Watermelon for Baby?

There is a feeder that has a little net over it that you can give to the baby. I think it is called Eating Right Feeder. they have it in the baby store in Valley Fair in San jose or you can get it at most baby stores. Then they can suck on the fruit w/out choking.

Hi Heather,

I gave my son watermelon at that age. I also cut up small pieces of nectarines, peaches, plums, and banana. For harder fruit like cantaloupe and honeydew, I used the mesh feeders, also great for teething and hot days. Just use the 4-day wait rule in case of any allergies. Hope this helps and happy feeding!

There are those little mesh fruit holders that allow a baby to suck the fruit without choking on pieces. I have seen them at drug stores and at Target. They are not expensive and take the worry out of giving young children fruits. I would look into it and let him enjoy!

that's an interesting question. i don't remember when we started giving watermelon to my LO but I'd imagine that it's okay. maybe mash it up just a little though at first to see how it goes. i'm interested in reading other replies!

My second daughter didn't get her first tooth until she was 11 months old! I found she was able to safely eat all kinds of food without teeth including ribs down to the bone, LOL. Just cut it up in small chunks that are bite size for him and watch to make sure he's got the hang of it.

Be sure to wash the watermelon thoroughly before you cut it open. Because watermelon grows on the ground, it can have e. coli germs on the outer rind. I fed both my kids watermelon before one year and they both loved it. It easily purees into delicious juice for popsicles too. Wet a washcloth and throw it into the freezer. Baby will chew and suck on it and the cold terry cloth will feel great on their gums with little danger of choking on a piece that breaks off. Highlands homeopathic teething tabs work great. The trick with them is to use them regularly when teething. The homeopathic remedies chamomilla, pulsatilla and bella donna work well for ear aches, teething pain and low fevers. Good luck! StaceyM

Most definately!

Watermelon, plums, pears, peaches, avocado, peas, squash, potato, inside of tomatoes, etc.
yogurt and cottage cheese (when closer to one year)

Mom of 4: girl, boy, boy, and baby due in 3 wks!

I second (or third?) the mesh food holder thing. I got some at Target, here is a link to them on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Fresh-Food-Feeder-Pack/dp/...

My daughter would eat fruits and veggies mostly in the feeder, and when she was teething I would throw frozen apple slices in for her. One of the little boys at her daycare would even eat steak out of his! If you are worried about choking this is the best thing. It is also really nice for babies to hold on to juicy, slippery fruit and veggies without them ending up on the floor. Good luck!

Funny, I just started giving my six month old watermelon! But since he has no teeth and is really still eating stage 1 baby foods, I give him the rind with just a sliver of red left (after I have eaten most of it) to just knaw on. It seems he really likes it. There is still juice that he can suck on, he can gum on it and I don't have to worry about him choking on a small piece that might come off.

Hello Heather,
My biggest fear when I give my 6 month old daughter any kind of food, is of her choking on it. So I was afraid to give her watermelon. What I did give her though, that she LOVED was corn on the cob. At first we gave her just the cob with very little corn on it,just to see how she would do. I couldn't get it away from her. She gnawed on that thing for like an hour, grunting and chewing the whole time. Each time we gave it to her we gradually increased the amount of corn. It was perfect, the corn is small enough to be swallowed whole, and the cob gave her something to practice chewing on. Good luck.
A. Z

my daughter is 8 months old, and we started giving her watermelon at about 7 months. just watch him with it, because mine started to choke on it a couple times, even with small pieces.
mine also loves banana, well-cooked potato, cheerios softened in water, and very tiny pieces of well-cooked chicken. oh, also any other melon, just make sure its ripe and soft.... always make sure you watch him with any new food so he doesn't choke.

Hi Heather,

There are lots of great foods to give a baby at this stage, and they usually love the new experience. Watermelon in small pieces is fine, along with lots of other foods. A good test of whether the food is okay or not is to squish a pea-sized piece between your thumb and forefinger. If it smashes easily, go for it. If it takes some pressure, it's probably too firm for your barely-chewing baby. Try very ripe fruit (peaches, apricots, pears, avocado, etc.), melon, vegetables cooked very soft, and even canned veggies like peas and carrots--just make sure you get "no salt added," because canned veggies can be loaded with sodium. If your baby's ready for wheat, you can also give him small pieces of whole-wheat bread (it doesn't turn pastey like white bread, which can be tough for him to chew/swallow, and it is more healthful, too). At this stage my baby loved peaches, avocados and pieces of artichoke hearts from the whole artichokes I boiled for dinner.

Happy dining!
J.

There used to be a product in baby stores that looked like a large pacifier, w/a plastic holder that screws into another piece that holds a little mesh net where you can put such foods as watermelon for your little one to suck and chew on without getting stringy parts that could cause choking. It's a great product but I don't have the brand anymore (sorry)--I got mine @ 8-10 yrs. ago? Not sure, but you can put food in there without worrying. I used to puree also, but used this product specifically for watermelon. Hopefully it still exists cause I thought it a great idea.

If your family has a history of food allergies, don't give your baby watermelon. It is one of the more highly allergenic foods. Not as common as milk, soy, wheat, eggs and peanut butter but still more so than most fruits and veggies. Our oldest had a horrible reaction to watermellon at 18 months. He didn't even eat it, it just touched his lips. He had already reacted to milk but more mildy. So if your child has any food allergies or family members do I would wait.

Hi Heather,

Just don't give to much watermelon. I did the same thing when my daughter was around 9 months. We were at the lake and thats all she wanted to eat, we didn't think it would hurt her. She got severe diaper rash for the rest of our vacation. Watermelon is acidic so just don't give him to much.

I would warn against watermelon. It is a fruit that is easy to choke on. I think it might be the high water content. I have seen elderly people choke on watermelon, so I'm assuming that young children could have the same problem. Best wishes.

Absolutly!! It's a great source of fluids when the weather is hot and it's high in lycopine (sp?). I started my daughter on watermelon when she was 7 or 8 months. I cut it into small cubes, about the size of a pea, and she will pick them up and eat them on their own. Like all new foods, introduce it slowly and with out any other new foods so you can watch for allergies.

Also it freezes pretty well, I've been keeping some in the freezer for my daughter as a special treat.

Take care,

A.

I think it is fine, also I was a huge fan of those mesh pouches for early foods. It was a good in between step for my daughter between baby food and solids, I put watermelon, frozen peaches all kinds of stuff in there and she loved it! Its a mess but well worth it for the hours of entertainment it provided.

Babies love watermelon. But because it is so soft, they can bite off a bigger piece than they can swallow. I recommend putting the watermelon in one of those mesh things you get at Babies R Us or Target. Sorry I don't remember the name, but you can find it with all of the other feeding gear at Babies R Us. That way you don't have to worry about choking and baby enjoys the wonderful taste of watermelon. Enjoy!

Cheerios! Tofu is also a less scary option. you can roll it in Cheerio "dust".

Dear Heather,
YES! Give your baby watermelon! Give him cantaloupe and honeydew, pears and peaches!
This might sound strange, but I have passed this along to many people...
I teethed both of my kids on jerkey.
Not the thin, brittle stuff that looks like a sheet of paper, but the thick, hunky stuff. We got it at Costco. They have beef and turkey. My kids LOVED IT!
The could gnaw and gnaw and get some flavor out of it too. We never went anywhere without jerkey in the diaper bag. They would chomp and suck and drool on it until it became mushy and we just threw it away. It was something they could hold in their hands themselves and just go to town.
Be sure to inspect each piece before giving it to your kid to make sure there are no parts that will easily break away to possibly choke on. I should take out stock in the jerkey company for all the people I've told about teething with it.
Best of wishes!

Hi Heather,
Watermelon is a great food to give to your son - it's soft and full of water and lycopene, which is good for him. I fed my daughter all sorts of fruits (little at a time to make sure there were no allergic reactions) at around that age, and she absolutely loves fruit. I have given her: watermelong, honeydew, bananas, grapes (cut into tiny pieces), mango, plums and apricots (cut into pieces, of course)...pretty much any kind of fruit she will eat.

However, be cautious with fruits that are acidic like strawberries and any kind of oranges/tangerines/pineapple until he is older. I gave my daughter mandarin oranges when she was 9mo and didn't even think that it would affect her, but we ended up with diarrhea for a week. Not pleasant.

The more you tempt his palette with fruits (and veggies) now, the more likely he will continue to like/eat them as he gets older. Good luck and have fun with all the different yummy fruits there are to chose from!

-H.

I gave my daughter slices of watermelon, so that if it broke off it would not choke her. She loved it and it is healthy. Believe it or not, I gave my babies the crust of french bread, especially when we were out to eat. It is hard enough to gnaw on but won't hurt them. They loved it! In fact, it was my daughter's first "real food." My kids didn't like the prepared foods/snacks made for babies. They liked the food I was eating much better. I just "think outside the box." (so long as it is safe)

Good luck.

sure but i would cut it small. they say the size of a cheerio is good for babies. also try well cooked mac and cheese, ripe avacado cut small, cottage cheese is good to practice spooning with. oatmeal, cut bananna, strawberries, those gerber puffs. those are great they disolve pretty easily and have lots of flavors. my kid loved the sweet potato ones.

There was nothing better for my teething daughter at that age than watermelon and canteloupe. She LOVED gnawing on the fruit and rinds. Go for it!

I wouldn't. There are so many other foods that are universally non allergenic and more nutritious. Watermelon is very sweet. I would wait on it. Try cooked or very soft pear, cooked apples, yams, banana mixed with avocado for some good fat... there's a great book by Annabel Karmel called Top 100 Baby purees.

My son loved watermelon. I cut it up into bites the size of little peas. He also loved "smoothies" - i'd mix oatmeal baby cereal with breastmilk, pureed bananas & blueberries, with a little bit of Baby Yo. So good! You can also try scrambled egg yolk (DON'T GIVE BABY EGG WHITES - they are highly allergenic!). Whole Foods sells a great little rice wafer called Baby Mum Mums (have also bought on Amazon.com) - and they dissolve very easily. You can also check out www.wholesomebabyfood.com for more ideas. It has food recommendations and recipes for every stage - i've gotten a lot of great ideas there. Good luck!

I gave our daughter watermelon at 8-9 mos and she loves it to this day. I leave about a half inch on the rind and she would gum and gnaw on it. Now she eats normal chunks of watermelon. I would also give the crust of french bread as another lady responding did. We also give her the crust of pizza and she loves it as well.

You can give him watermelon - he'll love it! You may want to use a "feeder". It's a mesh thing you can put solid food in so your baby can hold it himself. They are a bit gross to clean but my baby loves it!

Our son loved watermelon, pears, peaches, avocado, peas, and overcooked whole wheat pasta at that age. Just be careful on the portions, especially with watermelon and pears - they tend to run right through them!