What can/can’t 9 month old eat

amother

Thu, Jul 08 2021, 5:20 pm

Hi, if anyone can help I’d be so appreciative!
I’m confused what my almost 9 month old baby is allowed to/not allowed to eat. I’m getting different answers when I ask.
I know no honey, and dairy I was told to wait till 9 months? And is that not including actual cows milk- that’s at a year, correct? Need some clarification, and ideas what I can try are also welcome as I havent had such an easy time finding things he likes so far.
TIA!

BrisketBoss

Thu, Jul 08 2021, 5:26 pm

They can have dairy at 6 months. Not supposed to have milk as a drink until one year so that it doesn't replace breastmilk/formula.

Your baby can have anything at this point besides honey and choking hazards. (A choking hazard is anything excessively hard or sticky, or round and approximately the right size to conform to the throat or airway. You can ask me about specific foods.)

Some say also to avoid raw egg yolks and raw fish until age 5.

Some foods my babies like:

Potatoes and sweet potatoes, rice, chicken, ground beef, bread (toast is easier for younger babies), avocado, bananas, fruit of all sorts

amother

Magenta

Thu, Jul 08 2021, 5:32 pm

Cows milk and honey. They can eat everything else. Just be careful to cut things that are choking hazards like hot dogs, nuts, grapes and anything round.

stillnewlywed

Thu, Jul 08 2021, 8:16 pm

My pediatrician says anything besides honey after 6 months. I gave all dairy, nuts, fish right away with no problem. Don’t give straight cows milk instead of formula/breast milk until 12 months. Otherwise anything that isn’t a choking hazard is fine!

lasagna

Thu, Jul 08 2021, 8:23 pm

Cheese cut into small pieces is a great finger food
I peel peaches, nectarines, plums with a peeler and just let them have at it. It gets gobbled up before I can even turn around!

WhatFor

Fri, Jul 09 2021, 12:02 am

dankbar wrote:

No spinach either before a year.
Also no fish.

Why no spinach? Not even cooked? And can't they have fish if it's blended really well (to make sure no bones), or something like gefilte fish?

OP, I'd say also avoid anything that the baby can't break down in their (mostly toothless) mouth. So raw carrots are not good but cooked carrots are fine. Some say raw apple slices are considered a choking hazard. My baby likes all kinds of cooked fruits and veggies. If your baby isn't new to solids, they also love finger foods.

You can make sandwiches and cut strips. You can also give sliced or scrambled eggs or cooked pasta.

amother

Magenta

Fri, Jul 09 2021, 1:52 am

dankbar wrote:

No spinach either before a year.
Also no fish.

This isn’t true. Most doctors don’t have an issue with spinach and fish it’s outdated information

dankbar

Fri, Jul 09 2021, 1:53 am

Idk spinach I once read in one of those baby books.
Fish is a legend that till baby can't say fish you don't serve. My toddler does do gefilte fish even if she can't say it clearly yet.

Popcorn is a choking hazard. Peanut butter I find too sticky that they can choke on. Challah they can choke on. Anything that has nut/peanuts in it, I am always afraid of allergy so I wait with it. The yolk of a hardboiled egg is also too dry.
Dairy I don't wait anymore till a year, like they used to advise, I do give my babies yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, cream cheese.

WhatFor

Fri, Jul 09 2021, 2:01 am

dankbar wrote:

Just fyi, they now believe that the later introduction of nuts can increase the risk of allergy, but if you have a family history of course it makes sense to wait or proceed with caution.

I wouldn't give plain peanut butter but you can spread thinly on bread or give Bamba.

I hadn't heard about not giving challah. Do you also not give regular bread or is there something about challah particularly?

dankbar

Fri, Jul 09 2021, 2:02 am

Good foods are mashed veg from chicken soup, like carrots, zucchini, sweet potato then later you can add in mashed chicken from soup.
Applesauce, compote
Baby cereal
Baby jars
Mashed potatoes but add in something it shouldn't be dry
Mashed avocado
Mashed bananas

That's to start with later you can serve basically what you serve everyone like pasta, soft rice, kugel, anything that not to hard to chew.
Nice finger foods are cheerios, Gerber baby puffs. Flutes.

BrisketBoss

Fri, Jul 09 2021, 2:05 am

dankbar wrote:

The reason we don't postpone introducing allergens is that we don't want our kids to have allergies. 6 months is a good time to introduce.

Peanut butter in a thin layer is fine.

Egg yolks are fine.

Soft bread can be difficult; give it to baby when you feel they are ready.

dankbar

Fri, Jul 09 2021, 2:08 am

I give my babies WW bread but challah you need to be careful when they keep it in their mouths for a while & gets wet and mushes together which can get stuck

BrisketBoss

Fri, Jul 09 2021, 2:08 am

dankbar wrote:

It is good to give a 6months+ baby all kinds of textures of food. They can handle harder, chewier foods. Chewing is a motion of the jaw. Teeth are for ripping and tearing. Some foods, like whole nuts and jerky, are too hard and should be postponed a few years regardless of the tooth situation. They are a choking hazard.

There are not officially any foods that a child may or may not eat based only on whether they have teeth or how many teeth they have.

dankbar

Fri, Jul 09 2021, 2:14 am

Are you starting with solids now or baby is a pro already? If they started from few months back then they are ok already with most foods.
Jaws without teeth can eat plenty stuff