My twins are 9.5 months old and we are still introducing them to new foods.  They (especially my daughter) seem to like to feed themselves more than being fed "mush."  I am running out of ideas of what to give them that is not to hard/crunchy, not a chokable (my daughter seems to gag easily).  We have made them meatballs that they love; they like peas, watermelon, bread, muffins, grapes (no skin, very small pieces), mum mums, cheerios, puffs, and soft carrots and pears.  Any other ideas for grains or protein that they can pick up and feed themselves?  We tried fish and they didn't seem to like the texture too much.

thanks for your suggestions!

Leanne

Sandra Athron wrote:

I do baby led solids and my 7.5 month old has been feeding herself since 6 months.  She absolutely loves sweet potatoes baked in strips with a little italian seasoning.  She can hold it herself and it is easy to chew without teeth as she doesn't have any :) 

You can try cooked egg yolks for protein.   My daughter can eat small pieces of chicken or tender beef like pot roast now that she is working on her pincer grasp. 

For grains, try toast fingers or cereal made with less liquid - my DD uses her fingers as dippers or she get a fistful of cereal and gets it to her mouth. 

Doing baby led weaning, I have come to expect some gagging and my babe can spit out anything that she gags on but I am prepared in case she can't.  As long as they are the ones putting the food into their mouths and are sitting upright, your babies will likely do OK feeding themselves. 

Check out "Baby Led Weaning" by Gill Rapley.  She has a website too.

 

 

Thanks Sandra, these are helpful suggestions.  I have tried egg yokes and they weren't too keen on it, so I have to hide it with other food.  I am going to try the sweet potato "fries" you suggested, they will probably love that.  I do give the bowl of cereal to my daughter, but she tends to just finger paint with it instead of putting it in her mouth.  Guess I will just keep experimenting, and I will check out Baby Led Weaning, sounds great!

My daughter is an awful eater but I've gathered some tips and looked at some finger foods ideas online and in books at Indigo. How about medium firm cooked cubes of tofu, cheese, beans (I saw a mom giving her son baked beans in molasses and he loved them), chick peas, rice cakes with a bit of cream cheese or other spread or plain, french toast, pancakes (cut up of course), pita cut up into little chips and toasted lightly, pasta, japanese soba noodles (they're the fat ones), mini muffins, canned fruit drained, green or yellow beans cooked, asparagus, bites of bagel, freeze dried fruit snacks, any cracker with low salt, high quality deli meats since other meats are often hard for babies to chew or digest, organic vegetarian pate made with seeds and nuts (you can find them in certain stores and some kids love it apparently), melba toast pieces, Ryvita, rice crackers, etc., etc.,