Tips for tasty finger foods

Tips for tasty finger foods

Most babies love to feed themselves, and being independent about eating will encourage your baby to try lots of new tastes and textures.

Also, chasing foods round a highchair tray is good practice for hand and eye co-ordination skills!

Try these when your baby is used to a range of foods and can cope with a few lumps:

  • Rusks
  • Toast soldiers
  • Coarsely grated cheese
  • Strips of banana
  • Slices of apple or pear
  • Cooked vegetables strips
  • Grated raw carrot and apple.

The Department of Health recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. Unless otherwise advised by your health professional, solid foods in any form (baby jars, cereals or rusks) should not be started any earlier than six months.

Comments

Rusks

Submitted by AmyFearn on Tue, 10/01/2012 - 19:11.

Is it right to put Rusks top of the list for finger food? All the health visitors say Rusks are no good for babies teeth and are 20% sugar so unhealthy too.

Rusks

Submitted by AmyFearn on Tue, 10/01/2012 - 19:11.

Is it right to put Rusks top of the list for finger food? All the health visitors say Rusks are no good for babies teeth and are 20% sugar so unhealthy too.

Weaning

Submitted by neza on Thu, 08/09/2011 - 02:05.

My daughter has just turned 7 months and has 3 meals a day and 2-3 bottles of milk. Mostly a bottle with her breafast and a bottle with her dinner. She takes her lunch with a yogurt and water afterwards. A part from her breakfast (porridge, sumer fruit veg. etc of Heinz) I always cook for her and she enjoys a mixture of puree (beef, chicken, fish) mixted with vegetables, rice or potatoes. I have never given her jars' food. She has not teeth yet and I wonder if I can give her finger foof. Please advise.
Thanks.

I would suggest that you

Submitted by gracebarden on Wed, 07/09/2011 - 19:33.

I would suggest that you don't worry, most babies will manage to work out finger foods when they are ready. I was very cautious with my first - did not do baby led weaning, however, she managed to do finger foods when she wanted and was feeding her self very well with a spoon etc by about 1year. My son - 8 -9 months now has been grabbing everything and is good at feeding himself - I don't do strictly baby led or not - they tend to eat what I eat chopped and mashed and that seems to work well, with pieces of fruit etc and sandwiches as finger food.

finger foods at 10 months

Submitted by Furryheart01 on Wed, 10/08/2011 - 16:40.

My ds will not try finger foods. i have tried him with many different things but he just throws it away. Its like he doesnt like the feeling on his hands. Any suggestions anyone as i am desperate?

baby led weening

Submitted by paris1990 on Tue, 02/08/2011 - 22:44.

Being a young mother I was a bit nervous when it came to weening, I was very precautious about what I gave my little girl to eat and just stuck to the cow and gate jars and baby porridge. I started weaning at 6months, she's now 9 months and iv relaxed with the whole thing completly. She's eating 3 meals a day, and snacks all day with differnt things such as fruit, sugar free rusks and veg sticks. I still stick to jars mainly but she does eat some things the same as me such as homemade soups, mashed up pasta with sauces, chicken dinners mashed and so on. Iv also recently started letting her have the odd milky bar and potato wedges! She's still on 3-4 bottles of 6oz follow on milk a day and finding it hard to wean her down to just one in the morning and one in the evening before bed. She still wakes up at 5 for a bottle but sleeps right from 7 till 5 without waking so any tips would be great :)

prettylucky has said pretty

Submitted by mellylfc on Tue, 26/07/2011 - 20:48.

prettylucky has said pretty much what i was going to say ! i baby led weaned my first who is now 2 years old and there isn't anything that she doesn't eat and i absolutely loved watching her eat and still do ! i started weaning my son now 7 months at 6 months old as per the guidelines and decided that as he was not sleeping at all that i would try pureeing food instead of baby led weaning to make sure i knew how much he was having then i could attempt to get him to do a bit longer between milk feeds overnight...i lasted a week and was so fed up of pureeing copious amounts of veg that he is now doing baby led weaning and is having great fun putting anything and everything in his mouth....his gag reflex is working just right and the baby led weaning book says that anything they put in their own mouths they wont choke on. I would strongly recommend reading the book its great and has made mealtimes a much more social and enjoyable occasion :-)

My little girl is 9mths old

Submitted by Mammyjuju83 on Tue, 12/07/2011 - 19:57.

My little girl is 9mths old and will eat anything lumps and all but when she feeds herself she tends to bite too much or thinks she dsnt have to chew, she has a bottle with her breakfast and one at bedtime xxx

My son is nearly 30 weeks and

Submitted by prettylucky on Wed, 06/07/2011 - 12:41.

My son is nearly 30 weeks and we followed the baby-led weaning principle. He held things like strips of pepper and broccoli from before 6 months as he would "chew" watching us eat and reach for food on our plates. From the first smooth food he ate (at 26 weeks) he grabbed the spoon as soon as I'd loaded it and got it in his mouth! (Obviously, he wasn't always so successful.) He now eats 3 meals a day well and I just love to watch his independence grow. We'd never heard of BLW when I had my first son (now 8) and I don't think I gave him finger foods for a long while as I didn't want him to choke. I was also nervous about mess with any feeding - once you realise there will be mess on occasions it all feels less stressful. When you read BLW it just makes sense that most babies (I accept that there are those with digestive problems or disabilities that this may not be suitable for) should start off with normal food when weaning. It was only because when the advice was to wean very early, babies wouldn't have the dexterity or coordination to help themselves to food. Trust your babies to help themselves. The best things about discovering BLW are: I don't have to cook separate meals, I already get to eat my dinner while it's still hot as baby can help himself and seeing the progress in dexterity daily (e.g. pincer grip to pick up raspberries, different grips for slippery food). I know I sound smug, that's cause I am! You probably will be too if you try it! The drawbacks for me are: I have high cholesterol and now cook with whole milk, cheese, etc and being gripped by the fear of choking for the first month ("nobody distract him, he's got food in his mouth!") - the gag reflex has done it's job as expected and explained in the BLW book. If you haven't read up on it yet, get a copy and see what you think. I've never read anything about it not working and lots about how liberating it is. Good luck!

My son also prefers the jars.

Submitted by kettrin85 on Thu, 30/06/2011 - 20:14.

My son also prefers the jars. I cook him only chicken with veg which is ticker than the ready meals. At the begining he didn't like it but with the time he started eating more and more. Just needs time and don't stop offering him!

my 7 month old will only eat

Submitted by sarahemma0381 on Mon, 30/05/2011 - 09:47.
my 7 month old will only eat jars, he wont eat anything i make him he just clamps his mouth shut, hes been weaned since 4 months and as a very good appetite.

weaning

Submitted by courtlkellyb on Mon, 09/05/2011 - 11:37.
Nursepreggers - i seem to have the same issue with my little boy - he really doesn't like lumps in his food, he is 7 and a half months old - everyone says just keep going and he get used to it but i have found making his food thicker seems to be helping, gave him finger foods a week ago but he gagged on it and bought up all his dinner, not sure he is ready for it so gonna try in another week or so, trying to introduce finger foods inbetween meals is a good idea but also when they have their dinner just put some on their tray, if they want it they play with it and if they dont they wont!! I think we should just trust our own instinct - we will know when they are ready (i hope!) Not sure if this is any help or not.

finger food

Submitted by nursepreggers on Tue, 26/04/2011 - 19:54.
has anyone any suggestions when to introduce finger foods? and what is a good food to start with. my baby will be 7 months next week , although i weaned him at 3 1/2 months on the advice of a health visitor. He has significant reflux which i have only just got on top of ( after many arguments and tears with gps and health visitors, God bless gaviscon and sma stay down). he is having 4 bottles and 3 meals a day, shoould i let him have something to try between meals first? any advice is greatly apreiated as i now have little faith in h/v .

my son is seven months now

Submitted by gtavitynil on Wed, 13/04/2011 - 15:56.
my son is seven months now and eats 3 times a day and sometimes has rusks or toast crusts to eat by himself he likes to have his own spoon to eat his food (if he still has food in his mouth and puts the spoon in his mouth it tastes of it and he thinks hes eating himself) i find that the best way to feed him is to put him in his high chair and sit eye level with him with the tv off and no toys about as he is far to curious about everything we try lots of different things so far the only thing weve had problems with is fish he bokes anytime its put in his mouth but i think its just the texture were just starting out with finger foods so im not sure what is ok to give him now at his age xxx

Baby - led weaning BLW

Submitted by Andra10 on Tue, 15/03/2011 - 23:22.
Kazndonnor, try reading the book "Baby led weaning", it's a fantastic alternative to spoon feeding. You might be surprised how quickly things will change once you trust and allow your baby to take control of what he eats, and how the power strugle over food is not there. I know all babies are different, but it's worth a try.

kazdonnor - i totally agree

Submitted by xxSticksterxx on Tue, 15/03/2011 - 19:10.
kazdonnor - i totally agree with shroo. my little boy is now 2 years and 3 months old. since he was born he was sick with everything. i knew it was reflux because it wasnt even reaching his stomach before it came back up, and to be honest it didnt even matter if it was lumpy or not, he would just bring it back up. i saw h/v, gp, his renal consultant (he has kidney problems), everybody - and the same answer was given - he was slowly gaining weight so dont worry! Just before his 2nd birthday he was so ill with it, that he ate nothing for 5 weeks. he was hungry, but just couldnt keep anything down. i had to resort to losing my temper in the gp's and they admitted him to hospital. they tested him for everything (virus's, infections, etc) but everything was normal, so they decided to put him on the anti reflux medication, omeprazole. it was like someone had flicked a switch!!! he now eats food like any other child, and on very rare occasions, he may vomit a little back up. we are under the consultant at my local hospital and have to go back in June to re-assess. My little boy was also small (born 5lb 7oz, dropped to 4lb 14oz, and is still only 27lb - and i am sure if the professionals had listened to me in the first place he would be bigger than he is). Go to your GP, dont let them fob you off - you might end up being in this same situation in another 18 months like we were - good luck chuck!

kazdonnor

Submitted by shroo on Tue, 08/03/2011 - 21:47.
kazdonnor, has your little boy shown any signs of reflux? That could be the problem. Our daughter has it and she would gag on lumpy food. We were told to try feeding thicker food first, then introduce lumps (porridge with less milk for example). It worked for her. Now it helps to make sure the lumps are consistent throughout the food: forked mashed, rather than soupy with chunks. Hope that helps.

babys eating

Submitted by bobblebell on Tue, 01/03/2011 - 21:46.
my little girl is 9mths she has been on three meals a day and only has two bottles of formula a day one with breaky and one for bed i give her juice and water every day plus a little snack like rusk or fruit and she loves it she also has to try everything your eating to but my nephew was the complete opposite,all little ones are different dont compare to everyone elses babies they all get there eventually....

My little boy is now 9mnths

Submitted by kazdonnor on Sun, 27/02/2011 - 22:26.
My little boy is now 9mnths and weighs 5.9kgs he has always been small, but he won't eat lumps. As soon as u put any thing thats not completely smooth, no matter how small the lumps, he throws up everything in his stomach. My health visitor is no help she just keeps telling me 2 keep going at it and that he should be eating toast by now but i just don't no what 2 do anymore if he keeps throwing up he's going to lose weight and isn't big enough too. Please any suggestions would be brilliant he's my first and i dunno wat else to try !!!!

My little boy is now 9mnths

Submitted by kazdonnor on Sun, 27/02/2011 - 21:16.
My little boy is now 9mnths old he weighs only 5.9kgs he has always been small for his age but he wont eat finger foods or any thing with lumps in even the smallest lump and he throws up everything in his stomach. My health visitor keeps tellin me 2 just persiver through it and that he should be eating toast but if he's throwing up everything he's eaten just 2 get a few lumps in him i'm worried he'll start 2 lose weight which he can't afford to do. He's my first child and i'm desperate 4 ideas!!!!!

Hi. My little girl is now

Submitted by Flamster1976 on Wed, 23/02/2011 - 00:30.
Hi. My little girl is now eight and a half months old and I started her on pureed foods from about five months. However she really became interested in eating when I started giving her boiled/ steamed vegetables to hold herself at about seven months. She now eats proper pasta, chicken, soup, rice, potatoes and loves fruit and she still has no teeth. She eats better than my four year old!

Hello! :-) I completely

Submitted by mimika1 on Tue, 22/02/2011 - 22:48.
Hello! :-) I completely understand how stressful it can be when your baby doesn't want to eat. My son is 8 months now and is eating well 3 times a day. However it took a good month before he got used to solids and it felt like eternity. He sometimes refused food just after few spoons.... I always give him about 15 mins and if he still refuses I just take it away and the next time I try again with a smile or with new taste. He knows now when his meal times are, so if he doesn't want it, he's probably just not hungry or doesn't like the taste - that can happen to adult as well. :-) I don't really go by baby-books, but I've got one with many good tips. In this book is a chapter about "Fussy eaters". At the end is a great message from the author, who as a young mum was "crying" at her GP surgery that her child doesn't want to eat. The doctor looked at her, smiled and said: "You know, I'm nearly retired now and during my long 30 years of practice I've NEVER seen a baby voluntarily go on hunger strike." :-) So if your baby doesn't want to eat now and GP is not concerned about the weight, just give your baby time and keep trying new and new flavours and try not to get frustrated or upset. Your little one will eventually get there. :-)

Response to not feeding 9 month old baby

Submitted by MalikaWigs on Wed, 16/02/2011 - 11:57.
Hi, my baby wasn't a great feeder at all until I found out that he needed to be 'occupied' ie he needed to play with something, a spoon, a toy or just entertained. He couldn't stand just sitting in his high chair doing nothing. Now he feeds well and with time he got used to the idea of being in his chair to feed. Hope this helps.

Finger food but no teeth!

Submitted by staceylou80 on Tue, 15/02/2011 - 20:58.
Hello all, my 7 month old son has been eating mashed foods really well since 5 months (had to start early as he was underweight). Would like to start him on finger food but he has no teeth, whats the best thing to do? Thanks x

Try not to get too worried

Submitted by mommy001 on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 22:26.
Try not to get too worried about how much he eats, babies under a year get most of their nutrition from milk. I've done baby-led weaning with my daughter (now 9months) and she mostly plays with food and makes a huge mess, but we know she's eating something as found in her nappies! Just give him some food to play with and see what happens.

I agree with Anne, that if

Submitted by ErinChops on Tue, 18/01/2011 - 21:59.
I agree with Anne, that if he's not eating then just take it away otherwise it will get more stressful for you, and then your little one. If you start to give treat / snacks your little one could develop a preference. It doesnt take much for a baby to think something is a game. My little girl accidently dropped food, when she saw people pick it up for her, she did it on purpose because it was fun. I stopped people giving it back to her and she soon stopped. We tend to let our daughter lead with her eating, so some days she eats stacks and others very little. She's over 6 months but milk is still her core food source, and sometimes it helps when I give her some water. It does sound like you are doing well with your little one, very patient with him and consistent.

Could it be possible that

Submitted by AnneWalk on Wed, 12/01/2011 - 21:35.
Could it be possible that your boy just thinks it's a great way of getting mum and dad to pull funny faces? If he won't eat try just taking it away or leaving him with some finger foods. A health visitor told me that babies are fine without any food for 2-3 days, if he is hungry he will eat! I know it sounds harsh but it does work - if you can bear it!!

reluctant eater

Submitted by Fazz2111 on Tue, 11/01/2011 - 23:18.
hello! I need some help, desperatly. My little boy is 9 months now, and for the past month mealtime has become duanting. He has the first 3 spoons fine, and then refuses to open his mouth. We try making him laugh or smile, anything to get him to open his mouth and then put some food in his mouth and he eats it fine! He just doesn't want to open his mouth for some reason! I don't know what to do because my patience is wearing thin. He is small for his age, last time he got weighted was when he was 8 months and he was just over 7kg. And the fact that hes not eating properly is more worrying. I've tried snacking but its the same fight...any suggestions?

Finger foods.

Submitted by Karven on Wed, 05/01/2011 - 21:26.
My 7 month old is eating slices of toast and baby rice cakes. She also has become awkward when being spoon fed unless she can hold a spoon herself (this buys me enough time to get some food in her mouth), whilst she is learning what a spoon is for. I found that once I accepted the fact they will get messy when learning to eat, the whoile process became alot less stressful (with my older two children), Trial and error is a good way to learn. :-)

my 8 month old little boy

Submitted by Tess4 on Tue, 07/12/2010 - 21:46.
my 8 month old little boy absolutely loves toast, rusks, carrots and wedges of sweet potato cooked in the oven (they are hard enough to hold but soft when he bites into them). Seeing him eat peas one by one off the tray of his high chair is so cute. Always makes me smile watching him feeding himself. He has got a bit funny lately about me feeding him purees though, doesn't like me to put the spoon in his mouth, I think its because he likes the independance of finger feeding-think I might have to let him try using a spoon soon too. :)

Hi, I have a 9 month old son

Submitted by sarahgold1244 on Thu, 18/11/2010 - 13:23.
Hi, I have a 9 month old son and he takes his solids great! I started him on rusks mased in with his milk just before he turned 6 months and he loved it! From then on I have been gradually building his foods up by giving him bananas, yogurts, jellys, eggs. Now thats hes nearly 9months I have gave him a taste of what I have for diner and he now eats chicken, peas, potatoes, etc. I dont give my baby tinned food purely because if I wouldnt eat it netheir would he but every parent is different. A pot of home made soup is much tastier!! I noticed what kirstypeach said about her baby and my son sooks his thumb too so maybe that is why he is good with finger foods!1

Hi My son is 9 months today

Submitted by xxannalpxx on Wed, 17/11/2010 - 17:44.
Hi My son is 9 months today and Im not sure about how to go on letting him feed his self.. I have tried toast,bread etc but it all goes on the floor :(

Hi Chuntao - not sure if

Submitted by sarey1975 on Tue, 16/11/2010 - 20:39.
Hi Chuntao - not sure if you're still having difficulty - I tried EVERYTHING and even had to not feed my daughter for 24 hours because of being in hospital. She wouldn't take a bottle even then. My saving grace was a bottle called "Breastflow Early Years" available from Mothercare - read the reviews - it was basically my last attempt at bottlefeeding after months of trying and she took it straight away. She is now on tommee tippee bottles and perfectly happy. Hope they might work for you!

Hi Chuntao. I had the same

Submitted by lizzie0212 on Tue, 02/11/2010 - 20:07.
Hi Chuntao. I had the same problem with my little girl, but I found that giving her a bottle first thing when she was really thirsty got her to take a bottle. Also try not to hold your son when giving him a bottle as they can find it frustrating and want the breast. Try feeding him his bottle in his car seat, or in a baby chair. It worked for me after about 3 weeks x

Bottle feeding

Submitted by chuntao on Wed, 20/10/2010 - 11:26.
My little one is nine month old today and he is having breast feed. I have been trying to bottle feed him for two months but he just doesn't take it. He closes his mouth and shakes his head. I tried beaker but no luck either. He will drink milk if I feed him with a spoon. Apart from that,he takes his solid well. I am about going back to work in a few months time,really worried what to do. Any suggestions please?

My daughter is 9 months now

Submitted by KirstyPeach on Fri, 08/10/2010 - 11:04.
My daughter is 9 months now and has been on jars of food since she was about 4 and a half months, she now has a bottle on a morning, a breakfast afterwards, then dinner at about 12:30, a tea at about 5:00 and an evening bottle at 8:00. She has snacks in between, yoghurts, which I feed her, but she is great with finger foods! She has banana, boiled carrot sticks, cucumber, rusks, baby biscuits and much more. I also cut yorkshire puds and roasties in half for her and she eats them herself after i've fed her the rest of her sunday dinner. She is great with finger foods but I think its a lot to do with the fact that shes a thumb sucker so she is used to putting things in her mouth herself.

Feeding

Submitted by MainyHatty on Wed, 22/09/2010 - 09:38.
My son is 9 months this Monday and he won't feed himself I have shown him and also left him to it but he won't put nothing to his mouth and I include teether etc and never took a dummy. He has had bad reflux since 12 weeks which is ok now so I am used to the gagging and he will eat lumpy food and loves all. What can I do?

My son is also 7 months on

Submitted by Mum248Angel on Wed, 15/09/2010 - 23:16.
My son is also 7 months on saturday and he has been having jars for a while now but I havnt quiet got him or me for that matter used to finger foods as he shoves it in his throat and gags which panicks me,is that just him or do other people experience the same problem? Also - He had his first 7month+ jar the other day and gagged slighty on the lumps but the 2nd time round he seemed ok and enjoyed it :)

getting little ones used to lumps!

Submitted by andmillward on Wed, 04/08/2010 - 07:33.
you could try rusks (you can get low sugar ones or make your own) they melt in their mouth but as they get more competent they suck it less so they get bigger lumps. it's worked with both of mine who were really fussy with any puree i made if it had the slightest lump! then you can move onto other things like bread and fruit, seamlessly!

finger food recs

Submitted by LindsR on Tue, 13/07/2010 - 22:45.
My son os 7 months on saturday and i'm just starting him on finger foods. I home cook everything for him so he has a wide variety of food and seems to love everything, especially salmon. He's not great with lumps as I tried him on his first piece of fruit the other day and he gagged, I then of course panicked a little. What did you try first time around with finger foods to get them into the textures. I'm now also going to add a little texture to his purees and see how he gets on.

Feeding

Submitted by pinephrine on Fri, 16/07/2010 - 23:08.
I really am lucky because I already decided that I would not stick to advice and my little one the first thing he had was a pureed roast and I gave him the spoon which was so funny because it ended up everywhere but eventually in his mouth at 4 months but enough of that. Try watermelon, but hold it for them hand over hand or under hand to start. The other thing is ice sticks make your own, they are used to sucking so a nice ice pop especially in this weather the cold they may be a little suprised with BUT when they get a taste of whatever they like diluted he should love it. If not again how about yogurts with little bits in. My son nicks my activia. And sorry to go on but waffles, not done too much and I know salt but its potatoe with a shape. Hope I have helped!!!

finger foods

Submitted by lizin on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 09:30.
my little man will be 7 months on Sunday. after going on holiday abroad we took the ellas kitchen pouches. on our return he became really fussy about eating my pureeed food. after about a week and a half of persivernace hes now back to eating everything. he loves toast fingers, cucumber sticks, rice cakes and cheese sticks. i find it really rewarding to see him feeding himself.

Food

Submitted by Sio2905 on Thu, 01/07/2010 - 21:26.
my 10 month old loves to feed himself, he is on three meals a day. He will eat anything, he loves having toast and fruit like strawberrys, bananas pears kiwis any really. i just put his food on his tray and he will take what he wants.

My 7 month old enjoys finger

Submitted by chrisycrog on Thu, 01/07/2010 - 09:33.
My 7 month old enjoys finger food more than puree's, she too used to gag everytime there was a slight lump but try toast with unsalted butter each day or steamed broccoli and just let your little one play with it, eventually she'll get the hang of those lumps...then there will be no stopping her!!

feeding herself

Submitted by jayjay321 on Tue, 15/06/2010 - 19:39.
my 9 month old loves feeding herself , i give her toast , little potatoes cut up, vegetables and tangerine pieces she loves it , love to watch her eat she is sooo cute :-)

my little girl is 6months and

Submitted by babymitch1 on Tue, 15/06/2010 - 18:33.
my little girl is 6months and bawks everytime I give her something slightly lumpy! I don't want to be one of these mams that purée food until she's 1! help!

My 7month old son does the

Submitted by jojo1884 on Wed, 30/06/2010 - 23:30.
My 7month old son does the same thing! I am trying purees with texture but no lumps but surprisingly he is slightly better if it is soft finger food, rusks, bread and banana are good things to suck on and practise munching! Also if he does gag on a lump I give him a sip of water to help wash it down (and distract him !)

my son has just turned 9

Submitted by Kalums on Tue, 01/06/2010 - 21:46.
my son has just turned 9 months and is on 3 meals a day now.wot sort of things are good to giv my child for his dinner 4 plenty variety. thanx

meals for babies

Submitted by hazelannj on Wed, 30/06/2010 - 22:11.
hi, check out the sainsbury and tescos web site for babies/toddlers, they have lots of great recipes for different ages. My daughter is just coming up to 7 months and has been on finger foods from 6 months, she even had some v. mild vege chilli with rice, and gobbles up banana, kiwi, peach, broccoli and loads of other things.