what to feed

My first thought is that throwing crackers and spitting out food doesn't necessarily mean he's extra picky. My 2 year old DD is really good about eating a variety of foods but she still went through a phase at about a year where it seemed like everything ended up spit out and on the floor. It's so hard to be sure exactly how much they're taking in so I would watch his weight to be sure he's continuing to do ok there. Some babies do surprisingly well at mashing up food with just their gums. You just have to cautiously experiment with new things. My DS will be a year in two weeks. He just has his front two bottom teeth. I'm planning to switch him to whole milk and all table foods soon after his birthday. Iron then becomes a concern. I've heard using a cast iron pan to cook in actually helps a little with that. And it's important to have plenty of dairy. And fruits and veggies of course. I have found I've had to get a little tricky with meats. It seems like they are more difficult to get into a good texture for that age. My son will eat little bits of grilled cheese sandwich and I throw in some deli ham or turkey when I cook it (although those are high in sodium so I don't like to do that often). He also really likes chicken nuggets even if I cut off the breading. He will actually eat strands of plain chicken or beef if they're tender. My DD likes rice casserole and that's an easy dish to add in extra meat or veggies. Both my baby boys will eat plain steamed veggies. It helps to give them those first (before crackers etc) while they're especially hungry. Sometimes the weirdest things make a difference. My DS won't eat watermelon when I cut it up into tiny bites. But he'll bite little pieces off a large chunk that I hold for him. My DD loves to dip things. For a while she would eat virtually anything as long as she could dip it in something and it didn't really matter much what the dip was (catsup, mustard, salsa - I've actually seen her dip watermelon in salsa). So I've learned that just because a baby doesn't eat something doesn't mean he doesn't like it. You can try a slightly different presentation, or try that food at a different meal, or just try it again another day. Soups are nice for the 'mushy' factor and can have a variety of ingredients. But even the low sodium varieties still seem to have a lot of sodium and I do try to limit that. I think most pediatricians will say eggs are ok after a year. Mushy fruit bits can be chopped up and added to yogurt. Oh and beans - mushed up beans have lots of good stuff. I used to think I had to keep things kind of plain but my DD actually likes things a little spicy. Gosh, could I go on and on about this or what? :) Seems like getting kids to eat right is an ongoing issue!

You can give him pretty much anything you eat even with the front teeth only, being cautious, of course. Mainly, vegetables (squash, peas, beans were my kids favorites) of any sort making sure they are cooked thoroughly so they are pretty soft. Any fruit, cut into small pieces. Also, rice and pasta are okay. The goal is just for him to experience different textures and tastes and figure out what to do with it but not necessarily to replace the nutrition he is getting from his formula since he will continue getting the formula through 1 year. One of my twins didin't have a single tooth in his head until he was 14 months old but it didn't stop him from being a good chewer and learning to eat well. We didn't give either of them a bunch of meat or anything but spaghetti was one of their favorites. I understand being worried about choking but seriously, we were told to give him anything that we would eat and when I thought it was too big, I cut it in small pieces. They both loved grapes to snack on and I cut them up into quarters to be sure. Good luck!