Help with solids/finger foods

st.augbride

I need advice on how to proceed with finger feeding and solids for dd.  For solids, she currently does 3 purees per day (oatmeal/BM at breakfast, and then a fruit and/or veggie pouch for lunch and dinner). She only recently developed a decent pincer grasp and today managed to get a yogurt melt in her mouth. She gagged and then vomited up her whole dinner : ( What's the best way to approach this? It's almost like new for me because ds was very different with food since he was born with medical issues that affect his hunger/eating.

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AimeeL85

I agree with the above, the melts are a little big and don't dissolve as fast.  I started with puffs broken in half (but by the end of that day she could eat whole ones just fine), and then I did a bunch of other things before doing yogurt melts.   Small, soft dices of fruits/veggies are probably better options, but my DD had a really hard time picking them up until recently, even if I coated them in Cheerio dust or wheat germ, because she wasn't ready for big enough pieces until recently.  You can also try soft shreds of cheese.

If you haven't given her chunkier purees yet, maybe try a week of that in order to get her used to more texture.  Mashing up a banana, but not to a completely smooth consistency, is an easy option for that.

kcphilly

My son started with baby mum mums. They are rice crackers that dissolve quickly. Got them at target.

st.augbride

Thanks everyone. Until recently, she hasn't been able to try to get anything let alone decide to place it in her mouth, so I think the melt surprised her. It was a smaller one and it melted very quickly, faster than puffs when I played around with them myself. The mum mums scare me because when I tried them she took a large chunk and they break off very easily, so to me it felt unsafe. I like the idea of the chunkier purees and then diced fruits and veggies. I will also try smaller pieces of puffs again. I've done that but she's never been interested in eating them.

ASmallWonder

st.augbride said:

Thanks everyone. Until recently, she hasn't been able to try to get anything let alone decide to place it in her mouth, so I think the melt surprised her. It was a smaller one and it melted very quickly, faster than puffs when I played around with them myself. The mum mums scare me because when I tried them she took a large chunk and they break off very easily, so to me it felt unsafe. I like the idea of the chunkier purees and then diced fruits and veggies. I will also try smaller pieces of puffs again. I've done that but she's never been interested in eating them.

Just be warned that chunky purees can really backfire.  They're expecting something smooth that they can swallow with ease because it's coming on a spoon and that's what they're used to.  They try to swallow the chunks and freak out.  We had to skip right over stage threes and on to things he could hold because the fact that it looked different and he had to hold it and control it kept him from just trying to swallow it whole

st.augbride

elmoali said:

st.augbride said:

Thanks everyone. Until recently, she hasn't been able to try to get anything let alone decide to place it in her mouth, so I think the melt surprised her. It was a smaller one and it melted very quickly, faster than puffs when I played around with them myself. The mum mums scare me because when I tried them she took a large chunk and they break off very easily, so to me it felt unsafe. I like the idea of the chunkier purees and then diced fruits and veggies. I will also try smaller pieces of puffs again. I've done that but she's never been interested in eating them.

Just be warned that chunky purees can really backfire.  They're expecting something smooth that they can swallow with ease because it's coming on a spoon and that's what they're used to.  They try to swallow the chunks and freak out.  We had to skip right over stage threes and on to things he could hold because the fact that it looked different and he had to hold it and control it kept him from just trying to swallow it whole

Yup..did some mashed avocado tonight with tiny chunks. It definitely was not what she expected and it freaked her out.

kaylyn08

I've had the same issue with my ds. Yogurt melts are not a good thing to start with. He loves Parents Choice puffs and cheerios. I've also started giving him mashed potatoes that aren't really thick, but aren't runny like baby food either.

MrsT0514

We also have issues with a sensitive gag reflex when it comes to table/finger foods. My son does great with thick/chunky purees, but still has trouble with finger foods. I find he does the best with puffs, cheerios, teething wafers, and the "gerber graduate" type cookies.

Maybe stick to foods that dissolve easily for now, like puffs, cheerios, etc. Once your LO has those foods down and does well, then try to progress. This has been our approach, and so far my son's been making progress. Some babies are just quicker at progressing with textures than others. I wouldn't worry too much about it.