Sorry, completely forgot about the carrot question!
I prefer to steam my veggies, I rarely boil. For me, I think steaming loses less nutrients... so I cut into batons and steam until "al dente".
And same as Marsha with keeping them firmish, if they're too soft, I find J will accidentally bite off mre than he can chew (literally!) and end up choking a bit. He did this with a soft apple just yesterday, it was softer than he expected and really had a hard time with it!
And thanks, Marsha! It was actually you that inspired me to do a back carry! I'm having a h3ll of a time doing it, though!