Munchkin Fresh Food Teether

He may not even need the feeders, but Whatever you do, do not put bananas in them - I had to use a tooth pick to clean it.

My daughter has a 5 month old,and puts a frozen pear in the mesh...However she made her own'sugar tit''[that's what they used to call them]..She made it from a piece of cotton hemp...He loves it.....Too many pesticides on strawberries,unless they are organic...Frozen apple,would be good,...Good luck....Grandma S.

No Stawberries!!!! They are a huge allergin. I believe you're suppose to wait until a least 1 maybe even 2 before introducing strawberries. I've heard of using frozen, peeled grapes, ice cubes, any food that he already eats, but frozen would probably work.

I put a frozen or cold banana and frozen peaches - it tastes yummy, keeps Spencer busy, and makes a great teether. I've also put Zweibek toasts in - it makes them less messy. Good luck!

Hi! I have used the mesh teethers with many daycare kids that I watch. They love it! You can put really anything in them. I have put the Zwiback toast, and the bitter biscuits in there so I don't have to worry abut the kids getting too big of a bite and choking. I have also put popsicles in them on a hot day and it is a nice cool treat. Any kind of fruit has always been a hit for me! Once you use it, you will not know how you ever lived without it!

Frozen chunks of banana are great for teething.

I used them and I HATED them. They were impossible to clean. They seemed great...in theory. But when put to use, I had a lot of trouble with them.

Hi J.,

I love the mesh sleeve. I still use it every now and then for my 11 month old. I put the melba toast, bitter biscuits, apple slices, pineapple pieces, orange slices and the list goes on. It has definitely served its purpose in our household. We are so worried about him chocking because he takes exaggerated pieces when the goodies are not in the sleeve. I say use your imagination and if you don't mind a little mess, then go for it.

D.

I would avoid strawberries for the first year, they can cause an alergic reaction. My daughter loved half a banana or other pealed fruit. She has always liked to feed herself so I think it's more about that then getting much food out of it.

We loved this product. It really is great with just about anything you want to put in it. Both of my sons enjoyed theirs with all kind of fruits-even just an ice cube for teething. It is such a nice way to introduce good foods without the worry of choking. I will mention that bananas tend to get tricky for the cleaning aspect. And there is a lot of drooling involved with the really juicy foods. Enjoy! I'm sure your baby will love it.

Hi, J.. My son, now 7, LOVED when I'd put foods in that. I put EVERYTHING in it. I put, steak, chicken, pork chops, any friuts and vegis that give juice, pickles, etc. You name it, we probably put it in there. My son is an exceptional eater, always has been. It's a great way to introduce new foods/tastes and also to see what your son may be allergic to. Be careful at this young age with acidic foods (strawberries). A lot of kids are allergic to them before age 2-3. I found that out with both of my kids. My daughter ate a piece of strawberry by accident and ecded up with a rash on her face for a few days. It wasn't a harmful reaction, but I had to be caustious. I had both of my kids tested by 2 different allergy doctors and they both confirmed the "allergy". I wish you the best of luck with your new baby.

Dear J.,

I used the mesh fresh food teether for my youngest son and he loved it. I used to put all kinds of fruit into the teether (apples, grapes,peaches, strawberries). I vividly remember that he loved when I put grapes in there because he could suck out the juice and some of the pulp. If he is teething, you can even freeze the fruit and put it in there to use as a teether. I have to say that I never used meat in there so I can't recommend anything in that category. My only advise is that it can get messy with some types of fruit (i.e. strawberries, frozen blueberries) so I would keep him in the high chair when he is using it.

My daughter LOVED her mesh feeder. I'd put banana, melon, grapes...all and every fruit she couldn't break up on her own in there. I'd also put ice cubes that she could chomp and suck on for her teething. I never put meat or any savory foods, it was always fruit that would mash down and the juice and small bits of pulp would come out. It was a big hit at our house.

i didnt like them, put the easiest thing to try first without a mess is a banana.

Some of the things that I put in there:
My son loved frozen watermelon when he was teething. Apples in little chunks, pears in little chunks. But if you do freeze something, make sure it can fit through the hole before freezing.. i learned that the hard way.

try peach, apple, & pear slices, after a few sucks they will get the juice from the fruit & love it! my son did!

I was told bananas work great in it. I have one too, but have yet to use it yet, my son is a little too young still, only 4 months. I believe that any soft fruit, that you know your son can eat, should do. I have not heard of meat being put in there though.

Hi. I just started my 8 mos. old on the food teether. I put bananas in it the first time (because I know she loves them). At first, I think she thought it was weird, but then she got the hang of it. You can basically put anything in it...apples, meatballs(minus the egg and bread crumbs and spices), veggies, etc. I would start with something you know your child likes first. Good luck! They are messy though and tough to clean. I use a mini- bottle brush to clean them.

This teether can be great! My son wasn't that into it, but when he was, I put arrowroot cookies, bananas, and ice cubes! I have a friend who used frozen fruits and veggies as well, basically any chokable items, even meat, yuck. I think strawberries and most berries are stage 3 foods, so you might want to check on that. Good luck!

My daughter turns 7 months tomorrow and is also teething. I put frozen banana in her mesh eater. Ice also works...just be ready for the wet mess :)

My daughter loved using the Mesh Teether.
She specifically liked apples and pears. I would cut pieces/slices to size (peal off the skin) Then put in a ceramic bowl with some water, put a wet papertowl over it and put in the microwave for at least 30 seconds. This softens them up a bit. THEN, I would put them in them in a zip loc freezer bag and have them ready to go when I needed them. I am also told that banana works too. Might be messier.
PS - may I recommend Hylands products. My daughter is cutting her 2 year molars and still prefers the gel. It is not as strong as Ambesol but she lets me use it. And then, lets talk about the teething biscuits. They are FABULOUS! a must have and you can put them under your 7 month old's tounge. Good luck.

Hard fruits like apples and pears work best. Soft things like bananas are just messy and make the bag really gross. You can also put in things like popsicles but only if you plan on giving a bath later.

i put everything in those things
I put Large Ice cubes in the summer also I put juice in the cubes when he got a little older. Apples,kiwi,etc anything you can fit that you want him to try.It is very messy though so nakey is the best when your giving it to him.good luck

These are awesome. My twins loved them, put frozen fruit in them. I would freeze any fruit, pineapple, grapes, catalope, mango..go for it the best for teething

Frozen grapes. My son loved them.

Hi J.,

My youngest is 7 months today and I haven't gotten one for him yet. I had it for my other two boys though when they were babies and their favorites were bananas. I don't know about strawberries because of the seeds even though they are tiny. :| I would stick with bananas, peaches if your baby has tried them in baby food, etc. I usually do the soft things but be forewarned that the mesh gets nasty. I would wash it out and put it in the dishwasher and then replace it every couple of weeks personally. Just be sure to still watch him that he doesn't get too much in his mouth at one time.

L.

http://APerfectMoment.MyArbonne.com

I loved those things. I cut up apples and other fruit and I also put frozen veggies in there. Frozen peas and carrots work real well and will help with the teething.

K.
Mommy to Timothy 10 mths

my kids loves his. try grapes (peeled), blueberries, watermelon - anything juicy. i never did veggies or meat. blech. also try oranges, grapefruits.

You can put almost anything in there, My son absolutly LOVED apples in it; however, I do not recomend bananas, it does not clean out of it well, but they do enjoy it. I admit I never tried meat I stuck to fruits and vegitables.

I used them with my son now 2 and 1/2. they work well. I would put cooled off cantalope, honeydew, and even a cold apple chunk with out the skin of course. You can put about any food in them. I would stay away from the meats just for sanitary sake but that is me. Good luck hope it helps you get through this time.
S.
Altamont, NY

Dear J., i love those net teether items you can put bananans in them potatoes peaches as long as they are soft ones you can put lunchean meat like turkey ham in them... My daughter is 18 months old and i still use it off and on...C.

When my girls were small, i used to put bananas and those baby meat sticks in them. They LOVED it!!!
Hope this helps.

I used to use these all the time with my twins and they loved them. I did however learn the hard way that bananas are not a good thing to put in there as the fibers stick to the mesh and are impossible to remove / clean.

I used slices of apples and pears a lot, especially when they were teething as the cool fruit soothed their gums. One of my favorite scrapbook pages is of my son eating an apple with one of these, the joy on his face is so apparent.

Have fun and take lots of photos.

I used them with my first and plan on using them with my second. I've put all sorts of fruit in them. If they are hard fruits like apples I just put them in the microwave for a few seconds to soften a little. My daughter loved them. They do make a mess with juices. But they are a great way for you to incorporate the fresh fruits and veggies. You could even freeze the fruit and put them in it. We would buy the fruit cups and put a few peices in the ice trays and freeze. She loved the coldness of them on her gums.

I discovered this while visiting a friend several years back. She was hesitatnt to use it. I was visiting for the weekend, and she really felt bad that her son was cranky from teething. I encouraged her to use it, and it worked wonders. He loved it contonues to use it to this day. When I had my boy 20 months ago she ssent me 2 in a care package when I got home from the hospital. I find that bananas work best. Just cut a piece of the banana, put it in the freezer and it is quite a treat as it soothes the baby's mouth. It does get messy, but what isn't at this age. It is also hard to clean. I recommend turning the bag inside out and soaking in hot water. Good Luck!

These are great! Bananas, peaches, pineapple, apple chunks, anything sweet that they can gnaw on.

OMG!! I love these things, but I'll give you an even better one. You can find it online or at Babies R Us. It's the same thing, only make by Sassy. It's a teething feeder but it has removable nets and sells replaceable ones. It's about $5.00 and you never have to replace it like you will eventually have to with the Munchkin. Having this luxury helps with bacteria and really messy bananas. It also comes with a cap so you can carry it with you and even after your infant has used it and it's all yucky you can cover it up and not get all the stickiness in your bags, pocketbook, etc. You can't find these at Wal Mart or Target. I get these for my friends now who are having kids. They're great to get your child introcduced to new foods and fruits, and of course to help with teething and preventing choking. I suggest freezing bananas. I gave my daughter everything....watermelon, bananas, grapes, peaches, pears, strawberries, teether biscuits, melon, cantaloupe, and more. I never worried about allergies because I always knew what I gave my daughter and what was new and what wasn't. So far, she's extremely healthy, great immune system, and no allergies. My daughter is also a huge fruit fiend. She prefers fruit to cookies....I hope she stays this way! The only thing I would do before giving her a strawberry would be to shave it, meaning get rid of the seeds. :) If you can't find the one made by Sassy, send me an e-mail and I'll send you the link for the Teething Feeder and the replaceable nets.

J.

you can put grapes - peel them first - you can put apples, cucumbers, you can put cooked carrots cold just make them real soft - -tomatoes - soft potatoes - anything that can be smushed

my daughters favorite was bananas

I have always wanted to try it because I feared choking but I knew my babies would hate it so I saved myself the time & money.

I always thought about putting fresh fruit in them, like you said strawberries, but also pineapple, melon, bannana, peaches, & all that yummy juicy fruit you want them to enjoy but are afraid to give to them by spoon or whole.

I am not a big meat eater so it is kind of gross to me to put meant in it too. Try different things & see what he likes best. Good luck & have fun!

A.

Hi J.,

I also have the mesh teethers but haven't used them yet. I've heard that putting them in the freezer with fruit works great. Just make sure it's something a 7 month old should have (not sure about strawberries yet). A chunk of banana, papaya, cantalope, etc...

Good Luck!

Hi J.. I just read a couple of the other responses and saw that other people did the ice cube thing. My youngest son loved the ice cube especially when he was teething.

Hey J., i have a 9 month old daughter and i have been using the food teethers since she has been 6 months old and I love them.....I put frozen fruit that i buy at grocery store in them and it is the best. My daughter loves it, and she also gets some fresh friut juice as it melts which doctor says was very good and healthy for her!You can use regular fruit as well but with the teething the frozen fruit helps them as well! Try it and good luck!!!

G.

We loved ours. I put frozen fruit purees, apple chunks, in ours.
You can use it for anything. It allows the baby to enjoy things they might otherwise choke on.

i put frozen cut up fruit when my daughter was teething...she loved it..sucked on it...it soothed her and was a nice snack...

I used this item with my 5th child; wish I had it for the first four. I used it when she didn't have many teeth, but was really wanting solid foods. She loved eating bananas and soft cantaloupe especially! I will say, though, it was a PAIN to clean the banana out of it. Someone responded with some sort of net that you can replace. I would try that!

Mom Rem of 5

I used it with my son, but he wasn't crazy about it, he wanted the food by itself. I used it with bananas, watermelon, and other fruits. i also used it with meat. I put steak in it and let him go nuts!!! he likes that a lot.

My son loved his. My daughter, not so much.
I put everything in them. Boiled veggies. Carrots, Peas, Potatoes.
Fruits such as watermelon, cantaloupe, berries, apples. Strawberries can be an allergen, so use them with caution.
Also, you can put teething biscuits inside to reduce the chance of baby breaking off big chunks.
I never tried meat. We arent big meat eaters anyway. But, I did use red beans and avocado.
I had two brands of these things. The munchin brand was my least favorite. If it gives you trouble, shop around.
Good Luck!!!

Hi-i have one also..my daughter is almost 6 months...my girlfriend turned me onto them. We found that it is really good for ice cubes(helps with teething. since he can't have big pieces of food yet, anything that will break apart that you are afraid that he will choke on....fruit, large veggies, meats(have not tried) ice pops....they are fantastic and you will find that he loves them. It is great for giving him real food, good textures, stuff like that. He will really enjoy the "real food" experience. ENJOY!!!!!!!!

I'm a grandmother of 5 and my daughter has used these for all 5. the twins especially loved them. She would put raw carrots in them, chicken(poached), ground meat, boiled potatoes, anything she's having for dinner. All the kids started with this and love to eat. Especially their veggies. Try it, the twins get so excited when they see it coming! Enjoy!

Hi I also received the Munchkin food teether and have not used it. My son is also 7 months (d.o.b. 8/2/07) and eats stage 2 3 times a day. I thought I would wait a little longer until we do some table food. I was thinking all fresh fruit and not sure what else! I'm not sure about the meat either, I have a hard time with the idea of jar meat so maybe that would be good. Let me know if you try anything. Thanks and good luck!

Wait!!! Don't use strawberries!!! Very high allergen food. You shouldn't give him berries until the pediatrician says so. As far as the net thing goes you can put: ice cubes (great for teething), chunks of any melon, banana, pieces of meat (if the baby is ready to eat meats), pretty much any moist food that you'd be concerned about the baby choking on if you were to give it to him in pieces. My daughter got most of her first solids through this. It really is a great product... be prepared to clean up a huge mess especially with watermelon and ice cubes! Good luck. He's going to love the variety of flavors you're going to be able to give him!

My daughter loved frozen fruit in these. bananas, strawberries, peaches, melon - you name it..It was great because it was good for her, she loved the taste, I'm sure it made her gums feel good, and it kept her "busy" too!

My ped has told me no berries until after 12 months of age due to allergies.

I use the mesh food teether all of the time with my 9 month old. The best thing I've found? A frozen sliced peach from the frozen aisle of the grocery store. SHE LOVES IT!

We used to put cantaloupe or honeydew melon in our's... the babies LOVED it!

Hi J.,

I used the fresh food teethers with my oldest (now 2 1/2), and am starting to use them with my 6 month old. Some of our favorite foods to use them with were bananas and berries. We never used meat in them, but it's not a bad idea! Our all-time favorite for teething, however, was ice cubes. I'd put one ice cube in the teether, and make sure my son had a nice, thick bib on. He loved it - and hopefully our little one (and yours) will love it too!!

The teethers are a bit of a pain to clean, but some of the newer ones out there have the netting that comes out. Best of luck!

S.

A little about me: Currently an at-home mom to my two awesome boys, returning to work as a music teacher in September.

I mainly put a banana (it's the perfect size) in the mesh bag then stuck it in the freezer. Helps w/ teething and it lasted a while. You can put just about anything in them, any type of frozen fruit or just plain ice cubes. Have fun

Oh my children loved their "biter bags" as we called them (I had baby safe feeders). All of my friends and family thought it was utterly disgusting, but with my teething son and later with my busy twins they were life savers! I didn't let them carry them around because is was too sticky, but in their high chairs they made our dinner times so nice - they kept themselves occupied while we actually ate. So - we filled them with hard things like apples and pears and soft things like melon, watermelon, peaches, canned pears, and strawberries. I did put meat in them, but it wasn't a big hit - not enough juices to suck out and not enough hardness to bite. One little tip - put a few of those linking rings on the handle and attach it to the high chair (especially when out at a restaurant), then when it falls it doesn't hit the floor. I washed mine with dish detergent daily and then about once a week in the washing machine with my kitchen laundry, not dried - it just seemed cleaner. And then, believe it or not... I sold them on eBay - there is a huge market for them, even used (ick, I know, but I boiled them and many people wanted them!) Good luck - it's sticky, but a great into to chewing!!

Both of my kids (now 5 yo & 2 yo) used these. I agree that the Munchkin isn't my favorite brand but I did really like them. We used Baby Safe Feeder brand. Those have mesh baggies that come off and can be washed seperatly from the plastic holders.
They are messy but great for feeding kids fresh fruits and veggies, even homemade breads. If I could cut it to fit, I tried it! Yes even chicken, it came off the grill, cooled and got put into the feeder.
I have given these as shower gifts ever since with positive results.

My son is also 7 months and he likes teething biscuits in the mesh thing! I think they are called biter biscuits. They tend to break into chunks so i just stick them in there and he loves them. I've done orange segments also.

My daughter is 20 mos now and I used those when she was 7mos or so on up until she did better chewing without trying to swallow huge bites. She would be in her walker (we have a kitchen that is a few steps down from the rest of the house and she would go in her walker while I cooked dinner) and eat - pears, apples, the teething biscuits (since she almost choked on them) but mostly fruit just to chew. They don't have to be a main part of mealtimes, they just help the baby practice chewing without the risk of choking. They were actually developed by a dad whose son? choked on something. I used mainly fruits b/c that's what she ate at that time of day, but if it's chewable and the baby likes it - it can go in it for the most part! Oh, and - my daughter LOVED it!

I am also a mother of a seven month old and a 22 month old...I used the safe feeder a couple of times with my son when he was younger but honestly, he prefered to just have the fruit cut into small pieces. My daughter(the seven month old) decided that she did not like baby food, so she has been eating "real food" since she was five months...I just cut everything really small and she is able to gum it(she does not have any teeth)! I have not even pulled out the safe feeder for her...especially since she is now learning to feed herself. With my son, the sahe feeder ended up on the floor more than in his mouth...I have found that a food processor is my best friend!

My son is 11 months old and still loves it. I put frozen chunks of fruit in it to help with his teething and keep him occupied in the high chair for a little while. He loves mango, grapes, peaches, apples. Hope this helps

EWWW, just threw ours out. I could never get my baby to do anything with that product. Great concept, but who wants to suck on mesh...reminds me of chewing on a football jersey. You asked, my baby definitely hated it. I decided to use a blender instead!