So anxious about trying first finger foods! Tips?!

[ScaredFTM]

My DS has been weaning on puréed meals/veg/fruit for a little while now. He's desperately trying to grab at the spoon and feed himself so I think we are ready to try some 'proper' finger foods.

I have some of the Ella's kitchen melty puffs that I was going to give him and see how he goes but I'm terrified! What if he chokes?!

I am ridiculously (almost embarrassingly so!) anxious about every new phase. Give me some words of wisdom! What did you do first? How small should I cut things up for him etc...?

Can he not just drink milk for the rest of his life? 🤣

Watch a few YouTube clips so you recognise the difference between gagging and choking. He will gag, and at first it will be scary for you and him, but the most important thing is that he doesn’t sense that you’re anxious. If you don’t think you can hide your anxiety very well, get somebody else to feed him first and take yourself out of the room.
Puffs are a good place to start because they dissolve fast in saliva. That means if your ds gets a piece into his mouth and doesn’t know what to do, it will melt into a goo he can swallow with little effort.
My DC’s first finger foods were finger-sized batons of well-cooked carrot and parsnip, strips of omelette or boiled egg, well-cooked penne pasta, matchsticks of cheese, broccoli florets and chunks of white fish.
Good luck

Can you still purée for a week but add bigger lumps?

One thing I didn't realise with my first is you need to cut things in big fingers not cubes so that they can grab them with their fist and gnaw on the end. So actually harder foods are easier as they don't squish them. I started out by smearing puree on fingers of toast or pitta bread the puree got sucked off and the soggy bread mostly left behind.

I've been there!
Try scrambled egg, put little dollops on his high chair tray so he can pick them up.
Also bits of mashed baked potato and cheese and other soft but firm ish foods if you know what I mean.
I found starting with these types of things easier than going in with batons of carrots etc!

You'll be ok x x x x

I was you. I was absolutely terrified of giving my DS any finger foods. Properly terrified. This is what I did:
6-7 months fed him purees.
7-8 months started making his purees chunky, with chunck starting the size of his fingernail, then gradually getting bigger.
8-9 months started giving him scrambled eggs on his tray, grated cheese on his tray (he loves it!), and strips of omelette.
Now he is 9 months, I quite happily give him boiled carrot sticks and other veg sticks, savoury muffins, savoury fritters etc (and I am no longer having a heart attack when he eats it!).

Good luck, OP!

Go at a pace that you’re comfortable with. I introduced finger foods quite slowly and it has worked out fine.

I highly recommend the 2-ingredient pancake recipe on the My Fussy Eater website. You have to use one very ripe banana and one egg. It took me a few goes to be able to make pancakes that didn’t fall apart but it was worth it. They are very soft and easy to chew.

Good luck!

Do you load the spoon up and let him have a go at feeding himself?

Remember that actual choking is silent; and also quite rare in comparison with the amount of babies weaning every day. Gagging is normal, loud and a bit scary, but part of the process.

My 8 month old prefers finger foods over purées so I try to make everything in a format he can hold for himself. Charlotte Stirling-Reed is an excellent guide. Key things she mentions are:

1. Knowing the difference between gagging and chocking as a PP has mentioned.
2. They will gag. Don’t react or you’ll make your baby panic too. Allow them time to work it through - it’s safer to let them gag and spit it out than you trying to help them (as tempting as it is to start sticking fingers into their mouths).

My best first finger foods: steamed sticks of sweet potato, steamed courgette, avocado (although quite slippery). I’ve also started doing omelette cut into strips which he loves.

I also did a lot of those Ellas puffs at the start and they’re so melty that they don’t make them gag at all. A nice confidence builder for you both.

Good luck - once you’ve done the first few times you’ll have so much fun with it! Plus much easier to clean up than purée!

I was like you. My advice is start with melty puffs. Eat one yourself and hold it in your mouth. You'll see how quick they dissolve.

Aw it can be scary for sure but sounds like he is ready! Best advice is to cut sticks of food about the same size as your baby finger. This is just the right size for your little one to pick up and hold in his fist with the top poking out. I found little sticks of pancake good to start with. I gave them one at a time so he couldn't stuff it all in. Also, if you CM squish the food between your index finger and thumb, then it is soft enough. Good luck - he will love it!

When I started weaning I was sooo terrified that DS would choke! He gagged on everything and it scared me so much. But actually them gagging is totally normal, and anything they can’t swallow they will just bring it back up (within reason). Obviously always supervise them but honestly you need to be more confident about it for their sake! When DS gagged on anything id stay calm so he didn’t panic and just say to him calmly it’s ok spit out what you don’t want (obv he doesn’t understand what I’m saying but he does understand my calm tone). I still do it now when he absolutely shovels massive pieces of his favourite food (toast and banana) into his gob.

Oh and it’s nearly impossible for them to choke on those melty crisps, DS literally eats them whole 😂