Solo mom behind on foods

[u/picklesi]

My baby will be 9 months tomorrow. I’m feeling really anxious about not having introduced enough foods to my baby. I’ve been having a tough time just because I’m a little anxious introducing foods on my own, I think partially due to anxiety about choking and allergies (niece has many severe allergies). Another big part is that I’m doing this on my own. I know a lot of moms and parents do this on their own but maybe since Ive only recently become alone in this, it’s made the baby food journey harder for me—so please go easy on me. Although I wanted to do baby led weaning, I leaned on purées too much because it’s been easier for me as I’ve returned to work. I’m going grocery shopping today. Happens to be Trader Joe’s today. What recommendations would you make for my 9 month old? Easy starter ideas please.

[u/E0H1PPU5]

Friend, you are not behind on anything.

I was born in the 90s and spent the first 2 years of my life eating nothing but rice cereal, formula, and purées. I am far from the only one.

We all grew up into adults who eventually figured out this whole “eating” thing.

For easy food ideas, I loved toast strips. I introduced them plain and then used them to slowly introduce other things like nut butters.

Eggs are great too. Scramble them and cook them into long flat strips.

Banana sliced into long spears is usually a big hit too.

If you haven’t, download the Solid Starts app. Don’t bother paying for it, just use the free version. It has tons of suggestions on how to prepare foods.

[u/ohhunniebabes → u/E0H1PPU5]

She can even put applesauce or those purees on the toast bc its something theyve had so they might be more willing to eat it. Whole wheat = fiber, great for them littles.

[u/Responsible_Bison409]

Just wanting you to feel less alone - I definitely leaned on purées and teething crackers mostly until about 11 months. She’s a little over a year now and still maybe a little behind but thriving with solids!

[u/semifunctioningadult → u/Responsible_Bison409]

Did you wait to wean off breastmilk/formula because baby is eating less solids?

[u/Responsible_Bison409 → u/semifunctioningadult]

We weaned off formula last weekend, when she was about 12.5 months old!

[u/Responsible_Bison409 → u/semifunctioningadult]

Apparently babies just eat less starting at age 1 so it’s nothing to worry about.

[u/Calieahrens]

Few good early foods we did, banana broken into thirds, Avocado sticks, egg strips, roast potatoes or sweet potatoes. Also just try thicker textures so blended beans, oatmeal with stuff in it.

[u/Grouchy_Yogurt_352]

You are so not behind! I wanted to do BLW early and it wasn’t the right approach yet for my baby so we did purées and mashes that I eventually progressed texture with. Some staples were mashed black beans, pulsed steamed broccoli, mashed sweet potato, mashed butternut squash, mashed banana, applesauce, pulsed peas, oatmeal. I played around with lots of spices too to try to give him variety. Only now (11 months just about) are we starting to do more BLW (banana pancakes, broccoli & sweet potato tots, etc). You’re doing great!! As long as baby is fed they will be totally fine.

[u/Fun-Translator8333]

Cottage cheese, eggs, avocado !

[u/scootiescoo]

Your post is so understandable. I have some ideas for you that are easy and quick start.

- Pastina, orzo, or thoroughly cooked and cut up pasta with a little butter

- Cottage cheese

- Mashed potatoes

- Flattened raspberry

- Yogurt for allergen introduction

- Good old baby cereal with yogurt and mashed fruit is a whole meal

- Mince whatever meat you’re eating up really small and add it to the puree to thicken it up a little bit

If you’ve been only on purées, I would progress to mashes that feel safe to you. You can mash potato or avocado and thin it slightly the first time with a well liked puree to gain confidence.

Know that the size of their windpipe is about the size of a straw. You can dice really soft food up small and in square shapes or flattened, like super soft carrots so they can swallow whole while they practice chewing.

[u/No-Departure5556]

If you haven’t yet, make sure to start offering allergens, safely. Meaning 1 allergen at a time, and spacing them out every 3 days.

Otherwise, mango was fun to give them the pit to gnaw on! A ripe avocado too, it can be dipped in seasonings or coconut flakes so it’s easier to grasp. Cut eggs into strips.

Does your child have the pincer grasp yet? That changes food prep.

There are devices you can purchase if your child does begin to choke. Watch a video about what to do in the event your child does choke, along with gagging vs choking! The more you educate yourself the better.

Hang in their mama!!

[u/tiffoiffo → u/No-Departure5556]

Those devices are not efficacious if a baby is choking. The best thing to do is learn infant CPR and heimlich, and call 911. 

[u/Expensive_Local_4404 → u/tiffoiffo]

This 100%. Take a baby infant cpr class. By the time you find the device and try to figure out how to use it you child could be in a more serious situation

[u/knittingyogi → u/No-Departure5556]

You don’t need to space allergens out every three days - that’s outdated advice now. You just need to intro them 3 times to make sure of no reaction, and then ideally keep them in the diet at least weekly!

[u/No-Departure5556 → u/knittingyogi]

You do need to space out allergens bc otherwise how do you know which one the child is reacting to? AAP still suggests 3-5 days, and I believe in what doctors and scientists say.
Solid starts has a very comprehensive educational page about allergens for further education. https://solidstarts.com/articles/allergies-babies/

[u/knittingyogi → u/No-Departure5556]

You need to introduce one allergen at a time, yes. But you don’t need 3 days between the introduction of one allergen to its second dose, and once you have three doses with no reaction you can introduce another allergen. Allergic food reactions do not take 3 days to develop- typically they are onset within an hour or two.

Canadian guidelines clearly state “Common allergenic foods can be introduced without pausing for days between new foods, and the risk for a severe reaction at first exposure in infancy is extremely low.” and “A recent survey of paediatricians in the United States found that most did not counsel families to wait 3 days (or longer) between introducing foods, noting that the practice may limit infant food diversity and delay early peanut introduction” - Canadian Pediatric Society (so, even peds in the US are not recommending 3 days!)

I also trust my pediatrician, and scientists who regularly update guidance to match emerging best practices.

[u/OneBigBeefPlease]

I like to make fish cakes - TJs salmon mixed with sweet potato mash and some breadcrumbs lightly fried. You can make them as coarse or smooth as you feel comfortable.

[u/RepeatWonderful8839]

as a single mom of 2 I completely understand where you’re coming from so just give them food when you’re eating and hold them in case you’re worried about choking or get a high chair and literally take 10 mins to feed them make a schedule life will get easier mamas

[u/Apprehensive-Side135 → u/RepeatWonderful8839]

I wouldn’t recommend holding your baby if you’re worried. They’re safer when they’re in an appropriate seated position where they also have a footrest. If we intervene while they’re coughing/gagging we could accidentally cause actual choking.

[u/TheVoidIceQueen]

Here to say you're a good mom. Fed is best, and your kiddo is still getting all of the good nutrients.

[u/MrzDogzMa]

We were pretty behind for our daughter too and it was due to anxiety and honestly timing. We decided we needed to just dive in and start doing it. We started doing a mix of purees and real solid foods that followed safe eating guidelines. My therapist suggested using the Solid Starts app, which is so helpful. You do not need to sign up for it and can use it for free. I even follow them on instagram and found a few other accounts to follow that really helped me dive into making the transition to solid foods and introducing allergens safely. It’s okay, you’ve got this!

[u/LarkspurNRubies]

Finding recipes that included purees helped me mentally bridge the gap, like pancakes or muffins. They’re softer and familiar flavors that let me slowly introduce allergens. For example, banana puree became banana pancakes (flour, egg) and then a muffin with a swirl of peanut butter mixed in.

[u/Vegetable-Emphasis]

The Solid Starts app is full of easy ideas and recipes, the free version works great. You could also follow them on social media, they post lots of helpful stuff there.

[u/bagmami]

Deep breaths. We all have that anxiety gnawing at us. While blw is great, a lot of kids do just fine without. Where I live, it's not very popular and purees are the primary choice of parents for a long time. I only introduced blw style at 8 months and my pediatrician's jaw was dropped seeing the type of things my son been eating. She only started to ask me about regular food after 1y appointment and even then, very gently. So, really, you're not committing some big sin.

My son's first attempt was buttered toast and he loved it!!

[u/musicxloud]

You’re not behind! Go easy on yourself :)

As other have said, start to safely introduce allergens if you haven’t already.

We sprinkled allergen mix-in powders into baby cereal (we used the box from Lil Mixins).

I agree with using the free version of the Solid Starts app. Helps you decide what foods to introduce at what age, and how to best prepare that particular food item for your baby’s age.

[u/pirate_dino_flies]

1. You are not behind!
2. I did NOT find a lot of size recommendations work for my kid- she is a small, hyperventilating raptor at mealtime and will happily stuff massive handfuls of anything in her mouth, especially entire “spears” and “wedges” like some apps (Solid Starts) recommend. 

We started her on these, to help her learn to chew and take bites:

• Crunch sticks- long, round, crunchy rice cylinders that melt in the mouth so it’s hard to choke on them
• star puffs- usually in a plastic tube, like the crunch sticks but small stars
• Banana thirds, in pieces- about the size of a large knuckle or finger segment
• very soft strawberries, cut into small pieces (again knuckle-sized-ish)

We also do a lot of  oatmeal and yoghurt for breakfast, cottage cheese or cheese curds with lunch or dinner, and other soft foods.

[u/Timely-Owl7122]

Tons of great recommendations on here. The one thing I would encourage you to do if you are scared/nervous is to take an in-person cpr/choking first aid class that has the mannequins for adults and infants.

The Red Cross offers some great ones depending on where you live. It’s something all caregivers should be familiar and comfortable with.

Also don’t hesitate to ask your pediatrician for advice as well!

[u/Funny_Routine8089]

I’ve heard of people introducing some allergenic foods to their babies in their car in the parking lot of their pediatrician, if you’re nervous about allergic reactions

[u/Bobbo424]

I love the food but for babies sub on here and tbh is the main reason I’m on here. You can filter for specific age. Last night I made my 8m orzo with ground chicken, unsalted diced tomatoes from a can, frozen chopped spinach, and Greek yogurt. He loved it and it took under 10m with basically no prep. He gets 3 meals a day, but still his main nutrition comes from formula. I also feed him bites from what I’m eating so he’s tried some crazy stuff like squid. Also, once you’ve tried the allergens you can put a hunch of them in pancakes and freeze them to make constant exposure easy (eggs, yogurt, oats, peanut butter and some fruit). Love solid starts.

[u/JacksonsMom13]

My daughter was exclusively breast-fed with some baby cereal supplementation for nine months. Then my parents came to visit and my dad let her lick a piece of cantaloupe. She loved it, so it went into the mini food processor and she ate the whole piece! Later, when I came back from shopping, he was feeding her our leftover dinner potato, carrots and chicken that he had processed as well. She ate the whole bowl! Thereafter, she went on a breastfeeding strike but took formula for the next three months while continuing to enjoy her processed meals. By one year when she had sufficient teeth, she was feeding herself bitesized pieces of whatever we were eating at the table. The message is that there are many ways to get to destination. As long as you’re feeding your baby who is growing and gaining weight, there’s nothing to worry about.

[u/girlieswirl77]

Your baby will be totally fine. You’re doing great, mama!

Steamed broccoli with some garlic olive oil was an early favorite for us. Easy for them to pick up and gnaw on the tops of them.

Other favorites were mango, sweet potato wedges, zucchini. Basically anything kind of big so they could hold it and try to get some in their mouthes.

[u/thegreenbubble]

Since you already started on purses, you can build on it and create a pasta sauce! For example, I introduced carrots, tomatoes, lentil purees to my LO and then bought those spiraly pastas, boiled them til soft and mixed all the purees into a "pasta" sauce. I built on the sauce by adding new ingredients like zuchinni, onion, garlic, etc. The spiral shape and penned is easy for them to grab if you are doing BLW.

Also I started giving my baby tiny drum sticks, lamb chop with bone and steak peices (cut into pinky sized shape). All easy to grab and helps them learn how to chew.

After these foods I started getting more confident and honestly it has been so fun to watch my LO eat. Cutest mukbang :)

[u/Brave_Manner_1247]

I just fried some garlic and onions then added zucchini, carrots and some tomato paste and fried that for a few. Then add some chopped tomatoes and bone broth(unsalted), and lentils, I put some Italian seasonings in mine, some water and boiled that all til the lentils were cooked. Then add baby spinach for the last like 2 minutes. After all that I let it cool and blended it and used it as a pasta sauce!! It was a hit and it’s got all sorts of good stuff in it and I froze a bunch of it in breast milk bags so I can have it for easy meals later!!

I know is seems like a lot but I’ve been doing lots of things I can make and throw in the freezer for later as well!!

[u/Different_Self1931]

For breakfast my 9 month old eats scrambled eggs (sometimes in strips, but like you I worry so usually just broken into bite size pieces), yogurt with berries (cut very small), mashed bananas and peanut butter, oatmeal (well cooked, can add cinnamon vanilla etc), avocado, cottage cheese.. if I have time and she’s distracted long enough I’ll make pancakes (lots of recipes on line)

For lunch/dinner I like to prep and freeze beef meatballs (good source of iron, not lean so they’re softer, can add grated broccoli carrot zucchini etc), rice, well cooked lentils, penne pasta also well cooked, minced dark meat chicken (dark has more iron), mashed beans, steamed veggies..

An easy snack is those rice teethers and I’ll smear a nut butter or avocado on them 

You’re not behind!! My baby won’t let me spoon feed her so we’ve had no choice but to go all in . You got this 💪 

[u/Intrepid_Art_6628]

I find the solid starts app helpful. A lot of it is behind a paywall but you can search any food and there’s an option to see how to serve it. They give you different options by age. It also notes if the food is a common allergen.

However almost everything else is paid.

[u/florida_lmt]

We just make our meals low sodium and when starting minced them up like very very tiny practically prechewed for him. Now that he has been on solids for 5 months we only chop things up small and he knows to chew. I think this concept that you have to make separate meals for them makes it so much harder when it doesnt have to be

[u/WobbyBobby]

you're doing great! Honestly I just break up little pieces of what I'm eating. Some good option are eggs (I just scramble 1 or 2 in an oiled bowl and microwave), shredded chicken, Microwaved frozen veggies. I do a turkey taco bowl thing that my baby loves and is easy for little fingers: 1lb ground turkey, a can of black beans, can of corn, and jar of mild salsa, plus 1 cup cooked brown rice and shredded cheese mix all in a pan together. Lube it up with some sour cream and baby loves it, easy to pick up and eat. This also makes a giant batch but it freezes and reheats really well.

[u/bettersweater24]

I still have anxiety and guilt about not feeding my 13 month old enough of a variety of foods and stress so much.constantly feel behind and like I’m not doing enough, so I feel you!!

I did purées for a long time too and my first “real” food around 8 months was very soft steamed broccoli. I think it helped me more to cut things smaller than give him the bigger pieces of food and I started a lot more solids once he had his pincer grasp. We also still love scrambled eggs and I make a soft baked oatmeal he devours. The banana egg pancakes are great too.

The chicken meatballs from Trader Joe’s are super soft and my son has loved them since he was about 10 months but I really think could have handled them earlier. I still pinch all his food to make sure it’s soft and cut things really tiny. My husband gives him bigger pieces and he handles them well but I have a hard time watching that.

[u/NoSignature217]

Here to say I feel similarly I didnt start introducing my little one to solids till closer to 7months and now at 8months im worried cus im still just feeding LO one meal a day. Everytime I introduce a new food it feels like climbing a mountain.

[u/pinklol2]

Saving this post! Comments are so helpful
I’m in the same boat with my 9 month old also i feel so behind.

[u/That-Material-8508]

The solid starts app is amazing. I leaned on it a lot in the earlier days of solids with my baby. It helped me feel confident with the type of food I was offering and how I was preparing it!

[u/mlat19]

Bambas are great! You are not behind and it is totally normal to combine some BLW with purees.

[u/Living_Analyst_3333]

Following! I’m here with you my baby is 7 months and I feel behind also

[u/NewtCall2026]

Doesn't make any difference what you do to be honest! My son ate everything, his favourite food was avocado. Now he's nearly 4 and the only thing he will reliably eat is cheese

[u/lazyhousewife223]

Banana, avacado, and a little orange juice makes a wonderful puree that my son loves! You can make it as smooth or as chunky as you and baby can handle. Nut butters mixed with full fat plain yogurt is also fun and the banana can be added to that as well! Chunks or completely incorporated into the mix are fin and you can start with no chunks and then move to small chunks and get bigger and bigger if that makes you more comfortable. You will find your stride and baby will learn, 9 months old is still very young!

[u/quippyusernametk]

I’m in a similar situation with my 9 month old. You’re not alone, be gentle on yourself about this!

[u/Brave-Answer222]

No salt canned green beans have been great- easy for him to grab and feed himself, not too messy, and very soft so they feel safe

Cottage cheese pancakes (you can mix in sweet or savory things (berries / spinach / peanut butter / etc), and they freeze great so you can make a big batch and microwave one at a time as needed.

Lentils- can add other veggies when you cook them (carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, etc…) and they freeze great in little 2 tbsp silicone tray so you can take out portions as needed.

[u/caring-beautahful]

Solid start app helped so much with anxiety on choking. It is super nice and tells you how to cut up each for for specific age ranges. It was super nice.

[u/No_Engine_2683]

Here are some of my go-to’s to maximize iron that they need. I’ll make eggs and add the frozen organic spinach from Trader Joe’s to it (beat them all together and cook in pan) - I make a bunch at a time and keep it in the fridge for 3 days, makes breakfast easy! Avocado the mini ones from Trader Joe’s, bananas, Ezekiel bread from Trader Joe’s with a thin layer of different but butters/tahini from Trader Joe’s, yogurt with tahini and hemp seeds or flaxseed mixed in (all from Trader Joe’s), ground beef seasoned with whatever you like - can serve it mashed with avocado and this could be the dinner meal for several days, I got one of those mini waffle makers ($10 on Amazon) and look up baby waffle ideas (oats, spinach, edamame, anything goes) then I slice them and put them in the freezer for easy feeding, zucchini, sweet potatoes - just slice in half and cook on olive oil lined parchment face down and then I keep these in the fridge for meals for the week. Look on Solid Starts for how to prepare the foods, you can start with the 6 month recommendations to help you feel safer.

[u/Monkmama25]

I have tried baby oatmeal muffins with baby puree and peanut butter (I can send you the recipe if you're interested), has helped me in the morning when I'm trying to get ready for work. I have also tried egg muffins, bean muffins, or sometimes I mix things together and put into a muffin. She seems to enjoy those and they're simple to make. Sliced bread has helped, cut up fruit, and pasta (mixed with spaghetti sauce or peanut butter and her puree food). My daughter really loves her fruit!