Growing from Baby Food to Table Food  

You are proud of baby.  He has gone from drinking milk to eating solid food.  Now there is just one more thing that baby needs to master - table food.  When is it time for your baby to go from baby food to food that you and the rest of the family enjoy? 

Eating is not an easy task.  Even some adults still have trouble.  It is a skill that baby needs to learn before they can successfully feed themselves.  Opening his mouth for you and finding his mouth for himself are two different things.  Hand to mouth coordination is a lot more difficult to master.    

When baby is able to pick things up by himself, let him explore this new skill and learn how to manage it.  Starting at about eight months of age, grabbing will become the norm for baby.  This is one sign that feeding himself is not far behind. 

Table foods chosen for baby still need to be items that are not on the list of foods to avoid.  Food allergies can still pose a problem for baby even though she may be coordinated enough to eat table food.  Start with the same foods that baby started out with when she began solid food.  Small chunks of fruit, bread, vegetables, and other commercial cereals like Cheerios® are all good choices.    

As baby perfects his fine motor skills he’ll be able to pick up smaller and smaller pieces of food.  Let baby find his mouth on his own.  At first, he’ll grab a fist full of food and bring it all up to his mouth at once in hopes that at least one piece will make it in.   

His mouth is open, but he doesn’t know exactly where it is.  Don’t worry though; his hunger will give him the determination to find that space between his lips. 

Cereal rings are low in sugar and easy to crunch.  Baby will chew as much as she needs to in order to swallow the food.  Vegetables should be soft and chewy.  Carrots should be cooked so that they are not hard to break up with baby’s teeth.  Resist the urge to add sugar or sauces to the food.  Baby needs to get acquainted with the natural taste of what she eats before adding other things to change the flavor. 

At this stage there are a lot of choices for finger table food.  Chicken can be eaten if it is cubed into smaller than bite-sized pieces.  Banana slices are soft enough for baby to chew as well.  There are no hard edges to cut her gums and they are so yummy too.  The mess baby makes when eating things like bananas will make her even more willing to try something new, after all the mess is most of the fun isn’t it?  

Remember, baby needs to be upright when eating finger foods.  Lying down can cause baby to choke.  Encourage baby to sit up or stand up from the start to steer clear of bad habits.  Also, pay close attention to baby when they are eating always, so that if he or she does begin to choke you are right there to help. 

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