How do you know when to offer finger foods?

lafayettegirl · September 2013

DS is just over 7 months and has been eating purees up to this point. I just don't know when to start offering actual finger foods. He is definitely interested in actual food - he grabs for ours and the foods at day care, but how do you determine if a child is ready for something a little more solid?

I just feel like transitioning to foods is something I can't find a lot of guidance on. Even the doctor's office is no real help.

Thoughts or advice?

JamieBart · September 2013

I'm sorry I have none but need some! I'll be following this one! Thanks for posting.

Eitak82 · September 2013

I just started giving our son more pieces as he's seemed interested and so far he's done really well. In the past couple of days he has been resisting the spoon (which he has loved up until this point), so I'm seeing us going even more for finger foods now!

I just cut up what we're eating, but make sure you make the pieces large enough that your baby can grab them. I was cutting them too small at the beginning (because I was afraid of choking), but they were far too tiny for him to grab!

jobiann · September 2013

I noticed DS's pincher reflex was really good one day and for dinner we were having green beans...so I just broke them apart a bit and mushed them slightly and let him go to town on them. It took him a while to get it down but now he loves his "solid" food along with his "purees". We also give him the Plum Organic puffs and basically whatever we are eating. I don't know if it is necessary to give a whole green bean/banana or whatever, I just feel more comfortable giving him smaller bites.

He is 8 months and almost 1 week old.

princessbmw · September 2013

What kind of foods did you start with?

nanabanana06 · September 2013

princessbmw said:

What kind of foods did you start with?

Whatever we were eating for us. No allergies in either family, no need to worry about special foods.

Toni828 · September 2013

I'm having the same concerns about finger foods. Thanks for bringing this up, it's so hard to get info on this.

graciesmurf · September 2013

I started with purees around 6 months. DD has an easier time with hard solids than soft ones. She is a champ with animal crackers, gold fish, cheerios, and other cereal. She's decent with some fruits. I quarter grapes for her and she's had pieces of apple, melon, mango, plum, and pear. She cannot/will not eat bananas unless they are on a spoon. She just mashes them up and plays with them. I steam veggies for her, but she likes her food below room temperature.

My advice would be to try different textures and see what baby likes. Good luck mama.

stephrodgers07 · September 2013

https://articles.lucieslist.com/1-week-25-starting-solids-6-months

This is a really good article I read. Love her articles.

ashbee0223 · September 2013

The best advice I can give is to offer little pieces of gummable whatever you are eating and see how LO does. I started giving Landon puffs at 6 months and he had the pincer grasp and chewing down within a couple weeks. He's 8 months now and I have been giving him table foods for a couple weeks. He does great and gets better every day. Gagging teaches them what they can and can't swallow. Just offer something soft that you feel comfortable with. LO won't get much into the moth starting out but it's good learning for them. Also what pp said about big enough to pick up. I used the puffs size to determine how to cut up food.

momofmanyinthemitten · September 2013

I just gave him some Puffs one day. He was all over it. From there, we moved on to sweet potatoes, bananas (which he still hates), green beans, and pears. We're renovating our kitchen right now, so I can't get too fancy on a hot plate.

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