I have a 6 1/2 month old little boy who is doing very good with 1st foods. We have eaten oatmeal and rice cereal, and peas, beans, squash and are now onto applesauce. I have read in a lot of plces that he is at an age where I can give him other foods such as unbuttered toast, crackers, etc. I am afraid that he would choke on such foods (although I would be right at the table with him supervising his eating). Is he old enough to have foods like this? What about Cheerios?
thanks for all your responses!!!! They are always very helpful!!!
Crackers that will melt when wet will be ok.. like graham crackers. I would suggest staying away from toast though. It doesn't desolve like crackers so unless he can chew it up he would be swallowing larger pieces. When I was young a baby across the street choked to death on toast.. so I never gave it to my children until they had full sets of teeth and could eat really well.
My son still was choking on food occasionally at 14 months. It just depends on the child and what their skill level is as far as chewing goes. If you just started first foods at 6 months, my guess if that he wont be able to handle crackers or bread yet, and definitely wont be able to handle Cheerios. You can try it and see, but it may be better to wait just because if he actually choked, it is a scary experience. I had to tip my son over and save him probably 15+ times between 8 and 14 months. Luckily the food always came out, but if it hadn't it could have been a terrible thing.
If you want to try it, I recommend at least starting with "biter biscuits" first because basically those melt away as the child gums/bites them and don't pose as much of a risk as a piece of cracker would
My son is 8 months old and I still cant give him crackers. He gets choked very easily, even when im right with him watching him carefully. Cherrios are a no no until he gets back teeth. My son got his teeth real early so he never got the chance to gum crackers. He already has 4 teeth fully out and four more barely poked through. Every baby is different, so if i were u i would try a cracker once and see how he does. Dont just hand it to him, let him take a small bite while you hold it so you know how much he gets off. hope i can help.
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If you are interested in the concept of feeding finger foods look into something called Baby Led Weaning. I did it with my son and we started at 6 months (we did cereals and purees the month before that) and he has never had any issues. He's always been very very interested in any foods we eat and that had an effect on our decision. He eats things like large strawberries with the greens cut off, graham crackers, peeled apple slices, large florets of broccoli, cauliflower, boiled/baked potato wedges (red/russet/sweet potatoes), steamed carrot sticks. You pretty much want things that is the right size/shape for them to pick up and hold in their hand but not small enough that they can get in their mouth whole. We still chopped things up and gave things like steamed peas to let him work on his pincher grasp. I do recommend reading up on it a bit before you start so you get all the necessary info and you can make the right decision for you guys. Babies are perfectly able to eat whole foods without teeth, their gums are really really good at mashing things, its just knowing which foods are ideal. I didn't do cheerios until about 8 months because they don't dissolve all that easily. I usually try anything before he gets it that way I know if it dissolves fast/requires some chewing so I know what to expect in his reaction. Also, when you do go for cheerios get the regular ones not multigrain (lots of sugar in the multigrain ones) and with puffs all the store brands are an A shape that's harder for them to pick up so go for gerber or Happy baby (these look/taste like cheerios) for puffs.
You'll still want to keep an eye out for allergies the same way with baby led weaning as you would with the "normal" feeding routine. Know what to do just in case your little one ever does happen to choke. Also be aware that they do have a shallow gag reflex and they will gag stuff back up towards the front of their mouth more often than not if they can't chew/swallow it. You'll get used to what they do when they have that gag reflex triggered and learn that its really not a panic situation. If you're interested in it DO look into it though, look it up online, go to the library and rent books about it! My son's pedi seems to think its not a bad idea though he doesn't have experience with it and my son has always enjoyed it.
If he is using his gums to chew, mash and can effectively swallow go for it. If he is sorta only really using his tongue to squish the food to his throat wait a bit. Another quick rule of thumb is if they can sit up on their own they can start crackers and such.
I am not a big fan of babyfood it just gets old quick with both my kids and with me so I jump to table food and cut out the babyfood pretty quick with my kids. Both my girls were eating complete table food only along with formula by 9-10mos probaly.
IMO, I would not start until around 8 mos. All he needs at this age is breast milk or formula, there is no need for the other stuff. It isn't worth the risk of him choking or the risk of allergies, at his young age.
S.
mom of 3 and daycare provider for 20 yrs
I wouldn't go right to toast and crackers and hard foods- too easy for them to choke. Also, it depends on how many teeth he has. If he has a ton of teeth, he'll be able to handle more than if he doesn't have any. Try the 2nd foods and make sure he's doing okay with them before you start with foods he really has to chew. The Gerber puffs are great for this stage because they pretty much melt in their mouths and they can feed themselves, which they like. Once he's doing okay with those, go ahead and try Cheerios and other hard foods.
Alot of moms have fears over what they think there children might choke on. But if your child has the ability to pick up a cheerio.. let him try. Most of the time they will gum things very nicely so there isn't a choking issue. Start with a limited amount of things so in case something does happen you can take action right away. Most children don't choke on these things. Choking actually happens more often in toddlers thans infants because we are more careful because they have no teeth. It is okay to have crackers and cheerios and all the other things that we had as a child. Just use your mommy instincts and you will do well. I know that alot of moms worry about children developing allergies to food because they are given to early. Well to be honest I don't believe in this because when I grew up in the 50-60's we were given everything and we had less allergie than the children today do. We also were exposed to germs and developed an immunity today that the kids don't have. Which is right?? I don't know except if you look back in history which has the more issues? I started my kids on table foods when they were young, (now 16 and 25) and neither of them have food allergies and have great immune systems because we didn't de-germ everything to a point of total sanitation. Even Dr's now say it is a bad thing because it is causing kids to get sicker than any other era in the past. Use your own judgement.. you know best.
Hello,
My little guy loves to eat toaster waffles (I break it into small pieces), well cooked pasta noodles with butter, and Gerber Graduate Puffs! (just a warning: the puffs seem to be very addicting :) Also, try teething biscuits...they're messy but a lot of fun!
Hope this helps,
S.
Honestly I would wait a little longer to introduce these other foods to him. He's still woking on pureed foods.
Our son didn't even get rice cereal or baby food till he was 9 months old (he was strictly breastfed). I would hold off. There is no need to rush into feeding him other food at 6 1/2 months.....
It really depends on your child... I took it slow with all my kids, but they didn't have any teeth until 9-10 months. Then there was the friend of mine who was feeding her kid pizza at 6 months, and he did fine! I agree with the person who suggested starting out with the biter biscuits. If he does fine with that, you could try club crackers, they are on the softer side, as far as crackers go. No need to rush things!
