairy
    -------					-----
    Carrot sticks				Small cubes of cheese
    cauliflower					Hard boiled eggs
    tomatoes					cottage cheese
    lettuce					yogurt
    asparagus
    beans					Fruits
    broccoli					------
    mashed and sweet potatoes			apples, peeled and sliced
    french fries				peaches, pears, oranges
    peas					bananas
    						fruit cocktail
    Meats					strawberries, blueberries
    -----					cantaloupe
    bacon
    hotdogs**					Breads & Cereals
    meatballs					----------------
    ham, cut small				toast
    luncheon meats				arrowroot cookies
    sausage					saltines
    spam					Zwieback
    chicken, veal, roast, cut small		graham crackers
    hamburger					cold cereal
    						bagels
    						macaroni
    						spaghetti
    
    ** Cut hot dogs in small pieces LENGTHwise!
    
    
    		Foods to avoid for children under 18 mos.
    		=========================================
    		Corn
    		Cucumbers
    		Chocolate
    		Onions, uncooked
    		Nuts
    		Popcorn
    		(are not digestible or could cause gagging)
    
    
    That's the end of the "official" list.  Obviously it's incomplete -
    watermelon used to be one of the favorites of my little ones, and it's
    not on there anywhere (sure can be messy!).
    
    Some tried and true foods that don't seem to bother Jonathan (7 mos)
    are;
    
    small lumps of banana
    baked potato w/ butter and/or a dash sour cream or plain yogurt
    plain yogurt
    ham-steak, VERY small
    cold chicken meat (like from a chef salad)
    cucumber (??OOOPS!)
    mashed or shredded carrots
    american cheese slice, folded 2 times, then broken into pieces, so it
    makes a 4-tier cube (I don't know - I just have always done this...)
    cheerios
    town house/ritz crackers
    saltines
    ABC or SoupMac pasta (LOVES it!!)
    chicken w/ stars soup (I confess, I eat most of the broth)
    
    I'm sure there's others, but those are his favorite .... he doesn't
    like hamburg - it seemed to make him gag, and he wasn't thrilled about
    hot dogs.  He LOVED the deviled ham I gave him once, but couldn't
    digest it (oops!).  
    
    Don't judge your baby too much by this ... Jonathan *LOVES* to eat
    everything, anytime - he's inherited that gene from both his father and
    I.  He's also had a nibble of chocolate (ah, it was Easter!), which he
    screamed when I wouldn't give him more.  He doesn't seem to care for
    juice at all, LOVES milk and water, and his formula of course.  And
    none of these foods are in any great quantity.  Maybe he eats a couple
    of teaspoons - occassionally 3 - at any particular meal.  
    
    My sister always used to get mini bagels for her daughter to chew on -
    looked kinda messy though (but maybe I forget how messy things are!).
    
    Patty

	Well, I tried bananas last night and she refused those as well!
	Since she sucks on anything, I let her play with the spoon
	(soft bite) for a while (making sure she didn't shove it in
	her eye or gag herself).  Then I tried feeding her banana, both
	from a spoon and from my finger.  No go.  Then I got some fresh
	banana and she sucked away on that!  So I mashed the fresh
	banana and she wouldn't take it!   Drive me crazy!

	I'm not going to try again but I sent the jar of bananas to
	daycare and asked my provider to give it a try.  Maybe late
	in the day is the wrong time to try feeding her?  If that
	doesn't work, I'm going to wait a couple of weeks.  In the 
	meantime, I'll introduce her to apple juice and maybe grape
	juice and once I start feeding her again, I'll start over with
	the cereals, this time sweetened with the juice.

	Oh... and I thought the bananas were kind of tangy.  I tasted
	them and now I understand the face Lauren made... I made the
	same one!  Guess I should have tried pears...

	Lauren did sleep through the night last night after an 8 oz
	bottle 1 hour before bed and another 2 oz just before bedtime.
	She had been eating 35 oz of formula a day, then for some 
	reason, dropped down to about 30 oz.  Shortly after that she
	stopped sleeping through the night and then she was back up
	to her normal 35 oz.  So I just need to encourage her to 
	take it all during the day if possible!  This morning she
	was still full from last night and only wanted 2 oz!

	cj... I think you can get a grinder for baby food at about
	$10.  My daycare provider said that Purity Supreme had them.

>>    Have you tried a pacifier?   

	Lauren has rejected her pacifier.  She also does not suck any
	fingers (just a fist).

	Karen

My second son gave us such a hard time starting to eat.  He is 10 months old now,
and he simply refused to eat the baby cereal at 5 months, then again at 6 and
7 months.  I started to get really concerned since he had failure to thrive as
an infant.  We have asked his pedi and specialists and they said not to worry,
just keep trying ever couple weeks.  He would cry, spit it out and close his 
mouth.  Finally at 8 months he just decided to eat it.  We did try other things
we mixed it with fruit juice, which is really against what my beliefs are.  It
didnt matter.  We tried chereos, and he wanted no part of them either.  He has
finally started to eat them within the last month.  I gave him carrots and he
just started to eat them.  After that I gave him the cereal, which he also then
ate!  It was like one day he changed his mind and ate.  This was a far cry from
the past, when I also tried to force food in his mouth while he was screaming...
that only made everything worse.  His older brother ate food from his first
try at 4 months.  

So, with all the frustration and worries we went through (and driving the dr.s
crazy), he just started to eat when he was ready at 8 months!  At that time I 
started with the cereals and veggies, then fruit, and he is pretty slow even now
with table foods.  We just keep putting it in front of him and give him the 
opportunity.  He is even finally getting the hang of a sippy cup.  They have 
their own minds about everything, and I find nothing is going to change that!

Laura

My Lauren didn't start getting teeth until about 12 months so we were 
constantly looking for food she could gum. Her first semi-solids 
included: white rice with soy sauce, tofu with soy sauce (you
can mash or just cut into small cubes for finger foods) and brocolli 
cooked until very soft.  The brocolli we cut so it had long stems she 
could hold onto and she would munch away on the flower portion.  Oh,
she also like grated parmasean cheese and canned manderin oranges (still
loves these).

We tried grinding food but Lauren wouldn't eat it - she preferred these
foods that could "melt" in her mouth.  Of course, she would eat frozen 
yougurt or vanilla ice cream any time, any day.

Good luck

    Just an option, we got very successful with mashed apricots ( the
    dried type - slightly boiled) as the first (semi)solid meal. Worked on
    both our little ones.

    Another vote for bananas, either mashed or as a finger food.

Last Thursday, after 2-1/2 weeks of not trying to feed Lauren, I gave it
a try again.  I gave her oatmeal with formula and she ate it all (about
2 T total)!  I couldn't believe it!  I didn't have to trick her to open 
her mouth... all I did was touch the spoon to her lower lip and her mouth 
opened like majic!  Thinking I just got lucky, I didn't say anything in 
notes about it Friday but she continued throughout the weekend!  Today, 
she will be getting cereal at daycare as well as at home... we might try
barley or rice tonight.

Last night, Lauren was so funny.  The whole time I was feeding her she
sort of hummed....  "um um um um um um um".  Sounded like Yum Yum!  I kept
laughing at her and she just smiled back and kept saying yum.  She also
began to anticipate the spoon and had her mouth open and waiting like a
little bird!  I actually enojyed feeding her!  

I can't believe what a difference 2-1/2 weeks made!  

Karen

    Karen,
    
    Just wait till you try something new.  Atlehi loves the familiar, but
    getting her to try something that looks or tastes different, and she
    gets some of the strangest looks on her face while she figures out
    whether or not this is food and good.  Often the first taste is
    launched, (the dog loves this), but after that she decides its food,
    and starts scarfing.
    
    meg

    Also, don't let daddy teach them how to do "raspberryies".
    
    My little one now does it when I'm trying to feed her!  
    
    Ah joy!
    
    

>>    Also, don't let daddy teach them how to do "raspberryies".
>>    
>>    My little one now does it when I'm trying to feed her!  
    
	After over a week of successfully feeding Lauren cereal,
	she has discovered how to spurt it out of her mouth.  The
	past two days were useless feedings... I got nothing to
	stay in!

        She isn't doing rasberries and she isn't just spitting the
	food out... she is spurting it!  Kind of like you might
	spit out watermellon seeds (or perhaps chewing tobacco).
	She sprays up to 2 feet away!  She also does this when
	she is not eating... it is just a new thing she has 
	discovered.... pfft, pfft, pfft.... over and over.

        I wonder if I should persist in feeding her when she
	does this or just give up once she starts in.  I can't
	get anything down her like this!  I was so torn last night
	between frustration and laughter... I wanted to dump the
	bowl on her head she had me so worked up!

	Oh, and the humming has stopped.  I imagine that next week
	she will stop spurting and find some other thing to do to
	make meal time more exciting.

        Karen    
    

    Karen,
    
    When Atlehi starts sending food into orbit, I figure she has had enough
    to eat and take her out of the highchair to do something else.  If she
    really is hungry then we try again after a few minutes of her fussing. 
    Usually that puts a stop to the game.  
    
    meg

    
    I'd vote for "stop feeding".  She may very well not be hungry. 
    Jonathan (almost 8 mos) still goes through spurts where he just does
    NOT want any food, and his formula is enough for him.  I let him gauge
    how much he wants to eat.  Sometimes it's nothing, sometimes it's twice
    what I've made.  All times, when he stops, or is more interested in
    "something else", then the food stops.  It took him about twice to
    figure that out - but I've always done that with his bottle too.  If
    he'd rather look at his brothers or a balloon, or the TV, and he's
    making it difficult to feed him, he doesn't eat.  He understands, and
    usually only needs one "reminder" that it's time to eat.  And a lot of
    times he just does fine without.  I figure if I KEEP trying, it's going
    to get ME upset, and he's going to know, and I don't want any tension
    around meal times.  
    
    Remember - eating 3 meals a day is an "adult" idea, and is not
    instinctual or natural.  Many small meals (ie "grazing") is more what
    we were "designed" to do ... (-:
    
    Patty

    I agree to stop feeding when they stop playing. Mine are 3 years old,
    and they still sometimes need to be reminded that food is for eating
    and not playing.  They get to decide if they want to eat or not, but if
    they don't want to eat, they can't play with the food.
    
    Sounds like your daughter is telling you she's had enough.  She knows
    when she's hungry, and she'll eat then.  I know that my kids will eat
    like horses when they're hungry, but sometimes they just have had
    enough, so mealtime is over.
    
    Cathy

>>    Sounds like your daughter is telling you she's had enough.  

	Unfortunately, she starts this on the first mouthful!  After
	I finally give up, she will very happily take a bottle which
	tells me that she is hungry, but just not interested in
	what I had to offer.  I plan to start introducing vegetables
	this week... maybe I'll get a better reaction to them?
	
	Karen

It might help if you think of these meals as "practice" so that she learns
that it's possible to get a full tummy from something other than a bottle
or breast.  Maybe she's resisting the food because she hasn't learned that
yet??  

I had to experiment some with Noelle with the early solid feedings.
If she was hungry, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with food -- she
wanted that bottle period!  And there was no interrupting her liquid meal
to try any of that solid stuff either.  What worked with her was to catch
her before she was aware that she was hungry.  Then she was willing to taste
solids.  

And Lauren may well simply dislike cereal.  You may find that she's more
receptive to fruits or veggies.  And watch out for the sneezes too!  I got
a faceful of sweet potato early on :-)

- Deb

    Carrie rapidly got tired of cereal, and if you have tasted it you will
    understand why.  Bleahh, I have had better tasting wallpaper paste. 
    She does adore bananas, carrots, and now that she is over a year old,
    whatever we are eating after it is mashed up.  
    
    meg

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    >>    Carrie rapidly got tired of cereal, and if you have tasted it you
    >>will   understand why.  Bleahh, I have had better tasting wallpaper
    >>paste. 
    >>She does adore bananas, carrots, and now that she is over a year old,
    >>whatever we are eating after it is mashed up.  
    
    meg,
    
    Now I don't know you, but isn't Carrie *way* over one??  I used to
    hate when my mother called me my sister's name, but I do it all the
    time with my two!
    
    beth
    

    Oops,
    
    Mom Brain drop!!!!!!!     ;-)
    
    Atlehi has just turned one.  Carrie is 8, and is actually now the
    pickier eater.
    
    meg

    As a suggestion, we found it helpful to try the food ourselves. 
    Sometimes it didn't taste very good to us, either.  We found some in a
    health food store with less additives and sugar and that also tasted
    good to us.
    
    Our daughter started cereal at 5 and a half months.  She didn't seem to
    like it at first.  When we started mixing it with water instead of some
    form of milk, she liked it.  It turned out that she also was starting
    to not like expressed milk (only straight from mom!), and we found out
    shortly after this that she also preferred yogurt to any other milky
    alternative when mom wasn't around, even independently of the cereal
    issue.  Plain yogurt, no sugar.  She still eats lots of plain yogurt
    now -- she'll be 4 years old next week.
    
    Beryl

On the chance that she didn't like cereal, I decided to try pears.  No
go... she must just be going through a stage where this spitting thing
is fun!  I picked a time when it had been over 1 hour since her
last bottle but before she started fussing for her next (she takes
a bottle every 2 hours or less).  So she wasn't NOT hungry and she
wasn't TOO hungry.  She has just plain lost interest!  Pears tasted
pretty good to me!  I can't believe things went so well for over a week
with the feeding and now I'm back to where I started (except now I
have to clean my glasses after feeding her).

She does this spitting thing all the time.  I think it is the precursor
to raspberries.  She does it quite often (not just when I'm feeding her...
that just sets her off!).  Usually she does it when happy but I've seen
her fuss and do it as well.

While I'm on the subject of Lauren's eating habits, I should mention
her bottle feeding pattern.  She takes about 35 oz of formula a day
over a 15 hour time period (she sleeps through the night).  She takes
a bottle every TWO hours or LESS!  The thing that drives me nuts is
she only drinks 3 ounces (maybe 4) at a time.  This results in her
eating 10 times a day.  I try to hold her off when she gets hungry
after only 1-1/2 hours but she cries so it isn't worth it.  Even her
first bottle of the day, after sleeping all night, is usually only
3 ounces!  We've stopped burping her after 2 ounces because she usually
didn't burp then and we could never get the bottle back in her mouth
afterwards.  I'd like to see her take 6 ounces at a time ... I know she
can because if she is really sleepy she will.  We try minimizing distractions
when feeding her (if my husband is feeding her and I come into the room
she immediately stops!).  

Is this normal eating habits for a 5-1/2 month old?  

Karen

    Karen,
    
    My kids were all breastfed, but all of them went through something like
    this sometime between 5 and 6 months, and from what I know from other
    nursing moms, this is typical.  I think it may have something to do
    with the fact that the kids are starting to notice there is a whole
    world beyond themselves and discovering it makes for an easily
    distracted baby.  I wouldn't worry about how much you can get into her
    at a time as long as she is growing on her own curve.
    
    Here is a hint for the spitting that may work for you.  Try giving her 
    little bits off a fingertip instead a spoon, or try a plastic spoon
    instead of a metal one.  Matal spoons seemed to set Atlehi off, I don't
    remember with the other kids.  
    
    meg

    
    Jonathan got to a point where he would barely drink his bottle ... but
    he was getting frequently hungry.  So .... I decided it was the fault
    of the bottle.  Took all his nipples and stuck a round toothpick, at
    it's fattest point, into the nipple, then boiled them and let them cool
    on their own (don't run them under cool water).  This opened the hole
    in the nipple a lot (maybe TOO much!) ... now he can do 6 oz in less
    than 5 mins (and GEEZ what a burp!) (-:  I was really just trying to
    get him to drink more, but now he's into speed-eating.
    
    And again, I don't think it's uncommon at ALL for a baby starting to
    eat to just not WANT it for some point of time.  She didn't need/want
    it at ALL before.  She just might not want/eat it ALL the time now.
    
    Jonathan drinks about 30oz/day, and 2 meals (equiv. of 2 med size jars).  
    He's about 17-18 pounds and 8 mos old on Friday.
    
    Hope this helps!
    

    I don't know if I belong in this note or not but here goes.
    
    I think Paul eats too much!
    
    Paul is 20lb, 27 inches long and will be seven months old tomorrow.  He
    gets three 8oz bottles of formula, one 4oz bottle of juice for his
    liquids and now is getting breakfast, lunch and dinner.  The sitters I
    have started him on breakfast which was some cereal and a jar (2nd
    stage jar) of fruit.  For lunch he gets two jars of food and for dinner
    he gets two jars of food.  So I am going through 4 to 5 jars of the 2nd
    stage food a day.  Isn't that a heck of alot?  
    
    And, I should say that he digs the stuff and usually never stops eating
    by himself.  If anything, he would eat more!  
    
    The first few times that he was given three meals from my MIL he seems
    aggravted when I picked him up and I thought he had eaten too much.  He
    didn't have dinner the first two Friday's she started this but now gets
    hungry if he doesn't get his dinner and is used to eating breakfast
    everday now.
    
    I don't know.  I just thought it was a bit much.  Paul still, has NO
    teeth yet.
    
    cj
    

    Not sure how much is "too much" ... but I do know that there are times
    when Jonathan has clearly had enough to eat, but still has that gaping
    mouth.  When I'm CONVINCED that he's had enough, I'll give him his
    pacifier or a cracker or something to satisfy his "oral" needs, and
    he's usually fine.  They say it takes 20 mins before your body realizes
    that your food has hit your stomach .... but I'd judge more by "how
    hungry" he seems after, if you stop feeding him.
    
    Wouldn't it be nice if they had little owner's manuals??! (-:
    

    cj,
    
    It may seem like alot, but if he seems healthy, why worry.  You might
    want to try mashing up regular table food in order tocut down on the
    expense.  Remember, every baby is different, just like the rest of us.  
    
    Can I take a guess from having followed paul over the last few months
    in this file?  I take it he must have recently gotten mobile recently
    and he will need calories to grow and be more mobile.  Atlehi is a
    munch monster on whatever we are eating now.  However, I do know that
    in another year or so, I will think she is living on air.  
    
    meg

    meg,
    
    I feel honored that you follow Paul! :)
    
    I make about 1/2 my baby food.  I have the jars stored and usually just
    stuff my food into them so when he is at the sitters he can have
    "better stuff" but at times I admit, it gets busy and he has to get
    that "stuff" they call baby food in the jars.  Anyways...
    
    Paul is not mobile, yet.  He does get alot of exercise by his jolly
    jumper (my husband has him on a strict exercise program that he does
    while watching Underdog from 6:30 - 7:00 a.m.) and is just about to
    crawl.  His knees and hands are there and he even took two steps
    yesterday.  He also loves to hold onto the playpen and stand up, fall
    over, get to a sitting position, stand up, fall over but, this is
    another topic.
    
    I just think that four jars of food is alot for him.  The jars say "1
    serving" per jar.  Does that mean that one jar should be a meal?
    
    obviously, another first time mom,
    
    cj
    

    cj,
    
    I don't think Paul is eating too much.  I meant to check
    Steven's baby book last night to see what he was eating 
    at that age.  I know he was getting 3 full bottles and
    eating solids.
    
    Babies will eat when they are hungry and stop when they
    are full.  I think you'll see that once Paul starts crawling
    and walking, he will trim down a bit.
    
    Steven was off the charts for both height and weight as a baby
    and now at 4.5 we call him "string bean"  He's all skin and 
    bones but eats like a horse.
    
    BTW, 1 serving would pertain to "1 serving of meats" or
    				    "1 serving of veggies" etc..
    	 one serving doesn't mean 1 meal...
    
    	Linda

    CJ
    
    I know how you feel.. re: How much is too much..
    
    Nicholas is 4 1/2 months and it tipping the scales at 17lbs 12ozs and
    is 28" long...  Most people can't believe his is only 4 1/2 mos.
    
    He takes 4 8oz bottles a day (most he finishes, sometimes he leaves a
    little in the bottle). After his 7am bottle, he has a little cereal and
    1/3 jar of fruit. He then has a bottle at 11:30, one at 3:30 and
    another at 7:30pm. AT 5:30-6pm he has some more cereal and either a
    vegg or fruit.   
    
    While at his 4mos appointment last week, the DR said that she expected
    him to be eating "2 meals" since he was such a big boy. She told me not
    to worry about how much he is getting, because he is not overweight ...
    She said that because he is so big he is going to need the extra
    supplements, and sicne the formula was not working to give him cereal
    and fruit.  
    
    Nicholas is "off the charts" in weight and height.  In a way, I hope
    his growth spurts slow down, he is growing out of clothes faster than I
    can buy them .... at 4months he is now into 12mos clothes!
    
    Anne Marie
    

    cj,
    
    I read in an older baby book that a professional athelete tried to
    "mirror" a 6 month old infants movements for the day.  After 4 hours he
    gave up exhausted.  Pulling up to a stand, rolling and starting to
    crawl are an awful lot of work, let alone pulling those toes up to a
    mouth and chewing them.  From what you are saying in here he is a big,
    but not overweight baby, and if he is a little chubby, trust me, when
    he really gets crawling you will be hard pressed to get enough food
    into him to maintain his current growth curve.  
    
    meg

    Yes, our little boy has been top of the scale of weight, with size at
    the bottom. Stubby so to say. Little buddha. Enough that the doctor proposed
    to give him semi-skimmed milk instead of standard ( after breast feeding).  
    Since he invented walking he almost never ,sits, and has changed into a 
    slightly chubby, but pretty normal sized boy since.
    Mosty likely the fat will burn away - vegs and fruit will not fatten a
    kid. Sweets will though.

       I think I made a little progress last night feeding Lauren.  I
       was giving her pears and she kept spitting them at me.  We got
       through 1/4 jar before I gave up.  Then I got my dinner, left
       Lauren sitting on the table in her seat and proceeded to
       demonstrate eating.  I made lots of yum yum noises and noisily
       ate my meat but didn't spit anything out.  She found the whole
       performance highly entertaining!  Then I got my green beans
       and decided to give her some too (but baby food).  I gave her
       a spoonful and she ate it.  Then I ate a bite of mine and gave
       her another spoonful.  She kept eating it and when she showed
       an inclination to spit again I told her to watch me and I ate
       a forkful of beans.  We got through 1/2 a jar!

       My husband thinks my eating demonstration has nothing to do	
       with it but I wonder...

       I'll see how it goes over the weekend and update Monday!

       Karen

    I don't know if this is the right note for this, but I looked through
    the file and couldn't find a better place. My SIL has a 9-month-old son
    who is allergic to dairy and wheat products.  Her pediatrician has
    recommended that she put him on Nutramagen, but because it's so
    expensive [around $18/can], she has decided to put him on carrot juice
    instead of any formula to save the money.  Now, besides this being an
    incredible hot button with me [we would have starved first before not
    buying Brad his Pregestimil, and that was $20/can 3 years ago], I was
    wondering if anyone had heard of it as an acceptable substitute.  Judy
    says that a friend of hers had tried it with her baby with good
    results, but I'm having a hard time believing that it's an adequate
    substitute for formula. I know she hasn't talked to her pedi about it,
    but I don't put a lot of stock in what her pedi says anyhow. When she
    started having problems with her son, the pedi told her it was because
    he was the 3rd child -- only problem with that is he's the second
    child, and how would he know how many had been born before him anyhow.
    Turns out this poor child was in terrible discomfort and couldn't hold
    anything down because Judy was eating dairy and wheat products and
    passing it to him through her breastmilk.
    
    Now that she's got him off breastmilk and doesn't give him any dairy or
    wheat products, he's doing much better. I was wondering if I should
    suggest something in addition to the carrot juice to get the nutrition
    I think he may be missing by not having any formula. But I'll say he
    certainly looks healthy and chubby, so maybe it's fine!  Anyone heard
    of it?

What's he getting besides carrot juice?  Any calcium source?

    How's he getting calories?  Formula has something like 20-30
    calories/oz.  I'm sure that carrot juice isn't nearly that high!  My
    eyes are still bugging out at what I'm reading .... I'd starve before
    I'd let my children "do without".
    

    He's just getting carrot juice to drink and some solids, so there must
    be calcium somewhere in the solids.  He can have fruit and the standard
    baby foods [she fed him lots of potatoes mixed with carrots at my house
    while they visited over the weekend].  But he can't have any dairy, and
    that's usually where the calcium comes from. I know that my kids don't
    drink much milk, so I supplment with things like broccoli, yogurt,
    cheese, hot cereal made with milk, and ice cream as a special treat.
    
    My SIL is a born-again Christian as is her friend who used the carrot
    juice, so she doesn't do a lot with the pedi's advice [the baby will
    not be getting standard vaccinations -- she's praying that he stays
    healthy and is trusting in God to provide - but that's another story
    and also something I don't agree with, but they're not my kids]. She
    does, however, at least listen to some suggestions which is why I asked
    the question. If I could suggest for her to try something in addition
    to the carrot juice, which he didn't have for the 3 days they were at
    my house because the store didn't carry it and I don't have a juicer,
    then she might give it a shot.

    
    The problem with carrot juice is that the baby is not getting 
    enough fat.  Formula is high in fat and without it the baby's 
    brain development could suffer.
    
    .................beth

    
    Carrot juice is very high in Vit A - overdoses can lead to liver
    damage. I'd be very careful about how much even an older child got. Too
    much carotene in the diet shows up quick as the palms look orange.
    
    Please ask your S-I-L to get some better advice on her child's diet
    from her health visitor (or who ever you have in the US). I get really
    uneasy about people gambling with their child's health and future
    development because of their religious ideas.
    
                     seals
    

    Oh God Cathy, good luck.  That is a tough one.  I would have her read
    some if she think that is o.k.  My book "what to expect the first year"
    is a great help to me.  And, speaking of that book, I have a question
    about juice.
    
    In the books chapter of "six months" there is a lengthy topic about
    sugars and how they can rot children's teeth and how you shouldn't give
    the bottle to bed at night etc., but, they also recommend that you
    never give your children juice because of the high sugar content.
    
    I give Paul at least 4ozs of baby juice a day and at times, he gets
    8oz but that is only because he is on medication that says to take
    with lots of fluids and he doesn't like plain water.  Is this too much?  
    
    I would of thought that juice would be a great diet choice for
    dehydration and a way to get some vitamens in fluids.  He digs the
    stuff and I hate to take it away from him.  
    
    Any comments?  Thanks in advance,
    cj
    
                                                

    	My babies drink soy formula until about 15 months old and then they
    get switched over to apple juice. That's it. We don't have milk in the
    house. Now I realize that that is not the same situation as this, and I
    agree that there is a possibility of Vitamin A overdose, but if the
    child is eating a good variety of solid foods (with fats), and perhaps
    taking a daily vit., then taking him off of formula is not harmful. 

    	I would rotate juices though from apple to grape to carrot, so that
    the baby did not get "over-dosed."

    	Formula is just one more way of getting nutrients, if you are
    careful about it, you can introduce the same amount of nutrients in
    solid food.


    	When I recently took Spencer to a homeopath, he suggested that I
    give carrot juice to Spencer on a daily basis. (although he said no
    more than a few ounces). Carrot juice is supposed to be very good for
    you.

    	That said, it's hard for me to understand how someone could take
    the baby off of formula because of the price, but let's face it folks,
    there are a lot of people out there who have a lot of financial stress.
    At least the mother did not give up and just give the child water.

    				Wendy

    I think  it's the fact that she's not using it because of the price
    that really bothers me.  Especially given that she just flew out here
    with both of her kids from Colorado for the week-end to attend her
    sister's wedding because her husband wouldn't watch their 2-year-old. I
    figure you can buy a lot of formula for the price of a $370 plane
    ticket.  And given that hubby managed to swing getting his private
    pilot's license and rents a plane for flying [they go for around $60
    -$85 an hour], and he won't do any vehicle maintenance of any type so
    they always take the car to a mechanic....well, you get the picture.  I
    can find so many places that the money could be saved.
    
    But then, she uses the same logic on why she won't change either of her
    kids' diapers til they soak through [diapers are expensive] and she
    still dilutes the juice because her 2-year-old drinks so much....
    
    I guess it just hit a real hot button with me.
    
    Cathy

    This isn't meant to even be a real criticism - just a nit...
    
    Please don't lump all Christians into the no vaccine/no formula type.
    
    As as Christian, I would never go along with any of her ideas.  
    
    Instead of blaming it on Christianity or "born agains," I'd just call
    her cheap and as a Christian, I'd have no problem calling her on the
    carpet and telling her that her priorities are out of order.
                                                                

    
    It's sad that your S-I-L has stopped nursing so soon. A cheap almost
    free source of nutrition, plus by watching her diet she could help with
    the child's problems. I have a friend who is lactose and gluten
    sensitive, yet still managed to nurse for a year without her child
    having any of her food allergy problems.
    
    Please get her to read about child nutrition - her child's life depends
    on a healthy diet NOW!!
    
                  Celia
    

>    It's sad that your S-I-L has stopped nursing so soon. A cheap almost

That was my reaction.  If the problem was that the baby was allergic to things
the mother was eating...  well, there's a simple cure for that.

	-Neil

    She stopped nursing because the doctor told her that the baby was
    allergic to her breastmilk because of what she was eating, but it took
    a while longer for them to figure out what he was allergic to exactly. 
    At that point, I don't think she thought she could go back to nursing
    by regulating her diet. Maybe it's something I will suggest.
    
    And as far as this being related to her being Christian, in her case
    there is a definite correlation, though I understand that is not true
    in all cases.  She has specifically said that she's not getting his
    baby shots because she believes that the power of prayer will keep him
    healthy. I think it also has to do with how much it will cost, but she
    does honestly believe she can keep him healthy by prayer. I don't
    happen to agree with her, but I'm Catholic and have a different slant
    on things than she does.  And make no mistake, I prayed like there was
    no tomorrow when my Brad was so sick and I do believe that had a lot to
    do with him getting well [even God can be nagged into doing something
    ;)]
    
    My SIL is following all the teachings of her church to raise her
    children including doing their parenting classes which rely heavily on
    using the rod [she had a cake knife that she snaps on the kids to give
    that sharp, quick pain to get their attention -- I won't go into what I
    think of that, and I do my fair share of spanking].  Her ideas on
    nutrition are coming from her friends who are all members of this
    particular church, and they all believe they are doing what is right
    for their children.
    
    I'll feedback some of this information and questions through the
    appropriate channels and see if it has any effect. I have to say,
    though, that Daniel sure looked like a healthy chubby baby when I saw
    him even if she did forget to feed him at the wedding.  It sure didn't
    look like he'd skipped too many meals in his short lifetime!
    
    Cathy

    
    
    Am I the only one who is reading all this thinking "This has GOT to be
    against SOME law to be able to treat your children like this!" ??  
    Actually, some years ago, there used to be a "carrot diet" that you
    pretty much just ate carrots, and LOTS of people got REALLY sick from
    it.  Vitamin A is fat soluble, which means you only use it when fat is
    burned.  If you don't burn the fat, you store the vitamin, to the point
    of toxicity.  And, as someone pointed out, you do start to turn orange.
    
    I get so outraged when I hear about people who would rather just pray
    over their child then to do what has been scientifically and medically
    proven to work.  If I knew her, I'd have a real hard time associating
    with her just because it would be so blatantly against my most primal
    belief of doing absolutely everything I can do to make my child's life
    better/safer/longer/happier.  I hope he stays healthy and happy ...!
    Curious - what would she do if he needed surgery?  Just pray?
    
    

    >.....If I knew her, I'd have a real hard time associating
    >with her just because it would be so blatantly against my most primal
    >belief of doing absolutely everything I can do to make my child's life
    >better/safer/longer/happier.  I hope he stays healthy and happy ...!
    >Curious - what would she do if he needed surgery?  Just pray?
    

This is probably one of the reasons we never hear from her. And the only 
reason she even stayed with us is that I knew it would be easier to deal 
with my mother-in-law with more people around. We found out Judy was 
coming and staying with us for the wedding from the bride who called to 
tell us when she was coming in, where we were picking her up [at least 
she picked the right airport] and that we had just outgrown the caravan 
since we were now up to 9 people and had to take 2 cars down to the Cape 
for the wedding.  

I'm not sure how she'd handle him needing surgery or anything serious. 
She didn't call once to find out how our kids were doing the whole time 
they were in the hospital but some of that is attributable to my MIL who 
was telling us to just pull the plug on Brad so he wouldn't suffer any 
more while telling all Mark's sisters that the kids were doing fine.  
Did she think we left Brad in the hospital for 6 1/2 months because we 
wanted to??!

Since Judy is not close to either me or my husband [she once told me she 
doesn't call us because 'I need sisters.'], I'll give this feedback to 
my other SIL who can push things a little further with her. But after 
this last visit, I can see why we don't communicate well with her.  I 
just can't imagine not giving my kids something because it's expensive 
especially when there's money for other things.

    

    I've heard of churches like this - they are definitely not the norm for
    either Catholic or Protestant, but tend to more associated with
    subgroups in the mainstream that just seem to "fringe out."  Some
    attitudes like that are clearly associated with cults, but I won't go
    into that here.
    
    Gee, maybe your other S-I-L can give her a quick, sharp wack with the
    cake knife - just to get her attention of course - so she can listen
    up.   Better yet, why doesn't she just drink carrot juice and see how
    well and full of energy she is in a couple of days.
    
    I would have a real hard time having anything to do with her also - I
    admire you for trying to do what you can with this.  

Since there are different types of dairy allergies...
Can the baby eat yogurt (with active cultures) to 
help with the fat and calcium?  Lots of folks with 
Lactose intolerance can eat yogurt and a few other things.

Good luck, and IMH(Christian)O... the trust in prayer is not 
necessarily diminished by a trust in prayer for the Lord to guide 
the doctors to help the child!  God likes us to participate in his
will, and we can trust him to use others, too!  (Just wondered 
what she'd think of that point of view...)

Good luck!
Tanya

    
    Goat's milk may be a possible calcium source - I know lactose sensitive
    people who can take goat products.
    
    Like .131 I really worry about the safety of this child. I know it's a
    fine line between what you believe in and what you should do for your
    child's health. We are veggies, but I make damm sure that my child
    gets a well balanced healthly diet without including meat in it.
    
                 Celia
    

	Thanks for all the encouragment I've gotten from you folks
	regarding Lauren's eating habits.  Lauren is now eating much
	better.  She now eats up to a full 4 oz jar before she signals
	me to stop.  She is strange though... she is VERY distracted
	when eating and fidgets the whole time.  I also cannot tell
	if she likes or dislikes particular foods because she eats
	them all with the same attitude (boredom).  

	As far as her bottles go she still doesn't drink more than
	a few ounces at a time.  The problem is, she doesn't want to
	miss anything so she eats just enough to get the edge off her
	hunger, then stops if anything happens nearby that might
	be interesting.  At a cookout Sunday, it took me 4 tries to 
	get her to finish an 8 oz bottle!  I finally had to cart her 
	off to a bedroom, shut the door, and keep my own mouth shut 
	so she would finish it!  

	Well, thanks for the tips I've gotten!  Lauren and I are making
	progress.  She may not eat as well as some babies I've seen
	but she changes how she does things all the time so who knows
	what next week will bring!

	Karen

    Cathy,
    
    If it hasn't been too long, and even if it has been a while your sil
    can re-lactate.  If you have someone who can push this issue further
    than you care to, I would advise them to strongly encourage her to
    re-lactate.  A good reference material is Babies, Breastfeeding, and
    Bonding, by Ina Mae Gaskin... who is a home-birth and breastfeeding
    advocate, and is non-threatening to most people of different faiths.  
    
    I know there are alternatives to formula or any of the fancy one's, but
    it doesn't appear she has been getting the best advice on this for
    nutrition.
    
    Cathy, also don't be too judgemental about the "expense" factor.  It is
    possible that there is a problem in the family regarding spending money
    on littles, it wouldn't be tyhe first time I have seen one of these
    types of power struggles, where finances re kids are of little
    importance to one or both adults in the family.  
    
    meg

    Yeah, as far as the expenses go, I guess their priorities are
    different regarding the kids.  I know that my SIL has gone back to work
    1-2 days a week [she's a physical therapist] so that she can re-do the
    kitchen.   So it's not that they don't have the money, it's just that
    their priorities are different than mine.
    
    I will ask another SIL to address this SIL going back to
    breast-feeding. I know that she stopped because Daniel had so many
    allergies, that was the best way to isolate the allergies vs. waiting
    to see what happened when she changed her diet.  I also know that,
    unlike me, this SIL enjoyed nursing, so maybe it is still a
    possibility.
    
    Thanks for all the suggestions.
    Cathy

	The saga continues...

	Lauren is still being difficult about eating.  I'm lucky if I can
	get more than 1/2 of a 4 ounce jar into her at a feeding.  She is
	over 6 months old now!  We are at the point now where she starts
	crying the minute I put her in the high chair and she attempts to
	slide out of it!

	I keep getting upset about this and I'm sure she is picking up
	on it which just makes matters worse.  I'm panicking that she'll 
	reach 1 year old and she'll still not be eating!  

	She likes chomping on things and when I gave her a soft roll
	the other day, she loved it!  She didn't eat much but small 
	pieces came off in her mouth.  I was afraid she would choke
	though.  I saw the list of "finger foods" posted in an earlier
	reply to this topic but mostly, it says things like mashed bananas,
	yogurt, and things that aren't true finger food.  

	At this point, I'm tempted to just give up on food for a while
	because it has just become such a contest of wills between Lauren 
	and me.  Daycare will continue the cereal on the weekdays since Terry
	doesn't get stressed over feeding Lauren.  In the meantime, I'll
	try to get her to eat teething biscuits, arrowroot cookies, and
	bread (those are the only things on the finger foods list that
	are really finger food!).  Does this sound reasonable?  I'm a bit
	concerned about the sugar however.  And I can keep up with my 
	daycare provider to see if she is getting better about her cereal. 

	At this point, I'm so frustrated!  Why can't she eat like normal
	babies?

	Karen


	

    
    This probably isn't the HEALTHIEST thing because of the salt content,
    but a few thing that Jonathan LOVES to eat, and are virtually
    impossible to choke on since they dissolve the instant they hit saliva;
    
    chicken ROLL (get it at the deli, have them slice it ~1/4 inch thick,
    		then cut it in chunks)
    turkey roll (same as above)
    Townhouse or Ritz crackers
    Saltines
    Cheerios (reg or honey-nut)
    small chunks of banana
    peas
    cubed cheese (though not as fond of it lately)
    toast
    pancake chunks (w/ syrup of course ... he gets a little wired though!)
    
    I make sure that everything is cut small enough so that if he swallowed
    it, it'd slide right down.  He prefers to not be fed, and LOVES feeding
    himself.  So, I cut the stuff up, put it on his tray, and he's happy
    for a while.  He does like dropping things, so it can get messy, but
    for the most part he's fine.  The crackers were what mostly got him
    started on everything else.  And it helps hold him over if dinner's not
    ready - toss him in the walker, with a few cheerios, and he's happy.
    My test is, if I put it in my mouth, and it dissolves or can be
    "sucked" within about 20-30 seconds, he gets it.  If it's still hard,
    then he doesn't.  Somethings he just dislikes - like hamburg.  But he
    LOVES noodles - you can get little bows or mini sea-shells, with a
    little butter.  
    Until she's decided she wants to eat, it may be helpful to get her out
    of the high chair and just give her a cracker while you're sitting with
    her or something.
    
    Good luck!
    

    re: .139
    
    Karen, I can really understand your frustration.  I went thru very
    similar experiences with my first son, Matthew, who is now 3 1/2.
    Mealtimes with him were always VERY stressful.  I found myself forcing
    him to eat by distracting him with something and then shoveling another
    spoonful into his mouth.  I would feel angry with him if he didn't eat
    as much as I thought he should have.  I was always so worried that if
    he didn't eat enough during the day, he'd be up during the night!  I
    have found that this is not true (Logan, my baby, sleeps thru the night
    regardless of how much or how little he has eaten that day). I was also
    very worried about choking, too much salt, too much sugar, etc. etc.
    and I never tried many finger foods with him. I stuck with the Gerber
    baby foods, believing that they would be more nutritious for him.
    Looking back, though, I think I was just way too uptight about alot
    of things (which is pretty common for first-time Mom's).  I was just
    trying to do what I thought was best for Matthew, but I was making
    myself crazy!!  I wasn't being flexible enough.  Matthew never has been
    what I would consider a "good" eater but the doctor says he's healthy
    and growing so I have finally stopped worrying about it - but it took
    me 3 years to get to this point!
    
    My son Logan just turned 9 months old.  He is VERY independent! He
    does not like to be fed but prefers to feed himself.  About the
    only things that he will let me feed him with a spoon are yogurt,
    icecream, pudding, and occasionally the Gerber fruits.  Everything
    else is finger foods! ( he only has 1 tooth that came in about a
    week ago, but has been eating finger foods since about 6 months
    old). Some of the things he likes are:  cheerios, rice krispies,
    cheese (I buy the shredded mild cheddar cheese and american cheese
    slices), graham crackers, fig newtons, green beans ( he loves the
    vegetables from a can of Campbells Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup),
    Arrowroot cookies, bananas, buttered toast, bread with jelly, canned
    peaches and pears, pasta.  I cut everything up into small pieces and
    let him have at it!  There's also a recipe in note 209.39 for muffins
    that both of my kids love - they're very moist and yummy!  When he was
    about your daughters age he ate more of the baby foods and cereals but
    gradually lost interest in them and now will have nothing to do with
    them. He might eat them if I let him feed himself, but I hate to think 
    about the mess that will make!! One of these days I will let him try, 
    though! If Lauren isn't very enthusiastic about eating, maybe it's time 
    to try some of the finger foods.  I know that Logan eats better when he 
    feeds himself!  I read somewhere that until a baby is 1 year old, they 
    still get the majority of their needed nutrients from formula (or 
    breastmilk) and anything else they eat is just for "filler" and to get 
    them used to eating real food!   I try to keep this in mind when feeding 
    Logan and it seems to take alot of the "stress" out of mealtimes.  I give 
    him a few different finger foods to eat, and also try feeding him yogurt 
    or a Gerber fruit, and when he signals that he's had enough ( he waves his 
    hands in the air, throws food on the floor, and/or tries to knock the spoon
    out of your hand!!) I'll give him a bottle to "Top off the tank" - 
    sometimes he eats alot, sometimes hardly anything at all, but I let him be 
    the guide! Also, you had mentioned that Lauren is easily distracted when 
    eating.  I think around 6 months old is when they really start to notice 
    their surroundings and eating isn't a top priority if something else is 
    going on!   I usually feed Logan his bottles in his bedroom whenever 
    possible so he can relax and eat!  This isn't always possible, of course, 
    and if he doesn't want to eat I just wait until later and offer another 
    bottle.  I have found that in order to maintain MY sanity, I have to have 
    a very relaxed attitude about eating.   Mealtimes are actually enjoyable 
    for all of us now!  Hope this helps!
    
    Good Luck!    Lila       
    

	Well, its time now to conclude the Lauren eating saga...

	Lauren, at just over 7-1/2 months, is eating 3 meals a day
	now.  They are not as big as some babies her age eat and she
	still gets most of her bottles.  She still does not like
	fruit but I try one fruit on her once a week (takes 3 days
	to finish a jar).  We were on vacation last week which is
	when we started her on the three meals and we made big strides.  

	I was getting a little concerned because she really didn't 
	want to eat her cereal.  I was mixing it with formula (since 
	fruit was not an option).  Then, my mother fed her one morning 
	and used milk and she loved it!  I'm not sure if I should be 
	giving her milk at this age but she is not having any problems 
	with it and she now eats the cereal so I plan to continue.  

	Last night she ate 2 jars of veggies (normally only one but
	creamed corn is a favorite and I used that to get the green
	beans down).  This morning, she had cereal before her first
	bottle so I know that she has made the connection between
	food and satisfying hunger.  It used to be that she would
	refuse food when hungry... only a bottle would do.

	Lauren also likes arrowroot cookies and zwiebacks.  And she
	thought Ben and Jerry's was pretty good but couldn't quite
	figure out how to eat it.  She would open up wide for the
	icecream but then it would melt in her mouth and dribble out.

	Feeding time has become much more relaxing now that she has
	the hang of it.  

    Re: -2                                                         
    
    I had and still have the same problem with my daughters.  Both are very
    FUSSY eaters.  My older one is 3 1/2 years and my younger one is 9
    months.  I have tried varieties.  My younger one loves fruit and
    so I try to give her as many varieties as possible.  She likes plums,
    peaches, nectarines, banana and apple mixed with any of the above.  I
    grind the fruits and mix one with the other just so it tastes
    differently.  I have tried rice cereal, oatmeal, barley and rice with
    banana.  Somehow she prefers oatmeal and barley to the rest.  
    
    Anyway, uptil now I have not seen her take a full bottle at one
    stretch.  It takes me anywhere from 1-2 hours to give her a full dose
    of the formula. She does not take more than 5 oz of formula per feed.
    Which brings me to the question - How long can you have the formula
    before discarding it.  I know the can says dispose it off immedately
    after feed.  But my problem is she takes at least 1-2 hours to finish
    her formula.  I have tried mixing 1-2 oz at a time and give it to her.
    The result is she is taking less and less of the formula with no
    substitution at all.  Her normal feed per day would include not more
    than 12-13 oz of formula, cereals twice a day (2-3 tbsps per feed) 
    and 1-2 servings (1 serving = less than 1/2 the regular serving) of  
    fruit.  I have to literally push the cereal and any other solids down
    her throat.  I know it is not enough for a 9 month old but I don't know
    what else to do.  Somedays she takes juice and somedays she doesn't
    care.  The only thing that is stopping me from screaming is that she is
    very active and the fact that her sister was just like her.   
    
    Any idea on how long I can retain the formula that I mixed.  Currently,
    I discard the formula after an hour and it seems like I discard a lot
    since she does not drink it within the hour.
    
    Thanks for any suggestions.
    
    Jay.

    I started my baby on rice cereal at 3 months, added a touch of apple
    juice at 3 1/2 months, and at 4 months have started mixing fruits with the
    cereal.  She loves the pears, bananas, and applesauce.  I will try peaches
    this weekend.  She already weighs 15 lbs., is drinking about 35-42 oz
    of formula plus the cereal/fruit twice a day so the doctor said not to 
    start her on vegtables until she is 5 months.  But what about juice? 
    Should I start substituting a bottle for juice?  I forget all this
    since my son is 14 years old, but I think that I gave him juice first
    then the fruit and vegtables.  Please refresh my memory and give me any
    input on your own feeding patterns.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Cheryl    

    
    
    As for juice .... the more recent thinking is that babies (kids under
    2 yrs) are drinking TOO MUCH juice.  They'll drink juice, and feel full
    and thus not eat, and not get the calories they really need and might
    have gotten if they weren't bloated from juice.  The current
    recommendation from the American Pediatrics is average 4 oz/day, but
    not more than 8 oz juice/day.  Jonathan's 10 mos old and has about 4 oz
    a week.  He doesn't love it, and I'm certainly not offering it often. 
    I give his formula in a bottle and either (whole)milk or juice in a
    sippy cup w/ meals.  He doesn't usually drink much of that.
    
    As for keeping formula .... Jonathan never drinks a 'full' bottle.  I
    only ever make up 6 oz bottles, and there's usually some left over.  If
    there's more than a few oz left, I usually keep it, because I was also
    tired of buying it and dumping it out and buying more ....  After 2-3
    hours I toss it.  Before then I'll re-use (and reheat) it.  A lot of
    times I'll make a bottle for 'bedtime' and he'll only drink an oz or 2.
    I stick the rest of it in the fridge for the morning.  I've never had a
    problem with 'sour' formula, and he's usually equally receptive to it
    whether it's 'fresh' or 'leftovers'.  
    
    If she's being so fussy, perhaps she doesn't like the taste of that
    particular formula.  Different brands taste VERY different.  Jonathan's
    on Isomil and LOVES it.  We ran out once and the store didn't have his,
    so I bought a different brand name - still soy formula, but different
    company.  He'd only drink about an oz at a time, and that push it away. 
    I ended up tossing the rest of it as soon as I could get his brand
    again, which he LOVED once again.  The other stuff I bought had rabbits
    on the can - can't remember the brand.  Anyway, they smelled VERY
    different to me, and he clearly had a preference.  CVS usually sells
    single-serving 8 oz cans, so maybe you can try different companies that
    way, without investing a lot of money??  Kind of like ... do you prefer
    milk or 1/2 and 1/2 or cream in your coffee?  It all tastes just a
    little different....
    
    So, I'd say you're safe for a solid 2 hrs and probably 3 (at least
    that's been my experience).  It's always better if you can keep it cool
    in between - prolonged warmth it what causes the bacteria to grow and
    the milk to spoil.
    
    Patty
    

	Regarding formula, If Lauren does not finish a bottle, I put
	it back in the refrigerator and use it for the next feeding.
	I NEVER reheat twice.  If she doesn't finish the bottle on
	the second feeding, I dump it.

	I've been doing this for 8 months even formula companies tell	
	you not to.  This is probably to protect themselves from
	lawsuits but it also makes more money for them.

	Lately, I've been giving Lauren cold bottles.  I mean, who
	wants to drink warm milk on a hot and muggy day!  

	I give Lauren 4 oz of juice per day.  She does not like fruit
	(and isn't so keen on juice but will drink it) so I think this
	will help her like fruit.

	Karen

    I have been having a problem with Nicholas, and don't know what to do..
    
    Prior to 2 weeks ago, he would be takeing 32ozs formula a day, along
    with 4oz juice, and 2 meals, 1 w/fruit, 1w/meat/veggies....
    
    Anyways, 2 weeks ago, he got really sick (viral Bronchelitus), since
    then, he has decided he doesn't like to take his formula and/or eat.
    
    Right now, I can get him to take about 3ozs where he normally eats
    8ozs.  I tried not giving him the juice, but he still won't take the
    formula :-(  Over the weekend, I stopped feeding his little meals,
    hoping he would start taking more formula, no luck.
    
    Over the weekend, he would take about 3 ozs, then 2 hrs later, and
    onther 2-3 ozs....  What should/can I do?  
    
    Last night I gave in, and fed him a "meal", he scoffed that down, and
    then 1 hr later had 3 ozs.... Urght! we are regressing!
    
    He still has a real bad cough from his virus, and wakes up constatnly
    in the night coughing/gaging. I give him a little juice to make him 
    feel a little better, and then he goes right back to sleep.  This
    morning, he only had 3 ozs again!!!
    
    I have however, started only making 4 oz bottles, at least I am not
    wasting as much. 
    
    Has anyone else gone through this?  Do you think its because he still
    is a little congested, and the formula makes it worse?  Should I try 
    another type of formula?
    
    
    Thanks for your help......
    
    Anne Marie
    
    p..s...Nicholas is not dehydrating...he is still drooling to beat the
    band....
    
    

    How old is Nicholas?  

	Sounds like the congestion is making it difficult for him
	to drink, which is why he had no problem eating the food.
	Andrew did the same this weekend (screamed from hunger, but
	wouldn't drink much, then ate his cereal with gusto).  I'd
	keep offering the fluids, as even a small amount will help,
	but I wouldn't restrict his meals (so he gets enough calories).

	Karen

    Karen,
    
    thanks for letting me know that someone else is going through this.
    
    Nicholas is 7mos old....
    
    I am not going to worry too much, because besides not drinking, he 
    is a happy little camper!
    
    Anne Marie

    Anne Marie,
    
    I'm not familiar with formula feeding, but he is at an age where babies
    typically go on a "nursing strike."  The difference in textures and
    tastes from food is more fascinating than the breast for a while.  I
    don't know if they are simply reregulating the milk supply to fit their
    new needs or if they are just more entranced with foor, but with my
    kids it usually resoved itself within a month.
    
    meg

    Jonathan did this (about 5 mos old) when he had whooping cough - he was
    STARVED, but he was so congested, he'd drink a few oz and stop cuz he
    couldn't breathe (and I guess it wasn't worth the effort after a few
    oz).  I tried a few things, each with varying success;
    
    o mixed his formula with cereal (or anything) to make it thick enough to
      spoon-feed, but thin enough so he was getting liquid.
    o Give him Pediacare Infant's decongestant about 1/2 hr before he was
      to have a bottle (that only helped a little)
    o Sit him almost all the way up when he was drinking (as opposed to
      laying him back)
    o Offer his formula about twice as often as 'normal', since he too
      wasn't drinking much of it.
    o substituted a lot of calories from formula to baby food, and tried to
      keep him from being hungry that way.
    
    We had to 'steam' him a lot because of the cough (close the bathroom
    door, and run the shower full HOT, stay there for about 20 mins and
    sweat to death).  Sometimes they told us after the steam to wrap him up
    real warm and then go sit outside (this was February) in the icy cold
    for another 20 mins.  This *REALLY* cleared him up, and he'd happily
    slug down a full bottle after that.
    
    He always did WANT his formula - it was just frustrating for him.  The
    Dr. also said that if congested already, the act of sucking while
    laying down makes them more congested -- not sure how accurate this is,
    but just laying down always makes it worse.
    
    Hope something works ...!
    

    One more thing .... when I was sure he'd starve to death (-: I fed his
    formula with a medicine dropper - this takes FOREVER and is VERY messy,
    so you might want to try other things first.  More of a 'desperate'
    attempt to get SOMEthing into him....

    
    
    RE:  Nicholas:
    Paul had the same problem when he was 10 weeks old (bronchilitis) and
    the hints given here will help alot.  I was nursing then and he just
    couldn't do that so I pumped and gave him what he could drink through a
    bottle, which was never more than a few onces at a time.  However, he 
    was very big (and still is) and the Pedi told me at his 8 week checkup 
    not to be concerned over his size because it was a plus if he ever got 
    sick.
    
    MY QUESTION(S):
    Paul is now almost 9 1/2 months.  He has stopped nursing completely
    (Mom is very sad over this) for about 3 weeks now (just has no
    interest at all).  Anyways... he eats the 2nd stage baby foods, has his
    formula and the Gerber Juices.
    
    1.	Gerber baby juice:  Paul gets 8 oz's a day and loves his juice.
        Is this a bad thing for him?  I am concerned after reading the
        messages about the juice but thought the baby juice would be different.
    
    2.	2nd Stage Foods:  My mom thinks Paul eats so much (5 jars a day and
        cereal for breakfast) because he needs some more solid foods.  She says
        that he doesn't taste the 2nd stage ones and just swallows them.  I got
        the 3rd stage foods yesterday and saw no difference with them.  Should
        I be giving him more adults foods?  He gets crackers everyday and when
        we have meat or vegies that I can cut up for him I'll give him some but
        in the summer, we don't have alot of the things that I consider safe
        for him.
    
    3.  Regular Whole Milk:  Our Pedi said not till a year.  I started
        giving him a bottle every other day or so and sometimes he takes it and
        some times he doesn't.  Is he just not ready for it?
    
    And lastly, we haven't heated Paul's bottles for some time now.  Ever
    since his teething episode a couple of months ago, he preferred them
    cold and with the summer, I agree with Karen that a hot bottle wouldn't
    be something I would think they would enjoy.  Does it matter?
    
    As always, thanks!
    
    cj

    
    
    I wanted to thank everyone for the suggestions.... Here is an update on
    Nicholas...
    
    What I have done....I went and purchased one of the new bottles, that
    have the tilt to them...its a little easier for him since I don't have 
    to lay him down to feed him.
    
    We also made a trip to the doctors last night. (Mom got a little
    worried because its been 3 weeks with the bad cough, and not eating
    much for 5 days)....The results....
    
    	a) he had 2 severe ear infections. Dr said on a scale of 1->10
    	they were a 12 (you would have never known, he didn't have a 
    	fever, and he was a happy child
    
    	b) Dr said his lungs sounded a little junky (meaning there was 
    	a little fluid starting to build up in them..
    
    So now, he is on augmentin for possible pnemonia and double ear
    infections. He gets tyelnol every 4-6 hours to relieve the pain, 
    which seems to make it easier for him to drink.
    
    We were also told not to worry about the not eating/drinking right now.
    that when he starts to feel better, nature will kick in.
    
    Even more good news...this morning, he took 6ozs! So, maybe the tyelnol
    and the medicane are starting to work?
    
    ...as a note, we were told not to worry about his lack of appitite
    because Nicholas is a big boy....at 7 months he was weighing in at 23
    lbs and about 32"s... (of course now he is about 19-20 lbs..)
    
    Thanks for all the suggesting....
    
    Anne Marie

    I never did the stages of babyfood for my kids. I did the regular baby
    food, most of which I made but some that I bought, and then moved right
    to regular food that we were having for supper that I mashed up. I
    couldn't see any real differences in the stages except that the jars
    were bigger and it didn't seem to be pureed as much. So I just moved to
    finger foods and mashed up adult food. That made my life a lot easier
    as the kids could eat whatever I was cooking, and they started to
    develop their likes [haven't found too many dislikes even at this
    stage].  I found that meat was the only thing that really needed to be
    small pieces, but they could take things like steamed carrot sticks or
    broccoli or asparagus, play with it first [asparagus makes a great
    high-chair-tray paintbrush] and then eat it.
    
    If you don't think Paul is getting anything out of the more advanced
    stages of babyfood, why not try switching him to some of the stuff
    you're cooking for dinner?
    
    Cathy

    cj,
    
    I have always given my kids a mashed up version of people food from the
    time they are interested in it.  The stages foods strike me as a way
    for baby food companies too make more money, and not much else.  I add
    more water or broth to mash stuff up until the kids like it thicker and
    decrease the mashing as they get more treeth and chewing ability.
    
    meg

     Re: .154
    
    1.  juice - I have read and was told by pediatrician to go easy on the
        juice. As far as I know, the baby juice is like adult juice but just 
        has more water in it. During the summer my son probably has 8 oz. a 
        week.  I'm trying to get him more interested in water.  
    
    2.  stages food - my husband does primary child care and hasn't been
        in to exporing with adult food. Fortunately Alex loves the food
        from a jar. He is 13 months now and I started forcing the issue 
        of trying adult foods around 11 months.  At 9 months we tried 
        stage 3 baby food and he was not ready for it.  His reaction was
        to gag and throw up.  I think stage 3 has much more texture. I
        can see pieces of peas, rice, noodles in the food whereas the stage
        2 is completely strained.  Also, stage 2 is in 4 oz. jars and stage
        3 is 6 oz. We retried the stage 3 around 11 months and then he
        loved it.  The first adult foods we tried were things like bananas,
        apple sauce, crackers, baked potato, chicken, cooked carrots. I
        gently kept trying from 9 months on to introduce the more textured
        foods but he didn't begin to enjoy them til around 11 months, as I
        recall. Now he loves all fruits, meats, potato and carrots in adult
        form but still loves stage 3 dinners and veggies.
    
    3   hot vs. cold milk - I guess it is really a matter of preference.
        Alex doesn't really like his milk cold nor anything else.  Even in
        this warm weather, his preference is for room temp or slightly 
        heated milk. He doesn't like fruit if it comes directly from the
        refrig.
    
    
    Kathy
                             

    RE: Juice - I'll try to get a copy of an article that's posted at the
    drug store (Medicine World in Nashua, if you're around here).  The
    basic problem they stated with juice, is just that it makes kids FEEL
    full, so they tend to not eat 'food', and so are missing out on some
    needed calories.  The tooth decay, for baby's that are put to bed with
    a bottle, was not a nutritional concern, but an overall health (teeth)
    concern.
    
    RE: Bottle temperature .... Jonathan usually prefers his bottles on the
    cool side, but I notice if he has anything that's actually COLD, it
    makes him spit up a lot.  He drinks it fine, but it seems to bother his
    stomache.  He was born with reflux, so it may be something leftover
    from that.
    
    RE: Jar food.  The Gerber Graduates have real chunks of food, and the
    3rd stage meals have real  soft chunks in them as well.  The Graduates
    that I got tasted **AWFUL** - and not just baby-food tasteless, but
    really Bad.  But, they're all still pretty convenient.
    
    By about 9 mos, Jonathan was eating almost exclusively adult-food, and
    the jars were saved for if I was in a real hurry.  He LOVES to eat, so
    we've never had a problem there.  I have always noticed that even when
    he's Full, he likes to have something in his mouth.  Seems to 'wean'
    him to stop eating.  As soon as he's had enough of a bottle, he's
    reaching for a pacifier - he wants SOMEthing there!
    
    He also nibbles on crackers a lot.  Townhouse crackers are his
    favorite, though lately he's starting to take to those chz 'n peanut
    butter crackers (I was moving - it was the only thing I had that he
    could eat at the time (-;)
    
    You know your son - do YOU think he eats a lot - or just what's right
    for him?  At 10 mos, and about 25 lbs, Jonathan eats;
    
    5-6 ~6oz bottles of formula
    lunch, supper and an evening snack.  Meals usually consist of the
    equivalent of 1/4 to 1/2 sandwich with meat/chz or eggs, and a snack is
    usually crackers or a cookie or whatever I might be eating.  On top of
    that, he probably gets ~4 crackers/day, a lot of which end up mashed
    into the floor, so it's hard to say what he actually EATS of that.  He
    has some drink (milk or juice) around mealtimes as well.  
    
    In the morning he likes his pacifier dipped in my coffee (start'em
    young...), and if we're stuck for something else, he's had a few
    straw-fulls of soda or whatever .... (by the 3rd one, my standards have
    dropped a lot...).
    
    Judge for yourself what seem right for your son.  And look at the jars
    - there aren't that many calories in a jar of baby-food!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    Thanks for all the ideas.
    
    My Pedi said that juice was fine, as long as it didn't contain sugar
    and was not taken to bed.  Paul usually gets his juice in the morning
    before breakfast, just to hold him over, or as a snack inbetween lunch
    and dinner when its hot outside and he doesn't prefer his milk.
    
    And, speaking of milk, at nine months, Paul is not ready for it.  I've
    tried for about 10 days giving him a bottle here and there and have
    noticied alot of gas pains and poops that are never ended.  Guess the
    Pedi was right to wait till he is a year.  Mommy has lactose problems;
    I certainly hope Paul isn't taking after me in this respect!  Paul
    seems to care less about his bottle temperature.  If its real cold,
    I'll warm it up to take that "headache chill" out of it (although my
    MIL swears that he loves his food and bottles heated).
    
    I have not seen any chunks in the 3rd stage baby food but have only
    tried a few.  I wish I could make his food but alas, the jars are
    easier for when he goes to the sitter (at least they seem to be) and
    the food that we are eating, to me anyways, seem to be alittle tough
    for him during the summer months but I'm probably wrong.  We usually
    have lot of salads, and our pasta and vegies are always al dente'.  I
    heard corn is not good for children under a year, along with tomatoes,
    for digestive reasons. Paul loves to eat just about anything so maybe 
    I'll focus more on adult foods.  My book "what to expect the first year" 
    did stress that at nine months babies should be eating more adult food 
    than strained baby foods because they might reject adult food later on 
    if not given it early on.  He loves Townhouse crackers also -1 and gets 
    3 of them every night after dinner.  The last two nights we have been 
    giving him Graham Crackers but they sure are messier than the Townhouse 
    (and are sweetier which I don't want to influence).  When we have steak 
    or a roast, sometimes cut a big piece for him to suck on but with only 
    two bottom teeth, he rejects anything that he really has to chew on,
    like tiny pieces of any meat/chicken cut up.  
    
    What kind of sandwichs do you offer -1?  Paul doesn't take to cheese
    as much as I thought he would.  I heard coldcuts are not good for kids,
    along with hotdogs and to never give a child peanut butter sandwichs
    until they are over three years old, unless of course, you have jelly
    or butter on the bread also.
    
    cj
                                        

When Erin was eating third stage type foods, one thing we did when we wanted
something easy was those little prepackaged meals, like spaghetti-os and 
chicken noodle dinner, etc.  These had more salt than the baby foods, but we
bought the brands with the least salt.  They were significantly cheaper than
the baby foods and were in bigger containers.  Also, we didn't feed the 
graduate stuff, the meat sticks didn't seem any better than hotdogs (which we 
cut up).  Yeah, hotdogs aren't good for kids (or adults) but we limit the
number she gets.

Erin was late with her teeth and couldn't eat veggies in a non-mush state, so
we bought canned (yech!) veggies and she ate them.  We had been doing this
all along anyway, when she was little we threw a can in the blender, and then
when she was older we just gave her pieces of canned carrot, or peas, etc.
Also, we bought the brands that didn't have salt added.

One book that was recommended to me is "Feed me, I'm yours" which has lots
of recipes meals for kids from when they first start eating.  I bought it,
and it looked good, but I must admit that I haven't really made any special
recipes just for her.

Jackie

    
    For sandwiches, he does have a lot of coldcuts .... bologna, ham & chz,
    chicken roll, that sort of stuff.  He loves grilled chz (I think the
    toast feels good on his gums), tuna and eggs/egg salad.  Yes, I know,
    he's getting a lot more salt than he needs ....  One thing I do
    frequently from the deli, is have them cut lunch meat REALLY thick
    (this can be interesting to get them to understand how THICK 'really
    thick' is).  Somewhere along the lines of 1/4 to 1/2" thick, and get a
    slab or 2 of a few different things (chick roll, turkey roll, bologna,
    ham).  Then for dinner, I can cut this up, to make 'cubes' of meat for
    him to eat.  He usually eats about 1/2 slice of the meat, but since
    it's chunky, it's a lot easier for him to pick up.  If you get the
    'roll' meat, it falls apart and is a lot easier for them to gum, than
    say just plain turkey breast.  Also, if you start looking at the 3rd
    stage foods, there's a lot of salt in some of them - I don't think he's
    getting much more, but could be.  And he'll eat about 1/2 of a hotdog.
    He LOVES pancakes, toast, bread and butter, more bread and butter, and
    then some bread and butter (-;  He also loves any kind of pasta (my
    Italian baby!), as long as it's loaded w/ sauce.  I think that
    spaghetti-o's are his favorite, though he certainly enjoys ravioli (the
    ones from a can - haven't tried the real ones yet) and macaroni and chz
    (okay, from a box, of course).  
    
    For veggies .... I use frozen veggies in bags, so I can pour out just
    enough for him.  Unfortunately, he likes more exotic vegetables, so it
    tends to end up being an effort, because the 'more exotic' ones need to
    be cooked, rather than just heated.  His favorites are brocolli,
    cauliflower and carrots.  He doesn't care for green beans, and will
    play with peas, and occassionally even eat some.  I don't give him
    corn, as it's not really digestible anyway.  He likes tomatoes and
    cucumbers, but he only gets those sparingly as I've heard they're
    harder to digest.  And of course, french fries and chicken nuggets!
    
    Dessert is cookies, crackers, occassionally a little ice cream (maybe a
    tsp full - it makes him sick later), or (most often) nothing at all.
    
    He also nibbles on dry cereal.  Plain cheerios work best, but he also
    likes cocoa puffs, fruit loops and honey nut cheerios.  The honey-nut
    cheerios get REAL sticky, so beware!
    
    Whatever gets tossed on his tray, he'll try.  He also likes
    experimenting to test it's 'mash-ability', a few good bounce tests,
    check how well it blends into the floor pattern, or his belly, and best
    of all, to check out the expression on Mom's face when he's just about
    to toss it!  
    
    Oh .... and I forget .... the only way he likes a plate is EMPTY ....
    put one within 1/2 mile or so of him, and the first thing he does is
    try to look at the bottom of it!  He'll even bang it a few times if any
    food happened to stay ON the plate.  Anyone else?  (He's 10.5 mos old)

    
    Why is peanut butter not good for a child under 3? I started giving it
    to my son around 11.5 months spread thin on a cracker or bread after he 
    had it at day care.  He loves it. 
    
    Kathy

Kathy,
Peanutbutter is on the top ten killers for younger kids.
gets stuck in the thorat and can't get air past it.
not nice stuff. a worse situation than hard candy, meat as they can be
dislodged if done right. I'd suspect a day care if they give it out to young'ens!
how little is too much?  I'd leave that up to someone else to find out,
but not with my kid.
ed

    ed,
    
    I think the problem with the "stickyness" of peanut butter is minimized
    if there is jelly, mayo, and/or bread served with it.  The problem from
    what I heard was plain peanut butter with nothing to help it slide if
    it lodged.

    On the contrary Meg, I heard that the bread makes it worse if liquid is
    absorbed to help clear the throat.  In other words, the bread expands
    making the air passages completely clogged.
    
    cj
    

	I feel like going back and deleting all the replies I wrote
	about Lauren and her eating progress.  There was no progress!

	The only baby food Lauren likes is cereal and cream style corn.
	For about a month, I could get her to eat the other stuff but
	only by bribing her with corn (a mouthfull of corn usually
	tricked her into opening her mouth for something else).  Well, 
	things were up to about 1 jar of food per meal but then got down 
	to complete refusual within 2-3 weeks.  She even started turning 
	down corn and cereal because she was afraid I'd put something 
	yucky in.   So, I gave up.  I let her have crackers and cheerios 
	and rice cakes for a few days and just layed off the baby food.  

	Last week though, I started giving her table food and letting
	her self feed since she didn't trust the spoon.  I had made 
	pasta with clam sauce and she absolutely loved it!!  She also 
	tried macaroni and cheese, brocolli rice au gratin (brocolli 
	gave her gas pains though),  chicken, and anything else that she 
	can pick up with her fingers.

	For some reason, she will not take the spoon because she thinks 
	I might be slipping her something nasty.  At breakfast she will 
	eat her cereal from a spoon but will not take cereal (or the spoon) 
	at any other point in the day... I can't figure that one out!

	Since last Thursday, she has been eating 3 meals a day, two
	as finger food, plus snacks and her system was a little startled
	by the dramatic change.  Her formula intake has cut in half
	and bowel movements have changed.  Last night she was trying
	so hard to go, turning beat red in the process, that she ended
	up throwing up!  She is a little gagger though... sometimes 
	coughing or crying will make her puke.

	Now I just have to come up with special meals for Lauren until
	she can start eating my cooking (I cook spicy quite often).
	So far, I've tried pasta with sauce, and mac and cheese.  I
	don't need veggie or fruit ideas but other main dish ideas
	would be appreciated.  French toast and waffles go over well
	too but that is breakfast.  

	Lauren is 8-1/2 months.

	Karen	

    Re: .167
>>    	would be appreciated.  French toast and waffles go over well
>>	too but that is breakfast.  
    
    	Not in my house :-). Pancakes, particularly pumpkin or fruited 
      	pancakes are frequent dinners in my house. I use applesauce
    	or purreed peaches instead of maple syrup for young ones. 
    

    karen,
    
    I don't know when you spice your food, but I pull a little of our foord
    out for Atlehi before I really start piling on the chilies.  She gets a
    little bit if she wants to try it, and eats some fairly spicy food as
    we live on stir fries during the summer and mexican food during the
    winter months.    
    
    A little chicken mashed up with my fingers, a little venison, a little
    of whatever the rest of us are eating here and there, and she is quite
    content.  It's true, I do tone down our food when the kids are small,
    but put out salsa on the side for people who prefer more heat.  We have
    never made an issue with garlic, and I recently read an article that
    says consumption of garlic can encourage babies to nurse with more
    vigor.  So the garlic goes in at the level we all enjoy, as well as the
    onions.
    
    meg

    Re: 168:
    >>    Not in my house :-). Pancakes, particularly pumpkin or fruited
    >>    pancakes are frequent dinners in my house. I use applesauce
    >>    or purreed peaches instead of maple syrup for young ones.
     
    
    How do you make pumpkin pancakes? Sounds great!

    
    Don't forget that sandwiches are still a great source of nutrition!  It
    doesn't seem like a 'wholesome' meal to adults, but to a little one,
    it's just perfect, and you can hit a few food groups at once.
    
    Peanut butter and jelly is Jonathan's favorite (maybe cuz when he's
    done he can make SUCH a mess with the jelly that leaked out (-:). 
    Liverwurst (Yuck! but he likes it!), grilled chz w/ some tomato on the
    side, pizza works well (toss some hamburg on it if you like), bagels
    with cream chz (does she have any teeth?).
    
    The biggest trick is to stop thinking "Meal!", and to start thinking
    "Food group", and what it is in each food group that she'll eat, and
    just go with it.  There's nothing wrong with some plain tuna and a
    slice of toast.  Or cheese and crackers.  Or eggs and sausage or
    pancakes for supper.  
    
    If you don't want to make separate meals for her all the time, try to
    find some meat that she likes, then cook enough for a few meals (one
    chicken thigh will last a few days), and just heat hers separately. 
    They don't mind eating the same thing over and over and over again.
    
    My older two have been living on PB & Jelly for 2 months, for lunch,
    and neither one are tired of it.  
    
    If you can removed the normal 'restraints' that we put on meals and
    what's appropriate, it makes it a lot easier.  For almost a year, Chris
    only wanted fish sticks for breakfast.  Jason asked me this morning for
    spaghetti-Os for b.fast.  Is that worse than a bowl of sugar-sweetened
    cereal?  
    
    Try to relax - she'll eat.  Perhaps if you give her the spoon (along
    with her finger food), and let her just play with it and experiment
    herself, she'll be more receptive??
    
    

    re: sandwiches...

    I haven't tried sandwiches on Lauren yet since everything I give her
    is pea sized.  I'm afraid to give her something larger in case she
    chokes.  I gave her a green bean about 1 inch long the other day and
    she tried to put it all in her mouth.  I chickened out and took it 
    back to cut it up.  Lauren doesn't have ANY teeth yet at almost 9
    months.

    Karen

    re: .170
     
    
  >>>  How do you make pumpkin pancakes? Sounds great!
     There's one recipe in 209.34 (Thanks Wendy!). In one of my
    cookbooks it said it was ok to substitute pumpkin puree for a
    a small amt of the liquid (like 1/3 or 1/2 cup pumpkin instead of
    1/3 or 1/2 cup of milk) in your favorite pancake recipe.
    Sue
    

	Lauren is now over 10 months old, has no teeth, and eats table
	food.  Question is, how small should the pieces of food be?  Right
	now, everything is the size of a pea or smaller.  I even cut
	macaroni in half.  Is this too small?  Should I give her larger
	pieces of food or should I wait until she gets some teeth?  

	I sometimes give her a large chunk of bread or a cracker to knaw
	on but the other day I turned around to see why she was so quiet
	and she had an entire zweiback in her mouth, sideways!  She didn't
	quite know what to do with it!  Now, she is limited to only very
	soft crackers.

	Karen

    Karen,
    
    sounds like you have about the right  size peces for now.  Oh yes, the
    "cram the entire thing in my mouth" syndrome.  don't worry it only
    lasts for about 18 years.  
    
    ;-)
    
    meg

	Karen,

	My 7 month old does have teeth, but is just figuring out
	textures and chewing, etc.  Right now, he's only used to
	foods that slide down without a fight.  I have given him
	some small triangles of toast, and he gums those into
	mush then swallows them with no trouble.  However, he
	can gag on a Cheerio!  I'm experimenting with food textures
	and sizes right now.  Last night I gave him pastina for the
	first time, and he didn't know how to handle it!  I tried to
	get him to copy me chewing, but that just made him laugh.
	He figured out enough to eat about 1/2 of what I made, then
	gave up.  I offered him his first yogurt after that, and he
	ate an entire 8 oz container!  (can you tell I ran out of
	cereal ;-) )  So, even with teeth, food size can be an issue.

	Anyway, I'd err on the side of making things too small for 
	a while.  Lauren still has to "chew" the small pieces, so
	she won't lack the skill, but at the same time won't choke.

	Karen

    
    Jonathan's almost 13 mos old (WHERE did the time go?!), and he eats
    pretty good size food.  If you were to cook a Rotini, and then cut it
    in half, that's about the average size I use, and he does fine with.
    
    Pieces smaller than that he just tries to use as finger paint.  He's
    turned into a HORRIBLE eater the past few days, and would much rather
    play with the food than eat it.  He's hungry, but wants to be fed
    instead of feed himself, and whatever gets put in front of him ends up
    mushed, and eventually on the floor.
    
    Last night he had some rotini in a bowl, with butter.  He took them out
    of the bowl, smeared them all over his tray, got himself all buttery,
    and then carefully picked up each piece and put it back into the bowl. 
    Picked them up with his fists, mushed them between his fingers, then
    shook his hands so they landed on the tray etc, until the bowl was
    empty, then he carefully picked them up .... I was trying to eat at the
    same time, and it was SO hard to not laugh!  What a little scientist
    (but he's going to be a hungry one if he keeps this up!).
    
    Patty

    What age do parents start their children to feed themselves?  What age
    do they start to use a spoon by themselves?
    
    Paul eats people food but I still put it through the grinder and feed
    him.  He will eat bread, crackers, cheerios, grill cheese and stuff like 
    that by himself.  However, I get the feeling that I should be allowing him
    to eat more on his own. 
    
    Thanks 
    
    cj (Hi Karen!)
    

	Emily had her first totally solo "meal" at 14 months.

	We started with yogurt, which she did quite well with.

	Before that, we would load up the spoon for her, then
	let her hold it and feed herself.

	Karen

    I would say that what matters more is just allowing them to experiment
    and experience feeding themselves, and being forgiving of the ensuing
    mess that will occur! After a while, a 9, 10, 11+ month old will begin
    to get some of their food in/near their mouth, and you'll see continued
    progress from there!
    
    best wishes
    
    P.S. If you have a dog, they're great for clean up!
    

    Mine have pretty much started on their own when they were ready.  I
    make sure to leave some finger-foods on the try to start with, and then
    work up from there.  It's messy, but that is what the dog is for. 
    Another idea is to take an old vinyl tablecloth and lay it under the
    high chair.  
    
    

    
    I started mine when she could sit in the high chair. I would feed
    her babyfood first, then I would leave a few pieces of Cheerios and
    let her go at it. Then, I added cut up cheese, fruits and crackers.
    I would use the Sunday paper to cover the kitchen floor underneath the
    high chair. It got messy, but I could just roll up the newspaper and
    throw it out. Our cats are picky eaters ;-). It got really messy when
    she started with a spoon, a few months after finger food. That's when
    I would "strip" her down to a diaper and a big bib, and let her go
    wild. Bath took care of the food that didn't make it to her mouth.
    So, by 13-14 months, she was on her own.
    
    I kept a strict rule though, meal was over when she started playing
    with or throwing food. 
    
    
    Eva
          

    I do the same thing - when Alyssa (who will turn "1" on Monday) starts
    playing and throwing the food on the floor for the cats, then mealtime
    is over.
    
    Alyssa is eating a pretty good range of food.  She loves bread, so we
    have that everynight for dinner.  She can eat grill cheese (cut up in
    cubes), chunky soups, pasta (she still having trouble trying to grab
    the spagetti - I guess its too slippery).  Shes been eating "big
    people" food since about 10 months - up to that point, we mixed the
    food 1/2 baby food 1/2 other stuff.
    
    She eats more now seeing that shes eating what mommy and daddy are
    eating - I guess its a mental thing.
    
    

    Jonathan's been feeding himself for a month anyway, and won't let me
    feed him, unless it's something he clearly can't do himself (like
    soup).  He can use a fork, if I stick stuff on the end of it, he finds
    his mouth ok.  Once the fork's empty, it makes a good drumstick (-;  He
    likes to bang/throw spoons, so the silverware bit is on hold for now.
    
    As for the spaghetti - try using Rotini instead of straight spaghetti. 
    Cut them in half - they were pretty easy for him to pick up (though it
    sure is messy!).
    
    If you have the time/energy to feed him, and he CAN feed himself some
    stuff, I'd say you're doing just fine, and just keep doing.  When he's
    2 and won't let you stick a cookie in his mouth (how many times can
    they say *I* do it!!?), you'll be sorry you ever stopped ... (-:
    
    Patty

I made all of my own babyfood.  As time went on I went from the 
cuisinart, to mashing with a fork, to cutting into pieces.  I'd say 
she was feeding herself her full meals (as possible) by hand by 10 
months.   She clearly wanted to.     I would only feed her by spoon 
impossible stuff (baby cereal (still used it for the iron, etc), 
yogurt, cottage cheese).   I chose foods that balanced and that she 
could eat by herself by hand.   

Now she's 15 months and has been using the spoon since introduction at 
12 months.   Sometimes better than others.  She'll do it for a while 
and then let me do some.    She gets it in her mouth fine, but rarely 
gets much on the spoon (so she does not get frustrated, but she does 
not get much either).    I thicken yogurt with a bit of baby cereal to 
make it stick.   

They're all different though. 

	Andrew, nearly 8 months old, has turned into a bottomless
	pit when it comes to eating.  I am giving him 3 meals a day,
	with each meal consisting of 3 ounces of formula mixed with
	the appropriate amount of formula (1/2 cup ?  I don't measure)
	plus fruit or a veggie.  Sometimes he'll eat an entire banana
	(mashed).  I don't buy jars, but I'd guess he gets the equivalent
	of about 3/4 of a large jar.  For the last week, he's been crying
	as soon as he sees that the bowl is empty.  I've started offering
	him a 7 ounce bottle of formula after the meal, and he polishes
	it off.  I'd say he's getting about 28 ounces a day plus 3 meals.  This
	is lasting a little longer than I'd expect for a "growth spurt".
	(I should mention Andrew is 21+ pounds)

	I tried meats - he doesn't care for them.  I've given him toast,
	yogurt, and cream of wheat from the "adult" food department.  My
	sister suggested he may need something more substantial than
	baby cereal.  Any other noters with similar experiences or
	suggestions ?  I thought he might still be a little young for
	"combination" foods.  

	He's got 6 teeth, but does still gag on some things...

	Karen

    Karen
    
    Nicholas has been eating Non-stop for about 2 months...
    Like Andrew, it seems he never gets full....
    
    This week, I started him on "real" food. What we have tried, is
    the thick part of soups....(the pregresso, chunky etc), He loves
    the Chili-Mac pasta in a little sauce, Apple Sauce, Toast
    Pancakes, and fruit.
    
    Last night I made a baked chicken dinner, complete with gravy and
    mashed potatoes, and nicholas had everything. Of course, after the
    potatoes, he needed a bath.
    
    I have decided I will try just about anything, and if he doesn't like
    it, he will let me know.
    
    Anne Marie

Karen,

I started Lauren on table food at 8 months.  If you'll look back through
this string, you'll see all my notes on the trials of getting Lauren to
eat baby food, and later, anything from a spoon.  At 8 months, I gave up,
started giving her table food and letting her self feed and she has been
eating food well ever since!  Some of her absolute favorites are pasta
with a red sauce, and chicken.  For pasta I began with chili mac and
tiny shells but now give her whatever is being served.  Last night she
had lasagna which I diced up for her.

Karen

    Hi everyone!
    
    I never thought I would have to write this note but Paul is NOT eating
    anymore.  He is eating for the sitter though, which makes me believe
    that I am doing something wrong.  He eats the same foods there that he
    gets at home, and takes the spoon for her however, all he has eaten in 
    the last week for me is slices of cheese, regular bread (not toast, just 
    regular white bread), cheerios and crackers.   In other words, anything
    that doesn't require him being in the highchair and things that he can
    feed himself. 
    
    Seems to me that once he sees the spoon coming, he rubs his eyes and
    pushes the spoon away.  So I thought maybe he just wants to feed
    himself now.  Afterall, he is a year old.  But, he dislikes any pasta,
    meats or chicken and I'm running out of ideas!  Before this, he used
    to really love the chunky soups, any potatoes (sweet, etc) squash and
    most adult foods.  He has not had baby jarred food for two/three months
    now.  He won't even eat his bananas or pears! :(
    
    Any help or suggestions?  I would great appreciate them!
    
    cj
                 

    
    cj,
    
    any chance he is teething?  None of my kids has  ever eaten well when
    they are cutting teeth.  Also kids go through phases where it seems
    they are interested in living on air and dust mice.  
    
    Once again, offer him what he wants and don't sweat it, as long as he
    is his usual bright, cheerful self.  
    
    meg

Hi cj,

Ben goes through phases like this too and he's 14 months.

For the past month, when I offer him food on a spoon he'll shake his head
and push it away. I then put the spoon down, and he "usually" picks it up
and starts to feed himself. Once he's started, I can sometimes manage to 
sneak a few spoonfuls in too.

If he's going through a bad patch I can usually get him to eat 
baked beans, rice pudding or fromage frais. I know they're all sweet things
but it puts my mind at rest that he's eaten something nutritious,and he isn't
going to wake up starving in the middle of the night.

It can be soooo frustrating tho, especially when Daddy walks in and 
manages to spoon down a full bowl of goo !

I haven't had the chair problem, but maybe if he's rubbing his eyes he's 
overtired. 

The teeth solution sounds possible for Ben too. Sometimes he'll
take a bite of something hard and cry out. The only thing I can think of is
that he's pushed a bit of broken gum onto a new tooth. 
 
Heather

    Or maybe he'd rather be playing than sitting at the high chair?
    
    Sometimes when Jonathan's being particularly fussy about eating (and I
    KNOW he's hungry), I'll put my supper on his tray, and we'll both eat
    it.  I've found if I let him feed me (which often ends up with food
    smeared all over my face (-;), then he's a lot more receptive to
    letting me feed him, and it teaches him to share too.
    
    ....and then sometimes he just pushes the whole pile of food over to
    me, and won't touch a bite.  He also refuses to eat if he's thirsty,
    but give him a drink and wait a few mins, and he's right at it like
    he's never seen food.
    
    Good luck!
    Patty

    Paul always rubs his eyes when he doesn't want to eat.  It really has
    nothing to do with being tired .. more like tired of eating this stuff
    Mommy! :)
    
    Paul also has had four teeth come in the last three weeks.  They took
    about a month to cut through, one at a time, but I have noticed that
    they are almost all the way through now.  This "could" be part of his
    problem BUT why does he eat for my sitter and not me?
    
    cj

	It could be that he's more hungry during the day.

	Emily had a bit of a cold a few weeks ago, and had no
	problem eating breakfast or eating at daycare, but had
	little to no interest in dinner.  I didn't push it, and
	she's now eating fine again.

	I do remember her going through phases between 12 and 18 months,
	where she suddenly didn't want any of her old favorites.  I just
	kept proposing them again on different days, and some she began
	eating again.  She never did go back to eating yogurt, which
	was her most favorite food from 6 - 18 months.

	Karen

    Do you think it is too early to give baby food to a baby barely 4
    months old?  
    
    My daughter seems to be hungary all the time.  The doctor told us not
    to give her any food until she is drinking about 8oz of formula and
    still seems hungary.  She should be feeding every 4 hours, she wants to
    be fed every 3 hours.  She drinks anywhere between 6-8oz at a
    time.  We have started giving her cereal in her bottle for her morning
    and night time feeding.  She can inhale about 4oz in 2 seconds flat. 
    
    My sister is watching her and she just suggested starting her on fruit. 
    she thinks that might curb Kelci's appetite.  I am going to try the
    fruit tonight because on Thanksgiving I gave her some carrots and
    cranberry sause and she just loved it.
    
    Am I doing the right thing?  Do you think she is just trying to control
    my sister into feeding her early?  Should I wait and see what the
    doctor says??
    
    Thank you for any help you might give.
    
    
    

    We started Katie on cereal with fruit at 4mos (maybe a week
    or two earlier).  Our pedi's recommendation was that if she
    was drinking 40 oz of formula/day then she was ready for
    cereal.  By the way, Katie still is generally hungry every
    3-4 hours during the day.  We started her on 3 meals/day
    at about 5 months (veggie and fruit at lunch, rice and fruit
    for morning and night feedings).  Our pedi recommends babies
    get at least 24 oz of formula per day.
    
    Also, since you haven't spoken to the dr. yet, you should be
    aware that you should only introduce 1 new food at a time, do
    this for 2-3 days until you know that the baby doesn't have
    a reaction (rash etc..) or is allergic to the new food.
    
    	Enjoy!  
    		Linda

	Where do you get babies that only eat every 4 hours ??

	;-)

	Both my kids started cereal at 4 months plus 2-3 days, because
	they wanted to eat every hour.  Before that, it was every
	2-2.5 hours...

	Karen

    I started Alyssa on cereal about 3-1/2 months and probably the fruits
    at about 4 months or so.  When giving Lys fruit for the first time, I
    just gave alittle and waited a day in between before giving her fruit
    again - Lys never had any allergic reactions to any type of food - she 
    was never had collic and she was on whole milk by 10 months.
    
    I guess it all depends on the baby.  If she had problems with formulas
    and other stomach problems, I think I would have gone "by the book"
    
    Joolz
    
    
    

    Jason started cereal at a little over 2 mos - he was STARVING!! without
    it.  It wasn't long after that he enjoyed fruits, and Jonathan was ~3-4
    mos old when he started.  Chris was a bit later.  Interesting the 2
    that started early, neither liked bananas initially but GOBBLED down
    pears. (now they both hate pears, and Chris loves 'em .... go figure)
    

    I started giving my son rice cereal around 2 1/2 mos. His pedi
    recommends starting babies on cereal as soon as they're drinking more
    than 32 oz of formula a day. Andrew was drinking about 36 oz a day so 
    the doctor said start him on cereal. I gave him fruit next around 3 mos
    and so on from there. 
    
    It's amazing how well cereal holds them thru the night too! He started
    sleeping 6 hrs a night! It was wonderful! 
    
    I hope my next baby is as cooperative! :)
    
    Karen
    

    
    I started Alex on cereal at 3-1/2 months - one meal a day in the
    evening.   I added applesauce and then other fruits and a second
    meal in the morning over the next month.  Around 5 months, he
    went to 3 meals a day - fruit and cereal at breakfast and 
    dinner and fruit and vegetable for lunch.  In his case, it wasn't
    so much that he'd *gotten* hungry all the time - he's perpetually
    hungry 8^).   He had stopped sleeping through the night though but
    more than that, he was obsessed with watching everyone else eat,
    grabbing at our food and utensils, etc.  
    
    So, no, I don't think barely 4 months old is too young if you're
    following her cues.   I think most pediatricians recommend starting
    solids between 4-7 months but individual babies may vary outside
    that range.  As someone earlier suggested, you want to add the
    different types of cereals, fruits, and vegetables gradually
    looking for any reaction or sensitivity.
    
    Is there a reason that you are putting the cereal in her bottle?   
    I haven't heard that recommended in this generation of baby-raising 
    except for reflux cases.  
    
    Carol
    
    

    I gave Kelci Bananas last night for the first time.  She didn't really
    like them.  She did the gag reflex. (it was funny to see).  So what I
    did was mix the bananas and cereal together and she like it that way.
    She also drank 6oz of formula after and didn't spit up that much
    either.  I think we will continue with this in the morning and for her
    last feeding of the day.
    
    To tell you the truth, I don't really know why we started give cereal
    in her bottle.  I think one of our mothers told us that was how to
    start her out.  We figured they each had 5 kids they should know what
    they are talking about.  She likes the formula better with the cereal
    in it than without it.  When there is cereal in the bottle she will
    suck down 4oz in no time flat.  She barely breaths inbetween.  If you
    take the bottle away she will screech at the top of her lungs.  Now
    that we are having fruit, she will not get cereal in the bottle.
    
    Thanks for the replys,  I feel much better.
    
    

    
    FWIW, neither of my boys cared much for the jarred baby bananas.
    I've tried them myself and can understand why they don't like
    them.  I think the manufacturers add citric acid to retain the 
    color - but it really overpowers the fruit's natural flavor.
    Applesauce and pears were big favorites.

    
    re: baby bananas
    
    Actually, I believe that the bananas are not fully ripe.   I only eat
    bananas that are not quite ripe yet and that is what they taste like.
    Once bananas ripen they become much sweeter.
    
    Karen

	Of course, you can always throw a banana in the blender
	instead.  Quick, easy, tasty, and you know what's in it!

	I've been buying canned, unsweetened fruit like pears 
	or peaches, and will drain the juice, dump the contents
	into the blender, whirl, and store in a tupperware.  I
	use it up in a couple days, and it's cheaper than jars.

	Karen

    We didn't have much success with bananas either.  Katie
    LOVES peaches, applesauce and pears the best.
    
    	Linda

	I have also found that re-introducing foods works well.

	Andrew would *not* eat peas the first two tries.  I gave
	them up for a month or two, and now he'll eat them with
	no problem.

	(my 2.5 year old has done this recently, too.  went from
	an avid yogurt eater to a yogurt hater, and has now begun
	eating it again after watching her brother ...)

    Today,  my sister gave Kelci her bananas and cereal and Kelci gobbled
    them up.  She must have a secret for giving food to her.  I'll have to
    ask her what it is.
    
    She might just have to aquire the taste.  One day my husband was eating
    a banana and smushed it up and gave some to Kelci.  She must just like
    the  real fruit better than the baby food in  jars.  I'll ask Santa for
    a small food processor to make some baby food for her.
    
    

    How long will an opened jar of baby food (squash for example) keep
    in the refridgerator?
    
    thx,
    Nancy

    
    I believe that it says on the jar.  2-3 days comes to mind
    assuming that you have not fed the baby from the jar.  If so, 
    it needs to be used in one sitting or thrown away.   Saliva
    will break down the food very quickly especially if the 
    baby is teething.    
    
    That said, I've used baby food that was opened and refridgerated
    for probably 4-5 days.
    
    cj/

    If it is something you want to try again in a week, you can freeze it,
    but it will keep 2-3 days, as long as you don't feed the baby directly
    out of the jar.  
    
    Wish list here, I wish Heinz still had the freeze-dried baby food.  It
    lasted weeks as long as you kept the food in the container dry.
    
    meg

    
    
    Hi,
    	I am a parent of a 7.5 month old baby girl. She was 8 lbs. 10 oz.
    at birth and has always eaten very well.  At 5.5 months we started
    her on baby food and at 6 months she started 2% milk.  Does anyone
    have any ideas on some good snacks i can give her?  Is it too soon
    to give her "Big People" food?  I would appreciate any help as she
    is my first child.
    
    Patty
            

>     to give her "Big People" food?  I would appreciate any help as she


Well, really, all of the food she eats is big people food, just mashed 
up.    I used well cooked vegetables (carrots (cut so it is not a 
circle), squash) and well ripened fruits (pear, banana, peaches) also 
cut into small pieces.   It got my daughter started on finger food, 
and got her into eating fruits/veggies.     If you meant spoon foods, 
either mash them up with a fork so they are lumpier than the jar, or 
try yogurt or cottage cheese (but get the ones with the most fat you can)

On another aspect of your note, please ask your doctor about the milk. 
Mine, and most others I've heard of are adamant about using whole milk 
because babies need the fat for brain development (breastmilk has a 
large percent of fat, don't know about formula). 

    re .212
    
    I second what the last noter said about whole milk.  I've read and been
    told by my pedi that kids need whole milk until they are 2 years old. 
    They need the fat for brain development.  I even got my daycare center
    to start buying whole milk for the infants and toddlers.
    
    Carol

	Also, the current recommendation is for no cow's milk before
	12 months.  This is related to the more-difficult-to-digest
	protiens in cow's milk (vs. formula or breastmilk).

	Some studies have linked increased risk diabetes and allergies with 	
	early milk introduction. 

	Karen

I have changed the title of this string from "Baby food-no teeth yet."
to "Baby Food/Feeding Babies (0-18 months)" at the excellent suggestion of
a noter.  The string has become much more directed toward the feeding of
babies, teeth or no teeth, and the title will also make it somewhat easier
to locate with a DIRECTORY command.

     Carol duBois, PARENTING co-moderator

    Are there other food I could give my 5.5month old?  I am mostly feeding
    her cereal and fruits.  I have had her try carrots the other day.  She
    hated them.  Last night she had carrots mixed with cereal. 
    
    She doesn't have any teeth yet, so I'm limited on what she can eat.
    (I think).  A few notes back mentioned yogurt and cottege cheese.  I
    haven't given anything else.  But if that was all I had to eat
    everyday, I'd be bord with it.    

    re: .217
    
    I think even the most conservative guides to feeding babies start
    adding fruits and vegetables at 5 months.  Many sources recommend
    starting the vegetables before the fruit (I did the opposite...).
    
    Try strained "yellow" vegetables first: carrots, squash, sweet potatoes.
    It may take a few offerings before the baby develops a "taste"
    for each new vegetable.  I sometimes add a little fruit to the
    vegetable to make the first attempts go better.   Then try green
    vegetables: peas, beans.   Both of my children took to the yellow
    fairly well and cared less for the green.   Because corn is difficult
    to digest, I don't think it's usually fed to infants.
    
    I added plain yogurt around 7 months but tend to hold off on other
    dairy products (cheese, cottage cheese) until 9 months or so.  
    A 5.5 month old might have trouble with the lumps in cottage 
    cheese.
    
    You might also try other cereal varieties (barley, oatmeal, mixed,
    etc) if you haven't already...
    
    Carol

    I have a call into my doctor to ask the following questions but I
    thought I'd post them here to get the views of those more experienced
    than myself.
    
    My baby is 7.5 months old (no teeth yet).  Is it too early to give her
    finger food such as Cheerios or crumbled saltines or toast?  
    When I give her juice, should it be diluted?
    What about starting her on yougurt?  Is it too early?
    
    She currently eats three meals a day, cereal and fruit for breakfast,
    fruit and veggie for lunch and fruit and cereal for dinner.
    
    Thanks for your comments and yes, I did read all 218 replies to this
    note.  ;^) 
    
    Nancy

    
    My daughter is also 7.5 months old.  She loves cheerios and saltines. 
    I give her the saltine whole and she takes bits.
    
    She has four teeth, though she ate cheerios before the teeth came 
    into play.  Every child is different but I think most eat 
    small things like cheerios around now.     
    I used to break the cheerio in two until she got used to it.
    
    We've also tried yougurt which she loves, just remember to introduce
    something like yougurt one at a time.  Wait a day or so to see if 
    they have any kind of reaction.  If you introduced too many things
    you wouldn't know which caused a problem.   
    
    I dilute my juice 50/50 except for times when I'm too lazy.  
    This is my second and she actually likes anything BUT baby cereal 
    as long as its small enough and of course no honey.  
    
    Teri
     

    My daughter started diluted juices, 50/50, at 4 weeks.  I have
    a very agressive pediatrician! :-).  She was only getting a couple
    of ounces a day though.  When she started cereal, I mixed her
    cereal with the diluted juice rather than formula to give the
    cereal a better taste.
    
    She has a bottle of juice every day now, still diluted, about 
    4 ounces.   She's still on the clear juices though, and especially
    loves the pear juice.  That's a real good one to start on.
    
    						cj *->

    Frozen waffles (cooked) was another favorite finger food for both my
    sons at 7-8 months.
    

    Probably the best thing you can do is to watch your child carefully,
    and see how he/she reacts to the finger food.  My son was a good eater,
    but I think he tried to eat too quickly.  We always had to stay close, 
    as there were a couple of instances when we held our breath - wondering 
    if he'd get the food down, or if we'd have to pull it out.
    
    My daughter (now 6 1/2 months) has never gagged on a single thing (I
    hope I'm not jinking myself by saying this!).  She's chewed on bagles,
    crackers, and slices of potatoe.  I also think that she has a better
    "gag reflex" than my son did.  They talk about this in the book "What
    to Expect...".  It basically means that they spit out, or push with
    their tongue, when food is either too big, or they are full.
    
    Peggy

    
    Re: previous.  I gave my almost-eight month old a teething biscuit
    (Zwieback) and what a mistake!!! She must have bit off a big piece and 
    started to choke on it.  I was ready to administer CPR when she vomited
    it (and her lunch and dinner).  What a scare!!!!  She was ok and full
    of smiles after she vomited, but I guess I'll have to be more careful.
    I was shaking from it  for a couple of days. 
    
    Nancy
    
    

    Nancy,
    
    My girlfriend also had a choking scare with a Zwieback a few weeks ago.
    Her almost seven month old became pretty silent, and she turned to
    notice he was choking on a piece he had managed to break off.  He
    doesn't even have any teeth!
    
    I bought some Gerber teething biscuits for my daughter.  She is seven
    months old and loves them.  No choking scares with these, but what a
    mess!!  I am trying to stick to less messy snacks now like frozen 
    mini bagels and mini rice cakes.
    
    Kristen
    

    Every child is so different, I keep reminding myself of this
    everyday.  Katie (almost 10 mos) tried the Gerber teething
    biscuits and choked every time.  She always managed to gnaw
    off a peice and they are so hard that it wouldn't dissolve
    in her mouth.  She has greater success with the Zwieback
    teething toast.  She's choked alittle with it but if I coach
    her and tell her to chew she USUALLY does okay with it.  After
    a few scary episodes I've learned to keep a sippy cup of water
    on hand :-)  That helps it slide down.  She gags very easily
    and is prone to vomitting if we're not careful.  We even break
    her cheerios in half!  It has made the transition to table foods
    a SLOW process.
    
    	Linda

Noelle was very much like Katie in .226 -- easy to gag, 
quick to vomit.  I forget when it was that I gave her
her first cookie.  I ran for the camera and, as I was
focusing, I was surprised that the expression on her
face was not particularly pleased.  Just as I was about
to snap the shot, up came her previous bottle...

Ironically enough, a friend of mine called that night
to tell me about how she had just given her son (born
the day after Noelle) his very first cookie -- the
same brand I had bought.  He loved it and gobbled down
2 more.

Noelle's transition onto solids was slow and she still
doesn't like solid meat much.  We just try to follow
her lead while still offering her almost anything as long
as it's cut into small pieces...

Noelle was very much like Katie in .226 -- easy to gag, 
quick to vomit.  I forget when it was that I gave her
her first cookie.  I ran for the camera and, as I was
focusing, I was surprised that the expression on her
face was not particularly pleased.  Just as I was about
to snap the shot, up came her previous bottle...

Ironically enough, a friend of mine called that night
to tell me about how she had just given her son (born
the day after Noelle) his very first cookie -- the
same brand I had bought.  He loved it and gobbled down
2 more.

Noelle's transition onto solids was slow and she still
doesn't like solid meat much.  We just try to follow
her lead while still offering her almost anything as long
as it's cut into small pieces...

	I can remember my pedi telling me at Emily's 6 month
	visit specifically *not* to give her teething biscuits
	due to the risk of choking.  He said Cheerio's and small
	bits of regular toast were ok.

    We have been giving Kelci puffed rice.  She absolutly loves them.  
    They dissolve easy and they stick to her wet slimey hand.  I also
    gave her the animal crackers in the little box with the string handle.
    They also dissolve very fast with baby slime.  
    
    I gave her some cheerios a while ago and she almost choked on it.  It
    was a lot harder than the puffed rice.    Her aunt has given her rice
    crispys and also a frozen bagel to chew.  If she breaks a piece off she
    will chew it.  It is a riot to see her chewing with only 2 teeth.
    
    I think this weekend I'll try the toast and see how she likes that.
    

    I got word this week that Angeline's sitter started giving her
    dry Cheerios.  Although I'd rather she checked with me first,
    I am glad someone else started her other than me.  One of the
    litte kids said "Angeline's been eating Cheerios!".  Not the best
    of ways to find out, but...what the heck.  
    
    I could just imagine me sitting there watching every move, scared
    she would choke.  Poor kid wouldn't be able to breath without me 
    pouncing!  :-)  
    
    I'm still on the  "tooth watch" but nothing yet.  Just a lot of
    false starts.  
    						cj *->

    
    The best "teething biscuit" I ever found were crackers.  The Keebler
    Town House crackers seem to be the most preferred (by the kiddos), but
    Ritz and just plain Saltines were well loved too.  They completely
    dissolve in the mouth, and are barely messy at all.  Plus they don't
    have a lot of (added) sugar.  
    
    Graham crackers were another favorite, though quite a bit messier. 
    Cinammon grahams were a definite hit!
    
    Of course now we're into gnawing on spare ribs and chicken legs ....
    they grow so fast!!!
    
    

    Why is it that babies shouldn't have corn.  Is it because of the
    potential for allergies later in life??  The reason that I ask is
    because I have seen so many baby foods and cereals with corn or corn
    meal.  Should the cereals be avoided until the baby is a year old??
    Is cornmeal a problem as well??
    
    Nancy
    

   Well, not sure if this is a complete answer, but I seem to remember
   that corn wasn't digested too well... if I remember correctly, we
   would often find perfectly shaped corn kernels in the diaper the day
   after...   if nothing else, seems to be a waste of stomach juices to
   feed them something that they couldn't digest at an early age...
   
   btw - the older ones (at least the ones who actually like corn) don't
   seem to have any trouble with it now - no reactions or anything like
   that, so letting them have some early on didn't make much difference
   in our family anway..
   
   fwiw,
   
   - Tom

    
    Hi everyone,  I am a first time mom and my 8 month old son has decided
    he no longer wants to eat any puree food.  My problem is I am running
    out of ideas on what to feed him without giving him the same stuff 
    over and over.  The snack foods are not a problem.  It is lunch and 
    dinner foods.  Right now he is eating  waffles, french toast, toast, 
    scrambled eggs, pancakes, macaroni, spag, mac & cheese,  mashed
    potatoes, cooked carrots.   I put syrup on the waffles, pancakes and
    french toast to keep it soft, so I dont want to feed him this too
    often (his father has a sweet tooth and I want to avoid him getting
    one).  At the sametime, I do not want to give him to much dairy
    products in a day.   
    
    For him to eat pureed food it has to be thick or he will close his 
    mouth tight and nothing is going in.   Michael only has 2 teeth so
    he is mostly gumming his food so it has to be soft.   I welcome all 
    the suggestions.   He is also impatient when he is hungry so I cant
    take forever to prepare his food.  Thanks to everyone in advance. 
    
    Wendy Bourque
         

    
    The one thing that I noticed absent from your list would be 
    fruit - cut up pieces of any ripe, soft fruit.   Most babies
    love bananas!   I also use canned fruits (packed in water or
    fruit juice) - pears, peaches, and Gerber Graduate apples 
    are favorites.   Same goes for veggies - babies sometimes like
    canned (yuck!) veggies because they're softer and easier to
    swallow - peas, green beans, sweet potato pieces.   Broccoli 
    tops are also a hit with our toddler. 
    
    One other idea is cheese bits or cheese on toast (just melt
    it in the toaster oven and skip the butter/margarine used 
    for grilled cheese).   
    
    And rice!
    
    Carol

Noelle was the opposite of your child (hated anything with
texture), but my pediatrician mentioned that she knew completely 
toothless toddlers who would eat chicken -- they'd just gum it to 
death and then swallow.  She said that toddlers can eat almost
any food that you can eat as long as you cut it up small
enough.  She did say we could forego the steak for a while
and not to give any of the choking hazards (which are documented
elsewhere I hope!). 

- Deb B.  

    Can you mix something in with the pureed foods?  Like Pastina (tiny
    pasta stars)?  Might give more texture to the food and give you more
    options with the baby food until he gets enough teeth to really chew.
    I used to mix baby oatmeal cereal into the pureed foods to thicken them
    up and give more substance, expecially to the fruits.  Made a nice
    quick, healthy breakfast for my son, and it was all in one bowl : )
    

    My (gaggy) ten month old loves chicken!!!She has no problem with it. 
    I tear it into small pieces and she loves it!!!  She also likes hamburg
    meat ground up.  She, too is getting tired of pureed mush so we try to
    make food for ourselves that she can enjoy as well.  (We eat healthier
    because of it!)
    She also likes some of the Campbells Healthy Choice soups. 
    Nancy

    My kids got very little pureed food.  We usually waited until they were
    trying to steal food off our plates, and then started mashing stuff up
    with a fork.  Cheaper than the commercial stuff and IMHO healthier and
    the kids eat what we do from the start so "people food" isn't wierd
    when they get teeth.
    
    meg

    Thanks for all the replys.  He had cut up pears this morning and was
    very happy with them.   I have never heard of the gerber apples are
    they soft?  I am so scared of him choking, which is probably why I have
    had such a hard time thinking of things to feed him.  I feel if it is
    not soft then he can not eat it.  Which I know I have to get over it
    and let him try it.  I had the daycare give him cheerios for the first time
    since I was unconfortable.  He loved them and did fine with them. 
    
    Chicken is on the menu for dinner saturday night so I will let Michael 
    have his first try of it.  
    
    How does precooked chicken hold up in the freezer?  If he likes it I 
    would like to freeze some for later.  Can I do that?
    
    Wendy 
    

    One other thing I forgot to ask in my previous reply.  How long can 
    you freeze the precooked veggies before they loose nutritional 
    value.  Michael is a healthy eater and I want to keep it that way. 
    But if freezing the food takes away the nutritional value then I do 
    not want to do too much of it ahead of time. 
    
    Wendy 
    

    
    RE: .241
    
    Yes, the Gerber Graduate apples are very soft (softer than their
    pears..).   They're probably cooked.  You can also bake (or
    microwave) an apple yourself.
    
    Carol

    re 241,
    
    Or you can use applesauce.  
    
    As for nutritional loss, you will lose some each time you process
    foods.  For freezing, it depends on your freezer.  Deep freeze's help
    keep the quality (nutrition, appearance, and taste) far better than a
    refrigerator/freezer.  Frost-free's seem to dry out food rapicly unless
    you tightly seal your bags or containers.  
    
    Old thing to laugh about now, but wasn't so funny at the time.  I
    pureed a batch of peaches so Atlehi could have them through the winter,
    poured them into ice-cube trays, and forgot about one of the trays when
    I bagged the cubes.  Can you say freezer fruit leather?  The water all
    sublimed from the ice and what was left was this brownish tough
    compound that took much soaking in hot water to get out of the tray.  
    
    meg

My son loves chicken (cooked with sauce makes it really soft - stays great in
freezer) and hamburger, rice (very messy) and pasta, bananas, canned peaches and
pears, peas, green beans.  One thing I like to keep around the house is
Beech Nut Toddler meals.  They're on the expensive side but are a quick 
nuitritious meal - made with small chunk of meat and veggies and no
preservatives.  

Lori

    What about fish?  When can you give little ones fish?  I have heard
    that you should wait until he is at least 1 year old.  Has anyone 
    heard anything different?
                  
    Wendy
      

    Wendy
    
    fish == fishy diapers  :)/2
    
    Also, at least sea food has iodine in it which some people are very
    sensitive too.  I tend to back away from things which are known in my
    family to cause problems until my kids are at least a year old.  For us
    it means no chocolate, cow's milk, eggwhites, oranges/juice, seafood, or
    higher acid fruits, such as apricots for the first year.  It seems that
    sensitivities are more likely to start when a baby is under a year,
    according to some studies.  YMMV.  I err on the side of caution, as I
    have problems, and so do members of my family with some or all of these
    foods.  I wasn't as cautious with my first and she and I paid the
    price.
    
    I think the other issue around fish is that a lot of the waters fish
    come out of are still heavily polluted.  The more mass a kid has the
    less dangerous some of the chemicals and metals are.
    
    meg

    My son is 13 months and hasn't wanted baby food at all for several
    months.  Some of the stuff he likes that isn't on your list:
    
    Pieces of cheese ravioli or tortellini
    Pieces of cheese pierogi
    Canned pears or peaches in pear juice, not heavy syrup
    Cantelope
    Kiwi (loves this!)
    Frozen peas that I let thaw
    Chunks of boiled potatoes
    Peanut butter on crackers
    
    Now he eats pretty much anything that we eat.  My 5 year old daughter
    is a finicky eater and it's a lot easier having one eat anything and
    everything.
    
    judy

    Anyone have any experience with allergies to cereal.  My daughter
    has a red pimply rash on her face.  I'm not sure if its the cereal
    or prickly heat.. she had that over the summer and I can't
    remember if they look the same.  I had eczema as a baby and
    thought maybe she was getting it.  Its on her cheeks and under her
    neck.
    
    

    It's eczema on Angeline!  I thought it to be prickly heat in
    the summer myself, but the pedi says no.  In fact, she's a
    bit of a pizza face this week!  :-)
    
    Her's focuses on the area under her eyes and under her nose/around
    her mouth.  Also, the shoulders and back of her neck, then a stray
    bump or two around her body.
    
    						cj *->

    Morgan has it on her cheeks, people tell me what beautiful coloring
    she has...hahaha.. little do they know if they get up close she has
    these little pimples. I noticed some under her chin, but none 
    anywhere else so far.  I've stopped the cereal and the squash until
    her 4 mo check up on Thursday.  I am afraid she is itchy.
    
    When she was on Soy formula she broke in a horrible rash, poor thing
    kept sticking out her tongue like a frog, my opinion was her face
    was itchy and that movement seemed to help her.
    
    I can't wait until she can talk and tell me what's wrong...haha.
    Course this morning she started creeping across the floor, so that
    doesn't help her face either.
    
    

    RE -1
    
    When I eat walnuts, I get an extremely itchy tongue and ears.  One
    of my sisters and one of my brothers has the same reaction.  She may
    actually have an itchy tongue along with the other symptoms.  
    
    							cj

    A book reference which might be useful to other noters - I'm finding it
    inspiring (the illustrations are fun too):
    
    Annabel Karmel's Baby and Toddler Cookbook
    Publisher: Ebury Press (UK), Price 9.99 pounds.
    ISBN: 0-0917-8354-2
    
    Most of the cookbooks for little people I've seen seem to assume one
    wants to feed them sloppy tasteless gruel! This is different. 
    
    As well as the usual nutritional information, there are sections on
    Vegetarian Diet, Finger Foods, Food Allergy, Food and Drink for Sick
    Children, etc. Recipes are grouped by age.
    
    So far I've been using the general cookery notes. Best tip was on
    cooking fish fillets in the microwave!
    
    Here's a sample recipe I'm going to try:
    
    SWEET AND SOUR FISH (from 9 months), makes 2 portions
    175g (6 oz) fillet of cod, haddock, lemon sole or plaice, skinned
    seasoned plain flour
    15ml (1 tbsp) vegetable oil
    lemon juice (if needed)
    a knob of butter (if needed)
    1/2 small onion, chopped
    5ml (1 tsp) light soy sauce
    15ml (1 tbsp) tomato ketchup
    30ml (2 tbsp) pineapple juice
    1 medium tomato, skinned, seeded and chopped
    
    Cook the fish in seasoned flour and saute in half of the oil until
    cooked (it should flake easily with a fork). 
    Alternatively, grill or microwave the fish with a squeeze of lemon and
    a knob of butter.
    Saute the onion in the remaining oil until softened, then add the rest
    of the ingredients and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Flake the fish, making
    sure there are no stray bones, mix with the sauce and heat through.
    
    Bon appetit!
    
    Jacquie
    

    James is now 10.5 months old, and has been on solids since 2.5 months
    (that boy was ALWAYS hungry). Meal times have never been a problem, and
    he'll eat just about anything except cauliflower.
    
    However, over the past couple of months he's been 'spluttering' at
    mealtimes. He does it deliberately. Seems to be his way of telling us
    that a particular meal isn't what he'd have chosen for himself.
    
    This morning it was Weetabix he didn't want, yet he has it for
    breakfast on alternative days.
    
    Sometimes temperature seems to be important. Like me, he hates chilly
    food, and rewarming it in the microwave seems to help. Sometimes a
    drink of water seems to do the trick. I've even tried giving him his
    own spoon or a toy, to distract his attention.
    
    Despite the spluttering, he still manages to consume a full meal in the
    end, and stops by the time we get to cheese and yoghurt.
    
    Do I just hope this phase will pass, or is there anything I can do
    apart from getting ready to make myself an enormous coverall plastic
    apron ;-)
    
    Jacquie
    

I think James is just showing his independence.  My son started eating
much more messily at about a year.

Lori

Hi -

Bridget is just over 5 months old. I'm still breastfeeding and supplementing with
formula during the day. I started her on rice cereal about 2 weeks ago,
and she seemed to have a bad reaction -- rash on face and bottom, fussiness, 
throwing up the cereal. Her doctor recommended stopping the cereal for a week
and trying again with a different brand of rice cereal or barley or oatmeal. 

I stopped the cereal a week ago, and the rash has cleared up. However, she's now
teething. Teething seems to make her very sleepy, and when she's awake, she's cranky.
She's also spitting up a lot. In fact, I wonder whether the symptoms were a bad
reaction to the cereal at all, or just from the teething.

Is it a good idea to try to reintroduce the cereal now? She seems ready for food, 
grabbing things out of our hands when we're eating. I just worry that it's too much
stress on her (and me) to do it while she's teething. 

Thanks,

Kate

    The rash could be from teething as well... I guess the only way
    to find out would be to try the cereal again.  Maybe try barley. My
    son always did well with the Barley cereal.
    
    julie
    

    I'd recommend that you wait until the teething subsides.  If the  rash
    was an allergic reaction, the next time you gave her rice cereal she
    could have an even more severe reaction.  
    Barley or oatmeal cereal are alternatives, however my pedi recommended
    barley cereal after 9 months because it can be so harse on the
    digestive system.
    Has your child been on formula for a while??  Could that be causing
    some of the problem?
    I know how difficult it can be to hold back food from a child that
    really seems to want it, but in a child so young, you really should
    start slow with solids and pay close attention to adverse reactions.
    
    Nancy

    THanks for the advice. She had been getting one bottle of formula
    a day for about 2 months before I started the cereal, so I don't think
    that's the problem. She has very sensitive skin and is prone to rashes
    and irritation. The cheek rash has been coming and going the past few
    days, so I'm beginning to suspect the teething more than the cereal.
    
    I have a question about how to time the feedings when I do start the
    cereal again. I get home about 5:30 and, lately, Bridget has been
    falling asleep around 7 and then sleeps through until 7 am. 
    I nurse her before bed. I was trying to nurse her as soon as I got 
    home, but she doesn't seem interested. It's a struggle to try to get
    a cereal feeding in there. Should I try to readjust her schedule so
    she's ready to nurse and then have some cereal after I get home? 
    Should I have the sitter feed her before I get home and then do the
    cereal when I get there? I really don';t know what to do. Bridget seems
    to change her eating and sleeping patterns on about a weekly basis,
    and I'm never quite sure what to do. 
    
    Thanks,
    
    Kate 

    Kate:
    
    My Jake is 6 months, and milk sensitive, so rice cereal and applesauce
    are all he's been allowed since 4 months.  He didn't have a reaction to
    the rice cereal, but the rashes you baby has remind me of the ones Jake
    got from milk-based formulas in his early months.  It took 4 solid days
    of formula feedings (8 feedings a day!) before he broke out.  It's
    something to think about.  If you aren't already using it, consider
    Carnation Good Starts as your supplement.  
    
    I started Jake's cereal feedings at the a.m. bottle, because most
    babies are STARVED after that long nighttime sleep.  This works really
    well.  Let your daughter have just under half her breast time, then
    give her some cereal, then finish with more breast milk.  Mix the
    cereal with water or juice (if she's allowed juice yet...), not the
    formula.  This tends to be too "rich" for just starting solids, and the
    baby doesn't finish the breast/bottle, which is where her real
    nutrition is coming from.
    
    I did the same things with my older boy, Joe, 7 years ago, and they
    worked then, too.
    
    M.