Eat solids with no teeth?

[Am I doing this right?]

I am curious, because I have come across a number of sites that say you can give them bread, egg yolks, start finger foods, etc.  My lo has no teeth yet.  So do I wait until she has some or can I still start her on these things?  She is 7 months old.  I have started her on soilids, but the pureed kind. 

 

Thank you!

[clh]

Yes, you can start before teeth.  The things you've mentioned are either soft or dissolve easily.  You'll be amazed at what she can gum to death!    Just make sure to intro one thing at a time, like you do purees, so you'll see if there's any issue with the new food. 

[Am I doing this right?]

My concern is that she will break of a piece that is too big and choke on it.  i bought a package of baby mum mum's and she broke of a piece that was too big...i freaked out and took it away from her!!  am i being paranoid!!?? 

[clh]

Sorry.  I'm in the US & don't know what a mum mum is.  If you're afraid she'll break off a too-big piece, you can always break it for her & give pieces until she gets it down better.  We did that for a while, too.

[clazzat]

From my experience, they are much better at managing big pieces if you let them get on with it.  Watch her really carefully to make sure that she is okay, and learn what to do if she does choke, but otherwise let her try things out.  Both my girls have coped really well with lumps from a very early age (long before teeth!) and I genuinely believe that it is because I let them learn for themselves.  I have seen both of them take in a lump that was too big, look like they were choking and clear it themselves - and I think it stands them in good stead for later on in life when you won't be watching so carefully.

Good things to give early, that are easily managed even without teeth, are breadsticks, carrot puffs and rice cakes.  Toast has been pretty successful as early food too. 

As for breaking off pieces that are too big, I think that they are quite good at working out what they can manage themselves.

HTH.  Cx

[anna*]

At this age, even the ones with teeth only have their front, biting teeth which aren't used for chewing anyway. They're all chewing on gums, and can cope with all sorts of things!!

[jana224]

Yep all of the above posters are totally right:  teeth are not necessary for chewing finger foods.  I buy Baby mum-mums for my DD, started giving them to her at 6 months with no teeth yet, and I give her half of one to hold and eat.   Those are particularly good first finger foods because even in the worst case where she puts it all in her mouth... they dissolve *so quickly* with saliva, that they would just melt in her mouth and not cause a problem.  Have you tried eating one to see?  They rock because of that.

DD now has one tooth, and yet we do toast every morning, half of a banana that she holds in her hand, finger sized steamed veggies and fruits.  As long as it's soft, they're ok.  I try to give her long strips of foods that she can bite off pieces, but if I cut anything up, I just make sure that it's small enough to pass through if she does stuff it to the back of her mouth. 

Babies generally have sensitive gag reflexes, so if they put something down that they can't easily pass, they will spit it back up.  That happened with my DD - got too much carrot in her mouth, coughed a bit and then vomitted it back up.  As long as you are sitting right there and know what to do if needed, then you are fine.

Jana

[LucySol]

I am in the same situation with the ff and no teeth.it scares me to death that she will choke.My dd is also refusing food off a spoon at the moment,and only wants ff and it worries me she wont get enough.just for the record im in the uk and i dont know what on earth a mum mum is-where can i get those from and what are they?

[clazzat]

Lucysol - Try not to worry too much about the choking - if she is refusing food from a spoon and insisting on eating finger foods then she is showing that she is ready to manage feeding herself.  As long as you watch closely she should be fine.

As for not getting enough food, in the first year solids are for tasting/exploring rather than the main source of nutrition - that still comes from milk.  If she is feeding herself she can decide how much she needs/wants.  You might like to try looking at the baby-led weaning thread on this site - that seems to be what your lo is trying to establish for herself and you might find some useful hints and tips.
Cx

[Am I doing this right?]

Thank you guys so much!  I am going to go and give it a try, see what happenes!

I have posted a link for the "mum mum" below.

http://www.mummums.com/products/baby-mum-mums

[LucySol]

thanx hun xx

[anna*]

Stanley choked once with finger food - he was gagging but nothing was happening, and he wasn't coughing or making any sound. I gave him a hard slap on the back and the bit of bread dislodged and he carried on eating his lunch! Gagging/coughing looks alarming but is actually a good thing as they are doing it to prevent themselves from choking. The best thing you can do is to watch, (don't reach in and try to remove the food you risk pushing it further in), check they are dealing with it (ie be ready to slap on the back if it turns into a choke) and then say calmly/happily 'well done! would you like a sip of water?' If you panic you risk making them frightened of eating too.