right there with ya!!!
my twins are 10 mos old, and ATTACK anyone with 'real' food!!! this is after making sure that they eat first and everything...
they are also starting to reject anything without texture.
my son has 7 teeth, my daughter has 2. she is such a dainty eater, little tiny bites and tastes of things...and he grabs things by the handful and crams them in his mouth...they are so different.
and yes, I have done the unspeakable....I gave them each a very tiny peice of a fry...
I think I'm in trouble....
I have learned that gerber graduates are the way to go...pre-cut, ready to eat...and they even have snacks for when you're on the go (appointments, etc)
I will keep coming back to this post....I am so glad you asked this question =)

i started giving my son real food when he was like 6-7 months i gave him what ever we were eating after he ate his baby food and now hes a pig and eats anything you place in front of him by handfuls and crys if hes not done and hes been drinkin out of sippy cups since he was about 5 months old

Josaphine - wow. good to know! everyone and every book has a different opinion on how soon is too soon - THANK YOU for the input. I am paranoid to try it and then watch him choke, but how can I quell his desire to learn??

teenmama - THANK YOU! and you actually raised another question: when did your boy start to try to feed himself (spoon) and/or how did you get him on schedule with your dinner time???

NEVER quell desire to learn...just make sure its in a 'controlled' situation...
as long as you are right there with him and make sure its soft (easily 'mushed') little bites, you should be ok...and you are right, everyone has an opinion. but I think you will find that your child will give you the cues you need to go forward (safely) just watch for the foods that can cause allergic reactions (peanuts, eggs, etc) and your doc is always a good person when in doubt =) and of course all of us here will answer anything we can!!!

my 4 year old was the "french fry kid" and he is fine now...the consistancy of the food...well thats up to your son...if he eats it fine and doesnt have a hard time swallowing the the way it is mashed or cut up should be fine....i know hot dogs and popcorn are one of the foods that they can choke on easily...hope this helps. ;-)

he hasnt mastered eating out of a spoon yet but i started giving him the big toddler spoons and he eat some with it but mainly still uses his hands and everyone in my house is required to sit at the dinner table so when he started eating table food is when he started eating in his highchair at dinner. We eat dinner about 6-7 so pretty much after lunch he snacks until dinner and then eats with us and gets formula after hes done eating what we are