What finger foods did you start with and when?

[eb1]

My 7.5 month old is still eating only cereals and pureed foods. He is definitely a self-feeder. (I only got to hold the spoon the first week or two when he started solids, and now he grabs it from me every time--it's a team effort to get it in his mouth.) I know it's nearing the time to start with finger foods, but I'm VERY nervous about the choking factor. For instance, if you give an infant a cracker, do you give it whole and let him/her suck on it, and can't that lead to pieces breaking off that are too large?

How old was your baby when you started with finger foods and what did you give him or her?

Thanks. :)

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I started with cheerios, broken into quarters. Once I saw that she wasn't going to choke, I went to breaking them in half and then to whole cheerios.

We didn't actually give the Cheerios brand, because they have wheat in them. I got Joey-os from Trader Joes with no wheat.

...Karen
DS Jake Feb 91, DD Logan Mar 03
http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/superpower.gif http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/borntobebreastfed2.gif

[KGoes]

We also started with cheerios - they soften up very quickly in the mouth. We tried babysafe feeders (mesh bags you can put fruit or crackers in) and DD would have nothing to do with them, although I know people who have had great success with them. DD was a careful eater and even though she did not get her first tooth until after she was a year old, we have never had a choking issue (knock on wood!)
Kelley
DD born 7/03
and the next one due 4/18/04

[Raidra]

Colwyn's first three finger foods were very ripe peaches and plums, and Veggie Booty. I forget which we gave first.. they were all essentially at the same time, though.

From there we progressed to Cheerios and Kix, bits of cheese, chicken, deli turkey and roast beef, steamed green beans and carrots, etc.

He hasn't eaten anything off a spoon other than yogurt and pudding (and those are a fight) since he was about 8 months old.

[iriebride]

DS was around 6 mos old when he started finger foods. We started off with Cheerios whole. He never had a choking incident (knock on wood). Other snacks included Gerber Fruit (banana) and Veggie Puffs (sweet potato). These dissolve very quickly.

Soon, we moved on to fruits. DS didn't like touching slimy/slippery fruits. So, I had to roll small pieces of banana, diced peaches, pears, grapes, mango in crushed Cheerios. We even had to roll sliced ravioli in crushed Cheerios! At 13 mos, we finally stopped this. Occasionally, we still roll stuff in Cheerios when he's finicky.

Veggies: steamed or canned peas, green beans, carrots

Other things he loves: sliced Gerber meat, chicken and turkey sticks (peeled casing), pasta, baked fries, Gerber diced chicken, mashed potatoes.

Right now we're working on trying to give him real chicken. He doesn't like it. i wonder if it's b/c he can't chew it since he only has 4 teeth? He's also becoming a picky eater. If he won't eat regular food, we give him a little bit of baby food mixed with barley cereal for texture. Even though he can feed himself with a spoon for a month now, he still prefers his fingers.

Good luck,
Joyce
Zerick 7-3-03

[eb1]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions! (Sounds like Cheerios are very popular.) We'll have to give the finger foods a try soon.

[induetime]

Does anyone have a favorite web site w/ "guidelines" on feeding baby solids? I've been trapped in indecison regarding purchasing a book on solids... maybe a web site would save me from choosing. :)

[jillc]

We intro'd cheerios at about 6.5 months, and Abby just loves them. I'm pretty sure she'd eat them all day if we let her!! It took her a few weeks to be able to feed them to herself, but she's quickly becoming a pro. We started by breaking them in half & popping them into her mouth for her. They dissolve so quickly. We also tried plain puffed rice cereal, but she doesn't like it as much & it's harder for her to pick up.

We tried giving her some steamed peas recently (taken out of their little shells), but since they don't dissolve, she couldn't figure out how to mash them up in her mouth. We're sticking to Cheerios for now.

[lisaE]

Wholesomebabyfood.com is a great site.

[JustMare]

DS will be 9 months this week (still no teeth!) and will NOT eat finger foods.

We try Cherrios broken in 3rds and he makes faces until you take it off his tongue. He will only eat stage 2 baby foods and cereal. I'm assuming he's just not ready yet and will do this when HE wants to. I know it has nothing to do with him not having teeth yet.

I just wish we'd move off baby food already!!!

Any other late eaters???