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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Finger foods and weaning!

5 replies

pag2020 · 15/02/2022 14:31

Hello All!

After a bit of experience advice really to see if anyone else has come across this before?

So I have started to wean my 6 month old and it's going fairly well, he has taken to spoon feeding very well! But he seems to have an issue with anything he has to nibble on by hand. So I will give him a piece of veg, toast etc and he will nibble on it for a bit and then will start to scream blue murder! Like full on purple crying, cannot breathe style! He is the same with any teething rings etc. Is it frustration or discomfort in some way? I'm not looking down answers per say but just wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

TIA x

OP posts:
pag2020 · 15/02/2022 14:32

*looking for answers !

OP posts:
Jurassiclover · 16/02/2022 17:50

Have you tried putting some teething powder on before you try him with finger food? Maybe it's just that his gums are super sore?

Cormoran · 16/02/2022 18:50

It is absolutely normal, he hasn't learnt how to chew yet and food is not moving in the mouth. Next time you eat, try it, put something in your mouth without chewing , it won't go anywhere unless it starts melting. No wonder he starts crying .

Some kids learn fast, other take more time and that's fine.

Chewing will produce saliva which will lubricate the food, make it wet and easier to swallow. Chewing also means the tongue moves the food to the back of the mouth, as opposed to liquid when the tongue pushes milk/puree to the palate and from there down.

Now that you know the why, make some foods which are wet, such as a very soupy risotto, it will be wet, and there will be just enough texture to stimulate the chewing movement.
Or prepare some soups, with a bit of baby pasta in it.

Don't fall for the baby junk food, so ultra processed it does melt, but will give baby a preference for artificial taste. Melty puffs are just Cheetos with some powdered vegetables to be able to list them on packets. The same with rusk or veggie sticks.

Braise or roast your vegetables (no salt), such as zucchinis cut thinly lengthwise, and you can put a small piece on a baby fork. When. you start with fish, either boil it and keep some of the water so you can add a teaspoon of it with some melted butter to make it easier to eat.
Cook the lentils or chickpeas in a small pan, with diced carrot, celery , onion, some water, and then mash it with the back of the fork. It will be solid and wet at the same time

He is 6 months old, plenty of time to first learn to chew and then use hands.

pag2020 · 17/02/2022 11:48

@Cormoran thank you for your detailed response! Much appreciated. Glad to know that it's all normal! My Health Visitor has always been a bit pushy in terms of getting him to eat probably too much for his age. She was telling me to give him all sorts of food! So I was worried he was behind in that sense! I feel more at ease now!

OP posts:
miltonj · 17/02/2022 12:14

I didn't give my daughter finger food for ages as she didn't cope with it snd also I was nervous. Now at 17 months she refuses to eat anything that ISN'T finger food!! Anything saucy or that reqhires a spoon, she's not interested in. So it just goes to show, that it doesn't matter what they're like at the beginning or what method you use x

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