Finger foods

[Yvonne]

What is the right age to start finger foods?

Jack is 23 weeks (so next week he is 6 mths if you count it in weeks rather than the date he was born)

The onlt reason i am asking is because he is always picking stuff up and putting it in his mouth, so i know he is able to do it. He stares while we are eating.
He is fine with his other foods and i thought that cols raw carrot would be quite soothing for his gums

Do you think i could try or should i wait?

(Wouldn't think i have already been through all this once!!)

 

[Em78]

just started this with alex. like jack he is fine with his mushy food so just wanted to get started with finger foods.

he loves rice cakes. Organix do some that are fab. he just sucks and chews - only with his gums! - till little bits come off then chews them up too. makes a hell of a mess but he loves it. have to really watch them though as the phrase biting of more than you can chew becomes very apt!

he likes raw carrot on his gums and is getting used to little lumps in his food now too. loves having strawberry or banana lumps in his breakfast!

let me know anything else you try as always looking for other things to try out!

xxxx

 

[Yvonne]

Are you supposed to work their age out in weeks or the date they were born? Like i said he is 23 weeks so he is 6 months by weeks next week but if it goes on the 17th of the month he is only 5.5 months.

Those extra weeks make a difference.

If he is able to pick things up with his picer grip then isn't that a good sign?
And he can situp ith support but also without support for a short time.

 

[Em78]

personally i tend to think that no two babies can be exactly the same development wise therefore you cant say it must be exactly six months. cant see that a couple of weeks should matter myself.

do you let him have lumps in his food? thats how i started and once i saw he was coping with those i started finger food.

sounds like he'd be fine but you can only try and see what happens. he'll soon let you know if he's not ready!

xx

 

[Yvonne]

Not tried lumps in his food to be honest, might try it and see how he goes first.

Thanks Hun, its much appreciated!!

 

[Lauz_1601]

Hi Ella has had raw carrot to chomp on, she loved that, but obviously she didnt eat it as it was too hard. She has had the organix rice cakes and last night I gave her reduced sugar banana rusks and she LOVED then, whenever she dropping it she bawled her eyes out! Ella isnt quite 6 months yet, but se can pick things up fine and can sit unaided for ages now, so I think she is ready. Give it a go, if he isnt ready then he just wont bother with it.

 

[kellie80]

Aimee is really loving her finger food now, although she won't tolerate lumps in her food yet! Her favorate is bread cut up and cooked in the oven on a low heat for around 45 minutes. You can just put them into a tub when they are done and keep them for a couple of days.. She loves them. DH used to be a nursery nurse and it was one of the favorates with the kids.

 

[Lauz_1601]

Kellie thats a good idea thanks for sharing, Ill try that one! Are they allowed a bit of butter on bread?

 

[kellie80]

I haven't put butter on yet but i used to with Jess but only when she was a bit older.

 

[Lauz_1601]

ill try it plain then thanks. Im sure rosieroo said she gave her Ella bread and butter? or it might have been just bread, but she's not here to ask!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[emilia]

Annabel Karmel suggests unsalted butter to use as spread or on some veggies. I mix a little with Oscars potato.

Emilia xx

 

[kellie80]

I'm happy to give it to her without anything on at the minute cos she likes it anyway. I have gave her some of my toast with butter on before now. Never really thought about it.

 

[Lucy]

Hi Yvonne

I agree with Em that no two babies are the same and will develop at their own individual pace. If you think Jack is ready for finger foods then I think you should go for it! If he's not interested or doesn't like it then he'll either drop it or spit it out. Although Olivia isn't eating anything except milk yet I give her batons of carrot to munch on for her teething and it also gives her something to do whilst she's sitting watching me cook dinner). I was a bit worried that now she's got a tooth she would shred bits off but when she has done that she spits them out.

Lucy

p.s it wasn't until the other day that I was working out the wks into months and 26 wks is actually 6 months as there's 52 wks in the year.

 

[Yvonne]

Weeks and months for age really confuses me, i go off 4 weeks in the month!

Is there anyone thats knows the exact way to should calculate age?

 

[Kim]

I think you should count him as being 6 months on 17th, as there aren't 4 weeks in a month, there are 4.4

 

[Yvonne]

oooooooh get you 4.4!!!!



I will god that seem ages away

 

[Rosieroo]

Have you tried him with finger foods yet? I didn't wait til Ella was 6 months as I read a really interesting website that said a baby will only move stuff to the back of their throats to eat when they've got the ability to do it. So far things have worked out really well with her and finger foods, she started off on rice cakes and progressed from there The only time I've been worried is when I gave her a strip of chicken breast and she bit a whopping chunk off, I was cacking myself that she would choke and fished it out of her mouth. Shall be leaving the meat finger foods for a while methinks She likes mini pitta breads aswell. Good luck with it all, I love watching her hold and explore foods and funnily enough the dogs seem to enjoy it too, must be all the dropped stuff. Though they're sick of rice cakes now!