Can My 9-Month-old Have Fish?

Updated on July 12, 2011
A.P. asks from Janesville, WI
8 answers

At our 9 month appt, our ped said to feed our daughter what we are eating. I should have asked more questions, I guess. Despite having no teeth, my daughter is quite good at chewing soft-ish things. I am making salmon for dinner tonight-can she have that? Did she really mean everything we eat? For example, I feel like some our our faves have quite a bit of sodium, like refried beans, spaghetti, pizza, chinese, etc? Is it really ok for her to have those things (in moderation)? What do your 9-12 month olds eat? Sorry, guess this turned into multiple questions! I love this site-it's like having very wise friends available all the time! :) Thanks in advance!

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L.M.

answers from New York on

You should not give a baby salted food. It is a bad habit and leads to obesity. If you never give her things with salt, she won't depend on it and get used to it and this will help her lead a healthier life. I would skip refried beans unless you homemake them but things like hummus, avocado, peanut butter, squash, eggs, tuna, spaghetti are all ok I think. (I'm not a ped, just a mom! LOL) But I would not give her chinese. Too much sodium and not to mention usually msg.

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S.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

I don't see any reason that she can't eat the things you mention. Just start with small pieces.

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P.M.

answers from Portland on

There's a fair amount of recent nutritional research that strongly suggests that when children (or adults) eat highly-processed foods, with flavors and textures enhanced scientifically by lots of fats, salt, sugar, and additives, this can trick the brain into a sort of addiction, in which they want more of those (unnatural) foods and lose interest in whole, real foods. This seems to be true with quite a number of youngsters and oldsters I have known, myself included.

So I'd be really cautious about using foods that are designed primarily for flavor and convenience. Many of them simply are not healthy. But your daughter can probably eat just about any natural, freshly prepared food you want to offer her, as long as it's cooked soft enough, or in small enough pieces, for her to gum and swallow. My daugther didn't cut her first tooth until 13 months, but did quite well with nearly all table foods by then.

Be aware that some kinds of fish are pretty high in mercury, a strong toxin to the nervous system. Do a little homework. Here's a link that will let you print out a wallet card to take shopping so you can choose the safest fish: www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/walletcard.

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D.K.

answers from Pittsburgh on

She can eat everything you can EXCEPT honey (risk of botulism) and high mercury fish (which probably no one should eat frequently). BUT - that assumes you eat a healthy diet - since you want her to eat a healthy diet as well. We fed DS exactly what we ate at 9 months - our diet has improved dramatically since having a child - we now eat LOTS of vegetables and fruit, whole grains, fish and way less meat. We have (almost completely) eliminated fried foods and decreased pizza to maybe every 3-4 months. If you make your own refried beans, spaghetti and Chinese - you can control the sodium content and make these perfectly healthy options.

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A.H.

answers from Portland on

I think most fish are fine. Salmon should be okay, just make sure there are no bones. We bought a fillet from the meat counter and the guy left some bones in it, no one's perfect :)
My daughter ate everything except honey. I always had benedryl around too just in case. I waited til she was about 9-10 months to feed her peanut butter. My diet changed a bit when I had her. I cooked more and ate healthier. Go to allrecipes.com or cooks.com and find some new recipes you'd like to try if your worried about the sodium. Almost everything should be okay in moderation (except honey :)) I haven't had a frozen meal in years and haven't had pizza in a month lol So proud of myself.

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S.S.

answers from Chicago on

I distinctly remember giving my less than one year old crab with ranch dressing. He loved it. Apparently it didn't hurt, he is almost six feet tall and is quite healthy. Well, a few years have passed.

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S.G.

answers from Saginaw on

i fed my son a whole deep fried cod filet at 9 months! I couldn't believe thepig ate it plus his veggies! He is 12 months now and gets what we have in moderation. I just always add veggies to it even if I normally wouldn't .....for instance I make spaghetti and add peas to xanders and ill give.home fruit chunks and yogurt......he LOVES yogurt! He also likes toast, beans of any kind and eggs!

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C.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

No, fish is one of the foods that you are suppose to wait with until 2 ish for because its a highly allergic food. Eggs and Strawberries (until 1) and peanut butter (some dr are saying that you don't need to wait for this one anymore, but some still say to wait, but its also not an easy food to eat.) are the other ones for allergy reasons. Honey (until 1) is another one, but that is because of botulisum (sp?). Some other foods that are choking hazards are peanuts, popcorn, grapes, hot dogs and shouldn't be given to small children. There is definetly a list if look it up or ask your dr.

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