Finger foods

Tania - posted on 01/06/2010

ive just started my 9 month old on rice cakes she nearly put all in mouth so now i break them in2 tiny pieces and she lvs them.

Suzanne - posted on 12/18/2009

The gerber "puffs" (whole grain, flavored) are great b/c they melt in Ava's mouth, so there's no choking hazard. She also loves the yogurt melts. She's 8.5 months, and she does really well with them!

Gemma - posted on 12/18/2009

I started with rice cracker and little biscuits. I broke them in half at first as she tried to inhale them!! Also sometimes a little toast

Anna - posted on 12/18/2009

The Mmm-mmms are great, and my daughter started with cheerios at 8 months. I froke them in half to start, but she didn't really need it. She dosen't have ANY teeth, but they are not needed. Even when they have a few teeth, they don't use them to mash up the majority of the food. Their gums and tounge are very strong! (just let her chomp on your finger, you'll see) Also remember, there is a big difference between gagging and choking. Choking means no air is getting through, but gagging will happen occasionally and is ok.

Joanna - posted on 12/17/2009

My son is 8 months & i think all mothers worry about them choking. I only give him tiny bits of bread & rice cakes so far but he is desperate to eat himself & hold the spoon himself too. He has no teeth yet either which does worry you more about when to start finger foods but my daughter didn't get her teeth til almost a year old so you can't wait that long to give them finger foods! Think i'm more worried this time 'round as we lost a baby last year at 2wks old & everything terrifies me. Reading these posts though has made me more determined to allow him a bit more finger foods than he is getting. I'm sure he is sick of puree's by now & they have to learn how to do it. I won't be trying cheerios or crisps tho' as reccommended my some - not the most healthy option.

Rebecca - posted on 12/17/2009

I know how nervous you are!! I was scared to death to let my baby boy start eating finger foods, so I started him with the Gerber finger foods, Apple Wagon Wheels. They are big, so they can't just shove it in their mouth and swallow, but they also dissolve in their mouths. I let my son work on those for a while until I could see that he knew to chew, then I started giving him the puffs, and now he's pretty much a pro at any and all finger foods.

Kim - posted on 12/17/2009

Instead of Cheerios there is a baby version called Nutrios which are shelved around the Baby Mum Mum's. I have only seen them at Walmart or Safeway. But they are more like the Puffs and desolve faster.

Kerri - posted on 12/16/2009

Graduates puff's are awesome!! Jakob loves the, also baby mum-mums they all melt in the mouth. Very tasty and easy to dissolve.

Jera - posted on 12/16/2009

Thanks for all the advise Moms! I tried the canned veggies cut up into little pieces. He didn't really like that and he still doesn't grasp the concept of putting the food in his mouth. He will eat it if I put it in for him sometimes, but otherwise he just spits it back out or smears it around the tray and picks it up and throws it on the floor. I've tried banana, those little yogurt dissolveables, green beans, peaches...I guess he'd just rather eat from the spoon. He tries taking the spoon away from me, though. That's why I thought he might be ready for finger foods. Oh well. I won't give up.

Regina - posted on 12/16/2009

Oh and on Amazon.com they have this really cool net thing that you put cooked carrots or sweet potatoes or whatever inside the net and it attaches to this handle that's ring shaped so your baby can hold it and feed themselves. It eliminates choking because the holes in the net are just big enough to get mashed food through.

Regina - posted on 12/16/2009

I really like the "Hot Kid brand baby mum mums". I was really scared to start finger foods because of chocking and my mom found these. They are much better than the gerber cookies, they melt almost immediately. One time he started to gag but it melted before I had to do anything! I love them!

Krista - posted on 12/16/2009

my son is almost 8 months old...gerber puffs are great since they melt in the mouth he loves them...they also make some gerber lil crunchies which are like cheese puffs and he likes them too, i just break them in half for now...they dont have to have teeth...plus anything soft and easy to chew is good too like bananas, green beans, potatoes etc...and my son likes pieces of bread or toast

Tina - posted on 12/16/2009

I give my 8 month old son bread, cheese curls and i give him cut up bananas.

Heather - posted on 12/15/2009

My son is just shy of 8 months and I have been giving him the gerber puffs - they dissolve - just make sure he only gets one at a time. I have also started cheerios, small (tiny) pieces of bananas and really soft cooked carrots. He does really well and hasn't choked or gagged on anything yet. Just start slow and watch to see how he does.

DeAnna - posted on 12/15/2009

My son is a week or so older and he eats the teething cookies, cheerios and these little puff snacks.

Aleeca - posted on 12/15/2009

I just found these awesome ORGANIC PUFFS by HAPPY BABY! They sell them at Target now or you can order them online. My baby loves them and they are relatively healthy compared to other brands.

Rhona - posted on 12/15/2009

Hi my wee boy is 7 months and 3 weeks and still no teeth. That doesn't stop him eating though and he will eat everything. His pincer grasp hasn't developed yet but he can still pick up everything and some how get it to his mouth. he eats, toast strips, rice cakes, banana, pear, stewed apple slices, strips of steamed carrot, butternut squash, home cooked potato wedges. he gags occasionally but now prefers to eat finger food to his home made baby mush. The only problem is that now meal times take ages!!

Michelle - posted on 12/14/2009

Hi my son is 8 months, and i did start him off on the organic cheese crisps, which i held for him, but now as he has built himself up, he now has malted milk biscuits broke in half, quavers, skips, toast (cut into strips). I only gave him toast though when i felt he knew more about chewing, but either way you watch them anyway so if you feel they have too much in their mouth, take it out. Hope this helps. I have also fed him strawberries, and banana but too scared to give him those to hold at the min.

Pam - posted on 12/14/2009

I think I would wait for teeth. Im afraid to give her anything she really needs to break up yet, I dont think she would do well since she gags on chunky stuff still.

Pam - posted on 12/14/2009

Jenne has tried the Gerber puffs. I break small pieces off and put them in her mouth. She gives me a look like"what is this dry thing in my mouth!" She doesn't really seem to enjoy them so I wait another week and try again. I think she figured out they do melt eventually so the look doesn't last for long!

Jennifer - posted on 12/14/2009

I never did purees with my daughter, but went straight to table foods. I also delayed her solid food start until she could master the pincher grasp and feed herself. Her first foods have been bananas rolled in crushed cheerios (easier to grasp), avocado, soft apples, corn, peas, peaches, pears, non-soupy oatmeal, soft cubes of sweet potatoes and butternut squash, and some cucumbers.

The thing to remember is choking vs. gagging. Gagging is good, because it teaches them to bring the food back to the front of their mouth. It sounds a little scary, but is important to learn. :)

Gina - posted on 12/14/2009

My son is now 8 months and so I think I will try the Gerber puffs people are recommending to me. I have been told they are designed to melt in the mouth so the chocking hazard is reduced. The only way I will know if he will gag on it is if I try. He does not gag on parts of toys that he chews on so maybe it will work. If not I will save the puffs and try again in another week or two.

Kerry - posted on 12/14/2009

my son dosent have any teeth ether and gags on most baby food that i give him havent startt giving him finger foods he is coming up 2 8 months do u fink i should start or w8 till teeth come threw

Gina - posted on 12/14/2009

My son gags on a lot of things too! Sometimes even on the pureed food. I find that it does not happen as often when the food is warm (warmer than room temp). However, he wants to eat regular food really badly so I keep giving him what I think is ok and safe and I watch him carefully. I would like to know when he will get over it too.

Pam - posted on 12/13/2009

My daughter doesn't have any teeth yet and she is gagging on anything too chunky. Even mushed up banana with chunks! How long will it take for her to get used to texture?

Page - posted on 12/13/2009

My daughter started on Mums Mums and then the Gerber Puffs! She loves them too. Now we do little pieces of soft fruit and Muenster cheese. She loves the chewiness of the cheese. It's fun to watch her learn about food.

Amanda - posted on 12/13/2009

My daughter is 8 months old and she just started on finger foods about a month ago,she does not have any teeth yet so I too was worried about her choking but we tried the gerber puffs as well and she did great, she loves them. They melt in her mouth so they are great. I would not suggest cheerios, my ped said nothing circular because they can get caught in their throat and choke easily since they dont dissolve naturally like the puffs.

Gina - posted on 12/11/2009

I have thought about trying toast.

Gina - posted on 12/11/2009

I break up little pieces of bread. I tried crackers but my son threw up so I stopped and I am just sticking to the bread. I will try crackers again when he is a little older.

Jess - posted on 12/10/2009

I started with rice cakes. At first my baby kept putting loads in her mouth but as long as you're watching what they're doing, they'll be fine. She also loves pieces of whole wheat bagels to gum to death. She'll keep it in her mouth and 'work' it around until she's ready to swallow it or hold it in her hand and suck on it. My baby eats almost any type of vegetable and fruit but I haven't started giving those to her as finger foods just yet as she doesn't have complete 'pincer' control yet and those seem to be more difficult to pick up than the bread and rice cakes.

Brandie - posted on 12/10/2009

I started my 7 month old on Cheerios. She loves them and they kind of melt in her mouth. I was really worried about her choking, but she does extremely well with them.

Kira - posted on 12/10/2009

HI, My daughter is 8 months and loves finger food, im not sure where you are from so i hope these are relevant i am from Australia so some things may not be relevant LOL..... the main one is Vegemite on toast fingers she loves it(but i guess you could put whatever you want on it, she also has fruit eg. watermelon, rockmelon, nectarine all the soft smoshie ones, dont give a strip of chicken of just normal bread not toasted cause they are both chocking hazards for babies that are not use to finger foods yet, the teething rusks are a great starter, if they are eating meat you can cut of a peice of steak if you are having it for dinner and they just suck on it, and being Christmas i gave her ham the other day and that went down really well.....i hope this helps, i will give my daugher most things but i sit with her the entire time she has it for the first time.....Good Luck

Carol - posted on 12/10/2009

my 8 month daughter eats pretty much anything i give her. she'd rather eat from our plate then baby food. don't let fear hold you back. just break off small peices at first to see how he does. when you feel comfortable you can give it to him and see how he does with it whole. if they reach for the spoon that means they wanna try to feed themselves. grant it it'll be messy but it's worth it once you don't have to feed them everytime. for my 3 yr old i had bought a plastic mat that you can get for the back of your truck/van and put it under his highchair/booster seat. if you have carpet it makes it easier to clean up.

Jocelyn - posted on 12/10/2009

My boys are 8 months old and I've been giving them finger foods for about a month now. I started out with the Gerber rice puffs (in the baby food section) that pretty much melt in their mouths. They come in all different flavors and they love them! I broke them in half first because I was nervous! I've steamed sweet and regular potatoes and given them small bites. Egg yolks (no whites) Canned veggies are good because they're really soft. Try carrots and green beans. Bananas cut into small pieces.

I was always afraid of my boys choking but it's amazing how well they do! I was so ready to get away from the spoon (it's tough with 2!) and now they love anything with texture! Good luck!

Mary Lynn - posted on 12/10/2009

I am also interested about this as my 7.5 month old is now grabbing the spoon when I feed him. I don't have an answer for you, but am interested to see what the responses are.