LOs on Finger Foods

laurenann89

We are getting ready to try finger foods for the first time as per LO's pediatrician's recommendation. She recommended starting with noodles and other soft foods cut up into pea sized pieces.

For those of you whose LOs were eating purées, but have started the transitions to finger foods, how did you do it and what did you start with? LO has had bits of more solid foods, like potato bits in mashed potatoes and gags from it. I have the feeling transitioning is going to be difficult...

MeggsM

We're still on mostly purées with some finger foods like noodles and rice mum mums - they are large enough to handle and soft enough to mash with her four teeth. Our purées are also getting a little more chunky too so that she gets used to it but she still gags if it's too chunky. I found she didn't like pieces of fruit and some veggies because they were too difficult to handle.

Pinecone21

I gave her a small piece of a pancake. She tore it into pieces. When she realized the pieces were tasty, she picked up every single one of them and ate them.

I've also given her veggie sticks like celery and red peppers and she gums what she can off them. (No teeth here yet.)

HKline922

We started with Gerber Puffs. And Crunchies. They dissolve quick. She loved (still loves) them. Took her about 6 feedings to get the concept of picking up and putting in mouth. That was back in early Oct. Now she's onto Cheerios, small bits of carrots, banana, peas, bits of pasta, chicken, and on Thanksgiving she will have turkey :-)

jrw526

LO started refusing purées at 8 months so we just started giving her soft food she could feed herself like beans, sweet potato fries cut into small pieces, small pieces of chicken. It took a little while for her to figure out how to get it into her mouth from the liver grasp, but now she's a pro.

katka512

We started with puffs and rice cakes. At first I broke them into small pieces; now she eats them whole. I give her small pieces of fruits and veggies and bought bags of frozen veggies so I can thaw a bit at a time for her to eat.
She also has pancakes and just bites off pieces. I was nervous at first that the pieces were too big but she does great with it.
She has no teeth yet.

BTBergstrom

Lo also started to refuse purees we do noodles, beans, small pieces of chicken, soft veggies, potatoes, puffs, yogurt melts, nutri grain bars, pretty much anything as long as it isn't to sugary or salty she loves it. Although her pincer grab is more of a handful grab

HKline922

BTBergstrom said:

Lo also started to refuse purees we do noodles, beans, small pieces of chicken, soft veggies, potatoes, puffs, yogurt melts, nutri grain bars, pretty much anything as long as it isn't to sugary or salty she loves it. Although her pincer grab is more of a handful grab

Ooh yes! I forgot to include yogurt melts in my comment! They are big enough to grasp and dissolve the fastest. Plus they are quite tasty ;-)

bumpuser10054788

When we first started finger foods about a month ago (around 7 months) LO would either not be able to get it to her mouth (cheerios), play with it (pancakes), or gag on it (bits of bananas, flakes of salmon, scrambled eggs). Then in the last week or two something seemed to click and she now loves them and is very good at it. We also started giving her bigger chunks which were easier for her to hold and gnaw on, which seemed to work better for her.

Now she eats chunks of banana, pasta, soft chicken, cheerios, shredded wheat, bread, cheese, and basically anything we feel comfortable giving her. It gets messy but is so much fun at the same time.

ETA: We also bought this placemat about a week ago which has been helpful: https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Diner-Portable-Placemat/dp/B002B55AC0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416965584&sr=8-1&keywords=summer+infant+placemat&pebp=1416965586267. It has a little catcher for food that they drop. It helps keep it from ending up on her clothes/floor, and sometimes she even retrieves what she drops in there. I will agree with other reviewers though that the suction cups aren't super sticky, and it did get a bit stained with some spaghetti sauce, but as long as it is clean I don't mind the stains too much.

kaking78

We started finger foods about three weeks ago in desperation when he started a puree strike. I started with happy baby puffs and peas. Now he's eating anything that's soft and cut into small pieces - small chunks of whole wheat rotini pasta, sticky rice, sweet potato cubes, and tiny pieces of meat.

For those of you with LOs with texture issues, J still doesn't like chunky purees but he's ok with chunks of real food. I think it might be because he has control over eating it whereas the purees just get shoveled into his mouth and he may not know what to expect.

laurenann89

Thanks everyone for all your replies! We tried a chunky baby food tonight and he gagged and hated it. Definite texture issues. I'm going to try oatmeal in the morning with some yogurt drops to see how he does with that. I'm glad to hear that others' LO's with texture issues have been able to overcome them. This is what I'm most worried about bc he currently gags and pukes over chunks. I guess I just keep trying to give them to him, and let him pick up foods to eat himself and eventually he'll learn to like it?

kelley72

I wouldn't wait any longer, and yes I would encourage and offer 2-3 x a day  soft, mashed up/easily dissolvables @HighPeak  the issue is a real one.  I haven't had to deal with it bc I'm not slow to introduce solids and honestly I don't get the reluctance to do so.  My first son was bf for 14 months but he was eating soft/mashed up at 6 months.  Is your lo closer to 6 months or 8 months?  I get the nervousness regarding gagging, just ensure the size of the bite is small and soft.  They do learn to swallow without gagging, also offer water and/or bm if they will take in bottle or ff while eating to assist with swallowing.

I have a sil who had to go to extreme measures with her 2nd son bc of his intolerance to solids.  He was underweight and it was a big ordeal, having to go texture therapy sessions with a speech therapist, followed by an ENT, etc.

I don't want to sound like an alarmist yes of course all develop at different speeds.  I do know that once they exhibit a true issue it doesn't go away and waiting for therapy causes more issues.

*I don't remember how exactly how old my nephew was when he began therapy I do know he was not eating solids at 12 months, nor at 18 months so I think it was in between that time period that they actively sought therapy/correction.

laurenann89

Gosh I had no idea texture issues could be an ongoing thing! We'll be working on it everyday from now on!!

kelley72

I'll be gone for a bit too Just post them and I'll try.  Again, I'm not trying to scare you or make it into a huge deal it's just during the first year the majority of their nutrition is from bm or formula, but from 6+months learning to eat is more than about nutrition.