Finger foods - what age?

[TheQueenOfDeDead]

DD is 8mths and cannot get anything in her mouth. Zero hand eye coordination, in fact she can barely pick anything up off her highchair tray let alone get it in her mouth.

I wasn't really concerned but in the last week I have had a couple of people comment on her inability to deal with "finger food".

All the developmental guidelines I have read suggest that she is completely normal and there is no cause for concern but their ranges are so wide and on the other hand there are all these people doing BLW from 6mths whose DC's can clearly get food in their mouths.

So honestly is it an issue or even unusual?

Anything I can do to encourage her? She eats well provided that like a little chick she has tasty morsels dropped in her mouth.

Has she never put toys or fingers in her mouth?

I'd just keep giving her finger food alongside the chick feeding at every meal. Practically anything can be finger food. Maybe a little teaspoon so she bang on the highchair tray etc.

Also do you eat when she does, because I think they do learn by copying you.

I'm not sure. I know that when doing BLW it can be common for nothing to actually go in until 9 months or so, but to not be able to even pick stuff up sounds unusual. Though if developmental guidelines are putting her in a normal range I probably wouldn't worry. Does she pick up toys etc okay?

I'd probably just keep going with mush on spoons and let her explore as much as she can with her hands. Put different textures for her to play with, even stuff which is hard to pick up, like yoghurt in a bowl - just to encourage her to get her hands dirty etc.

It's not really recommended to put pieces of food in their mouths (unless it's smooth/lumpy puree) because you might be overriding their gag reflex, which is much further forwards than ours.

Thanks

She can pick things up if she is playing and she sucks her fingers sometimes but doesn't tend to put toys in her mouth, more burries her face is stuff IYKWIM ? I don't know whether she can't or can't be bothered to get things from hand to mouth.

She certainly doesn't seem interested in doing it herself (unlike my first DC who would fight me for control over the spoon) She literally sits in her chair with her head tilted back and her mouth open, waiting!

The guidelines I have seen suggest that she should be able to feed herself sometime bewteen 6 & 14 mths which is obviously extremely wide and so not that much help. But she seems ok re other development: crawling, just started pulling herslef up on furniture etc.

I eat my lunch with her and she has supper at the same time as the older DC's so some opportunity for learning.

I didn't realise that about putting stuff in her mouth and the gag reflex. I do tend to bring it to her lips and then she sort of snatches it into her mouth and chews it up and obviously I keep a close eye on her as regards choking.

She's probably just laid back then - I wouldn't worry too much :)

I'm not sure exactly what it is that's bad about putting food in their mouths for them (I think it's gag reflex but not sure) - I just know it's a big BLW no-no.

Thanks bertie

I don't think I have any choice re putting food in her mouth, I'm thinking it is preferrable to her starving