Finger Foods - Minneapolis,MN

Hello,

My son took a long time, or at least it seemed like a long time before he would eat puffs and cheerios and things. Now he is almost 11 months and he eats those things but now we are struggling with getting him to eat other things like peices of carrots or peas, beans. I just kept offering him the puffs and cheerios and eventually he started eating them. Sometimes I would put a peice in his mouth so he could at least taste it, but he normally spits it out when I do that. I think it just takes time, and some are slower than others. Just keep offering and be patient! Oh, have you tried some white bread? My son picked that at that on his own before the other things, and he still likes it.

Hello,
Have you tried the small oranges that come in a can. I cannot think of the name of them. Keep on trying she will eventually try them. My daughter loved the puffs and the Cheerios. All that gerber fruit stuff she liked. She will come around.
Good Luck. Ages and Stages as Pampers says!
M.

I wouldn't worry about it. Since the main source of nutrition at 8 months comes from breastmilk or formula the solids don't need to be pushed. I can't remember if at 8 months my son had the pincer grasp (picking items up with only the thumb and fore finger) down yet or not. If your daughter doesn't that may be the problem. Keep offering so she can get some practice and she'll get it when she's ready.

I run a daycare and every child is different just keep trying and one day she will do it on her own as long as you are still feeding her she is doing great.

I am sure every baby has different likes and dislikes. The one thing I have found that my son LOVES is carrots. I buy the little baby size carrots and slice them up into small pieces. I cooked them so that they were so tender, i could smash them easily with my fingers. He just looked at them funny when I put them on his tray, but after I stuck the first one in his mouth, he now grabs and eats them as fast as he can. And where I got this idea was from my mother. She did the same thing with my little brother. He is two years old now, but when he was 7 months old, he also loved his over cooked carrots.

My babies always love frozen peas. Just run them under hot water to thaw and dump on their tray. They pop when they bite them and they love it. They also like to pop them with their fingers.
Best Wishes,
J.

I wouldn't worry yet. My DS didn't eat finger foods right away when I offered them either. It took a month or so for him to get it all figured out. I did make sure to eat what I was giving him, so that he could see that I ate it and wanted him to do the same. Oddly enough, he ate sweet potatoes in jarred form, but still refuses them now as a finger food (it is the only "baby" food that he now refuses as a "toddler" food).

Hi A.,

I have 8 mnth old boys who don't seem interested in eating finger food and really struggled with "chewing" when I stuck it in their mouths. I've tried plain bread that I ripped into pieces I felt were appropriate will a little more success.

The fozen peas and corn thing I've heard of before and discussed with my ped. We both agreed that those food are small enough to be a choking hazard at this point, so I wouldn't recommend trying that one. My ped said the inside of a baked potatoe cut up will be a good one to try - provided it's a cool enough temp.

Especially if your child doesn't have teeth yet (mine don't), I wouldn't freak out too much about how many finger foods they eat. My ped, (and my Mom, honestly) said that there is still plenty of time and that giving them baby food from a spoon is still ok at this point. I was paranoid, too, for a while, but just realize that there is still plenty of time for them to start eating finger foods. My mom said that me and my siblings didn't really eat finger foods until 13-14 months - so maybe our kids are ok!

Good luck!

K.