at what age do you transition from baby food to all finger foods?

[newmom11]

i have a 10 month old who has always been a pretty good eater, until recently!  he has all of the sudden wanted to eat only finger foods and is not so interested in pureed baby foods.  he will eat them, but usually fusses through it.  i'm afraid he doesn't get enough to eat if we just do finger foods...he is pretty good at feeding himself, but as with most 10 month olds, about half of what he tries to put in his mouth actually ends up in there, the rest of it ends up on the floor.  also, any ideas of what finger foods a 10 month old can eat?  we currently do whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread, cantaloupe, watermelon, peach, banana, kiwi, blueberries, pears, apples, green beans, carrots, peas, hard boiled egg yolk, cheese, cheerios, crackers, etc. it's pretty boring and i'm not sure what else to feed him.  when can they start eating things that have some spices added in? he is also eating meats, but only bland meat...nothing sauteed in any kind of spice or seasoning.  any ideas?

[Freya'sMum]

Hello!

As babies only really need milk as their primary source of nutrition until 12 months, and solid foods supplement this, 10 months is a good age to be allowing your lo to explore independent feeding - there is a thread titled Finger Foods for Young Babies in the Recipes section of this forum, which is equally good for inexperienced self-feeders. Many babies hit a 'spoon-refusal' phase, and as with all things BW, trust your lo's instincts about his appetite - babies don't starve themselves, they have an innate survival instinct, so it could be his way of limiting his solid food intake as well as practicing new skills.

In my experience what can seem like a bland boring repetitive diet to us adults, is quite satisfying for babies - as with adults, babies differ in their preferences - my eldest prefers mild flavoured foods, dd2 likes strong flavours including mustards, pickles, sauces, pepper etc - there is a foods to avoid thread in the FAQ section of this forum, herbs and spices are a healthy nutritious way to flavour foods, it's salt and sugar and artificial flavourings that need to be avoided

HTH to give you some reassurance and ideas?

Ax

[*Nicola*]

Totally agree with Alison!

DD1 refused the spoon somewhere around 10/11 months I think.  We moved mostly to finger foods then and she managed most things despite having no teeth until 12 months.

DD2 is self feeding (BLW), is 7.5 months and has no teeth and she is doing pretty well too.  As Alison says, she has her own preferences and I am trying to follow her lead whilst encouraging a wide variety of foods.  Tonnes goes on the floor but a surprisingly large amount makes it to the mouth.  Esp if it is something she prefers!   

[EllenS]

Dd refused the spoon at 9 mo, except for yogurt which she will still let me feed her sometimes (though she prefers to drink it as a smoothie).  She has always stayed on the same weight/growth curve, so she must have been getting enough!

[Kayla0110]

My little guy is doing about the same thing.  He prefers to feed himself and it does seem like he's not eating as much but isn't acting like he's more hungry or anything.  He pretty picky too, so to me it sounds like your lo is getting a great variety of foods!  Now is a perfect time to start adding some seasonings, my lo is eating more foods now that he wouldn't before because I've spiced them up a bit.  Good luck!