finger foods at 6 months??

catonmylap

Mon, Sep 17 2007, 6:18 am

Does anyone have ideas what I can give my son? He's only 6 months, but he refuses anything in a spoon. He won't open his mouth and his hands come out to intercept anything. He eats baby bite crackers and challah. Sometimes some carrot from a piece of carrot will make it to his mouth.

My mother suggested baking him something healthy with whole wheat flour-any ideas?

We add rice cereal when he takes a bottle, but he takes only one bottle of pumped milk a day (am still exclusively bf).

He started waking up every night and he's starving. Till recently he was sleeping through the night beautifully.

catonmylap

Mon, Sep 17 2007, 6:46 am

He's got 2 (bottom middle) teeth.

He accepted the spoon in the beginning. He eats the challah and crackers beautifully. He also even feeds himself when he takes a bottle.

His hand eye coordination is improving--it wasn't quite good enough for cheerios, only one made it to his mouth...and he usually drops tons of food in his chair or the floor.

If he was still sleeping through the night like he used to, I would just hold off a little longer.

mummiedearest

Mon, Sep 17 2007, 8:34 am

buy a few mesh feeders for him. you can put large chunks of anything in those without worrying about choking, and it will be easier for him to feed himself than it is for him to eat cheerios. you can give him fresh fruits and veggies or cooked very easily. also, I wouldn't advise the rice cereal in the bottle. he'll learn not to take the spoon that way. you may also want to try giving him his own spoon while you feed him.

he may also like more solid foods. maybe try regular instant oatmeal rather than baby cereal. it doesn't need chewing.

anon

Mon, Sep 17 2007, 9:19 am

Ugh, I just had the most frustrating conversation with my doctor.

I have the same problem. My baby is 6 months. For about a month, I tried to give him solids...oatmeal cereal and different beechnut foods. For the whole month, each feeding was a huge ordeal cuz he didn't want it and we would have to trick him into eating and then he would spit it out. I was really losing my patience, so I just stopped and figured I would give him "real" food when he's a little older. But the second I stopped feeding him solids, he started to wake up more often at night.

I just spoke to my doctor and he was telling me that "of course he's waking up more often...you nurse him when he wakes up. If you didn't nurse him, he wouldn't wake up". HELLO! He started waking up more often the SECOND I stopped giving him solids, so he's obviously hungry and it's not because I'm "training" him to wake up. But the doctor insisted.

Then the doctor said I should still try to give him solids...give it to him when he's calm and hungry and try different foods. Thanks, but I already tried all that...for a month! But he insisted that it can be done and kept giving me tips that I already tried.

OK, now I feel better. Gosh, that was such an annoying conversation. I'm not an idiot!

Anyway, I'll be following this thread to see if I can get some other advice. According to my doctor, I shouldn't start finger foods until 7 months but I can give baby yogurt now. I don't like the idea of giving dairy so young.

mummiedearest, what's a mesh feeder?

mummiedearest

Mon, Sep 17 2007, 9:40 am

http://www.munchkin.com/produc.....ID=37

here's a mesh feeder, though I don't recommend munchkin. their mesh feeder is actually their only product I specifically don't like. it's hard to open and clean. others come with replacement bags and covers so you can stick them in the fridge. sorry, I don't remember which brand is good, my baby didn't like the idea so I didn't do much research, but the product idea is great for some kids. they're good for teething, too, if the kid is willing to take it. just stick an ice cube inside.

luckyme

Mon, Sep 17 2007, 9:55 am

This is very good advice, mummiedearest!

This is a mesh feeder:

http://store.babycenter.com/p2.....arger

there is another brand called "baby safe", I think the story is, it was invented by a dad to keep his little one from choking...

http://www.onestepahead.com/po.....age=1

You can put a wide variety of food in it and they are learning to self feed while staying safe.
Sweet potatoes ( cooked cubes), fresh or frozen bananas or grapes- great for teethers and the skins stays in, even ice cubes on a hot day...
I usually wet the bag part first, so they aren't sucking on dry fabric Puke

until the food gets absorbed, but, thats just me
As for waking at night, in addition to being ready for solids, your baby is probably going through a growth spurt and your milk supply should adjust soon which will help

anon

Mon, Sep 17 2007, 6:15 pm

OK, I just bought the mesh feeder.

WHAT A DISASTER!!

Ds is presently having a blast in his highchair. He is smushing his fingers over the banana, squishing it out, banging it on the highchair tray, flinging it about....at the moment, the following is COVERED in mushed banana: his face, hands, clothes, highchair seat and highchair tray.

Needless to say, nothing went into his mouth. Oh well, at least HE had fun LOL

I, on the other hand, have some cleaning to do....

mummiedearest

Mon, Sep 17 2007, 7:06 pm

anon-

sorry about the mess. you may want to try it with an apple slice next time. less mess until the baby starts to chew it.

also, for the OP- have you tried gerber fruit puffs or any teething biscuits? the puffs are easier to get into the mouth than cheerios. just watch the baby if you use teething biscuits to make sure he doesn't bite off a large chunk. another option is to feed him cereal with your finger instead of a spoon. once he likes it enough he'll probably take the spoon. try adding baby fruit to the cereal to make it taste better, and try barley instead of rice cereal. most kids like barley better, I believe.

mummiedearest

Wed, Sep 19 2007, 8:41 am

op-

another suggestion Smile

have you tried making pancakes for the baby? you can use a mix and add tofu for protein, or make veggie latkes out of just about anything. they should be soft enough for him, and they're pretty good finger food if they're not too oily. use pam instead of oil or bake them into pancake shape.

Mommastuff

Tue, Oct 02 2007, 10:17 am

anon wrote:

Ugh, I just had the most frustrating conversation with my doctor...OK, now I feel better. Gosh, that was such an annoying conversation. I'm not an idiot!

I hate to say to but there are some doctors out there who say some idiotic things. Mothers intuition is very good and I've had doctors tell me that they'd take a mothers strong intuition over a doctors guess.

And about the mesh feeder, my dd hated it but loves making messes with finger food. The mess is really part of their learning experience with textures, but, yes, it's a mess to clean! I just undress her to eat, when I can.