Comments on: When can my baby start eating things like Cherrios and other baby finder foods?

By: josi

josi — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:08:52 +0000

Once he has the interest and ability to pick these things up and bring to his mouth, you should encourage it. Self feeding is the ultimate goal after all. I have seen a lot of people post about their older babies beginning to refuse purees and have not started finger food, so I really believe it is best to encourage it as soon as they show interest. It frees you up at meal time too and it’s more enjoyable for everyone!

Cheerios are a great thing to start will. It will help him develop his pincer grasp and they dissolve easily in the mouth. He will probably not be very accurate at first, but he will learn. Solids in the first year are more about taste and texture, so don’t worry about amounts too much. He will eat if he is hungry.

My daughter has been self feeding since about 7 months. She is 10 months now (and only has two teeth - since 9 months), and self feeds nearly all of her intake. She eats steamed and roasted veggies, fruit, meat, rice, crackers, bread, etc… and all with no teeth/two teeth. If you are able to squish it between your fingers or if it dissolves easily, it is soft enough for your baby to gum. I just started steaming veggies and cutting them into small pieces. Frozen green peas, boiled and then squished first are a favourite for her (and helped to develop the pincer grasp). I even found that some veggies that she didn’t like pureed, she would eat as finger food.

There is a school of thought called baby led weaning, which basically skips the purees altogether and runs on the theory that babies will feed themselves various types of foods when they are developmentally ready. I agree with some of the principles of this, but I personally wanted to feed purees and transition slowly until I was confident my daughter could feed herself a varied diet. We still do feed her cereal and things like applesauce with a spoon, but we are also teaching her to use the spoon herself.

I know some people worry about gagging and choking, and some babies are more susceptible than others, but gagging is a natural reflex. It’s just your LO getting used to chewing and swallowing. It will get better as they go along. My daughter actually hasn’t choked very much. You’ll be there to supervise too, so it will be fine. Just start small, a few cheerios or something, and he will learn as she goes.

Best wishes!

By: Lyric's Mommy

Lyric's Mommy — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:38:45 +0000

Get him the Gerber Puffs, they dissolve almost as soon as they go in baby’s mouth b/c they have so much saliva. If he’s sitting up well on his own, I don’t see why, just give him one at a time to see how he does with them. After he’s mastered that, you can try Cheerios and other things.

You can also get the Baby Safe Feeder bags…they’re just little mesh bags that you can put little snacks in. He can chew on it and get the snack without choking.

By: jon jon's girl

jon jon's girl — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:19:26 +0000

closer to 10 months. Don’t rush it. Introducing foods should be a very slow process. I didn’t give my kids cheerios till they were almost a year.

By: kathsps

kathsps — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 02:23:23 +0000

I started probably around 8 months giving my son things to eat(and he did not have teeth yet). But, they have to be small(like the size of a pea) The Gerber puffs are very good-as they dissolve very easily. I waited a while before giving Cheerios, as I’ve been told they have been changed a little bit, and don’t dissolve as easily as they used to. My son is 10 months now, and I just started with Cheerios.

By: eve

eve — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:24:32 +0000

No reason to wait until he has teeth. He can easily just use his gums to eat lots of finger foods. It’s probably best to wait until he can sit up well without assistance — which may be shortly. Cheerios are a great thing to start with. You can put some on his high chair tray and let him play with them and see if he can use his own fingers to get them into his mouth by himself. It’s not easy at first! Cheerios are small and easily mashed up in the baby’s mouth and pose very little choking risk. Go slowly and let him just have those for a few weeks and then add peas if you like. He will start to really enjoy having control over what goes into his mouth! Be really careful with things like grapes and hot dogs — just the right size and shape for choking. Other than that — just cut thiings into really small bite-sized pieces and see how he does with each new thing. Only introduce one new food every few days just to watch for allergic reactions. By 10 months old or so, he can probably be eating mostly table food if you cut it all up small enough.

By: Pregolicious

Pregolicious — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:10:58 +0000

u can test him to see how he handles larger things like baby cookies (they are rather big and dissolve easily). He does not need teeth for them and my girls both loved them. However, you should ALWAYS talk to your baby’s doc first to ask him how to look for signs of food allergies.

By: Natalie j

Natalie j — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 05:23:15 +0000

as long as the cheerios are soft then theres not a problem, i started my son on this at 6 months! you can buy finger foods specially designed for your babies age which easily dissolve in their mouth to p[revent choking!

By: smk7472

smk7472 — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:43:02 +0000

I started my son out at 6 months….I say go for it!

By: tishkabob2004

tishkabob2004 — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:47:22 +0000

you could probably start giving him those puffs that they sell by the baby food. They dissolve in his mouth. At around 10 months my son was eating just about everything I put on the table for the family.

By: jscangel18

jscangel18 — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:33:40 +0000

6 months is ok to start things like gerber fruit and veggie puffs, they dissolve in the babies mouth….my sister gives these to her son and hes 7 months…but has been given them since 51/2 months………i would wait for cheerios they are a bit crunchy till he gets some teeth…..look in the baby aisle in your store for the puffs…