ideas for finger food for a stubborn 9MO

[jaybird]

I seem to have bred the most fussy, stubborn DS in the history of childbirth! - he point blank refuses anything off a spoon - even his fave puddings and only wants to feed himself - not so bad you may think, but he is very fussy about waht he will feed himself - mainly only prunes, melon and the odd buttery crumpet. anything else just ends up on the floor. i am at my wits end and mealtimes are a nightmare. he takes his milk fine and health visitor says not to worry, but i do as he isn't eating anything!!
any ideas for east finger foods that don't take much cooking (as loving baked fare seems to end up on the floor) would be gratefully received!

My son started to refuse food from the spoon a couple of months ago and since then most mealtimes have been a battle leaving me worried and stressed. A couple of weeks ago I decided to drop one of his bottles, he was still having four 6 ounce bottles a day at almost 10 months old. Since then things have been a bit better. He too is healthy and not losing any weight and the health visitor told me alot of babies of this age go through this phase, it is to do with showing their independence.
Heinz make some little breadsticks which my son enjoys, he also loves cheese and sliced ripe pear

thanks pinkmagic - my DS has 4 6oz bottles too, but really seems to need them - when do you give him his bottles and which one did you drop?

jaybird - welcome to the "ITICC" (I too have an independant child club) - frustrating in a baby, but a great attribute for later life!

having been in your position for going on 4/5 months now, finger foods we are expert at.

assume all the things below are cut into appropriate cube/fingers or cooked to "non choking" consistency, and of course, introduced one at a time to ensure no alergy

avocado
banana
soft pear
canned (in juice not syrup) peaches
strawberries
grapes (quartered to ensure no choking probs)
bread with cream cheese
sandwiches with avocado and grated cheese
cucumber with skin take off (a favour for teething too, if in the fridge first)
carrot sticks
cherry tomatos, cut in quarters/halves (likes to suck out the juice first )
cheese in sticks
roasted chicken (a la tesco) peeled into really thin strips like threads of wool
sliced ham
pieces of hard boiled egg
toast with whatever on it (son likes vegemite)
the tips of asparagus
peas (first word infact - pointing and saying "pea")
green beans

hope this helps - if i think of anything else, i'll repost

He has 1 bottle on waking, another @ 3pm and the last before bed. He used to have one at approx 10.30am which I dropped. He is still getting his pint as I measured it into a jug just to check.

Yes I would drop the mid morning bottle myself. Or maybe replace it with a cup under the assumption that he might not take as much that way and hence be hungry for his lunch. DD is now 11 months and has absolutely anything for finger food (spinach in a tomato and mozzarella sauce...) apart from fruit which she will only eat if stewed/mashed. She went through this stubborn phase at about that age but has come back out of it and will now be spoon fed plus enjoys finger food.

She will eat:
cubes of cheese
peas
babycorn
pasta (sometimes)
cheese sandwiches
banana
raisins
cauli
brocolli
swede
parsnips
potato wedges
chips
cubed chicken
mushrooms

toast with cream cheese

cheese sandwiches cut into fingers

dried apricot

humzingers, yummy and just the right size for little hands.

baby corn

sweet potato cut into thick chips and steamed

I've posted this loads of times, but from a couple of books I have I've discovered that in the 20s the age for giving solids was as late as 9months - until then babies were completely milk fed. I really don' t think there is anything to worry about.

thanks guys, although i have tried most of the things you mentioned and tbh the only things he'll really eat are sweet things - fruit etc. the rest goes on the floor. he doesn't have a midmorning bottle, but 4ozs on waking and then a struggle to get any kind of breakfast down him an hour later - i'm lucky if he just licks the butter of the toast. he has finger foods at 11.30 - mainly prunes and if i'm lucky half a yoghurt. sometimes i've spread what feels like the entire contents of my larder on his high chair and he still won't eat!. he'll then have 4ozs of milk after. maybe this is the bottle to drop, but he cries for it as he is obviously hungry from not having eaten anything!
he has another 6ozs at 3pm. then his tea which again is a battle and his last 6ozs at 7.30pm.
it really gets me down some days as my kitchen is a constant battle zone! feel so jealous of all my friends babies who open their mouths like little birds the minute a spoon comes near them!
will try afresh when he wakes with some of your suggestions though.
please someone tell me he'll grow out of it?!

beansmum -what are humzingers?

My dd2 didn't eat any solids until she was 12 months - also refused to be spoonfed and wasn't really interested in finger foods. She is perfectly healthy and now eating normally (20 months). Don't worry, keep offering but don't get stressed about it, he'll be fine!

Agrre with emkana, DD ate no solids till 10 months and then only finger foods, now 22 months and much better eater than her brother. I know the mess is horrendous but just stick with it, marmite rice cakes are a favorite here. Most things can be finger foods, if you don't want to start from scratch things like fish fingers and smilie faces go down well.

Can I cheer you up by saying that DS was like this but the upside was that it clicked with him early and he was a competent (ish) self-feeder when all my friends still had food spread across the kitchen and their own meal going cold while they dealt with the toddler. Does that help a little bit?

DD will eat all the long list I gave below plus all sorts of other savoury things but not fruit as I said. Anyway last night we had plums and I sliced DS's for him and gave DD a slice of his with no skin on while DH and I ate them whole. Anyway DD was shouting at us like she does when she wants something and I couldn't understand it because we all had plums and she had some too. Eventually DH figured it and gave her a whole plum and she ate about a third. We are wondering now if she would eat it cut in half so that we can remove the stone. Her middle name is Mary so it fits in with the rhyme about being contrary.

Sorry, forgot to mention my son seems to eat better when he can see others eating. We now try to feed him at our meal times.