Crackers and little finger foods

Daralee - posted on 05/02/2010

she will be fine my daughter is a wee piggy with finger foods she would rather feed herself all the time

Amanda - posted on 04/30/2010

My daughter was born 8/11 and she does not crawl, but she does scoot all around the playroom on her butt. She doesn't mind tummy time but it doesn't last long either.

Sarah - posted on 04/30/2010

My daughter is 8 months old and she eats these crackers called mum mums, and she loves them. Good luck.

Jazmar - posted on 04/27/2010

Oh yes, it is week two with me giving my daughter little banana cookies and yorgurt bites. She is really getting the hang of it!

Jenny - posted on 04/27/2010

Thanks for the points. I know how you feel. I didnt want to give them to my daughter, but her cousin was eating for the other day and gave her it and she eat it well and it mushed down in her mouth really well. So I was relieved! :-)

Jazmar - posted on 04/16/2010

Great points! i love the idea of allowing her to eat green beans. those mush up really easy and I think they are perfect for first finger foods. I also like the yogurt bites. I will be investing in those too. Anyone else have great first finger food ideas?

Becca - posted on 04/15/2010

It is important to remember when starting finger foods that choking is different than gagging. lf your baby is gagging they will retch or cough for a moment but then will be fine and go back to eating. If they are choking there will not be any air or noise produced. That is when you need to intervene and fast.



Keep in mind also that a baby's gag reflex is a lot farther forward in their mouth than an adults. This reflex actually helps teach your child not to choke by warning them when food is getting close to the airway and by letting them know when things are too big or they have put too much in their mouth. When you are first starting finger foods you will have more gagging but your child will quickly learn to prevent it.



As for giving small pieces, a baby will have a harder time picking up and getting a small piece to their mouth. I was told to try to make the finger foods about the size of my child's fist or to cut things into finger shapes. This allows him to pick up the food and get it to his mouth. It also reduces the chance that he will choke on it because he then has to gum it up (chew) before it will be small enough to get to the back of his mouth. We were also told to avoid foods that crumbled like strips of chicken or arrowroot crackers because pieces of these can break off and become choking hazards.



We have been giving my son finger foods and table foods since he was 6.5 months old and now he doesn't eat purees at all. He just got his first tooth a couple of weeks back. Babies have hard gums and with the exception of foods that are sharp (like french bread crusts) and chewy foods like meats they can gum up almost anything just like you would chew your food.

Michelle - posted on 04/15/2010

You need to start with small pieces and work her up to a whole cracker. If you chew it up for her she will never learn so let go of your insecurities and just do little bits at a time. As long as you are right there beside her it will be ok. My Izzy eats green beans from the can with out being cut and she loves it. and she has learned how to mush things up with her gums. I believe giving her whole green beans was one of the best things i have done. I really want to start giving her more table food because baby food is so expensive and she is getting older i want her to be able to chew things. She is definitely getting their. Good luck and don't worry so much.

Jacqueline - posted on 04/15/2010

you can try some of the gerber finger foods like crunchers or yogurt bites. my baby loves these and they melt right away so the risk of choking is less. good luck!

Rachael - posted on 04/15/2010

yes. i find that breaking the cracker in half helps. also, after they chopke a few times they seem to realise to take smaller bites

Jazmar - posted on 04/15/2010

I now started chewing the foods to a mush and give it to her. I need to be more trusting and let her start feeding herself. She wants to so bad. She reaches out to my food, but I won't let her hold it. Thanks Moms~

Helen - posted on 04/15/2010

my son who is 7 months 3 weeks old's favourite food at the minute is sandwiches. my view on finger foods is if you dont let them do it themselves it'll take longer to get them to feed themselves as they get old as they will want someone to feed them. when he has a sandwich i never take my eyes off him but he has never choked on it. he has also been eating baby biscuits himself since he was 6months which they're not supposed to do until they are 9 months old.

Joy - posted on 04/13/2010

The cracker can actually help the teeth break through the gums.... it's the action of using them/rubbing them that helps. As for the cracker - go for it - just be watchful. The cracker will melt in her mouth and give her practice with her tongue.



I've already started mine with super small bites of hamburger, green beans, bread, beans/peas, soft cooked carrots, crackers, bananas, canned peaches, baby corn puffs, cheerios, etc... things that can be easily mashed with the tongue. (I'd say about half the size of a dime.) Chris actually prefers the whole stuff to the puree now, and spits puree back in our face.