New Gourmet Food

~Emma’s Mommy~ asked:


I’m wondering how to start my daughter out on eating things like crackers, cheerio’s, and finger foods? She is 8 months old and I have been hearing that I can give her things such as crackers and bits of bread and veggie/fruit puffs… But I’m afraid of her choking! Also when I do give her small bits of chunkier foods she gags a lot and makes some really funny faces lol! What do I do to get her used to the feeling of chunkier foods and what worked best for you? Thanks for any input!

Peyton

6 Responses to “How did you start your child out on eating finger foods?”

1. Savannah Says:
   August 31st, 2009 at 1:40 pm

   Jackson

   slices of banana are a great starter, also thaw frozen mixed veggies, sliced strawberries, etc. give her time, she’ll adjust, and don’t be afraid, there is very little that could actually lodge in her throat and choke her, just trust your instincts, and good luck!

2. Jacob Says:
   August 31st, 2009 at 6:51 pm

   Aidan

   Those first few times my daughter tried actual solid foods — not just baby food — I was on pins and needles, ready to fly into CPR mode at the slightest sign of distress! LOL

   Those veggie puffs were great because they practically disolved on her tongue. Cheerios of course were, and still are, a big hit with her. And tiny pieces of soft banana.

   After she got more teeth, I introduced green grapes cut up really small. I even peeled them for awhile until I was sure she wouldn’t choke on the skins. And when she turned one, she started eating small cubes of cheddar cheese. Cheese and grapes together are one of her best loved snacks.

   There were a whole bunch of other things in between, but those were just a few of her favorite finger foods.

3. Savannah Says:
   September 2nd, 2009 at 12:33 am

   Carlos

   It something that your baby likes, may be start with banana because its soft and sweet then you want to give her soft boiled veg’s.Please stay in front of the baby to see that he is not putting to much in his mouth at once, till you know he/she is o.k.on own.

4. Layla Says:
   September 2nd, 2009 at 1:57 am

   Layla

   Try Fruit Puffs- they dissolve in the baby’s mouth… our son loved the Banana Puffs… he hated almost any other kinds. But at first I’d even break those in half. Then to cheerios… my son never choked on those. My son also loves cinnamon graham crackers. Just make sure the foods you let her try are small like a pea to start out with. I had to give my son baby food – and still do now- and he’s 16 months… but he does sooo much better now with regular foods. But because he doesn’t like textures of regular bananas yet, I give him the baby food instead. Now that he just got his molars in, he chews his food up really well. She’s still young, so try those puffs for a while… then move to cheerios. Her formula or ****** milk will provide the main nutrients she needs for now.

   Good luck, I was worried about this stage as well… my son just didn’t really like textured regular foods at all, but he will eat more and more now that he’s a little older… he loves trying my food… so in a few months, if you make something, try to make things like mashed potatoes (you can even try small bites of that now)… but things like that she can eat, and she might love trying different foods you eat

   I have to add-sorry- but if your daughter does choke- the food is usually very easy to grab- you take your pointer finger like a hook, and grab the food out of the mouth. I’ve done this a couple of times with my son (more when he was a year old) not as much now that he has those molars.

5. Nathan Says:
   September 4th, 2009 at 3:19 pm

   Sophia

   My son had the same problems. He gets occupational therapy for some fine motor issues that he has so his therapist gave us some pointers and actually fed him a couple times. She said thicken stage 2 baby food with cereal, just a little bit at first. Then add some little pieces of a saltine cracker, let it sit for a little bit so the cracker softens some, and then try feeding it to her. Every couple days I would make it thicker. He was taking it down like a champ so I tried Stage 3 food. He ate that like crazy then, so I gave him a graham cracker. Graham crackers are great because they taste good and get all gooey in their mouths. After he was good with that I tried again with the fruit puffs. He doesn’t choke at all with them now. He just started eating table food within the past two weeks. Just watch out for plain dry saltine crackers. I’m not sure if it’s the cracker or my son, but he still chokes on them.
   My fiance always tells me that kids have to learn sometime. I know it’s hard though. I still get paranoid about him choking. Good luck!

6. Abigail Says:
   September 6th, 2009 at 9:57 am

   John

   I’m doing the same thing right now with my twins.Try Gerber 3ed foods because they are thicker and I’m still weirded out about the Cheerios and crackers but the Gerber fruit and veggie puffs are great they dissolve really quick and you really have no worry about choking unless you have a piggy like I do who trys to eat them by the handful (don’t worry she didn’t even really choke she just needed a drink) and they taste good, Arrowroot cookies also dissolve easy. and bitter biscuits are good to but watch them with them so they don’t get chunks off. Banannas are also really good starters they love to mash them in their little fingers. I also give them spaghetti cut really small I put them in the high chair and let them go for it (its messy ). I also got a packet from the WIC office they suggest;Mixed baby cereals,Toast squares,stale gramm crackers,small pieces of cooked veggies and peeled soft fruits,small peices of cooked or ground meat. No fish! No peanut butter! No honey! Fish and peanut butter may cause allergic reaction and honey causes botulism. They also say no eggs till 1, because of allergies but I had already given them scrambled eggs. They also make this infant feeder by munchkin and you can give your baby fresh stuff with that they are so cool its like a teething ring with a mesh bag attached.