Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Since our son is diabetic we were told to try bagels, frozen or not and
    they hae mini bagels in the store.  It has worked great for us. 

    A piece of toast, spread with all fruit (or even plain toast)
    keeps Steven (9.5 mos) busy for a good 15 minutes!  He also likes
    Ritz crackers (low salt) plain or spread with cottage cheese.
    
    We started giving him cheerios just before he turned 7 mos.
    Steven didn't have any teeth when we started him on them 
    either.  I was nervous until I noticed how fast they got
    mushy in his mouth.
    
    He often keeps himself entertained with cheerios while
    I cook dinner....he's fine until I get carried away cooking
    and he runs out of cheerios (then he lets me know it!)
    
		Linda

Scrambled eggs

    re:.3  I was told by my doctor absolutely no egg whites until Josh
    was at least 1 year old due to salmonella.
    
    Jr. Pretzels--they gum them to death!
    oyster crackers
    zwieback toast
    bananas
    
    pam

    No egg whites due to salmonella???   I thought that it was no egg
    whites before one year because they are highly-allergenic (along 
    with strawberries, peanuts, chocolate, etc).   At any rate, I have
    heard that vigorous hand-washing is essential after handling raw 
    chicken or eggs to prevent the spread of salmonella.   
    
    carol 

I thought salmonella was only a problem in eggs that are at least
partially raw.

    re: .2
    Our therapists recommended Cheerio's not only as a good snack but they
    are VERY helpful in developing fine motor skills.  FWIW

    Finger foods that are favorite in our family (Jason - 11.5 mos) are:
    
    well-cooked macaroni (esp. w/cheese), peas, cut-up very ripe bananas
    or nectarines or canned in water peaches or pears, Lo-salt Cheez-its,
    Pepp Farm goldfish, rice (more like "fist food"), and bits of cheese.
    
    Some of these may not be appropriate for your son at 7mos...Jason 
    is a gagger, so we have always taken it very slowly and always
    supervise him when eating.
    
    Up until Jason got his first teeth, he LOVED chewing on celery 
    sticks.   We don't allow it know as he could easily bite off 
    a big piece and choke on it.
    
    Introducing finger foods is fun!
    
    Carol

    I had this same question.  Our daughter - just 7 months - loves to eat
    finger food, but I never know what to give her.  She seems to choke
    a lot on the cheerios....do you just keep trying them out every few
    weeks until they can handle it?  Arrowroots didn't do much, she just
    crushed them and tossed over the highchair, but Zwiebacks (sp?) work
    great.

re: eggs

Good point about asking your ped.  In our case he recommended them, but our 
daughter was over one at the time, and this was before the recent scares overy 
salmonella.

Clay

    re: .9
    
    Yes, that's what I did.   Some people/doctors suggest waiting until
    9 months for Cheerios/finger foods, however.   I would stick to 
    things that soften readily with saliva until she is better at
    chewing and eating without choking.
    
    Good luck,  Carol

    re: .9
    
    Someone had suggested Cheerios to me when my daughter was 5 mo. old and
    she gagged and choked on the first two (and did I feel guilty having
    given them to her!).  We tried again at 7 1/2 mo. and she did fine - I
    think she can be considered a Cheerio-aholic now at 8 1/2 mo!  She also
    loves pieces of ripe banana and will chew on a celery stick for about
    20 minutes.  She has 6 teeth (four brand new ones at top, and two more
    established ones on the bottom) but we haven't had an incidence of her
    biting through the celery yet.  We always supervise no matter what she
    is eating.
    
    I recently tried the zwieback toast - but I find that I really have to
    watch her because she manages to bite off some large pieces that I'm
    afraid she will choke on as she doesn't chew her food much yet.
    
    This is a fun stage - enjoy!
    Diana

    Raisin Bread was a favorite with mine.
    

    Frozen bananas

    Both of my little ones (now 2 & 3.5) loved a cookie put out by Gerber. 
    It is shaped like a bread stick, but it is very hard and slightly
    sweet.  It disolves in saliva and is nearly impossible to take a bite
    of.  (I know, I tried.)  It's messy, but it would keep them occupied
    for 15-20 minutes.  My husband used to call them "rubber baby
    biscuits".

    What other types of foods dissolve quickly with saliva? My 8-month old
    is a "biter"...anything in his mouth immediately has a LARGE chunk
    taken out of it.  Thus far, he has managed to break off large hunks of
    zwiebacks, "biter" biscuits, bagels, toast. And he attempts to swallow
    Cheerios, rather than sucking on them (ever try cutting Cheerios in
    half??).  He chokes very easily, so I'm nervous about giving him
    anything but pureed baby food.  Any other ideas for a little guy with
    VERY strong gums and four razor-sharp teeth?
    Sarah
    

    Alexander (9 1/2 months) loves finger foods.  His first one was the 
    zwieback cookies, then we went to the arrowroot cookies, low salt crackers
    (saltines, ritz, ect.) small pieces of bread with jelly, actually he
    eats anything you give him.  You can also try a wide strip of cooked
    steak, they like to chew on them and get all the juice out, and by the
    time they are done the meat is white cause all the juice has been
    sucked out.  Alex also likes bannanas, sugar-free jello and pudding.
    
    
    Liz 

    Sarah,
    The things you've listed should dissolve fairly quick with saliva
    *provided* your son keeps it in his mouth for awhile!   Sounds like
    he needs help figuring out how to chew....this may sounds gross,
    but my husband and I did this by taking some Cheerios or whatever
    off Jason's tray and showing him how to chew with extreme exaggeration
    (picture two adults chomping loud and obnoxiously!)   He thought this
    was very funny and immediately started doing it himself...the rest
    is history!
    
    Carol

	Puffed rice and Puffed wheat (and cakes made out of the same) 
dissolve if you even think moist thoughts in their direction....

	We gave Katie Puffed rice cakes all the time, starting back 
when she wasaroun 7-8 months old.  (We call 'em styrofoam. :-)  But she loves 
'em and they are no-salt, no-sugar and, other than the occasional crumb, no 
mess.)

Tracey

    I have one of the bite-and-swallow types, too -- he's just taking
    a long time to make the transition to non-pureed foods.  At 10 1/2
    months, he's now able to handle things like crackers, cottage
    cheese, bread, those canned meat stick thingies, which he loves,
    and steamed broccoli.  But it took a while.
    
    I figure there aren't many adults who don't know how to chew, so I
    probably don't have much to worry about in the long run.  But I do
    wish he'd hurry up and feed himself . . . 
    
    --bonnie

    re:.17 (Liz)
    
    My daughter loves steak, too!  Once I tried to take it away from
    her a little too early and she flipped out.  Later on, when she
    was done, the steak was this little, dried-out lump of grey ick.
    My father told me that my mother always gave me steak when I was
    her age and loved it too.
    
    More finger foods that mine (10 months) loves:
    
    A peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut into little bites
    (I spread the p'nut butter *very* thin and use oatmeal bread)
    Cheerios
    Plums (very messy and I have to watch her and take it away when
           she gets close to the pit)
    Small pieces of cheese
    Low-salt crackers (saltines, ritz)
    Arrowroot cookies
    Graham crackers dipped in milk
    
    I make sure to always monitor her when she's feeding herself.  Even
    if some things are "non-chokeable" I still worry.
    
    I also saw some recipes in Parenting Magazine for finger foods that
    I plan on making this weekend.  One is called "Sweet Pea Patty-Cakes",
    another (I forget the name) is made with sweet potatoes, an interesting
    breadstick recipe, and whole bunch of others.
    
    - Kathryn
    
    
    

    I just recently got the latest "Parent" and "Parenting" magazines. One
    of them had recipes for finger food at different stages. 
    
    I'll hunt down the article and post it here, if there is any interest.
    
    Norma

	Well, it's not Parents.  I've got September's issue in front of me and 
there is an article on "Kid-Pleasing lunches" (some of which are finger-foods) 
but the article is definately aimed toward school age children. 
 
	So it must be in Parenting (which I don't get).

Tracey 

    Read .21 (at the end) and you will see that it's Parenting.  If
    I can get some free time, I'll type the recipes in if anyone is
    interested.
    
    - K

    Okay, so we tried a piece of a frozen banana.  Are you supposed
    to peel it before you freeze it, or did we just have a particularly
    difficult- to- peel- when- frozen banana.? 
    
    Mark

    Rice Cakes make a great finger food.  Cassidy (8-1/2 mos.) loves them
    and they do dissolve quickly to mush.
    
    Ginny

    Here's my quick lazy way of doing bananas, since I've seen them
    mentioned umpteen times....I take half a peeled banana and put it in
    the little wire egg slicer, nice quick uniform slices in one stroke.
    The freeze the slices if you want.
    
    One of AJ's favorite things is and always has been Graham Crackers.
    I actually gave him a choice one day between one of dad's Oreo's and a
    Graham Cracker, he chose the G C.  He also loves swiss style yogurt. 
    It's a little firmer on the spoon than the fruit on the bottom kind.
    As for the steak stories, AJ used to knaw on breakfast link sausage.
    or cut them into tiny slices.
    
    I'll also add my disaster story, the Gerber Bitter Bisquits are very
    hard and after he gagged the third try we ditched the whole box.  They
    reminded me more of dog cookies than people food!!
    
    Lyn

- saltine crackers (lo-salt), graham crackers, etc.  I
  still have to watch her to make sure she doesn't choke on big pieces
- cooked ground turkey (she loves it! eats it with both fists going)
- scraped apple cut into small pieces (very messy but again she loves it - can
  eat almost a whole apple's worth)
- a peeled apple (she has 1 upper tooth and 2 lower and manages to scrape pieces
  off of it but again I have to watch she doesn't get too big of pieces)
- cooked peas with skins broken
- cream cheese (can't get enough)

I'm still looking for more ideas myself; keep 'em coming!

Kyra

    Fish sticks, chicken nuggets and grilled cheese....
    
    Pizza cut into small peices, but beware beceause you'll be a
    pizza-cutting slave forever.
    
    Sliced seedless grapes, raisins and fruit cocktail (if you can stand
    the juice mess).
    
    Patty

    I looked at the other titles with eating solids and found that my
    questions were not there.  I was wondering when you would start feeding
    your children regular table food?  Rebecca will be 7 months come
    November and I was wondering about Thanksgiving if she could have
    turkey or not?  Has anyone got some advice???
    
    Thanks
    

    I didn't have to wonder for long.  At 7 months, after only 2 months on
    baby food,  Stephanie just said "There has got to be something better 
    than this mush!" and refused all baby food.  I did some fast 
    scrambling for ideas (luckily she likes yogurt) and now at 10 months 
    she refuses to eat anything you try to feed her.  She just wants to 
    feed herself.
    
    Bev

    I started my daughter on solid foods, a little at a time, at 4 months,
    starting with cereal, then adding baby vegetables such as squash and
    sweet potatoes, then greeen vegetables, then chicken at 8 months, and
    by now (10 1/2 months) everything except heavily spiced food, eggs,
    citrus, and sugar.
    
    She especially likes whole wheat crackers and toast, peanut butter and
    jelly sandwiches (made with sugar-free jam), chicken, berries, and
    other sweet fruit.  She's willing to try green beans, fish, cottage
    cheese, and lots of other things.
    
    Just introduce things gradually, to be sure your baby does not have
    allergies.  Your baby's ability to handle finger foods (bits of
    whatever you are eating) is limited only by her ability to get them
    into her mouth, gum them, and swallow.   If there are any problems,
    especially with swallowing, take two steps back and reevaluate. 
    Otherwise, no problem. 
    
    Eating finger foods is the best motivation for developing fine motor
    coordination!
    
    Laura

    
    	Re -1
>    Just introduce things gradually, to be sure your baby does not have
>    allergies.  

    	While I don't violently disagree with the above, I'd point out that
    the whole subject of food allergies in infants is a mine field. Unless
    you've got good reason to expect allergies to be a problem (eg asthma
    or eczema in the family) then I'd ignore it as an issue.
    
    		Ian G.
    

    
    
    Some others we use...
              
    
    For cheese we go to the deli and buy up as many cheese ends as they'll
    sell us... It's much easier for little fingers to pick up and quicker 
    to cut up... Besides it's cheaper too!  You do get alot of american,
    but quite often we get swiss and provolone...  It's much easier to 
    cut into pieces little fingers can pick up via this method rather than
    slices... The same can be done for the meats, but usually the quality
    of the meat end is not overly wonderful)...
    
    
    For cereal we use something from POST called "Crispy Critters", it has
    3 different flavors (rice, wheat, and corn) in different shapes..  The
    kid goes nuts when he sees us buy the box...  He'll also go into the 
    cabinet and open the box and reach in himself in order to get some...
    
    For veges... we cook up the frozen stuff in bags that is already cut into
    quite small pieces.. Brocolli, Cauliflower, Baby Carrots, Green Beans,
    and Peas (and our son loves the FROZEN peas!, wierd)...
    
    
    John
    
    
    
    

    Where to do you find Arrowrrots cookies - in the cookie section of
    the store or are they in the baby food section. I see the boxes of
    toddler cookies- but nothing called ARROWROOTS !
    
    Caitlin is 7 months (no teeth yet) but chews on everthing!!
    
    Thanks,
    
    Linda

Linda:

I, too, started with those "typical baby" cookies (Gerber makes them) and
found them in the baby food section of the grocery store.  However, after
stocking up with a box of each flavor/shape, I realized that the baby cookies
get very goo-e-y, slimmy and down-right messy!  People told me that it was
important that the cookie "stay in tact" so the child didn't choke on a
big piece ... but I quickly switched over to Ritz and Saltines (unsalted)
... and Juli never choked on them.  I also did regular Cheerios (in a little
plastic handled cup) ... Ritz bits, Rice Chex, etc.  I was lucky -- Juli was
good about chewing good and "one at a time".

Zweibachs(sp)  is also another (goo-e-y) favorite for babies.

Dottie

    
    	We buy the Arrowroots (sp?) for Matthew, he's now 18 mnths.  He
    	loves them!  The only cookie he'll eat, and he's been eating them
    	since he was about 8 mnths.  We find them in the regular cookie
    	section at the grocery store.
    
    	Ellen

    Mike is seven almost eight months old. He has his two bottom teeth
    which he cut while in the hospital at the end of November. Just
    waiting for the top two which has been miserable for all of us.
    
    The last several weeks we've been increasing his diet from just
    formula, juice and baby food.  First with the teething bisquits and
    found in with the baby food and cheerios.  Now he's eating american 
    cheese from the deli, cheerios, rice crispies, zwieback cookies
    found in the cookie section, fruit (cut and peeled apples, bananas, 
    peaches) and some vegies (cooked carrots, broccoli), mashed potatos 
    and toast or bread. The end result is he's beginning to turn his nose
    up at the baby food.  
    
    Yesterday, my husband called, he's Mr. Mom for the month, wanting
    to know if he could give Mike milk with his cookies.  So now Mike
    has tasted animal cookies and of course loves them. We're also starting
    slowly switching him from formula to whole milk. 
    
    We intend start him on cooked meats and some pasta the next several
    weeks. A friend gave us a Black 'n' Decker mini-chopper when Kevin was 
    a baby. It's great for grinding up meats such as hamburg, turkey and 
    chicken for the baby.
    
    The only down side to all this is my dogs are getting to be picky
    eaters and turning their noses up to their dog food.  It's a race
    to see if one of them or I can reach the food first that's falling or
    rather whipped off the baby's tray onto the floor. ;}  
    
    One of the things (IMHO) I would stay away from are hotdogs.  They are
    just to difficult for a baby even a small toddler to eat.
                       
    
    Best of Luck,
    
    Pat K.
    

    Someone mentioned the arrowroot cookies by brand.  Just FYI, arrowroot
    is a *flavor* as was explained to me, the that's not the point here. 
    There is at least one other brand of Arrowroot cookies, unfortunately I
    can't think of the brand name,  it's the one who make the "peek freen"
    or something like that cookies.
    
    Oh yes, we always liked graham crackers as a special teething treat.
    
    Lyn

    Some early replies to this note mentioned the controversy over
    giving babies scrambled eggs (one faction says no eggs at all
    before 1 yr due to risk of salmonella poisoning).
    
    Has anyone had recent medical-type advice on this? 
    
    I thought that if you cook the eggs for [some minimum time]
    then any bugs would be killed -- does anyone know how long,
    if this is true?
    
    Thanks!
    
    Lucy

    My pedi. suggested not to offer eggs until 9 months old.  Since
    a lot of babies are allergic to eggs.  He mentioned nothing 
    about salmonella.  BTW, I thought most of the salmonella poisoning
    cases come from eating chicken not eggs.
    
    Wendy

                      <<< Note 272.40 by PHAROS::PATTON >>>
                              -< eggs/salmonella >-

   < giving babies scrambled eggs (one faction says no eggs at all
   < before 1 yr due to risk of salmonella poisoning).
    
    Never heard of salmonella from *fully cooked* eggs ever
 
   < Has anyone had recent medical-type advice on this? 

    Our pedi said no egg *yolks* for one year because of allergies.
    I extrapolated that egg substitutes like EGGBEATERS were ok.
    Scrambled eggs are still the old standby at our house, our 21 month
    will almost always "eat eggs"

    Rochelle

>    Our pedi said no egg *yolks* for one year because of allergies.
>    I extrapolated that egg substitutes like EGGBEATERS were ok.
>    Scrambled eggs are still the old standby at our house, our 21 month
>    will almost always "eat eggs"

 
Funny thing, mine said no egg WHITES for a year, because they have a higher
tendency to spark allergies.  I tended to believe her simply because I could 
buy a baby food jar of egg yolks, so it seemed to fit....

Kristen

>    Our pedi said no egg *yolks* for one year because of allergies.
>    I extrapolated that egg substitutes like EGGBEATERS were ok.
>    Scrambled eggs are still the old standby at our house, our 21 month
>    will almost always "eat eggs"

 
>>Funny thing, mine said no egg WHITES for a year, because they have a higher
>>tendency to spark allergies.  I tended to believe her simply because I could 
>>buy a baby food jar of egg yolks, so it seemed to fit....

    My pedi said no eggs because of the whites, too. Of course, since my
    friend's child had no problems with them at 10 months, I let Andy try
    a scrambled egg at 10 months. Sure enough, a few minutes later there
    were big hives on his face. Took another 8 or 9 months before he could
    tolerate them. The two biggest problems were remembering what had
    eggs in them ( I forgot about mayonnaise once) and not being able to
    get his mmr shot until 19months. Although, at that visit, he said 
    egg allergies weren't an issue for mmr shots anymore.
    
    FWIW,
    Sue
    

    I think this belongs here, for a number or reasons, but feel free to
    move it to somewhere more appropriate (mods)
    
    AJ "survived having his tonsils, adenoids out and tubes for his ears
    in last Friday.
    
    For the next 10 days he is to be on strictly soft food.  It was OK for
    about the first 24 hours, but it got old real quick.  
    
    Any ideas for high protein, yet soft things (OK he's 5, but at this
    point eating *like* an infant).  Don't want to use too many egg things, 
    and I'm not sure how great things like Instant Breakfast, Slimfast and
    oh the old standby of chicken soup with rice or noodles are.
    
    lyn
    

    
    Here's some soft-food ideas, some are good protein sources:
    
    Cottage cheese
    Jello (maybe mix half-n-half with Knox gelatin),
    Pudding
    oatmeal, cream-of-wheat, etc.
    ramen noodles?
    Applesauce
    Spaghetti-o's
    
    Carol

    
    Two of Patrick's favorites:
    
    fish sticks (microwave for 30 seconds...broken up)
    yogurt (french vanilla, peach melba)
    
    CdH
    

    Here's my solutions so far..
    
    went to the supermarket yesterday, we actually had lunch there since
    they sell frozen soft serve yogurt, he refused anything else including
    cheese at the deli.  At the deli I bought 12/2 to 3/4 pound each of
    tapica pudding, grapenut custard, rice custard pudding, a strawberry
    gel mold, and ONE slice of cheese cake-plain.  I went to the desert
    section and bought egg custard mix, rice pudding mix, instant pudding,
    and then bought a box of elbow noodles for mac'n cheese, and some
    veggies for chicken stir fry with rice, which was last nights supper. I
    took some of it aside and cooked it til it was positively limp, he ate
    about half, and refused desert which included the above, or popsicles
    or swiss style yogurt.
    
    Dad is home with him today, and so far he has had scrambled eggs and
    lots of popsicles.
    
    I just feel like he's not getting enough protien (meats especially),
    any opinions?

    Personally, I wouldn't worry too much if this is just happening during
    his "recovery" period.  Kids seems to be very resilient.  Once he is
    feeling better, I'm sure his eating will get back to normal.  How long
    has it been?
    
    -sandy
    

    Lyn,
    
    He's not going to have a problem with protein for the few days that he
    is on a soft diet.  First of all, you have quite a few milk-based
    products, so he is getting protein there.  
    
    My daughter is being raised as a vegetarian, so I am biased.   
    
    One other thing you could try is humus (mashed chick peas).  It's very
    soft.  But I don't know if a kid would like it!  (I do!)
    
    judy

Juli has ALWAYS been a picky, fin-a-kee, eats_like_a_bird kid ... and the Pedi
told me it's MOST important to push the liquids, food is secondary.

Pedi also told me to let Juli eat what she wants, when she wants ... including
macaroni/cheese for breakfast, lunch and dinner if she so desires  (God, I was
glad to see that "craze" end!)

So I try to concentrate on Juli's favorites and keep her non-spillable
straw cup filled with fruit_juice or milk and icecubes.  She carries her cup
EVERYWHERE ... and we've been known to grab a pint of milk at the drive-thru
McDonald windows!

Juli's petite, eats very little (if any meats) ... and stays fairly healthy.

Can you ask AJ to list some things he might enjoy eatting?  (Knowing what he
wants today is not necessarily the same things he'll want tomorrow!)

Dottie

PS:  Juli ate 6 chunks of pineapple, 6 flakes of dry cereal and 12 oz. of juice
     for breakfast this morning ... and 1 chicken nugget, 4 fries and 2 cartons
     of milk for dinner last night ...  and that's a LOT for Juli!

    Gee, 
    
    Caileigh has always been a finicky, birdlike eater also and when I
    talked to her pediatrician about it when she was three (about two years
    ago), he suggested cutting DOWN on liquids.  I cut way down in the
    amount of apple juice and milk she was drinking (she still gets plenty)
    and her appetite and the variety of foods she ate improved immediately.
    She is still far from being a GOOD eater, but she doesn't make it
    through whole days without solid food anymore! 
    
    
    -Tracy
    

    
    I'm with you, Tracy.  We find that if we allow Jason his juice or
    milk with his meal, he doesn't eat near as well.   So, oftentimes,
    we start a meal without his cup at the table, and wait until he
    asks for it.   'Course, he's always been 75% on the weight charts
    at 50% height, so I don't really worry that he's not getting enough
    of anything!   
    
    cj/

We've tried cutting the "drinks" out and found that Juli could go without
both liquids and food!  (I've tried this several times in the past and
perhaps I should try it again.)

I have heard this works for "many" ... just didn't seem to work with Juli.

So, we just buy chicken nuggets, macaroni/cheese, hotdogs, LOTS of cheese ...
things she likes and "finger foods" she can eat one or two of every now and
then ... and (real) juice drinks and whole milk.

As one small further clarification on eating eggs before a year - many vaccines
are developed in eggs, specifically the egg white.

Since babies younger than a year can develop allergies somewhat easier than
older babies, the egg restriction is to eliminate the possible development
of an egg white allergy.  A person allergic to egg whites may not be able to
receive some vaccines they may need later in life.

(All this from college 20 years ago when I learned *how* to culture various 
bacteria, virus, and cells).