to start finger foods, can DD just have purees forever??????
After all of these choking stories, I'm freaking out here. I tried to give her Puffs the other day (broken in half) and she just didn't know what to do with them. At one point she started coughing and it scared the hell out of me.
She will be 7 months old in five days... when do you typically start offering finger foods?
Guess now's a good time to enroll in a CPR class.
Re: Now I'm terrified...
We've been giving DD finger food since she was about 7 months old. We skipped right over purees. She has no teeth and has always done amazingly well with finger foods. We just make sure everything is cut up for her (though she eats Ritz whole now). She's choked a couple of times, but was always fine. We're always with her when she's eating. And honestly, she's choked on cheerios. It's just swallowing it wrong, and it can happen no matter what they're eating.
When you feel ready, introduce things. The puffs dissolve SO fast, so they're a great way to learn how to eat finger foods.
Sarah's right.
DS started out eating whole saltine crackers (it was the ONLY solid he'd eat). He wouldn't touch purees until after he mastered the finger foods (now he loves purees).
And now, I'll peel an apple and give him the whole thing to gnaw on and he loves it. If I'm eating an apple and he sees me, he freaks out and gets really pissed until I let him have it.
Puffs are nice. Try one (they're pretty yummy) and see how it melts in your mouth (and remember that babies have even more saliva than we do, so it melts better for them!).
DS did cough and gag at the beginning. Just make sure you know the difference between gagging and choking.
And yeah, get yourself and anyone else who watches your LO educated on CPR.
It can happen to anyone. Just stay close to your LO during mealtimes!