Please can you list all your finger food ideas for weaning 6 month old here!

[PutThatInYourPipeandSmokeIt]

For LO that hasn't eaten any solids AT ALL!

cow and gate finger bics - look like dog biscuits!!!

toast fingers

pitta fingers

slices of banana

slices of skinned pear/apple and other non citrus fruit

I had some (limited) success with the following. Be warned that there will be an almighty mess and it could take ages. My DS is still getting to grips with the whole finger food thing and he's now 10 months old.

Banana
Toast (it's not too hard on their gums)
Bread
Cheese
Organix (they do biscuity type things and something that looks like a giant cheese whatsit but is in fact carrot that my DS loves)
Carrots
Fruit generally (mango, strawberries, etc).

I started feeding him little bits of banana before putting them down in front of him - but don't know that that worked any better. I think anything works as finger food if you're prepared to give it a go! I was really unadventurous when I started and am really only now getting going. So patience as your LO starts to understand that not everything comes in a bottle/breast!

Thanks for these so far - I have absolutely no imagination on where to start other than carrots, broccoli, toast, banana and avacado (I have no surprised myself that I can think of 5 things to give her!). I'm going to start in a couple of weeks time and I think she might take to the whole finger food idea as she is very 'tactile' and is constantly grabbing things and putting them in her mouth. I am keen to start like this as we are going on holiday for 10 days, a week after her 6 month birthday and I desperately don't want to use jars (no critism of those that do btw!) and want it to be so that she can try food off our plates while we're away. Either that or cold uncooked stuff like banana and avacado that I can mush if needs be. I just don't want to be with needing my kitchen to make purees etc / dealing with making it and taking it with us on hols. I'd like to be able to rustle up food as we go!
Is it really absolutely fine to offer anything e.g. lump of chicken for her first ever meal? I think I have a mental block and think she needs more 'baby' type food as her digestive system hasn't worked on solids yet.

katewilson13, those organix carrot stick crisps go suprisingly well with wine

so far the following have gone down well for ds

banana
strips of steak (well my ds loves them)
organix snack things - look like wotsits but have carrot powder on
pitta bread with hummous
dried mango (fruit only no additives)
dried apricots
nectarine
cucumber slices
slices of peppers
apple

sweet potato wedges

steamed carrot and courgette fingers

cheese

peach and nectarine

big florets of steamed cauli or broccoli

rice cakes, steamed veggies, roasted veggies, pieces of cold pasta (better cold I found as it goes sticky and doesn't slip). Once DS was a teeny bit older and we were onto combinations of food, I would make little patties of veggie leftovers or lentils and things and coat them in breadcrumbs and bake them. very handy to take out with you if you're not sure of if you can get something suitable.

lump of chicken would be lovely. i used to give dd a bit of chicken leg off the bone to chew on, i think she prefers that to the drier breast meat. loads of ideas on the sssshhhh, you-know-what... if you're just starting off though you'll be fine with bits of steamed veg, cheese, pasta, bread and fresh fruit.

Thanks everyone. Do you think dried apricots are safe for a new weaner and are bread crusts allowed??

bread crusts preferred, actually. or toast. general bread can go a bit soggy.

and dd loved fresh apricots but i think dried fruit isn't brilliant on their teeth. but dd gets them, nevertheless... can't remember if we gave them to dd when she was six months, but i think we may have done.

I gave DS chopped dried apricots at that age. If I gave him big bits he would chew and chew and chew forever and then try to swallow this big gelatinous thing and gag etc.

this page gives guidelines on when you can introduce various foods

Banana was too slippy in the begining, but she has always loved potato and when we cook rice I squeeze some of it into a rice stick for her.

hth

aaa, lovely stefan. he's a nut, bless him. i think he's doiing great work.
i have lovingly detailed on TBTMNBN (you'll have to work that out ) how i used to cut bananas in half and leave some of the skin on because otherwise, like Fletch says, they are slippery little buggers.

Yes they are slippery - but the "pushing your finger in there and splitting them into three" has made it her fave food now. Wouldn't have worked then as she used to 'explore' food more when she was 6m by squeezing etc. Now she is 9m she sees me getting a 'nana and starts jumping!

i used to, wait for it, cut them in half across the middle, peel them back halfway to make two mini bananas and hand 'em over. sometimes i would even snip off the extra bits of skin...

norma - that's a great link.

I'm relieved that there's a feeling that we can take it easy with solids. When DS1 was weaned we were in Canada and solids (purees) were regarded as 'tasting' until 9-10 months. We had it drummed into us that milk was more filling.

After the awful apple choking experience, DS2 is now very happy at his high chair sucking on all sorts of soft things. Pasta in my my home-made tomato sauce for lunch yesterday was a whole lot of fun!

I didn't realise you give them that stuff at 6 mths, finger foods i mean. My dd is nearly 8 mths and i haven't done this yet. Maybe i should give finger foods a go?

OK - just rereading and have worked out what TBTMNBN is!

Only took me a day aitch!!

Oooh this is all MOST helpful.

Bump!!

for texture, broccoli keeps Ds2 amused for ages

Soft dried figs kept in the fridge are a handy edible teething ring... N adores pancakes with pretty much anything stirred into the batter, and pears are fighting for favourite fruit status with peaches.

Just tried DS on yogurts - should i be avoiding strawberry and raspberry because he is only 6.5 months

ok - having now offered DD some solid food for the first ever time - finger foods all but one, I have the following to report.....!

Over the past couple of days, she has sucked on:
banana
watermelon
avocado (spoon fed due to extremely slippery nature)
Mango smoothie
rice cake

She had a micro crumb of watermelon on her tongue (the size of a grain of rice) and she was trying to get it out by gagging! Bigger bits did break off and she just spat them out again. I am nervous that she will run in to trouble though - please can you reassure me?????!

I assume we just keep putting stuff infront of her several times a day and she fiddles with whatever she likes?