When to start finger foods?

mrsjessnjorge · May 2010

Things like puffs? Does the baby need to have teeth? I looked at a bottle of puffs at the store the other day and it says that it's recomended for crawlers. Nico does not crawl just yet. He is very, very close though. Do you think we can try some already or should we wait?

Oh, and another question. We started solids at 6 months. When is it a good time to move up to stage 2 foods? Should I move up to stage 2 foods first and then try things like puffs?

FutureHernandez · May 2010

We started finger foods and puffs at about 7 months. It was so scary at first and I'm sure other moms can agree! I would cut the puffs in half at first until he got the hang of it. At about this age he would attack my banana and take bites of it. I just followed his lead!

doris03 · May 2010

Our pedi told us to start Stage 2 foods as soon as we had gone through all the veggies and fruits in Stage 1. I started Hunter on solids at about 5 1/2 months so I guess about 3 weeks later we started stage 2.

I bought some of those puff stars last week and also broke it in half - he kinda chewed on it and then I guess it melts with their saliva? I was super paranoid though. H isn't crawling yet, but scoots and is really close to crawling so I figured I'd try.

carolette24 · May 2010

I started DD with solids at 6months and also gave her fruits and veggies stage one for about 3 weeks and then moved on to stage 2.

I have been giving her the puffs and the little yogurt bites since about 7 1/2 or so, and yes I think all mommies are paranoid moi included because they actually just melt in their mouths so after the first try I realized it was okay to relax!

MellyMelB · May 2010

We started puffs at around 7 months but Sophie did not "get it" and really get good at picking up food and putting it in her own mouth until the very day she turned 9 months.

Stage 2 foods are just like Stage 1 except more quantity per package. So if you find yourself giving him a few packages are dinner, up the amount. Stage 3 is when the chunks start coming into play and yes I would do that about when he gets the hang of more solid foods like puffs or cheerios.

MelanieJH1016 · May 2010

You can start puffs now. They dissolve in their mouth,so don't worry about choking! Zoe didn't crawl til she was a year old, so if we had waited on finger foods til she crawled, that would have been silly! Stage 2's can be started as soon as you've gone thorugh all the Stage 1's. they are still all pureed. The stage 3's have the chunks, we bought a few but by that time she preferred table foods than the chunky baby food.

ANJ410 · May 2010

I started Nicky on finger foods at about 6.5 months. I liked giving him a zwiebak toast or wagon wheel better than the puffs because he could hold it himself and gnaw on it. Once those got wet with saliva, they would just turn to mush and he could easily swallow them.

I started solids at four months old and once he had tried all of the stage 1's, I moved right on to the stage 2's. When I started simple finger foods and saw that he didn't gag and knew how to mash them with his gums, I began giving him the textured stage 3 jar food and soft table foods like bananas, pancakes, eggs, grilled cheese, etc. That was between 7 and 8 months old and he was completely off of baby food between 9 and 10 months old.

Nicky did not get his first tooth until he was 10.5 months old and his second tooth didn't come in until 4 months later. He didn't have a mouth full of teeth until he was over two years old. They do not need teeth to eat table food. You just have to cut it small and make sure it is something that he can mash with his gums.

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