My pediatrician told me today that Alex could start being exposed to thicker textures and different flavors now that he's mastered baby food. Does anyone have any ideas on what to start with? I'm scared to death to give him anything too thick, I'm afraid he'll choke!

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Tigriz
Mom to Alex - 1/21/06

This may seem bad, but I've never thought about what to give and when. I just let my son try what ever he wants. If he starts to choke then I flip him upside down and smack him on the back. He thinks its a game.

If you are that scared, talk to your doctor and maybe he can recommend some baby first aid classes that might help calm your fears.

I did take the baby first aid and CPR classes, but I have also been very careful as to when I introduce my baby to foods. From the baby foods, we would let her try mushier things first. Fruits are always a good thing, bananas, strawberries, plums, also we tried little tiny pieces of chicken breast. We were letting her have carrots, but as she got more teeth she started taking bigger bites, so we've stopped on those for a while. I think it's just all up to your comfort level, and starting slowly.

Look at those baby food toddler stages types - the ones that are cut into tiny cubes instead of mashed. What type of food do they have in there? Soft cooked veggies, fruit, soft boiled meat. I think the first real solid food my eldest ever ate was a french fry, which is not recommended

WE also just let it happen - we just started to jsut give Abe whatever we were having and that worked well. We moved pretty rapidly from mashed potatoes and creamed corn to soft veggies, easay fruites like the bananas and chicken. GOod luck!

Applesauce, mashed potatoes, smushed green beans...basically anything you would eat, only mashed and smushed and shredded into tiny pieces.