Freaked out about finger foods...

The subject line says it all. I'm so nervous!!! My girls are 8+1/2 months old, and it sounds like they should start with finger foods somewhere around the 9 month mark.

I've given them the baby Mum Mums a few times and last week they both finally ate one (although I took it away when there was a half-dollar sized piece left, because I was worried they'd choke).

They are on stage-2 baby foods and doing well on them, although I don't see too much difference from the stage-1 truth be told. Some are a little thicker I guess? So - do I start them on stage-3 foods before trying finger foods? How do they know how to chew?

Help!

 

My boys are around the same age and I have been giving them a bit of finger foods. So far we do chunks of ripe bananas, ripe avocado, and baked sweet potatoes. I cut them into tiny pieces and they pretty much just mash it into their mouths. I do cereal and pureed foods mostly and just give them chunks of food while I am eating supper to keep them busy.

They love the Gerber puffs. I give them a couple at a time and they melt in their mouths quick enough that I don't worry about them choking.

 

Stage 3 foods, IMO, are just a money-making opportunity for the baby food companies. There's no difference between that and "real people" food except that it comes in a pretty package that says it's intended for babies, and it's way more expensive than making pasta with vegetables (or whatever) yourself. [/rant over]

Anyway, the first step is to feed them little bits of things they can pick up with their fingers (hence the name "finger foods") and mash with their gums -- soft-cooked carrots and green beans, banana, Cheerios. Make it big enough that they can grasp it but small enough that it's not a choking hazard -- somewhere around the size of a Cheerio is a good guideline. I liked Cheerios and puffs to start with, because they were easy to pick up and the babies liked them, so they got a lot of practice with the "finger" part.

There is also no firm guideline for how old they should be. Some babies are on nearly all finger foods at 9 months -- mine were not really very interested until almost a year (except for Cheerios and puffs, which they loved), and Sarah actually preferred purees (and smooth things like yogurt and Cream of Wheat) until 15 months or so. Kids have different levels of ability to tolerate different textures -- don't freak out if they don't take to it right away.

I stressed about this whole feeding thing SO much and it really wasn't necessary. Just keep offering them things, see what they like, experiment! (And keep a damp washcloth handy. :laughing: )

 

Someone else posted a similar question a few days ago...you might want to check it out (I think it was called finger foods for 9-12 months, or something like that). I know there were some good suggsions and encouragements in it.

I was VERY nervous to start as well but my girls love feeding themselves and are pros now (I just started about a month ago). I followed their lead...I started slow and anything I gave them that was too big usually just got spit back out. It can be stressful at first but the rewards are great...they get so excited now and meal time when they see something new coming from the kitchen. Good luck!

 

I made my own baby food so I never did "stage 3" exactly, but I did thicken their food a lot. For example I would just fork mash a sweet potato or mix whole peas in pea puree. The choking worry is so insane in the beginning. I know making your own baby food isn't fun all of the time, but the sweet potato mashing is totally easy and adding table food to stage 2 purees shold be easy. Good luck!

 

It takes some babies a while to get a handle on different textures...mine actually had more problems with really gluey things (bananas, sweet potato) than with soft things like peaches (no skin), well cooked veggies (cauliflower, carrot, green beans), etc. And things like quartered cherry tomatoes and grapes she used to eat the pulp and spit out the skins...Also try chicken cut into small pieces. Give them stuff from your own meals, don't worry about cooking special (and go ahead with the spices, just keep it mild...mine likes garlic!)

Give them one finger food every meal and continue with purees. If they don't eat it, try, try again!

Get scoop bibs and take all the clothes off.

 

Thanks everyone! Maybe I'll try the puffs this weekend, and go from there.

 

Puffs are a good place to start - they melt so quickly, there is little chance of choking. If it makes you feel better, our boys are 10 months and I am just starting finger foods in the next week or two. We didn't start any solids until 6 months because of stomach issues. I started trying finger foods around 8 months. With the exception of puffs and mum-mums, they would just gag and spit everything out. I kept trying once a week since then. FINALLY this week, they ate diced peaches and didn't gag or spit them out. So, I am going to finish off the purees I have (probably two weeks worth) and start adding in finger foods. They will still get pureed fruit mixed with their cereal, but I hope to have them on all finger foods by the time they are 11 months. I know lots of people have done it sooner, but each baby is different, and you have to do what works for you. We won't be on regular table foods for awhile, either, because they are highly sensitive to dairy and soy both - until they outgrow that, I don't want to risk the mega-reaction, so we are sticking with things like diced fruits and veggies that I know for sure what is in them.

 

You can work them up to new textures too.. if they're eating purees now, try mashing their food with a fork instead. Then give them a bit of grated apple, then some small diced fruit or veggies. Mine took to finger foods so well they refused purees (from me at least, my husband still got to feed them for a long time)... but I know other kids who wanted to stay on purees until they were well over a year. With food I always think it's important to give them the opportunity, and if they're not into it yet, it's no big deal. However, they'll probably surprise you and do better than you think!

 

Mine too said no thanks to purees once they got onto finger foods. So long as things were soft"ish" they have been fine with small chunks of just about anything for at least a month now. If I am unsure of how easy it will be for them to eat I put it in my own mouth and try to crush it by pushing my tongue against the roof of my mouth. If it's doesn't mush up like like then I cook it more or don't give it to them basically.

Examples are that they eat chicken, pork, beef, fish, avocado, broccoli, beans, cauliflower, yam, carrots, zucchini, potato, pasta, cheese, eggs (omelette, scrambled, quiche, etc.), toast (french toast has been a fave for a while now!), and pretty much any fruit!

Definitely don't be afraid with the Mum Mums or puffs and they couldn't very easily truly choke on those things as saliva simply dissolves them. Try popping it in your own mouth to see how quickly things melt or how easily they are mashed up without using your teeth. Their little tongues and gums are actually VERY powerful mashing machines

Good luck. Our lives definitely got more fun and easier once they were fully on finger foods. Currently the only thing that my daughter will take with a spoon is yogurt.

 

My girls are the same age, and they love puffs, yogurt melts, and those Lil Crunchies from Gerber. In fact, of all the finger foods, these seem to work best for them because they can hold them a bit easier than puffs and melts. They dissolved quite quickly and the girls love them!

 

Hey so thanks to everyone for the ideas! I haven't tried it yet, but will do the puffs / yogurt melts since I know they are a close relative to the mummums that my girls have eaten. I also got a food grinder this week. When I have some time we'll try some grind veggies.

One more question though - am I supposed to wait until they have teeth? I didn't think so (most first teeth are front teeth, aren't they) but then my sister in law asked... Just checking.

 

You don't need to wait. Their gums are quite strong.