Hello! This is my first post on here. I have read several other posts that address several questions and issues I've had...it's been very helpful! My little girl is 7 and a half months old and has no teeth yet. I have been making pretty much all of her foods myself, pureeing a big variety of fruits and veggies. Bananas, avocados and mangoes I have just mashed myself and I have been leaving them a little lumpy to get her used to the texture. A few days ago I have her a hunk of banana to gnaw on, but I was so nervous! I literally had my hand on the banana the whole time and took it away if I noticed she had gotten a piece off! I don't want to be a nervous wreck while she eats (I'm a big believer in the parent's fears and neurosis having a big effect on the child =) ) but I just can't figure out when or how to take the next step in getting her to start finger foods. Any advice on how or when you started your little ones would be very appreciated! Thank you!
Try cutting them into smaller pieces and letting her pick them up. That also helps with her development and using her hand eye coordination.
Gerber puffs are great, they melt in baby's mouth!
E.
I am a mother of two boys 3 and 18 months. My friend got me hooked on the gerber puffs. They come in all sorts of flavors and they disolve in the mouth. They taste great too!! i think my husband and i ate just about as many as they did. Its a great way to get them into finger foods.
Hi E.,
I have two little ones, and one on the way. I started both of my kids with Zweiback toast. It is very hard and when they dont have teeth yet, they cant get a big piece off of it so they wont choke. They just knaw on it until it is real mushy and then they can swallow it. You can also take First Aid/CPR classes for infants so that you can feel better about helping her, if in deed she starts to choke.
M.
http://www.livetotalwellness.com/M.
What you are feeding your daughter sounds yummy. Don't get her hooked on processed foods just get one (or a few) of those holder's for baby finger foods with a net attached. You can stick chunks of almost anything in them and sit back and relax while watching your baby enjoy her food. Here are two links I found to show you what I'm talking about:
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Baby-Safe-Feeders-Mesh-Helps-Preven...
http://item.express.ebay.com/Sassy-Teething-Feeder-w-4-Re...
They're a bit of a pain to clean but so worth it for your piece of mind!
First of all, let me say you are NOT alone! I was a wreck about solid finger foods! The best place to start (according to my pediatricain) is cheerios. They are small, help with dexterity and they have a hole in the center, so even if swallowed hole there is still that small hole for breathing. It is scary, but you have to start somewhere. Also, bigger things like the teething biscuits or grahm crackers they can pretty much suck on instead of eat to get the idea down.good luck.
Hi E.,
My daughter is 13 months and just in the last month has begun to get teeth! So I too was very nervous about finger foods. BUT I found out that their little gums are pretty hard and she was able to "gum" on more than I thought. I stuck with easy to chew stuff; bananas (I chopped the banana in bite-sized pieces. It wasn't until just recently that I started giving her a little hunk of banana to hold and she takes bites.) I found I could do the same with sweet potatoes, carrots, all the veggies she was eating before. I steamed anything that wasn't soft (like bananas, avacados) I'm talking apples, pears veggies and it made them soft and easy to gum. Then I cut them up in little pieces and she went to town! Peas and green beans were a little bit of a challenge b/c of the skin. (I am a little paranoid and only do fresh or frozen. The canned veggies are much softer, but I worry about the preservatives and stuff.) So I peeled the skin off the peas for a while and really steamed them soft. Pastas (a little overcooked) worked really well, she loved mac & cheese (it is so easy to make from scratch and no icky stuff like the boxed variety.)
Interestingly enough, she has been eating all kinds of things I didn't think she'd be able to eat until her teeth came in (baked chicken, other meats, etc) But around 10 months, she was a great little chewer and we had no choking incidents. Actually, that's not exactly true. We had no choking incidents with food, but we've choked on water and milk a couple times!!! :)
Good Luck!!
A. N. :)
