I have had/still have exac5tly the same worries and concerns as you. I have a ds who is 15 months old and has 8 teeth at the front and two top back ones coming through. I happily give him squares of toast and biscuits etc and he munches his way through them quite easily but when it comes to giving him casserole or shepherds pie etc I am paranoid and still spend hours chopping stuff into teeny tiny pieces. It is a slightly irrational fear based on what I know he eats but we're mum's and we are born to worry. I am trying to wean myself off giving him such tiny cooked veg in his meals as I know he can eat things perfectly well. So now I am trying to increase the size of the veggies I give him, although I like to make sure they are soft. I do a mash test and if it is soft enough to mash then he will be fine eating it. And to be honest he has got such a strong bite on him ( I know from trying to apply teething gel) that I am sure he could quite easily eat harder foods but I am taking this one step at a time - bigger chunks first and then slighter harder food. He'll eat a lump of cheese so I really don't know why I worry so much about cooked carrots. Sorry for the long post but just wanted to let you know that i know how you feel and it's good to change things gradually so that you get used to it!