how small to "dice" finger food

Melidee82 · June 2013

First time posting a question since introducing myself last week...We have done purees up to this point but now that LO is nearing 8 months old the pedi said we can start introducing finger food. I feel as though I have an irrational fear of her choking and was joking with my DH yesterday about whether or not we could keep her on purees until all her teeth come in.

Anyway, when I read to give something in a small dice what does that mean? The size of a cheerio? Larger? I want to make it large enough that she can handle it in her fingers and her mouth but not so large that I am creating some sort of hazard for her. I actually gave her half a banana today to test the waters. She had a blast with it and made a wonderful mess. She did get very large pieces off - and she seemed to just spit them out or shove them on the roof of her mouth. (I fished out the ones stuck to the roof of her mouth - again because I'm paranoid).

I fully recognize that I am being totally crazy about this but any experience or advice to help talk me down or help me out would be great!

Thanks!

opaque1997 · June 2013

Cheerio size for diced items.. Make sure they are mash able between your fingers or small enough to swallow whole. Also I've heard babies chew with their gums with or without teeth as they don't have molars. They do take bites with their teeth when they have them. We are toothless as well and cheddar cheese sticks I cut them are one of her favs. She chokes on rice every time but does well with pasta... I found canned or boxed soups to be a good way of getting soft diced for easily but I worry about the salt in some of them

chricast · June 2013

I have always found this website very helpful https://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/introducing-baby-finger-foods.htm#.UboXR5x8uSp

I think it is good to start with puffs or cheerios (something that instantly dissolves) so that your LO can practices with her pincer grasp and bringing food to her mouth. Mum Mum crackers are great too.

I tend to make food very small because my little one likes to bite off huge chunks of food and it can be more harm then good sticking fingers in their mouths to dig out food (you can push food further down). Mostly she just gags and then spits out the food if it is too big.

wesleycrusher · June 2013

I started with the puffs since I knew they dissolve. I gave just puffs until she showed to me that she got the idea of chewing- even though she doesn't have teeth her gums are hard enough to mash up things pretty good. Also- they really helped with her fine motor control, it took a while for her to be able to get them to her mouth.

Now she'll eat just about anything. Her favorites are the puffs and wagon wheels that gerber makes. and blueberries- I cut them in half, but they can be slippery to pick up.

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pmduggan01 · June 2013

I dice bananas and other soft food at about pea size. LO did choke for real on a puff, so I'm giving them a break for a while.

CnAnA · June 2013

Pedi says her airway is the diameter of her pinky, so use that as a guide.

pb_bride · June 2013

We've been doing BLW-style finger foods, so they are the size of my pinkie finger in general. Since DS doesn't have the pincer grasp yet, it's much easier for him to use his whole fist to grab the food, hence pinkie-size. The first 3-4 days, he gagged a lot (but babies' gag reflex is way forward; it moves back towards the throat when they get older). After that, he's figured out how big a piece he can handle. If it's too big, it comes back out.

Just a few examples - I give him peach slices, halved strawberries, long strips of mango, strips of bagel, sweet potato wedges, whole rotini pasta etc.

cardiganmom · June 2013

mrs.ike:
Pedi says her airway is the diameter of her pinky, so use that as a guide.

very good to know!

JoNi2010 · June 2013

pb_bride:
We've been doing BLW-style finger foods, so they are the size of my pinkie finger in general. Since DS doesn't have the pincer grasp yet, it's much easier for him to use his whole fist to grab the food, hence pinkie-size. The first 3-4 days, he gagged a lot (but babies' gag reflex is way forward; it moves back towards the throat when they get older). After that, he's figured out how big a piece he can handle. If it's too big, it comes back out.
Just a few examples - I give him peach slices, halved strawberries, long strips of mango, strips of bagel, sweet potato wedges, whole rotini pasta etc.

This. I have been feeding my LO soft foods (avocados, bananas, steamed broccoli, etc) cut up the size of a long french fry. Or, in the case of broccoli, I just leave the stalk on so he can hold and munch on it. Be prepared for a big mess!!

pmduggan01 · June 2013

cardiganmom:
mrs.ike:
Pedi says her airway is the diameter of her pinky, so use that as a guide.
very good to know!

This makes sense to me. Thanks for sharing.

Mrs.RockyM · June 2013

I work with things the size of a pea.

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