Getting My 8 Month Old to Eat People Food

Most babies start out with the softer things like 1/4" pieces of banana, cheerios are a big hit, teething biscuits, the different stage 2 baby foods (which are pretty low in nutrients). Most table food is high in fat and sodium so if you are wanting him to go to straight table food you might want to think about cooking his food individually. One of my favorite cookbooks is "Idiots Guide to Feeding Your Baby and Toddler", I also like "Baby and Toddler Meals for Dummies". They both give excellent guidelines for what to try and how to fix it. I bought them after checking them out time after time after time at the local library, one of them I had to get online at Amazon (Used), the other one I got off ebay (also used). You could also try a book store like Hastings.

When we were getting our toddler used to eating chunkier food I bought a Pampered Chef Food Chopper, it comes apart for dishwasher washing and in my opinion it gets very clean, and I would take a serving of the food I cooked and chop the heck out of it. About 15 chops per food. It had the consistancy of stage 3 baby foods. It not only tasted better it also got him used to the foods our family eats. I have the same carton of salt I bought a year ago and the oil I buy is for making brownies, our food is usually Hamburger Helper, Kraft Mac-n Cheese, or Taco's and usually a serving of a fruit and a veggie, just quick stuff that's not super healthy.

I suppose you've already tried multiple textures? It seems strange that he gags on everything--I know my mom said I used to gag on anything with lumps, but my brother preferred lumps and gagged on anything too smooth. When my daughter was first starting on baby food, anything too thick or sticky made her gag, but thinner cereals & veggies or fruit worked fine. I would suggest maybe very, very thin food first, almost have him sip it off the spoon, and then slowly thicken it by tiny amounts. Maybe that would get him used to it! Good luck.

What happens if you put something on the tray of the highchair , slices of banana maybe? Will he pick it up? Try a few different things , my kids always liked bread sticks (Stella d'ora are thicker and easier for little ones to hold). Even things like cheerios.

My son was exactly the same way. He really didn't even get totally interested in baby food 3 xs a day, as meals, until he was about 8 months old. Prior to that, I tried to give him food and he sometimes would eat and sometimes wouldn't. He is now 21 months old and is a really picky eater. When he was about 8 months, he also did not want any table food or any food with chunks in it. He had a really sensitive gag reflex and issues with texture and would, literally, gag on anything chunky that I might try to feed him. I remember that I started trying to give him puffs - the graduate cereal that melts in their mouths and allows for practice with chewing - and, he would even gag on those. I talked to my dr and asked what to do and he told me to keep trying with small table foods, but, not to push it. He said that I should start making his veggie and fruit purees thicker by mixing them with more cereals, and go from there. He was not into pushing him to try to eat chunky food at that point at all and said that, sometimes, trying to push the issue would make things harder because the baby would just continue to resist even more, and, if they're not developmentally ready for table foods, this increases the choking hazard. One way to tell if they are ready is if they can pick up a small piece of cereal with their index finger and thumb. I can't recall what it's called, but, it's a marker that they are ready to move on a little with different foods. I think my son finally started eating more table foods when he was almost one. Now, he can eat anything, but, is really picky. He eats plenty each day, most days, but, he is not big into trying new things. He will eat almost any cheese, crackers, various fruits, yogurt, banana bread, zuchini bread, waffles, dried fruits, and a couple lunch meats, baked french fries, but, aside from that, he's not havin' it. I can't get him to try actual bread or toast or meat like chicken nuggets or anything hot or cheerios or any of those things that are supposedly "kid favorites." I sometimes get frustrated and sometimes wonder if there is something more I should be doing, but, most of the time, I just make him what he will eat and offer him new things here and there with the hopes he will try them. Who knew food would be such an issue? Anyhow, that's my story. Hope it helped you a little. Good luck!

My son went through these phases of liking solids and then refusing them. Everything I've read said to just give him food as an option but to not make it into a struggle.
What goes in a babies mouth is one of the only things they can control, so any type of forcing or pushing will only be met with resistance and resentment, making it that much harder in the long run.
My advice is to sit him down when he's hungry and let him watch you eat. He'll gain interest and eventually overcome that gag reflex without any battle. :)
Good luck!

It took my sons well past a year to really start to really eat more people food.than baby or toddler food. And really after 2 till I could give them whatever we were making to eat. Just keep offering and eventually he will get there. In the meantime, supplement with what he will eat. The Gerber Graduate type meals were good stepping stones for my sons as well.

It sounds to me like he is just not ready yet. I hate to disagree with your doctor, but if he still has such a strong gag reflex, I would back off. Maybe put some cereal in his bottle to make it fill his tummy longer, or just stick with fruits for a while which might be more palatable to him. Or really runny cereal with a little bit of fruit to sweeten it. Just slow it way down.

My little guy wouldn't even take cereal until about 7 months. Then we went very gradually to a little bit of fruit, then peas and other things... all still baby food... gradually some plain, FULL-fat organic yogurt with a little fruit mixed in once he was over a year old and allowed to have something cows milk based. We didn't introduce table food until well over a year old.

Partly depends on the baby and their appetite, I guess. But the part about him getting a piece off the teething biscuits and gagging... tells me in my humble opinion that he doesn't have the mouth control yet.

If it keeps being a problem you "might" end up looking into occupational therapy - severe delays in eating that are caused by lack of muscle control / dexterity in the mouth can end up delaying speech and other things. I wouldn't worry yet, though, just give him his space and more time. My opinion.