My 9 month-old is a girl after my own heart. She loves her some pho. I've gotten into the habit of taking both my toddler and baby out for pho about once a week. It's cheap, fun to eat, and delicious. And when you think about it, it is a perfect food for babies just starting to eat solids.
The noodles are made of rice which is a recommended starter food since rice is not generally an allegenic. The beef is thinly sliced and easily shreddable. The broth, unadorned, is simple and satisfying. I suppose one could be concerned about the amount of sodium in it, but I am of the school that my children eat what we eat (within reason). Of course, I am not going to put chilis or Sriracha in my baby's portion, but I am also not going to freak out if she eats a little salt for one meal.
The restaurants I frequent here in (northeast) Portland, OR (Pho Oregon and My Canh) are very obliging to this mama and her two young daughters. I order a big bowl of pho and the wait staff immediately brings extra bowls for the girls and sharp scissors so I can snip-snip the baby's noodles and meat into teensy pieces. Then it's slurp-city for her — and us — until every last noodle is gone.
Pho. Fun food for babies, too.