Finger Foods - Pocatello,ID

If you are nervous about trying finger foods start with Gerber soft puffs or similar items-they dissolve very quickly and get them used to the idea of mashing b4 swallowing. My 7 month old loves them. He also does well with cheerios now.

I agree 100% with Jodi!!! That's how their body tells you they are ready for solids. Don't start them too soon! =)
Good luck

Absolutley start finger foods. I love when they can feed themselves! Many babies are ready at 7 months, so he should be fine. Cheerios, soft bits of cooked pasta, cut pear, green beans, bananas, peaches, steamed and cut brocoli cauliflower, asparagus, carrots, and little bits of meat and cheese. My kiddos still needed a little help at first but before long he will be doing all the feeding! Good Luck!

I say if they are interested in foods let him eat them. They do dissolve fast in their mouth so he shouldn't have any problem with them. All of my kids had finger foods with no teeth at the age of 5 months. So I think you are ok to give it to him. If they are liking foods then great! Good luck.

after he does okay w/ the puffs, try the biscuits. They just gradually dissolve, but he gets to try to chew on it and he can hold it. Warning- it makes quite a mess!

We always got the Gerber cereals for baby that melt in their mouth. They are pretty healthy and melt pretty quickly. After our son got used to that, we would make Cheerios soggy in milk and then he would eat them. I wouldn't give hard cheerios to your son quite yet....especially if he doesn't have teeth yet. Check out the Gerber toddler food section. Lots of fun goodies there.

Bananas cut into chunks are also good.

We also had a mesh fruit holder when our son was little. We used it nearly everyday! He loved it! And no big chuncks can get out to choke on.

Hi Kasey--

I have a baby girl just the same age (no teeth, either), and she eats Cheerios (though I buy the organic Purely Os) and those puffy stars that Gerber sells. She's also had small bites of cornbread, canned peas, and diced soft fruit like peaches and pears (fresh--I'm not sure the canned ones would be soft enough yet). The funny thing is, she just started choking a little now and then (nothing serious, obviously) because she puts too many in her mouth at once, so now I have to give them to her one or two at a time. But she loves being able to pick them up herself, and sometimes will even pick up and eat a cheerio in the middle of a meal I'm feeding her.
Just thought I'd pass along what we're doing.
Good luck! :)

Hi Kasey,
Start with the baby "puffs" that are in the infant isle. They literally melt in their mouths. I started my first daughter with cheerios thinking they were the same thing. I thought they would melt just as quickly. They don't. My daughter enjoyed eating them but would gag often. I would start with the puffs until your baby gets used to swallowing a bit of a solid...then go to cheerios. Good luck! Have a geat day!

If he has no teeth stick with things he can mouth or gum well. Cheerios need teeth in my opinion or they typically will swallow them. Try teething biscuits, they are messy but dissolve with saliva and are easy to gum. I would stick with rice cereals, the number 2 baby foods until he has some teeth personally.
My son got teeth late but could gum pizza crust and toast if I sat and was right there with him.
They also have teethers type things at Babies R Us where you can put soft fruit like a peach or pear cut up and have them chew on it and they get the fruit out through mess holes in the teether.
I wouldn't worry so much, once he has teeth it will be a lot easier to give him a variety of new finger foods.
If you don't care about mess, put some cottage cheese on his highchair tray or scrambled eggs even.
I used to make up scrambled eggs with cheese and my son though made a mess would gobble it up.

My daughter is almost 1 and still has no teeth...she was probably around 8 months when I started her with Cheerios.
I would recommend breaking the cherrio in 1/2 and letting him try that...a size that would not choke, but give him the feeling and practice of something in his mouth. They dissolve pretty quickly, and as you feel more comfortable you can give him bigger pieces.
The Gerber puffs are good too - they dissolve really quick!
This is such a fun stage in your baby's life!!!

He is old enough. I had a friend who used to put a Cherrio in her mouth at the same time that she gave one to her baby, so she would know how melted his was at any given time. Also, you could try Gerber Puffs--they are star shaped, and they disolve almost instantly. Both my kids LOVED them!

I am about to start my little one on finger foods; and a freind of mine who did a lot of infant fostering said to start with the gerber puffs. She siad that they melt in in the mouth so there is very little choking hazard. She also told me to make sure she was in her high chair and I was paying full attion to her the first time I gave them to her.

I think it's fine to start some foods that he can gum at. Try the Gerber puffs. They are like cereal but they dissolve really fast so it's easy for beginners to eat. They come in fruit and veggie flavors. My daughter loved the apple ones.

get the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron....it has a month by month intro list for great ideas & awesome nutrition info!!

Hi there...you can try the gerber graduates puffs that are sold in the grocery store. they are small and dissolve very quickly. He can start to practice picking them up and self feeding and you don't have to worry about him choking. I started my son on them at this time too. Also, fruits are good especially avocado and banana cut into little pieces because they are pretty mushy. His little gums can work on them....good luck!

No it isn't okay--babies who don't have teeth shouldn't be eating solids at all. Teeth coming in is the baby's way of telling you that their digestive system is ready for solids foods. Until then they should only be on breast milk or formula. I know this is an unusual perspective from my midwife who is also a naturopathic doctor. Just thought I would offer this different point of view.
J.

They kinda chew with their gums.. so I would try the gerber graduate puffs. Also, Smiths has a generic brand that are cheaper. A little less than 2 dollars a piece.