Author Topic: mushed finger foods  (Read 2163 times)

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Offline Adelheid

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mushed finger foods
« on: October 17, 2014, 14:36:45 pm »
My 8mo loves solids, but has a hard time doing finger foods!
He will hold and munch on crackers, cookies, cheerios, puffed cereal things, basically anything that is hard. But when it comes to all other food, he prefers to massage them into mush and smear them everywhere.
I've been offering scrambled eggs, soft cheese (like laughing cow), fried fish, soft cooked veg, etc. and they all end up smooshed.
I'd really like to have him eat the majority of his meal via finger foods, but always have to top him off with baby mush so he will actually have eaten something.
Do I just keep offering? How much do I interfere with his playing of his food?   ???
And also, how small should I make the pieces that I offer?

Offline MasynSpencerElliotte

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Re: mushed finger foods
« Reply #1 on: October 17, 2014, 15:40:56 pm »
At 8 months old the bulk of his nutrition still needs to come from formula or bm. The playing and smooshing is all a part of learning about food so I would just continue to offer a variety of stuff and allow him to take the lead with regards to eating it. I try to either offer pieces big enoughtl that they can be picked up and held while sucking/biting or small enough to be picked up with two fingers and too small to choke on. Has he developed a pincer grasp yet? That was when I offered more bite sized foods.
Heidi




Offline creations

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Re: mushed finger foods
« Reply #2 on: October 18, 2014, 18:59:55 pm »
I always followed the guidance of finger food being roughly the size of an adult finger.
Maybe try some roasted veggies which will be 'hard' on the outside if he seems to like the dry/hard foods. I made potato wedges, sweet potato, carrot, parsnip, turnip, butternut squash...basically anything that can be roasted, the outside will be dry and crispy whilst the inside will be soft like a mush/puree.
You could also try 'drier' foods such as small pancakes, mini muffins (made with sweet potato or carrots for example), meatballs, bean cakes/fritters, oaty chews.

I agree with pp that the smooshing of food is all part of the learning process, offer few pieces if you are concerned with waste. What helped me too was to realise that every meal time was an 'activity' and a learning time, all those tastes, smells, textures, plus exploring the physical nature of the world around them.  To a LO it is all new experience and not 'just' a meal.
How much do I interfere with his playing of his food?
I only stopped mine from dropping or throwing to the floor. I'd quickly hold his hand before the drop or get a plate or bowl underneath it fast and say "tidy up please" then when the piece dropped into the bowl "oh thank you for tidying" and repeated this at the end of each meal where he would help me collect the discarded food around his tray and pop it all back into a bowl or plate before we washed hands and face. Making it part of the routine.


Offline Adelheid

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Re: mushed finger foods
« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2014, 10:05:29 am »
Great advice! Thank you both!
An other question is: He hardly seems to actually eat anything, so I usually finish the meal off with some pureed baby food. Should I do this or just let him eat what he does on his own? An hour or so before he's usually slurped down 8oz of Formula but still has a hearty appetite at meal times.

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Re: mushed finger foods
« Reply #4 on: October 21, 2014, 10:19:41 am »
I think that's a personal choice really. I never gave mine any pureed food at all and he only self fed but if you are happy with the combination then there's no harm. I suppose as he gets older you'd want to switch the puree for mashed/lumpy or all finger foods so he can join in with the family meals but there's no deadline to do this by. I altered our family meals avoiding 'mushy' and 'soupy' foods which DS didn't like the texture of, you could do similar in reverse if you see what I mean to enable your DS to be fully involved in family meals but also catering to his individual needs/likes too.  EG if we were having mashed potato I removed a couple of boiled potatoes for DS before mashing the rest for the adults, you can easily do the reverse.  If we were having stew I removed all the 'solid' bits for DS to eat as finger food, you could make your DS's more soupy, mash some with a fork, and still let him have a go at the finger food part.
You can also pre-load a spoon and let him self feed this way.  Hand him the loaded spoon or lay it on his plate and let him pick it up. This way you get to eat your dinner and he learns to use a tool and feel independent :)


Offline Adelheid

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Re: mushed finger foods
« Reply #5 on: October 21, 2014, 16:08:02 pm »
Good idea! He is always dying to get the spoon. I'll try pre-loading.
I'd like to not do any mush at all, but I feel like he eats so little if its finger foods. Some things like crackers and cookies he'll do. And as of last night he'll do banana. So, I guess I need to be diligent. :)

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Re: mushed finger foods
« Reply #6 on: October 21, 2014, 17:37:48 pm »
There's plenty of time yet :)