Food

Eleanor is now at the point where she can pretty much feed herself and almost always prefers that over being fed baby food.  At first I had a hard time figuring out what things she can feed herself and I couldn't find much helpful information, so I figured maybe I could help somebody else out and list it here.  These are all of the things Eleanor has successfully fed herself at 8 1/2 months.  Beware, this usually makes a pretty big mess!

• Avocado pieces
• Black beans (mash them first)
• Kidney beans (mash them first)
• Banana pieces - make sure your banana is SUPER ripe
• Strawberry pieces
• Blueberries cut in half
• Cantaloupe pieces
• Mango pieces
• Peach pieces
• Baked sweet potato, cut into small cubes
• Boiled potato, cut into small cubes (baked would be preferable, but I was making mashed potatoes so this is what I had...)
• Small pieces of chicken - to cook, just put a little bit of water with raw chicken in a bowl and microwave it
• Small pieces of pot roast
• Small pieces of carrots from the pot roast - they were plenty soft for her
• Small chunks of potato from the pot roast
• Rice (what a MESS!)
• Cheese toast - just put a couple of slices of cheese (Colby, American, or Sharp are recommended) on whole wheat bread and put it in the toaster oven.  She LOVES it.  You can also put another piece of bread on top and make a sandwhich.  Tear it into small pieces.
• Macaroni and cheese - Not the nasty kind from a box, but whole wheat macaroni with a little bit of shredded cheese melted onto it.  She actually seems to prefer the toast though.
• Peas - I pour out some frozen ones from the bag into a bowl, add some water, and microwave for about 30 seconds or until they're plenty soft.  Of course, if you have fresh peas you can just use those if you haven't added salt or anything.
• Broccoli florets - cook the same as peas
• Cauliflower - cook the same as peas
• Corn - cook the same as peas
• Cheerio's
• Graham crackers - I give her one cracker (a fourth of a big cracker) and she feeds it to herself.

...And that's all I can think of right now.  I'm sure there's more.  Oh, and if the food is burning hot from being cooked, just run a little bit of cold water over it.  That works every time.  It's probably not a good idea for the cheese toast, though.  :)

Oh, and if your house is like mine and your table is over carpet, I recommend one of these splat mats.