No teeth... help please with finger foods

[ReadingTeaLeaves]

Hi all, I'm mostly BLW but with the odd puree thrown in because we have some iron deficiency issues and allergies which mean I need to keep a close eye on intake of various things. It is all going quite well. DS eats mostly what eat and has great motor skills in terms of picking food up etc now (he is almost 8mo), a great chewing motion and has a good go at gumming things like broccoli and strips of meat. However, as he doesn't have any teeth yet (and no sign of any coming soon) he can't really do much more than gum and bit and then spit out the rather mawled bit of food. The highchair at the end of the meal is usually a real sight to behold of left over bits of chewed food. Lovely...

So just wondering if there's anything I could be giving him which is easier for him to eat - particularly things high in protein (but with no dairy/egg). Do we need to just wait for the teeth to appear before he can really eat things like this properly? I know he'll be getting nutrients out from the gumming but I'm dubious about how many calories he'll be accessing and he's low on the weight scale so I'd like to make sure he's laying down plenty of chub ready for winter!

He is almost 8mo btw.

Thanks all!

Sorry for typos etc!!! Must proof read what I write!

Sounds like your DS is doing really well if he's having a go at stuff like meat and broccoli {smile]

My DS is 7.5 months and also has no teeth (well there is a very small bit of incisor thats appeared in the last week but I'm not counting that )! However his gums are rock hard and he seems to be able to bite bits off, chew and swallow despite this (I know he has eaten some as it appears in nappies!). So teeth doesn't seem to be as important as I always thought.

Your DS will still be getting nutrients even if he is just gumming bits of meat and other food (think of if you suck an orange segment you still get the juice etc even if you don't eat the orange)

Have you tried things like:-

soft fruit - strawberries, melon, nectarine go down really well here
microwaved apple slices (my DS can't manage an uncooked apple but this works quite well)
cooked veg
the middle of the cucumber

Chicken and fish are more easily managed here than red meat (which just gets sucked, enjoyed and spat out!)

What about tofu?

Sorry can't think of anything else at the moment but hope that helps.