Finger foods for a 6 month old?

Question

My son is showing an interest more and more in wanting to feed himself but I get very nervous so I have held off on the finger foods. What are some safe finger foods that I can give to him?

He is sitting unsupported and can pick up the food and bring it to his mouth by himself. He currently eats Earth's Best oatmeal on a regular basis and has been through all of the basic pureed veggies and fruits.

He goes in for his 6 month check up this week and I'm going to talk to his doctor about it but I was hoping for others thoughts as well. Thanks!

Answer 1

Gerber has some really good finger foods. They have these little cereal bites that are perfect for babies because they wont choke on them, they start dissolving in their mouth right away. They also have these biter biscuits that are kinda messy ( my son used to suck on them and they would just get everywhere, but he loved them)

Heres a link to the gerber site. I've used all these products when my son was between 6-9 months and I loved them all. You can find them at any store that sells baby food.

http://www.gerber.com/prodcat?catid=524

Answer 2

I never spoon-fed my kiddies.  The "when" is up to the child.  Certainly somewhere between 6-9 months most babies will choose to eat normal family foods if they aren't already being spoon-fed.

Fruit is a good place to start.  This time of year watermelon and papaya are good bets.  Leave the rind on to make them easier to pick up.  Pears are good.  If you are really nervous you can lightly blanch things like apples.

Meat is good be expect most of it to be spit out, I found out yesterday my baby love venison.

Veggies are also very good.  Broccoli is the obvious one because it is easy to hold.  Zuccini, rapini, cabbage, etc.

http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintro...

Won't he choke?

Many parents worry about babies choking. However, there is good reason to believe that babies are at less risk of choking if they are in control of what goes into their mouth than if they are spoon fed. This is because babies are not capable of intentionally moving food to the back of their throats until after they have developed the ability to chew. And they do not develop the ability to chew until after they have developed the ability to reach out and grab things. The ability to pick up very small things develops later still. Thus, a very young baby cannot easily put himself at risk because he cannot get small pieces of food into his mouth. Spoon feeding, by contrast, encourages the baby to suck the food straight to the back of his mouth, potentially making choking more likely.

It appears that a baby's general development keeps pace with the development of his ability to manage food in his mouth, and to digest it. A baby who is struggling to get food into his mouth is probably not quite ready to eat it. It is important to resist the temptation to 'help' the baby in these circumstances since his own developmental abilities are what ensure that the transition to solid foods takes place at the right pace for him, while keeping the risk of choking to a minimum.

[...]

There is no need to cut food into mouth-sized pieces. Indeed, this will make it difficult for a young baby to handle. A good guide to the size and shape needed is the size of the baby's fist, with one important extra factor to bear in mind: Young babies cannot open their fist on purpose to release things. This means that they do best with food that is chip-shaped or has a built-in 'handle' (like the stalk of a piece of broccoli). They can then chew the bit that is sticking out of their fist and drop the rest later – usually while reaching for the next interesting-looking piece. As their skills improve, less food will be dropped.

Answer 3

We started at 6 months with pieces of  banana (raw is fine), avocado (also raw), steamed apple and pear pieces (cooked to very soft).  These are all very soft so do not pose a choking hazard (although always keep an eye on them!).   Their gag reflex may kick in once in a while, but nothing to worry about, LOL!

Check out www.wholesomebabyfood.com.  It's been a great resource for me.

Have fun, feeding time becomes much more interesting and enjoyable when they start real food!

Answer 4

We never spoon-fed; we went straight to self-feeding at around 6mo.

Re. info online, be careful that what you're reading doesn't come from the baby food manufacturers. Many commercial sites like babycenter.com have infant feeding "advice" sponsored by Beech-Nut, Gerber, etc.

Steamed broccoli and asparagus are great to pick up and gnaw; toast with a yoghourt dip makes a great breakfast... Whole-wheat rotini pasta works well. You can put hummus or other blended spreads on breads or veg for added interest/nutrition.

Answer 5

6 months plus...you can find some sources that say earlier is ok but most doctor's agree that infants aren't able to digest food properly until 6 months...

baby cookies are always good, cooked veggies too (just make sure they arent too hard), cooked pasta, big slices of fruit to suck on...just make sure you monitor him and if you see a big piece go in scoop it out right away...most children choke because their parents aren't paying attention...

my daughter started at about 6-7 mos

Answer 6

I started giving my son finger foods when he got teeth. About 6 months. He can do Cherrios, which you should break in half. Also, small pieces of cheese is fine. Just monitor it. You can also do like those teethin biscuits. He gets to hold it, and it will never break off into pieces where he would choke. Try those.  

Answer 7

There is a lot of conflicting information on this topic. It is confusing and overwhelming, especially to a first-time mom.  But listen to me, because I am right :P  (kidding)...

...I have done both purees and the baby-led weaning method, so I can speak from my experiences with both, and I hope you can learn something from it.

My first son was a Gerber baby all the way, and feeding time was miserable, not to mention a huge mess.  We started with pureed bananas or some bland c**p like that, and sloooooowly progressed to peas, sweet potatoes, and those "dinners"- turkey and rice, lasagna...Thinking back, it could have been anything in those jars.  I'm not sure what exactly some of that stuff was, but I know that my son hated it.  Meals were always an uphill battle.  He didn't like the taste of the food, and spat it out, even after he learned to swallow.  He resented having a spoon shoved in his face, and instead of opening his mouth, he would grab at the spoon and try to get it out of my hand.  Seriously, it was h**l.  And the mess, oh, the mess.  Hardly worth it, considering none of the food stayed in his mouth, and instead, landed on the floor, dribbled down his chest and into his diaper, in his hair, on me.  When we did start solids, it was bland food, mashed to bits.  Pastas and steamed vegetables, void of flavor and smashed to bits, to the point it was almost impossible for him to pick up.  It took a very long time for him to progress to regular food.  To this day, he is very picky, and has a very bland palate. He is reluctant to try new things, and doesn't care for anything with even a hint of intense or unique flavor.

To make a long story a bit less long, my oldest son's first experiences with food was not a happy one.  He was miserable; I was frustrated, and the whole thing was basically a 9-month-long, pureed disaster.

With my now-seven-month old, we are doing baby-led weaning.  Which basically means, I follow my baby's cues and let him self-feed, and offer large chunks of a variety of foods.  I don't use untensils; I just throw a hunk of something on his tray and let him go to town.  It is going beautifully.  I cannot say enough about BLW.  At that age, the main purpose of introducing solids is so baby can explore the food, and it doesn't really matter if they ingest any of it.  His first encounter was with some steamed asparagus and half of a wheat roll, and what a hit that was!  He smelled it.  He twirled it in the air.  He slapped himself in the face with it.  He yelled at it.  He smooshed it.  He sucked on it, gummed it to smithereens, banged it on his tray- and that was exactly the point: to explore his food, and have fun while doing so.

I was nervous at first.  I was nervous about allergies; I was nervous about choking.  I hovered over him like a helicopter, but he is doing so well with it, that I've loosened up quite a bit.  To ease my mind, I learned the difference between choking and gagging.  Babies will gag; it is a natural reflex, whether they are eating solid food or purees.  It is no cause for alarm; instead, I find that it's important for them to learn through their gagging reflex, and let mom learn too.

We have no history of allergies in either side of our family, and so far, baby has had most everything we eat.  I avoid obvious hazard foods, like shellfish and hotdogs and such.  He's had baked scrod, red potatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, banana, apples, mangoes, garden tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, avacado, chicken breast, a variety of breads and crackers (melba toast and bagel chips are a big hit), lasagna, manicotti, grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly (courstesy of his big bro), tempeh, stir-fry, Gardenburgers- the list goes on and on.  Steamed all the vegetables, of course.  We've recently started letting him taste dips and spreads, bruschettas and hummus.  Much to my dismay, he's shown a liking for pickles and lemons- I was really looking forward to those funny "sour" faces, but nope.  Instant hit.

Finally, the mess is minimal.  We can get away with a quick wipe-down with a washcloth if need be.  It's nothing like the pigsty I used to clean up after a puree battle.  A few crumbs here and there, but really not a big to-do with clean-up.

As for "when", I started both my sons at six months, or very close to (less than a week).  Follow your baby's cues- if he is grabbing at your food, go ahead and give him a chunk.  I can guarantee you that you will be impressed at how instinctively well your baby knows how to handle it.  You may find that you have to change your eating habits, if you're prone to unhealthy snacking.  I know I can't sit on my duff with a bag of Doritos any longer, unless I plan on sharing some with my little lad.  Oh, and we save TONS of money!  We generally keep fresh fruits and veggies on hand at all times, so there's always a snack for baby in the fridge.  Those jarred foods really add up; it is so much cheaper to just eat healthy and let baby join the party.

Whatever you decide, best of luck, and have fun.  I know what an exciting time this can be!