When to start finger foods for babies

Hi sanjuruby3,
Don't start finger food if she is not ready for it. She will let you know when she is ready. Mostly it starts between 7 to 9 months.

My DS first started chewing and now trys to pick food with finger but still not perfect. Before he used to gag if the food is not mashed and runny. Now he eats yogurt melts, roasted sweet potato and carrots. But blueberries he can't due to skin.

 

Sanju, maybe 7 months is a tad bit too early to start finger foods, especially since she is still eating completely pureed food. When I introduced finger foods, I started with big chunks of apples. She used her 2 teeth to just munch on/ scrape. She played around with food for quite a bit before actually eating them. And she was way over 7 months. I think she was close to a year before she started eating finger foods.

 

ya, I also saw a lot of babies here who by 7 months started eating things like when mine was 12 months or at times even 14 months! Go at the baby's pace. keep offering her foods, even if she is throwing them. Eventually she wull get the hang of it.

 

Don't worry about her not being able to crawl, some kids skip some mile stones. I would suggest talk to your ped first. One of my friends daughter turned 1 year last week, she is didn't crawl or trunover, went directly to sitting, i think she has started standing now.

Don't start finger foods if she is not able to chew or swallow, they may get uncomfortable. My DS develop chewing & finger grip and had is front 2 teeth before showing interest in finger food. If you really like to start finger food, i would suggest yogurt melts.

Once they start start eating finger food, they want to eat every thin on their own and will not eat what we feed. Enjoy this time, when they eat what we feed, as we are the boss now

 

I started finger foods at 7 months, but just banana. I did that for a month and then started actual finger food at 8 months. I gave sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli. I also gave egg yolk omlette, cut up into pieces. For the most part, she would just play with it and eat a tiny bit, she actually started eating at around late 8 months-9 months.

Initially at 7-9 months, I would always be there to observe her when eating. Never leave them alone when first starting out. When they do gag, dont rush in, they know how to handle the situation. You can pat her back gently after a few seconds or give her water to drink. For the most part, they rarely gag if the food is soft. Make sure to give them soft food and small bite size pieces.

My baby also didnt have any teeth, she just got her first 2 teeth at 14 months. So until then I gave her soft finger food. I started roti and parathas at around 11 months. I gave her french toast at 9 months for breakfast and till today that's all she will eat for breakfast.

My baby started crawling at 10-11 months and sitting up by herself at the same time too. But she still started finger foods early at 9 months because she could hold her head up and sit upright in the high chair.

Start slow and if you think shes not ready then stop, wait for a few weeks and start again. When I gave roasted veggies or bananas, most of it was on the floor, but after 2-3 weeks it changed. So dont give up, keep at it and they will automatically know that its food and it tastes good and they will eat it.

I gave her puffs at 10-11 months, that too only when we are travelling or in emergency situations when I dont have actual food on hand. Dont get her addicted too much on puffs, otherwise that is all they want to eat and nothing else.

I would definitely recommend finger food at 8-9 months, it just makes things so much easier later on. I still give khichdi, oatmeal with spoon and if we are outside and I know she will make a mess, I will feed her. If they eat by themselves, they can learn portion size and also it tastes different for them and they understand the feeling of "I am full now".

Cooks.