help terrified of finger foods

So my babies eat 5- 7 oz bottles a day and baby food 3 times a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). After lunch I give them juice in a sippy cup and after dinner I give them the Gerber graduate crackers in one of those feeder nets if you know what those are. Next week I planed on moving down to 4- 8oz bottles a day and add another snack so I bought some puffs, but I just can seem to bring myself to give them anything without the net I am sooooo scared they will choke. I have a friend whose baby is one month older than the boys and she eats almost anything...I have no idea how she does it I would be a nervous wreck...I know I will have to do it sometime so I was wondering when is a good time to introduce finger foods and what in the heck are you supposed to start with??? All the foods say for babies who are experienced with solid foods and they are not...

 

Why don't you go out and buy some Baby Mum-mum's and try them on those? They basically dissolve on contact with saliva. I tried them out myself to see how it went and after that I was assured they wouldn't choke. I always sit and watch my babies closely while they are eating on their own and I'm not afraid to go into their mouth and get out a piece I feel is too big. Over time, I am sure you will gain confidence that they won't choke, but for now, just take small steps. After the mum-mum's I went to Farley's biscuits and now I'm just trying to decide what to give them next.

 

I too am terrified of choking! We bought some baby mum mums (I do definately reccomend starting with those) a month or so ago and opened them and decided to give them one. All of a sudden I started freaking out and took them from them; I waited until dh got home to give them-they did just fine and have never choked,lol.
After mum mums we've done some puffs (they dont have the pincher thing down yet so its still pretty difficult,lol), crunchies, and wagon wheels.

 

Baby Mum Mums!! They are big enough for them to grab (and shaped like the mesh feeder) and don't make a huge mess. Have you tasted a Puff? Try it and you'll see why it's also a big one to start with. My boys didn't start finger foods until 8 months so don't stress too much!

 

QUOTE(mommymeg @ May 9 2009, 01:06 PM) [snapback]1306977[/snapback]
Baby Mum Mums!! They are big enough for them to grab (and shaped like the mesh feeder) and don't make a huge mess. Have you tasted a Puff? Try it and you'll see why it's also a big one to start with. My boys didn't start finger foods until 8 months so don't stress too much!



please forgive my ignorance, but what is baby mum mums? I know puffs, but I have not seen food called mum mums.
thank you.

 

QUOTE(beendbee @ May 9 2009, 05:06 PM) [snapback]1307154[/snapback]
please forgive my ignorance, but what is baby mum mums? I know puffs, but I have not seen food called mum mums.
thank you.

NEVER MIND-I GOOGLED AND FIND OUT.STILL DID NOT SEE THEN AT THE FOOD STORES.

 

We started out with soft fruits cut in slices (you can put them in the mesh feeders to start out with if you like) and then moved on to soft vegetables-like cooked carrot sticks-and baby snacks.
Here and Here are a couple of websites with finger food suggestions.

I posted this on another thread about finger foods but I think it bears repeating; If you haven't already done it I'd advise going on an infant/child CPR or first aid course. It would teach you what to do in a choking (or other emergency) situation. I'm first aid trained and it does give me a certain peace of mind to know that I know the correct way to respond should something happen (although obviously I hope it never does).

 

At almost 8 months old my girls were barely eating any finger foods. They had only puffs and Cheerios at that point. After they got the hang of that, I went with bananas and avocado, very small pieces. They are nice and mushy and easy to eat. Don't worry about it one bit, they will eat more in time. :hug:

 

My twins are not here yet, but I have BTDT with my singleton. I did not start her on Puffs until she was 8 or 9 months, so I understand your nervousness.

However, the mesh feeders are great. With warm weather coming up, you can put watermelon in there- yum yum!

The one thing I would NOT put in a mesh feeder is bananas. It is a mess and a half to clean up!

 

I started with squishy things like avocado and cut up shredded cheddar. When they did ok with that, I added more diced fruits veggies (really small at first!) and eventually added some Gerber yogurt melts that also dissolve as soon as they get them into their mouths. It's funny, they would hold them and gum at them a little and by the time they put them into their mouths, they were almost gone. I also started making their purees thicker and thicker so they got used to having to chew everything. Now they are really good with a lot of different finger foods (well, DD anyway, DS has his own texture issue as far as holding certain things, but he's able to chew up everything from toast to pasta no problem). I would just go slowly if I was use...work on gradually giving them thicker things in their baby food and do a few finger foods that you feel confident with (like the dissolving kind) until you see that they are really getting the hang of it. No need to rush!