What is non-dangerous finger-food?

[marsup]

My ds, 6 months, eats like a horse (as long as the food is home-made and pureed) and is also very interested in putting things in his mouth and chewing, so I tried some finger-food: a piece of apricot yesterday; a chip-sized piece of lightly steamed courgette today. Almost immediately he bit a piece of each off with his gums, and it was small enough to get stuck in his mouth but not small enough to go down so he started choking. A tap on the back set him to rights, but this is making me nervous. Am I giving him the wrong kind of finger-food? or is this too early?

Breadsticks are an ideal first thing to try- they just kind of melt in their mouths. Ricecakes too. I don't think it's too early, but then I started mine on solids at 4 months, so I'm not the best person to ask probably!

Personally I think choking on finger foods is the first step towards understanding how foods of a different texture behave in the mouth - my friend's ds choked on everything she gave him but it didn't put her or him off - she just tapped him on the back and carried on! Sounds a bit nerve-wracking I know, but it's the way everyone learns (by making mistakes!)

Also agree with ricecakes - you can get snack sized ones that he should be able to hold in his mouth. Also try breaking off small crumbs of a slice of bread - the texture really encourages babies to chew. HTH.

I started DS on solids last Saturday, at 28 weeks. I started with fingers of a soft banana which he swiftly put in his mouth. He even swallowed some of it on the first go. That was a bit of a shock and he sort of choked and then realised nothing was wrong.
I've also started him on thin square rice cakes which dissolve really easily in the mouth but are are easier for him to hold on for longer than snack size ones. Thicker rice cakes apparently are easier for them to choke on.
I've been enthused by the unicef babyfriendly website which has very reassuring news for finger foods here and explains how to do it.
The kellymom site also gives good advice on finger foods here
hth
ThingOne

I brace myself to be shot down in flames but the first real finger food I gave ds1 was a jaffa cake (Bad Mum Alert!) He had such fun gumming the chocolate off and by the time he had done that it was soggy enough to pretty much dissolve in his mouth. I gave him healthy stuff as well, honest!

OK, DD is 8 mths, and for lunch today she had

grated cheese, easy to pick up to small to choke on

Fingers of cucumber and melon BOTH with skins still on. The rind is too tough to bite/gum through so holds it together for them to suck the good stuff off (good for teething too!)

rice cake

Bread sticks are good too. I'll also give her really small squares of sandwich. You don't want anything too soft, as they'll suck big lumps off. Having said that I'll give things like that too DD, I just have to fish it back out if she ends up with too much.

Toast with butter or other spread works suprisingly well even with no teeth. I worry a bit about the salt content of cheese (any advice on cheese anyone?), but dd loves sucking cubes of it. Chunks of banana. whole boiled new potatoes (really well cooked), or even let them eat mash with their fingers. Rice, especially if it sticks together a bit so its easier to pick up with little fingers. Squashed cooked frozen peas. Really well cooked 'trees' of broccoli, with cheese sauce on if you like). Baby Organix do 'fruity wheels' (sold in the babyfood aisle of sainsbury's) which i find great when we're out and about. I've just decided to 'embrace the mess' when it comes to finger foods, and dd way prefers self-feeding.

Peas.

Anything that goes soggy when wet and that they can 'feel' go round their mouth - breadsticks are great as are rice cakes. All food has the potential to be a risk so keep your finger at the ready!!

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Thanks all! and do you think that 6 months (he is a pretty 'young' 6 months - born 2 wks early and not the precocious type, not sitting yet, still swaddled to sleep) is the right time to start with finger foods? Purees work so well that I could just stick with that for a month or 2...

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I started my dd on finger foods at 6 months, mainly because it made life more interesting for her. She was diving headfirst into my dinner most nights. As long as you are there and supervise, the odd cough or choke isn't a problem. Most of it is common sense and instinct, do what you feel is best for your child.

I gave him a baby biscuit today (some sugar content, but he doesn't get much...). This little boy, who puts everything into his mouth instantly (newspaper, teatowel, bib, my finger, his hand, toys, even spoons...) sat there with the biscuit in his hand and looked at it. Didn't want to have anything to do with it. Could it be he was feeling under pressure and refused to go a long with it?