introduce finger food

We haven't started on finger food yet. I'm scared to death to give them that. I'm waiting until they 9 months old (7 months adjusted). So I would like to gather some info.
How do you start it?
What food is the best for finger food?
How do I know if they ready?
How often do I give them?

They have baby food stage 2 and some stage 3 right now. But I usually crush the pieces very well before I give them. I gave my son some cottage cheese these other day. He liked it but gave me the FACE like 'I don't know how to do this mama' so I haven't given it to him again.its not like he couldn't eat it. I just didn't want him to puke...

Please help!!! I would very appreciate your inputs!

 

The first finger food we did was Gerber puffs - they melt in their mouths, so it is very unlikely for them to choke. I started those around 7 months - I would give them about 5-6 puffs after each solids meal, just for practice picking things up. At first, we had to help them learn how to pick them up, but they caught on pretty quick.

 

Gerber puffs are great! There is also Gerber dried fruit (no sugar added!) and plain Cheerios. They are ready when they can use their fingers to pick up small objects. Mine took a loooong time to really get the hang of being able to feed themselves well--they won't be able to do a good job until the have the pincer grasp (thumb & forefinger) down.

 

Gerber puffs are great and so are some cheerios that have been soaked a in a small bit of milk to soften them up. Or a really ripe banana cut up. The good thing about banana is that it's already a taste they are probably familiar with as baby food comes in that flavor

 

Canned peas and carrots (once they have the pincer grip) are nice and soft.

If you're doing dairy, go with small squares of mild cheese (or shredded).

 

We did Gerber puffs at six months. I was afraid of choking-even though they melt practically instantly-that I would break of the corners. LOL! Once they got the full Gerber puff down, I moved onto Cheerios. And from there on out, it was a new world!

1.) I would just put them in their highchair and either before or after solids, or even as a time killer, place one or two puffs on their tray and see what they do. If they don't pick it up and put it in their mouth, you can model the behavior for them, and then let them try again.

2.) Foods that they can pick up, that aren't too slippery/slimy. I would do maybe some cheeses, cereal, gerber puffs, carrots, peas, small pieces of pasta(ditalini), maybe even some toast with some of their pureed fruit on top.

3.) As for readiness-just try it. It doesn't hurt. Put it on their tray and see what they do! They may surprise you! It's a learning process, so it could take time. I had no problems with Annabella-she put EVERYTHING in her mouth!

4.) You can do a little bit at each meal. That's what we did. Once we introduced finger foods, they were given at mealtime, or at snack time. For us, the kids were on all finger/table foods by nine months old.

 

I gave baby girl 1 sweet potato puff tonight. She grabbed it and put in her mouth right away lol. She tried to chew it with her bottom teeth lol so funny!! Finally she sallowed it. I was afraid she would choke. But she didn't. I got 2 more and a juice box. As soon as she saw the juice box, she lost interest in the puff..I will try it again with both of them hehe.

I will let them try puffs this weekend. If it goes well, I will give them some chopped soft banana, canned peas and carrot. Thanks ladies I knew you all could help me! Now I feel more confident to give them finger food hehe