DD 7 months today and want to introduce finger food

[katherine2008]

had a horrid experience 2/3 weeks ago when a rusk before dinner led to the whole meal being brought up 15 minutes later.. so I've been a bit rubbish about introducing food she can hold... would like to try again, is the best start toast with cream cheese? any other suggestions for little ladies with slightly sensitive tummies! thanks!!!

try broccoli florets maybe, yes toast is good, as are little sandwiches, sticks of roast vegetables....

My DS loves crumpets (he's 8 months but been having them for a while) cut up into about 6 pieces. He also loves dairylea dunkers breadsticks and pieces of toast cut into soldiers. We tried banana but he can't grasp it, it's too slimey.

I pretty much just let me DD try everything and anything, within reason, while I was sitting there to watch over her too. She also had teeth quite early so I was able to do this...

Toast with butter was a big hit, raisins, chunks of banana or any other soft fruit, crackers, cheese, peeled cucumber, thin sliced deli meat, any veg if cooked...

I also would give her little bits from my dinner just for her to try and play with. I have to say, now she is 16 months, and she will eat anything that is given to her...even asparagus!

I think the biggest tip is to not be afraid to give them anything, as long as it is cut small enough and is safe for their age. Also, always watch when eating just incase and try to only introduce 1 or 2 new foods a day incase they have a reaction you can narrow down what caused it.

Have fun!

am with emmabeesmum on ap[praoach - but have avoided rusks etc as had own mini incident.

cream cheese was very popular (as were bagels), any kind of bread, houmous, bits of cheese (esp mozarella) , avocado, pear...Its actually made me better about what I eat as if I'm eating it dd will want some.

was your mini incident of the vomiting type too?!! thanks for all the suggestions, we'll try tomorrow. do you tend to offer stuff after they've fed or before?

yep it was - but not as bad as a friend whose son projectile vomited over her and the area surrounding them whilst out in starbucks...

Umm trying to remember regarding milk times then.

I think DD was only on 3 feeds during the day at that point, so I would usually feed her and then maybe 30-60min later try her with some fingerfoods.

So, morning feed...'breakfast'...afternoon feed...'snack/lunch'...then something when we had our dinner so she was at the table with us...and then her bedtime feed.

Hope that makes sense? I found that she ate more if I waited a little bit after her feed so she was not to full...yet not so hungry that she only wanted milk and was not in the mood to be trying new things...

Hope that helps!

Reading that back it does not sound like she ate a lot lol I do remember giving her snacks in between, but at that age 2-3 crackers would count as a snack (at least for my DD).

I do remember that I felt as though she was always eating...in and out of the highchair all day. Now at 16 months she is on 3 meals and 2 snacks and only having cows milk with meals and a cup of milk when she wakes up.

at the moment we do milk at around 7.15am, half a banana at 8.15am, then back to bed at 9am, lunch at about 11.45am, milk feed at 2.30pm, tea at 5.45pm, milk at 7pm before bed - so maybe I'll try her with something little when she wakes up before lunch and again about an hour before tea? does that sound ok? otherwise she'll be eating either in bed or in her bath...!!

Oh yeah I would just fit it in when you can. I know my DD has to eat about every 2 hours...even if it is something small. She has always been like that as she has always been very active even at 6 months. You could also try making lunch or breakfast just finger foods. At about 9 months my DD stopped wanting to be fed and I worried until I realized it was because she wanted to do it herself. So now most of what she eats she can feed herself. Example: breakfast is usually toast and a banana, dinner tonight was grilled chicken, mash potatoes, carrots. I cut up some of my chicken, pulled out cubes of potato before I mashed ours and cut up the carrots and she ate it herself.

At that age I think we did:
7:30 Milk
8:00 Cereal with fruit puree mixed in or toast and yogurt/fruit
9:00 nap
11:00 snack
12:30 Lunch
1:00 nap
2:30 milk feed
3:30 snack
5:30 dinner
6:30 bath
7:00 Milk feed and bed

But it is all about what works for you! Hope you have fun in experimenting and I am sure your DD will tell you what she wants in her own little way

DS is keen on tuna. But his fave finger food is sticks of cheese. We are only in week 4 of weaning though.

it's funny, she shows no signs of wanting to hold food, yet everything else she holds goes straight in her mouth!! ah well...