The doctor said that when Sophie was 9 months old we could introduce meats. I've been looking forward to the day when this might happen b/c I don't seem to feed her fast enough and thought maybe she'd be happier if she fed herself. I wasn't about to give her a spoon and a glass bottle of baby food b/c, though I love my daughter and want her to try new things, I wasn't up for the mess that would cause. So, the other day, on her 9 month birthday I thought we'd try giving her "people" food and see what happened. I've tried giving her a green bean or two in the past, but she didn't know what to do with it, so I waited. And waited. We had chicken that had been simmering in the crockpot all afternoon and so it was nice and tender. I cut up little pieces and put them on her tray to see what happened and she loved it! I'd already fed her baby food, so she didn't eat much, but it was a huge success. The next night we had meatloaf. I fed her a little baby food so she'd have room for dinner and when I put the meat and green beans on her tray she went to town! She couldn't shovel it in fast enough. It was great! She was a mess, but it was all worth it. She actually wanted my fork, so I got up to give her a baby one, but she just chewed on it like I thought she would. Finally, a nice peaceful dinner where the four of us ate together. This is what I've been waiting for!