Finger Foods - Waskom,TX

Updated on May 01, 2013
A.H. asks from San Antonio, TX
8 answers

My daughter will be 9 months old on May 3rd. I keep seeing where other moms are feeding their 9 month olds finger foods. I've already been through this with my oldest but I just can't seem to remember what I did with him. (I'm extremely forgetful and I feel like this didn't happen until I had kids.. Is that normal?!) Anyways, I am TERRIFIED that she is going to choke on something. I break up her Gerber puffs and yogurt melts into small pieces lol. And she only has two teeth. So what are some of your suggestions? Should I even worry about finger foods right now?

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L.B.

answers from New York on

Well, my 11 month old almost choked on puffs; I had to do choking rescue, but that was because I gave him a whole pile and he was stuffing his face! One at a time should be fine! Have you tried those mum mums? They are easy to eat rice crackers that seem to me pretty unchokabke (unlike teething biscuits) and they are great for learning how to eat.

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M.P.

answers from Green Bay on

You certainly can start feeding her real foods (not just the puffs and yogurt melts - those are EXPENSIVE!!) One of my son's favorites was sweet potatoes. I would peel them, cut them into small cubes, and steam the cubes. You can do the same with just about anything - apples, pears, carrots, broccoli...just steam them so they are nice and soft.

Bananas are an EASY finger food - slice them and then cut the slices into 4ths. Even if she only has two teeth, she can still "gum" (move her jaw in a chewing motion) to mash up the food.

Other ideas - pasta (rotini ones are easy to pick up even when cut into small pieces - or elbow noodles), avocado, strawberries...if it is soft, small, and easily mashable, it works great! :-)

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P.K.

answers from New York on

My 10 month old granddaughter is now eating anything we have. However, she does not eat enough of it to fill her, so after she finishes with her finger food she gets her baby food. Hoping in a few more weeks she will be eating more and more. I would start introducing foods now. Just so she can experience different textures etc. thought my GD would never eat table food. She was a gagger. Now those Stage 3 foods are for the birds.
Purée with chunks. Hmm. Should I swallow or chew. She hates those.

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A.P.

answers from Washington DC on

My youngest is the same age. Our routine is pretty established (irish twins), so between 7-9 months we intro finger foods (puffs and yogurt melts, some cherrios too).

Around 10-11 months we move up in finger foods, but they are still mainly a tool to improve dexterity and the action of self-feeding.

Around 12-13 months we start moving away from the bottle and meals start looking about 50/50 between baby food and finger food.

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S.S.

answers from Dallas on

I think my son was around the same age when we started introducing finger foods. He lived off Cheerios! The first few times I gave them to him, I would actually wet them just a tiny bit to start the softening process, but not let them get too wet. And spaghetti rings with no sauce. Just boiled them till they were soft and cool. I made a big batch so I could just give them to him out of the fridge. I also gave him mandarin orange slices (you know, the fruit cup kind) that I cut in half. They are very soft but can be picked up. He never had any problem with them. Give it about 2 months and then graduate up to more sturdy finger foods.

Wish I could do that stage with him again, it was so fun!!!!

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J.T.

answers from Victoria on

i went by what the label said they could handle and had a sippy of water when and if they did choke i told them to drink and they know now to drink something. usually its not lodged in there throat but actually dried peices went down wrong. baby mum mums were our go to. those melts disolve quickly and dont need much teeth. try one you will find they melt quickly and other cereal type foods will also break down with saliava alone. good luck.

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G.W.

answers from Austin on

Eating finger foods can help the child develop her fine motor skills and begin to learn to feed herself. You can offer some finger foods, but you will also of course still need to feed your daughter herself. Gerber puffs dissolve in the baby's mouth, so I don't think you really need to worry about breaking them up. A few other foods you might try are peas or beans that are cooked till soft, or diced carrots or strips of toasted bread. I would suggest only giving her a few pieces of food at a time so she doesn't try to put a handful into her mouth at one time.

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

1/4 inch pieces or smaller. No larger at all, not anything like grapes or marshmallows, or anything else that might be sticky in the throat.

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