"Real people food"

When can I start feeding Liam "real food" such as:

cheese (I am thinking shredded cheddar is my best bet to start off with)

bread (and can I toast it or not)

chicken (and how tiny should it be cut up)

can I give peas without slicing in half? You know those frozen bags of mixed veggie - peas/carrots? Can they have that without me slicing each bit into smaller bits?

macaroni - what's the best to start with

And so on??

Re: "Real people food"

How old is he?
I started giving DD real food around 7 months or so...I started with puffs and cheerios and then on to chicken, etc...
I made the pieces fairly small until I figured out what she could handle.
She was pretty much off all baby food by 9 months.

Re: "Real people food"

We started "real people food" slowly around 10 months.

Chicken should be really, really soft in the beginning. Start very, very small and then work up after you see how he handles it - some babies are better at chewing and swallowing then others so there is no universal rule.

Watch the ingredient list on bread.

Also, I'd stay away from frozen carrots until after the first birthday -- there is some possibility of nitrates. (The baby food companies screen for nitrates.)

We started with cheerios, then frozen peas, shredded cheese, wheat bread...

Re: "Real people food"

I would just double-check about the aged cheese. I have no idea there is a problem with kids, but I know there are issues with some people with aged cheeses.

Re: "Real people food"

Luca is only 5 months old and I'm tempted to start giving him food he can feed himself, because he seems to try to. I go for our 5 month check up next week and I'm going to ask if I can start giving him teething biscuits or puffs. I know myself and I would guess I will be giving him table food in the next coule of months. We're taking him to Mexico and July and I would like to be bale to give him atleast some table food when we're out instead of just jarred food.