How to start giving finger foods? So scared.

[pigyoinkoinks]

My daughter has been taking baby food since she was about 5 months.
She had all of the usual purée food and I've now started giving her the chunky baby food with tiny bits of pasta or spaghetti in. She also is ok with rusks and rice cakes.

She's about to turn 7 Months.
I know I should be giving finger foods now and she's grabbing at plates or is eying up food we eat.

I'm petrified to give her finger food... I tried buttered bread cut into chunky fingers but she rammed the whole thing in so I took it off her.

I feel like such a bad mother when I read how other people feed their babies and they always make it seem so easy!

Can any one help me with any finger food ideas? Please? And maybe any tips on how to keep cool and let her try them without freaking out?

Don't feel bad and it is not easy at all. With my first dd I was so worried about every little thing. Everytime she took a bite I would yank it out of her mouth worried she was going to choke! As long as she is ready, she'll be fine. Just make sure you always keep an eye on her. It's amazing how quickly they learn to chew well. I started on toast finger and after a week or so we'd progressed to soft meats and cooked veg. Just make sure the pieces aren't too small. Go easy on yourself, it's all a fun learning experience for her at this age. She'll be getting most of her nutrients from milk

Oh finger food my dc loved were toast, steamed veg like broccoli, carrots and cauliflower, breadsticks with some hummus, cheese cut into sticks, all types of fruit cut into sticks and chunks of cooked meat. So every sun I do a roast so I would just take some out for dc without salt. So I'd put a chunk of roast chicken, a few potatoes, so steamed veg, maybe a Yorkshire pudding. Most of it ended up on the floor but that's how they learn!

Take a baby first aid course, it will help you relax. I feel much better having done it and calmer in lots of situations I would previously have worried in as well as around food.

Please try not to pull the food out of their mouth, if they're coughing and red they are gagging not choking and should be able to bring the food up themselves. It's when they go silent that you need to be ready to help.

Seconding the suggestion of a baby it's aid course as suggested by PP, knowing what to do will help calm the anxiety you feel.

I started weaning dd at 6 months on purée, we tried finger foods alongside at first but she did the same as your dd and would shove the whole thing, or as much as she could manage straight to the back of her throat and gag horribly. She properly choked on vomit at 2 days old, went blue in her car seat, luckily my DM knew first aid and saved her but obviously after that I felt super stressed when it came to the time for weaning. We just waited a while until her hand eye coordination was better and then gave her these carrot crisp things from Organix that look like giant wotsits, they have an initial crunch but melt in the mouth so they can get used to chewing without so much of a choking/gagging risk. No they aren't the healthiest option but using them for a while alongside purée she grasped what she needed to do/how much she could realistically put in her mouth at once we moved onto cucumber batons, carrot sticks, green beans, broccoli, sweet potato baked chips etc. She has no teeth yet at almost 10 months but can chew and bite pieces off pretty much anything now and rarely gags.

Do you have a friend who is more confident with finger foods? Can you invite them (and their baby?) around for a meal and follow their lead? Or have someone else there when you give finger foods as a snack? Someone who has done baby led weaning could show you the normal choking noises a baby makes when eating and hopefully reassure you? Kx

I found that bread wasn't great for DS when he was a baby as he'd mush it all up in his mouth etc. Try toast instead!

Thanks everyone for replying, I'll try some of these ideas out,
I would love to take a baby first aid course but it's finding the time now I'm back at work. My sister runs a nursery so I'm sure she'll teach me some bits if I ask.

I'm sure I'll be fine after the first few proper goes giving her proper food. It's just the scariest thing I've dealt with yet! I'm not usually the type to freak out.

First of all, babies have their gag reflex very far forward which means they will gag on things much quicker than adults, it's a survival mechanism. So if your baby starts to gag on anything, leave them to it. They need to learn how far they can stick things in the mouth without gagging, it's all part of the learning process. As PP gas said, its when babies go silent that you need to worry. As long as you always stay with your baby when they're eating it should be fine.

The second important thing with finger food is that a baby should never be fed, but rather always feed him/herself. That way they control how

I much they bite off and are less likely to choke on things.

I suggest you start on steamed veg or chunks of fruit such as banana, mango or avocado. If you leave a strip of skin on it will make it easier to grip.

I was the same as you, utterly freaked out about my dd choking while everyone else seemed totally relaxed and giving their baby allsorts!!!

I woukd say take your time and go at a pace you feel comfortable with. I didn't start properly with finger food til she was about nine months and it was fine. Start off with stuff that she can play such as very soft broccoli or mash. Avoid carrot sticks and apple. Then slowly build up to things like banana, soft toast and toddler crisp snacks.

You're basically building up the skills to hold food, direct it to her mouth, chew and swallow. Go at your pace though. She will be fine.

Start with softish things you can cut into sticks or strips (roast veg, tender stem broccoli, pear, banana are good). Avoid small round foods (grapes, cherry tomatoes) unless cut up. Make sure she is sitting up straight while eating and check she hasn't got a load of debris (e.g, pear skin) tucked away in her cheek / roof of mouth before laying her down. But otherwise, leave her to it! Babies were designed for this, she will be fine.

Freaks me out too so now I am trying giving her a full spoon to hold and when she's eaten that swapping it for another full spoon. She just doesn't seem to get chewing and swallowing. We also keep a drink nearby in case food gets stuck and is dry.

Thanks everyone!

She's great with spoon feeding and has been for a while, I plan on putting some of the suggestions to use tomorrow, very nervous but I feel a bit calmer.

This might sound mad but I found that once DS had gagged a few times I felt much calmer and more confident. It was like as soon as DS proved he could deal with it all I was able to back off a bit. It still stuns my DM and MIL how easy going I appear to be when he is stuffing his face but it's only because I've learnt to let him get on with it.

Things like toast, rice cakes, very tender sticks of veg were good to begin with as he tended to suck them a lot rather than eat them

I second the Organic/Kiddylicious melty things if you're nervous. We started with the carrot sticks and sweet corn puffs and my 7mo I'd a huge fan. We do cucumber and breadsticks mostly.

My DD got on very well with bits of cherry (minus the pop obvs) yesterday.

Don't give bread unless toasted. It is notoriously difficult for babies to manage and they don't know how to get it off the roof of their mouths.